Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

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?

Thanks,

Ray

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

On Sat, 24 May 2008 20:08:51 -0400, 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?

Thanks,

Ray
No difference in composition lowes sells the same product as home
depot, but the box is different, and the color selection is different.
Same locking system and wear layer... My suggestion is go home depot

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

"Ray K" wrote in message

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?



Why not try a floor covering dealer to see what they have? I bought some
engineered hardwood at a great price from a local dealer less than a mile
from my house. They can beat HD or Lowes any day. And have a better
selection.

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Ray K" wrote in message

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?




Why not try a floor covering dealer to see what they have? I bought some
engineered hardwood at a great price from a local dealer less than a mile
from my house. They can beat HD or Lowes any day. And have a better
selection.


My original plan was to go with engineered hardwood, but Consumer's
Report's tests showed that laminates are superior to regular and
engineered hardwood with regard to dents and scratches.

A HD salesman made a very vivid impression on me. He took his car key
and scraped across an engineered hardwood sample. The finish was
damaged. He did the same with a Pergo sample - not a hint of damage. The
difference was very dramatic.

I did try a local store; no bargains. What did impress me was a Bruce
laminate that was about 1/2" thick. Very quiet when you walk on it, even
without a foam underlayment. But I didn't care for some aspects of the
appearance. So I'll go with the Pergo Prestige. It has the nice higher
gloss I prefer, and it comes in the oak appearances I like.

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

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.

-----------
* 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!

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

On Sat, 24 May 2008 22:55:53 -0400, Ray K wrote:

My original plan was to go with engineered hardwood, but Consumer's
Report's tests showed that laminates are superior to regular and
engineered hardwood with regard to dents and scratches.
True it's tougher, but we put down a laminate similar to Pergo and hated it.
Biggest complaunt was the noise reflection and the noise from the dogs walking
on it. It was also very hard to clean, to our satisfaction. We tried numerous
products but it always had a dull lustre is spots. A clean wet towel (water
0nly) was the onlt thing that would leave a good look to the floor.

On the next house we did a hardowwd and found it to be much better. Both quiter
and easier to clean. IMO, the Pergo must be so dammed hard it's a perfect sound
reflector. The hardwood is apparently a bit softer and attenuates the
reflections. I compare it to running on concrete versus running on asphalt. Both
would hurt lke hell if you smacked you noggin on them, but the asphalt has just
enough give to be easier on the feet.

If I was installing in prep for a sale, I'd use the laminate. If I was staying
and wanted beauty, I'd use the hardwood.

YMMV

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov wrote:
True it's tougher, but we put down a laminate similar to Pergo and hated it.
Biggest complaunt was the noise reflection and the noise from the dogs walking
on it. It was also very hard to clean, to our satisfaction. We tried numerous
products but it always had a dull lustre is spots. A clean wet towel (water
0nly) was the onlt thing that would leave a good look to the floor.

On the next house we did a hardowwd and found it to be much better. Both quiter
and easier to clean. IMO, the Pergo must be so dammed hard it's a perfect sound
reflector. The hardwood is apparently a bit softer and attenuates the
reflections. I compare it to running on concrete versus running on asphalt. Both
would hurt lke hell if you smacked you noggin on them, but the asphalt has just
enough give to be easier on the feet.

If I was installing in prep for a sale, I'd use the laminate. If I was staying
and wanted beauty, I'd use the hardwood.

YMMV
Although I'm sure that hardwood flooring is superior in many ways,
thus the much higher price, there is a difference between "laminate
similar to Pergo" and Pergo. We have not yet installed our Pergo
laminate, but we have two friends who are home builders who both said
Pergo is different from other laminate. Also, according to the Pergo
Web site, if you use anything other than plain water or a water/
vinegar solution to clean the floor with, you will dull the look of
the flooring. I would assume most laminate is similar in that
respect. So, that is not a flaw in the laminate; it's by design.

Also, I did some tests on some Pergo samples and found an interesting
thing: Scratches did show up somewhat on the smooth-surface samples,
but I could not get any marks to show up on the textured samples.

To the OP: We had a similar experience at HD. The sales associate was
very knowledgeable and pointed out that the Pergo Prestige is 10mm
thick, which is the thickest on the market I think. The underlayment
already being attached is a big plus also. I'm very glad we went
there before settling for what we saw at Lowe's

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

HeyBub wrote:
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.

-----------
* http://www.lumberliquidators.com/hom...FRQXsgod41DgDQ

Pergo recommends engaging the end of each new plank first, then the long
side.

Pergo laminate floors: Lowe's vs. Home Depot
 

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?

Thanks,

Ray
Since my original post, a Pergo tech support guy said the locking
systems on American Cottage vs Prestige are different. I mentioned that
I had bought sample of each and they interlocked perfectly. He said that
was because they are just samples.

At first I thought that the long edges may have the same locking
systems, but the short end edges don't. (Samples don't have the short
edges.) But I stuck an end tongue from Prestige into the groove on an
American Cottage and they interlocked perfectly. Maybe there's a subtle
difference, but I certainly can't see it.