Tried big box store laminate vs the flooring supply shop on 99th Street

Spent $200 more at the supply shop but the planks actually clicked together without gaps. Has anyone else found the big box stuff just doesn't lock right in Edmonton winters?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_west2d ago

Oh man, I gotta respectfully disagree here. I've laid flooring in three different houses over the last five years and the big box stuff (from both places, tried both) has always clicked together fine for me. Actually, the last batch I got from the big box store was way easier to work with than the specialty shop stuff I tried once - that expensive material felt brittle and chipped on two planks just from normal tapping. I think a lot of it comes down to the specific brand and batch, not just where you bought it. The winter humidity thing is real though, I always let my planks sit in the room for 48 hours before installing. Maybe your supply shop planks were just better acclimated to your house?

sageburns2d ago

You ever get that feeling where you're wrestling with a plank and it just won't lock and you start questioning your life choices? @jesse_west, I hear you on the batch thing, but man, my experience has been the total opposite. I did a basement last fall with big box laminate and ended up with three planks that had these tiny gaps no matter how hard I tapped them, like they were just born crooked. The supply shop stuff on the other hand clicked in so smooth I almost cried from relief. Could be the winter dryness messes with the locking mechanism, who knows.