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B&Q Wickes are a no no right?
- Thread starter D1nhs
- Start date
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Hey guys thought id update you all, and for future users doing searches.
So here were my findings
- B&Q small selection to take away everything else was 4-6 weeks delivery time, pants!
- Floors 2 go Large selection of laminates, small selection of real wood, cheap engineered oak at £16 per m2 but out of stock (probably just an offer to get people through the door)
- Local Supplier - Large selection of real woods and engineered, abrupt staff, cheapest they had was engineered oak at £25. Another supplier would not sell to the public, trade only
Finally.... Homebase
Good selection of engineered flooring both walnut, and few types of oak available. Fair selection of laminates too.
I bought from homebase ‘Westco’ engineered oak 3 strip glueless 14mm was £19per m2. However i aquired a 20% off voucher which brought it down to £15. Not bad at all! Also bought my underlay, and sliding wardrobe doors too taking full advantage of the discount. All ready to take away that day with plenty in stock if i needed more!
That was the good news.
Now the bad news.....
the flooring is a glueless type which doesnt just click together but has to be literally bashed together. Within 10 minutes i destroyed my plastic knocking block and bent my pull bar.
Having spoken to Westco, i was told i needed heavy duty tools, so i spent another £30 on a new knocking block and pull bar.
After 4 days i have only completed 2 of 3 rooms and partially deaf from all the banging.
Looks great down, but with all the banging sometimes it would cause movement somewhere else so i have a few very tiny gaps which are irritating.
Hope this helps somebody
So here were my findings
- B&Q small selection to take away everything else was 4-6 weeks delivery time, pants!
- Floors 2 go Large selection of laminates, small selection of real wood, cheap engineered oak at £16 per m2 but out of stock (probably just an offer to get people through the door)
- Local Supplier - Large selection of real woods and engineered, abrupt staff, cheapest they had was engineered oak at £25. Another supplier would not sell to the public, trade only
Finally.... Homebase
Good selection of engineered flooring both walnut, and few types of oak available. Fair selection of laminates too.
I bought from homebase ‘Westco’ engineered oak 3 strip glueless 14mm was £19per m2. However i aquired a 20% off voucher which brought it down to £15. Not bad at all! Also bought my underlay, and sliding wardrobe doors too taking full advantage of the discount. All ready to take away that day with plenty in stock if i needed more!
That was the good news.
Now the bad news.....
the flooring is a glueless type which doesnt just click together but has to be literally bashed together. Within 10 minutes i destroyed my plastic knocking block and bent my pull bar.
Having spoken to Westco, i was told i needed heavy duty tools, so i spent another £30 on a new knocking block and pull bar.
After 4 days i have only completed 2 of 3 rooms and partially deaf from all the banging.
Looks great down, but with all the banging sometimes it would cause movement somewhere else so i have a few very tiny gaps which are irritating.
Hope this helps somebody
I've laid quite a few laminates at home on a DIY basis. You learn each time but laminate or engineered small gaps are inevitable IMO due to the almost but not quite perfect manufacturing of the boards. It goes with the territory
Using thick ol' clunky planks of good old fashioned wood are the only way to avoid that. Or joint filler of course.
I like Homebase...way to expensive for nearly everything but at least are more consistent with their stocks. ...and they don't try and steal your "precious" when you visit them...unlike some stores....
Using thick ol' clunky planks of good old fashioned wood are the only way to avoid that. Or joint filler of course.
I like Homebase...way to expensive for nearly everything but at least are more consistent with their stocks. ...and they don't try and steal your "precious" when you visit them...unlike some stores....
You mean your a*al virginity?
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I bought from homebase ‘Westco’ engineered oak 3 strip glueless 14mm was £19per m2. However i aquired a 20% off voucher which brought it down to £15. Not bad at all! Also bought my underlay, and sliding wardrobe doors too taking full advantage of the discount. All ready to take away that day with plenty in stock if i needed more!
That was the good news.
Now the bad news.....
the flooring is a glueless type which doesnt just click together but has to be literally bashed together. Within 10 minutes i destroyed my plastic knocking block and bent my pull bar.
Having spoken to Westco, i was told i needed heavy duty tools, so i spent another £30 on a new knocking block and pull bar.
After 4 days i have only completed 2 of 3 rooms and partially deaf from all the banging.
Looks great down, but with all the banging sometimes it would cause movement somewhere else so i have a few very tiny gaps which are irritating.
Hope this helps somebody
Westco is the stuff I bought from H/B but I paid £13.95 a while ago. Regards fitting; I had the same problem initially but then tried a little soap which made assembly much easier. The odd pack was still a little too tight though & in the end I gave the toung’s a couple of passes with 120 grit which did the trick. I did 3 rooms in 3 days & it’s been down for just over a week now & it looks great with no gaps to speak of & nothing popped out! Just refitting the skirting & architrave.
...as if I would accuse the typical shed employee of being about as much use as Gollum...that would be unfair...wouldn't it ?
Thing with the sheds is that they all seem to be moving more towards the home furnishings side a bit away from the bag of cement and a bag of screws side. One thing for B&Q though is that they have a huge range of flooring of all types and colours. I suspect that when it comes to laminates whether its B&Q or Homebase the product is probably the same....just different packaging.
A light rub over of the joints with sanding paper certainly works as I've found myself almost as important as making sure the joints are free of dust....
"A*al Virginity" ? ....isn't that a bleached oak shade in B&Q's Aqua Loc range ?
the flooring is a glueless type which doesnt just click together but has to be literally bashed together. Within 10 minutes i destroyed my plastic knocking block and bent my pull bar. Hope this helps somebody
Yes, it certainly does help me. My very first post in this forum was on this topic. I'd bought laminate and virtually everyone told me I couldn't click it together because I'd gone for the cheap stuff. Homebase, by contrast, tried to tell me I was incompetent - apparently no one else had complained. Your story suggests it's not just the cheap stuff. Please, please, complain to Homebase. If enough people complain, they'll change the manufacturers with whom they deal. If no one complains, they think everything is OK.
Timberland are rude, too. I asked them for a quote for my hall (by email) They sniffily replied that they don't get out of bed for less than £1000 - or words to that effect. Yet, they're clearly desperate for business - all the glossy mags carry their ads, promising 3 rooms for the price of two. That in itself makes me wonder. If they're so good, they wouldn't have to try so hard.
the flooring is a glueless type which doesnt just click together but has to be literally bashed together. Within 10 minutes i destroyed my plastic knocking block and bent my pull bar. Hope this helps somebody
Yes, it certainly does help me. My very first post in this forum was on this topic. I'd bought laminate and virtually everyone told me I couldn't click it together because I'd gone for the cheap stuff. Homebase, by contrast, tried to tell me I was incompetent - apparently no one else had complained. Your story suggests it's not just the cheap stuff. Please, please, complain to Homebase. If enough people complain, they'll change the manufacturers with whom they deal. If no one complains, they think everything is OK.
My experience is the same. Doesn't matter if its the cheap stuf for a small bedroom or expensive , good quality "waterproof" board. It all needs a bit of tapping ...so to speak....certainly much more than is suggested to get it fitted together enough to last. I prefer to use bits of offcuts as my knocking block but thats with laminates. To have to spend £30 plus on specialist tools seems wrong for what for many would be a one off DIY job...
I certainly will complain starting with Westco, just looking at their site, it has a video showing how easy its supposed to be pah!
Then ill forward it to Homebase
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