Over the weekend, while returning some toilet stuff, I spotted the cherry wood Real Touch Elite laminate flooring at Home Depot. It looks and feels beautiful. It is on sale this week for $3.77. Several boards out there have pointed out that Home Depot 10% discount coupons are out there, so keep an eye out for them. Dupont does not directly manufacture this product.
AzFred at the the ISW bulletin board points out that it is in fact a new import from Spain from the Faus Group.
This import from Spain is new to the USA and not in general distribution nor does it have a track record. There are similar products in the flooring stores that feature better brands, have a longer track record and similar warrantee periods.Another user had not so kind words:
Well folks - here's the straight scoop on the new DuPont Real Touch Elite laminate. IT IS A TOTAL DISASTER OF A PRODUCT AND SHOULD NOT BE SOLD. I consider it an a faulty interlock design and ti thin edge design is too easy to crack and damage. After two weeks of attempting to get some installation tips from both Home Depot and the DuPont Tecnhical Flooring rep, I have given up and contacted Home Depot and, my lawyer, and the N.C Attorney General's Office. This design is a total disaster and installation impossible. I have trashed three boxes before finally calling it quits.Yikes! Fortunately for Dupont, he posted a happy ending.
My previous post got some attention. I did get a call from the DuPont SE technical rep in N.J. He agreed that the documented installation process was sketchy. He says that the only way to install the Elite is by using the snap-lock process. I did find after following his instructions that it went pretty well but not as easy an Pergo. In the documentation it indicates that you need to life the adjacent board. This is not what it seems. Actually you only have to raise it about and inch or so. You practically push the joints together at a very slight angle, not the exagerated angle depicted in the installation guide. That was my big problem. You may still get some minor gas where the "snap" process will not fully pull the joints together. There is no "tap" block tool available for use with this product. I did experiment and find that by cutting a scrap piece (retaining the "tongue" groove side) and cutting the other end as a flat cut that you can "engage" the scrap into the groove at several points along the long edge and tap gently with a rubber mallet and remove any minor gaps left. Evidently DuPont is in the process of trying to train installers and Home Depot personnel. The finished floor does look absolutely great as compared to anything else that I have seen. And, I also noticed that in walking across the finished floor that you do not hear the plastic like click that you hear when walking ascross Pergo and Shaw.Posted by torque at February 15, 2005 10:49 AM | TrackBack
Now that you've had it a while, how do you like it? We're converting our living room into a home office, and also ripping out the carpet from our dining room and considering this product.
I really liked your tips on installation. Thanks!
Posted by: Trish at August 19, 2005 2:22 PMI'm an installer for The Home Depot and have seen some absalute train wreck installs by Homeowners. It can be tricky at times, like through doorways, but this product is by far one of the best on the market. It may be more spendy, but if you figure the cost of padding that you have to buy with the other brands it's not that bad a deal. Also even the best padding is not 1/2 as good as the foam on the Real Touch! that leads into another point... This padding is glued to the board itself. This helps to quiet the Hollow sound". If you're going to install laminate flooring in your home, go with Real Touch! It's in mine. 850 feet of it!
Posted by: E H at November 4, 2005 11:38 AMI installed my own, maybe good 4 me I did not read instructions too closely! My install went fine. This stuff is easy to install really. It Looks great and My destructo 6 yr olds havent done any damage to it!!!
Posted by: Ed at January 17, 2006 7:07 PMMy sister bought Dupont Elite Laminate Flooring at Home Depot and was sold an underlayment to put down first. Was this a mistake? The instructions do not mention an installing an underlayment. Also, we can't see the foam on the flooring. Is it between the layers and invisible, or has she bought the wrong kind?
Posted by: Karen at March 18, 2006 6:37 PMI have tried for a week to install this flooring. I am not the worlds best DIYer, but I am not a moron. I get one row in, start on the next, and the previous row pops loose. The Home Depot guy told me it would be the easiest flooring I have ever put down. Thank God I did not get the most difficult. The instructions say do not unhook over three times. I probably have unhooked six times. Am I still OK or should I trash those boards? Thanks
Posted by: William at July 15, 2006 1:24 PMYes I am trying to install this flooring and yes I am having trouble with doorways. Would someone please give me a hint on how to get thrould a doorway with out cutting little pieces and fitting them together. Thanks
Posted by: Don Loe at September 13, 2006 5:03 PMInstall went very well, I left home returned 3 months later to find out that the color I had installed (Red Oak)was no longer available to do another room that I wanted to do.
Posted by: wayne at September 29, 2006 4:36 PMThis stuff is absolutely great. I have had it in my house for about two years and it looks beatiful and has held up perfectly even with two big dogs running on it all the time. Much better than Pergo in my opinion.
Installation is a real pain if you follow the instructions. It took me about 8 hours to put down the first 30 square feet following the documented instructions. If you snap one piece into the first row and then try to snap on the other piece (basically loking it in two places) as the directions tell you, you will never get it done.
After hours of cussing I found out that what you need to do is snap togther an entire row (the length of the room) and then snap that entire row into the row that is already laying down.
Once I figured that out I layed down the other 500 square feet in 8 hours.
Posted by: Ryan at November 4, 2006 5:11 PMI installed 10 boxes of the marble look and had no problems at all. The girl at Home Depot took a hammer and smashed the snot out of the display and we couldn't find a scratch after she did it! Sold me!
Posted by: George Cobb at November 7, 2006 8:46 AMGood job!
Posted by: Markus at December 12, 2006 7:32 PM