Laminate Screwfix

[gary.holt]

Has anybody used the laminate from screwfix !

[Alan Holmes]

What is this fixation about Screwfix, doesn't anyone use the DIY shops anymore, at least you do see what you are buying, and some of them will give you the sort of advice yo are looking for.

Alan

-- Reply to alan(at)windsor-berks(dot)freeserve(dot)co(dot)uk

[gary.holt]

Price, screw fix are a lot cheaper that the others on alot of things

[Ed Sirett]

1) Kingfisher PLC own B&Q and Screwfix but there can be up to a 3:1 price differential. So the extra is for the store the van park, wrinkly day discounts and the people dressed as gnomes who try (yes they do try) to serve you. 2) Many many products comply with a BS, EN , BBA or other standard so it will work so long as you are wanting the right product. 3) Screwfix have a helpline which which on the odd occasion I have used has been useful and I feel sure I would not have been able to get at a store. 4) Going to the store takes work time, ordering online tkae very little time.

OTOH The stores are better for things that are bulky, heavy or which have got to be seen in the raw - say like bathroom tiles, guttering or bags of sand.

Specialist shops are best when you need to have a range of ideas and costs to choose from.

[Gnube]

Yes, absolutely fine! Get their tapping block while you're at it.

Oh and the packs area is about twice that of others, but then there's two of them in a box!

On last of 3 rooms, I've not rushed and I have had some other issues in the house to solve along the way to enable it to be completed.

Very pleased and saved over £200 on the cost of the laminate alone.

Incredibly simple to lay, it was my first serious DIY project and I got through absolutely fine after reading up enough in this group first.

If you search McSnap laminate on google you'll find the makers site.

DO let it sit UNOPENED for a couple of weeks in the room you're laying it in, and also only open packs as you need them. Can be cut with jigsaw, but circular is quite a bit better where practical in my view. Very few manufacturing defects at all. Maybe 1 and a half boards were naff in 16 double packs - I've heard far worse rates for others. Get laying kit from B&Q, discard their tapping block (rubbish).

It all worked fine here doing the above.

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[PoP]

At the risk of sounding thick, could you explain what a "tapping block" is? I think I can probably guess but I'd just like to be sure.

Just searched for that on ScrewFix and didn't come up with any suggestions.

PoP

[David W.E. Roberts]

Tapping block is the thing between the hammer and the plank when you tap it into place. Should have a grove to allow you to tap the 'tongue' side of T&G without doing any damage.

HTH Dave R

P.S. you also need a good supply of spacers to get the correct spacing away from the wall for expansion. Look at the laminate flooring section in the paper Screwfix catalogue, if you have one. They also do flooring clamps which are basically webbing clamps to hold the part laid floor together while you whack extra bits on and/or the glue dries.

[Gnube]

Ah, wouldn't you know it, they're calling it a push block now!

ScrewFix quote number 10513-72

A block of plastic to whack instead of the edge of the board, and has a groove of the correct type to protect the tongue of the laminate system in question - which in theory could vary from brand to brand I suppose.

I'd have to say the SF one is fine with the SF laminate, and the B&Q one was not, but also B&Q's major laminate is a press down and lock system, so why they even had the push block or the pull iron in their kit is a bit of a mystery. I'm glad they did though, as at the time it was the only place I could source one at all!

I started out using a rubber mallet, and soon found a regular steel headed claw hammer gave much finer control once you got a feel for it.

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[N. Thornton]

I thought using an offcut of the lam floor was the usual way to do it, you're sure to find a suitable dud bit or offcut in your packs.

Why would one buy a plastic product for this?

Regards, NT

[ANt]

DIY stores are great apart from :

1) you have to queue up whilst the newbies get trained on the tills 2) it gets busy with people buying plants 3) if you ever have the misfortune to actually need to ask someone something, you'll probably be waiting in the store for 30 minutes whilst a) "can't find Rob, he's the one that'll know. I'll go and look for him" b) I'll just go and check the stock room..I can't find one...let me check again....hang-on, Rob will know where they are... c) umm..I don't know....have you tried this ? 4) it's always out of stock anyway, or they have 1 less than the number you need, which is a total waste of journey 5) You get to the front of the queue to find there's no barcode. 6) each week you go, they've moved the stuff you need to another part of the store so that they could use the space for tupperware 7) during 2 of the hottest weeks in the year, they forgot to order in more charcoal (admitedly Screwfix don't sell it either, I'm just excersising the right to not go there cus they p1ssed me off last time I went) 8) the only plaster they will sell is ready mixed in sizes large enough to patch up a small hamster cage, or comes in bags that show signs of having been immersed in water when you open them up at home. 9) when you want sand for laying a patio, all they have is childrens play sand (and 1 bag of cement left) 10) the wood's all warped, full of nots or secretly joined just in the wrong place for what you're trying to do 11) When you're in a hurry to buy something just to finish a job that night, that you've half started only to find that the product didn't go as far it said on the box, you're queueing up because the only other person available is currently busy explaining the range of fireworks they have on offer.

The good thing about screwfix is

1) they deliver within a couple of days 2) you know wether they have something or don't within about 30 seconds so can look elsewhere without getting back into the saturday afternoon traffic / missing the closing times for the trade shops and having to put the job off for another week etc 3) you don't have to queue behind OAPS writting Cheques at the till...cheques ! for christ sake ! arggggghhh ! 4) you don't have to go through the "have you got a homebase card?"..."no"..."would you like one?"..."no...I have one it's just at home"...dialog everytime you place an order 5) you get a parcel to unwrap AND a magazine to read on the toilet with every order.

Ant.

[Gnube]

Coz you're just starting and don't have any offcuts of anything yet - DOH! ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[N. Thornton]

If you open your lam packs and lay the first couple of rows out unfixed on the floor, you will promtply cut a plank / identify an offcut before you need to whack anything together.

Its obvious why the sellers want to sell you something, but its a mystery why anyone would buy one.

Regards, NT

[Gnube]

That just smacks of trying to be cheap - you're not are you? Never though of you that way before.

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[N. Thornton]

Well I cant see any reason to pay for something that does what I already have, with no advantage. It gives me precisely nothing for my money. I consider it ill advised to spend on such things.

Regards, NT

[Gnube]

Just call me "wild and extravagant" then; I risked the whole £2.99 and have come to no harm, that I am aware of, as a result. ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[N. Thornton]

lol, I agree this one's trivial. Trouble is a lot of folk just pour their resources away like water. Many people buy rubbish day after day

- if they spent with more sense they would be better off, would have the money they wanted to do all sorts of things, and wouldnt end up in financial difficulty when life's troubles came along.

Maybe its a Britain thing, but so much of our resources are wasted by fools. When I think what this country could do if it used its brain its really a shame.

I hope your 'wild extravagance' was just a one off :)

Regards, NT

[Gnube]

They always are ;O)

Seriously - I check everything to see if I can do it first, but some things are more trouble than they are worth - since I'd never seen one in the flesh then I had no pattern to assess, it seemed like asking for trouble if whatever I may dream up (with not the fullest of info to hand) had damaged the laminate I was trying to lay.

I saved over £200 on the cost of the laminate alone, so I didn't mind splurging a little on fair quality tools which would outlast the project, and which I may not otherwise have found the money for. Glad I did, I got some good tools out of it that are already finding quite a bit of use, and frankly I don't know how I got by without them (always the sign of a truly useful tool I figure, I accept that figuring may not suit everyone though)

Oddly that block is handy for sandpaper as long as you always check you got it the right way up (ridges on one side, which is not so helpful for a flat finish!)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[L Reid]

How much did the laminate cost you, and how much would it have cost? (sorry if this is already posted but my newsserver's zapped the original post). Also, which one did you go for?

[Gnube]

Was going to spend apprx £500 at B&Q in locmaster1600 range - they could not find themselves interested in selling things to people the day I wanted to buy it, so I went to Screwfix, and gave them about £300 for the same area of laminate. No problem here. it's fine! I had a pack of the B&Q stuff here already to take a better "hands on" look while researching to whole project, so I am certain that the difference in product is acceptable for the difference in cost; actually, I'd very probably go for screwfix again if I had to start over, given what I know now.

It was my first major DIY project, did 3 rooms, and had no hassles as far as the product was concerned. (Only had one damaged board in 16 packs [very minor damage at that too]! I've heard of others who have had far worse figures elsewhere)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}