Getting on target with Tarkett engineered wood

[Wecanoe]

Greetings,

Thought it might be useful, given that HD seems to be selling lots of the stuff, to relate my experience with Tarkett engineered oak flooring. Situation: needed to cover ~210 sf of LR; wanted either US or North American product; preferred wood over laminate. Solution: found Tarkett engineered oak at HD for reasonable price ~$3.60/sf, seemed like easy diy install, though noted lack of online specs and instructions compared to other brands such as Kahrs. What happened: bought the stuff, let it acclimate for 2 days, double swept and dust mopped old floor (mops are good at finding stuck staples and tacks), then started install. After an hour or two of not being able to get the stuff to "click" together as per instructions (actually two clicks, one for the long side and one for the short black plastic clip on the end), I was fuming and ready to return it to HD. My new floor was inexorably arcing upward! Then desparate inspiration hit, why not call the factory, right down there in Johnson City, TN? Did so and ended up talking to Billy in Tech Support who was most helpful. Solution, if it does not click, use tapping block and mallet. Bingo.

So here is the sequence I used in addition to following the directions; 1) inspect each piece carefully for separating veneer and remove any slivers from grooves or ends (found only 3 or 4 with separating veneer or slivers, a tip from another web site); 2) lay up 3 to 5 rows of the stuff perfectly straight then slide the "slab" into position on the 2-way underlayment (per Billy, I also set string line along the starting wall just over floor), 3) add more rows stair step fashion, _continually_ checking for alignment. Stagger rows per instructions and leave adequately wide strips on sides, edge clearance, etc.

The tapping involved two stages; a) set long edge groove in at ~45 angle, slide piece to fit snugly against the black clip on existing piece, b) press end down onto clip and set with sharp rap on new piece's surface with mallet and block (partial clip even worked on ripped pieces), c) then, work tapping block along long edge with block __BEARING ON THE UPPER OAK VENEER LAYER__. Two to five taps should snap it in place; lays flat. I used both scrap 3/4 stock and scrap flooring as tapping blocks.

Bottom line? Nice finished look, compliments from friends. Easy install after getting the how-to from Billy. Better that the instructions should have described using the tapping block . Noted that about every box had one or more shorter pieces. I first thought, hmmmm, then realized that this would aid in getting a more random sequence of ends. Not a problem.

Best, Wecanoe

[cproader]

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