Ray K wrote:
Lowe's sells a line called American Cottage. HD sells a line called
Prestige. A carton of either contains 7 planks, covering 17.59 sq ft.
Each plank is identical in all three dimensions, and the planks
interlock with each other. The only visible difference is than the
American Cottage comes with a blue attached foam underlayment; the
Prestige's foam is white. Lowe's charges $59.27 per carton ($3.37 per
sq ft), vs. HD's $52.24 per carton ($2.97 per sq ft).
Using a key, I tried to scratch the surfaces of samples I've bought;
both are equally resistant.
Ignoring any special promotions or discounts for opening a credit
card, can anyone see a reason (related to the quality of the product)
to buy the more expensive Lowe's product?
Try LumberLiquidators.* I laminate-floored two rooms with their $0.78/sq
foot stuff and couldn't be more pleased. After adding in the underlayment,
paint for the walls and baseboards, more tools (i.e. a pneumatic chisel to
get up the carpet tack strips, disposables such as sandpaper, door
transitions, blah-blah-blah, I got the two rooms (400') done for $1.24/sq
ft.
With the money you save, you can get a perfectly serviceable small Ryobi
table saw for $99. It will make your life much easier in installing the
laminate (some planks will have to be ripped).
As to the durability: I've attacked the stuff with a wood rasp, nail,
screwdriver, and hammer. No visible damage. I've had a 1" wide strip soaking
in a glass of water for over a month with no sign of swelling, discoloring,
or deterioration. They oughta make body armor outa that stuff.
Hint: You can make good use of a "strap clamp." Here's one:
http://www.tools-plus.com/bessey-svh-400xl.html
It's the end-to-end matching that gave me fits. It would be nice to put down
a row, attach the clamp to each end, and ratchet that sucker double-snug.
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*
http://www.lumberliquidators.com/hom...FRQXsgod41DgDQ
I see they've got the same material I used (Utopia) at SIXTY-NINE CENTS per
sq ft. I'm gonna do the garage AND the doghouse at that price! Maybe the
attic.
Depending on the results of my soaked-in-water experiment, I may do the
roof!