NAFCO flooring is crappy
Last year we had to replace the kitchen floor after some water leak damage, and we opted to install NAFCO wood-look laminate. A friend had put it in her house and loved it. Since she had dogs, we figured it would work for us just as well. In a household with 2 dogs and 2 kids, you need something that will wear well, wipe up quickly, and be scratch-resistant. We liked the look of wood, too.
Within a day after installation, though, we saw huge scratches on the new floor, esp. at the backdoor and at the kitchen table. We knew it wasn't the dogs--we had kept them out of the house after the floor was first put in, and we'd taken them to the vet to have their nails clipped short anyway. We had put felt pads on all the chairs (as directed by the installer/distributor), rubber cups on the table legs, etc. We couldn't figure it out.
We called the distributor/installer, who sent someone out to take pictures of the scratches. They promised to investigate and said this wasn't normal. In the meantime, we practically floated through the kitchen to avoid making marks. Finally, they determined that there was nothing innately wrong with the batch we got and that we must have done something we shouldn't to scratch it. They said our chairs were probably the culprit. They did, however, come back to replace the worst scratched "planks" (this is vinyl, folks), which were leftover from the original installation.
After further investigation, we found that NAFCO's web site says to use metal gliders on the chairs. So we went out and handed over more money for those. We installed them--immediately, we started getting DENTS in the floor! Since our chairs are not straight legged (as most are not), the angle at which the metal glides hit the floor caused denting. Only swiveling metal glides would work on these kinds of chairs, and no one makes those. Not Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace's, our independent hardware store in town, or anyone on the web!!! So we went back to the carpet glides.
The scratches kept coming, so we decided we should get new chairs. After all, they were pretty old chairs and rather cheap ones at that. We spent a bundle on getting 4 very nice, wooden, new chairs. We immediately put carpet pads on them. And now the scratches are even more pronounced! So today, I bought those "sliders" that are supposed to make furniture easy to move. Maybe they will help.
The only other solution is to get an area rug to cover up the worst scratches. Isn't that ridiculous?! You spend months researching a product that you are told will be durable, scratch-resistant, and pretty. And you just throw good money after bad when it turns out to be a crappy product.
So, take my advice and never, ever get a NAFCO floor. Don't buy laminate at all. Go with sheet or tile vinyl, real tile, or even hardwood. Hey, with enough poly on it, hardwood might have been just fine for our kitchen. And it would've looked a helluva lot better after one week.
Within a day after installation, though, we saw huge scratches on the new floor, esp. at the backdoor and at the kitchen table. We knew it wasn't the dogs--we had kept them out of the house after the floor was first put in, and we'd taken them to the vet to have their nails clipped short anyway. We had put felt pads on all the chairs (as directed by the installer/distributor), rubber cups on the table legs, etc. We couldn't figure it out.
We called the distributor/installer, who sent someone out to take pictures of the scratches. They promised to investigate and said this wasn't normal. In the meantime, we practically floated through the kitchen to avoid making marks. Finally, they determined that there was nothing innately wrong with the batch we got and that we must have done something we shouldn't to scratch it. They said our chairs were probably the culprit. They did, however, come back to replace the worst scratched "planks" (this is vinyl, folks), which were leftover from the original installation.
After further investigation, we found that NAFCO's web site says to use metal gliders on the chairs. So we went out and handed over more money for those. We installed them--immediately, we started getting DENTS in the floor! Since our chairs are not straight legged (as most are not), the angle at which the metal glides hit the floor caused denting. Only swiveling metal glides would work on these kinds of chairs, and no one makes those. Not Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace's, our independent hardware store in town, or anyone on the web!!! So we went back to the carpet glides.
The scratches kept coming, so we decided we should get new chairs. After all, they were pretty old chairs and rather cheap ones at that. We spent a bundle on getting 4 very nice, wooden, new chairs. We immediately put carpet pads on them. And now the scratches are even more pronounced! So today, I bought those "sliders" that are supposed to make furniture easy to move. Maybe they will help.
The only other solution is to get an area rug to cover up the worst scratches. Isn't that ridiculous?! You spend months researching a product that you are told will be durable, scratch-resistant, and pretty. And you just throw good money after bad when it turns out to be a crappy product.
So, take my advice and never, ever get a NAFCO floor. Don't buy laminate at all. Go with sheet or tile vinyl, real tile, or even hardwood. Hey, with enough poly on it, hardwood might have been just fine for our kitchen. And it would've looked a helluva lot better after one week.
posted by Tif at 8:20 PM
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