Pergo XP (Highland Hickory)

Here is my honest, un-paid for, un-free material, un-sponsored by Pergo, review of the Pergo XP Highland Hickory laminate flooring "Available only at The Home Depot!" .  In other words, no one paid me or gave me free supplies to write this.

I'm in the midst of installing around 800 square feet of Pergo XP in my two story home.  It's going in the living room, dining room, kitchen, foyer, mud room, two hallways and a powder room.  Pergo manufactures different lines of flooring for Home Depot and Lowes.  This works great for each store because they avoid having to price match against each other.  I was disappointed that we liked the Highland Hickory (available at Home Depot) better than the Richland Hickory (available at Lowes) because I could have gotten the Richland cheaper than the Highland even though Richland currently retails for $0.20 more per square foot than the Hickory.  Lowes gives away 10% coupons and $10 off $50 coupons like they're candy.  At Lowes you can pretty much walk up to any store associate and ask for 10% off.  Getting a 10% off discount at Home Depot is like pulling teeth.  I managed to get 10% off my purchase from Home Depot by going to the pro-desk.  The manager at another store wasn't happy when I forced them to price match it.  They were upset that I wasn't a contractor.  Really?  I'm buying almost $2500 worth of flooring from you along with the over priced transition pieces that are complete garbage.  The least you can do is give me 10% off.

I had to special order the Highland Hickory because I needed 68 boxes of the flooring.  That works out to about 2.25 pallets.  Our area got slammed by Sandy so as soon as flooring gets delivered it goes right out the door.  If you're wondering, each box weighs a little over 24 pounds and has 8 planks.  Special ordering it was the way to go because they all come from the same lot, stay on the pallet, and don't have people digging through them damaging the contents.

Palleting:  If memory serves, each pallet is shipped with 30 boxes stacked 6 high and 5 wide. Pergo uses plastic band straps to hold it together but when they tighten the straps down it crushes the planks that are unfortunate enough to be on the top sides of each pallet.  I've had 4 planks damaged this way.  At around $4 per plank it can get costly.  Good thing I ordered 10% more than I needed right? A few small pieces of thick cardboard would protect against this.  I still managed to use most of the planks later by cutting out the bad sections.

Packaging:  The way Pergo packages their laminate flooring is stupid.  The box is a lightweight corrugated cardboard wrapped in plastic with tiny holes in it so the laminate can breathe.  The box is sufficiently strong but the major flaw is that the box has no bottom!  The bottom plank covered in clear plastic serves as the bottom of the box.  Of course, the bottom is what takes the most abuse from being tossed around. This is another reason to special order instead of buying what is already on the floor.  People toss these boxes around like their footballs.  The flooring has 2mm of underlayment pre-attached.  One out of every 3 boxes I opened the underlayment was separating from the plank because as you gently pull away the plastic wrapping it still manages to adhere to the plastic.  Here again, a little bit of cardboard goes a LONG way.

Plank Design:  The wife and I really like the pattern of the wood grain on the planks. The hand-scraping should help to hide future damage and adds a little depth to the plank. There are 15 different wood grain patterns, however, the randomness that they are packed into boxes at the factory is poor.  I might open 5 boxes in a row that only have 8 variations in their patterns.  The next 5 boxes would only have 7 variations.  I opened all of the boxes and organized the planks based on their grain pattern and I could look at the first plank in the box and now which piles I would be adding planks too.  It looks like they come off of two different assembly lines because half of the planks have dark edges where the paint or dye or stain bled onto it and the others are a light tan color.  If Pergo could figure out a way to mix the planks from these two assembly lines together that would be ideal.  There is also one particular plank pattern that Pergo seems to be obsessed with.  I have twice as many of that one as any of the others.  As we've gotten to the last 15 or so boxes my wife and I have started examining the pattern through the clear plastic window in the box so we can have a good mixture of patterns and then return the rest.  I'd hate to wind up with a bunch of planks that are only 5 or 6 different patterns.  She is much better at recognizing the matching pattern than I am.  We have since learned that we can probably look at the bottom of the last plank to see what date code is stamped on the padding.  It looks like the printing is different between the two.

Here are some pictures of the  floor now that it is finished.
http://forcedfx.blogspot.com/2013/05/installation-pictures-of-pergo-xp.html


Fitment:  I can't tell you how well the planks will stay locked together over time with wear and tear, but I can tell you how the locking system works.  First, you can work with the long tongue side toward the wall or the long groove side.  Either one will allow you to snap the pieces together.  However, you should work with the long tongue side toward the wall.  That's what Pergo recommends and the short tongue side has a chamfer on one corner of it so you can slide the next plank against it more easily.  Also, when using the tapping block you have to be more gentle when tapping against the long tongue side.  The short tongue side has a plastic lip placed in it that acts as the locking mechanism.  If you are laying a plank and force the short groove side against the short tongue side you will snap the lip off of it and ruin the edge of that plank. It takes some practice but when I lay a new plank in, I slide it until the edges are touching or about 1/64" apart.  Due to differences in manufacturing tolerances this seems to be about the ideal spacing that allows the locking mechanism to grab but prevents the already laid plank from pressing against the new plank and causing it to break away and lift up.  I then take my tapping block and very very gently tap the two pieces together to close any gap.  Then I use the tapping block to tap the new piece against the previous row.  Another nice trick that seems to work if two pieces won't lock at the edges is to use a very thin wooden shim under the edge of the previously laid plank.  This will lift and support the tongue enough that when you press the next plank down it will lock in.  A nice but seemingly riskier option is that a new plank can be slid into place by aligning the short tongue and groove ends and then pushing the plank toward the previous row.  Using a tapping block you can then tap the plank into place.  I don't like doing this if I don't have to because it seems to damage a little bit of the tongue on the long side.  However, it is a useful trick near doorways and openings where you can't put the long side tongue in and then press down. Another neat trick I accidentally learned (and haven't seen documented) is that a new plank can be fitted into the previous row and then slide toward the existing plank.  Once you get to the existing plank you can press the plastic lock in so it recesses inside its plank using a thin putty knife or maybe a razor blade.  This will probably only work on short planks because a long plank is difficult to slide when it is fitted to the previous row.

Dis-assembly:  Okay, this is the part that sucks royally if you have a long room and lay down a damaged or incorrect plank.  Once a plank is laid down it can only be removed by lifting up on the long groove side and rotating upwards to separate it from the previous row of planks.  My room is about 30ft long (I'm supposed to use a transition piece because I'm over the limit specified by Pergo but they're hideous in the middle of a room) and each plank is around 4ft long.  This means when I get to the end of this 30ft row I have laid down 7 planks already.  If I lock my last plank into place and find that it has damage or it is wrong, I have to lift and rotate upwards that ENTIRE row of 7 planks at the same time and at the same height in order to unlock them from the previous row.  Think about that.  You would need about 4 or 5 people to lift at the same time in order to avoid damaging the short groove ends.  Two planks laid end-to-end must be slid apart.  They cannot be lifted or pivoted apart without destroying one of them.  The one that gets destroyed will most likely be the short groove side.  Here's a neat little trick I came up with after having laid down 7 planks and going to start my new row, finding damage to the very first plank of the previous row.  Where the two planks meet on the long groove side you can see a hole where the plastic locking tab is recessed.  If you can find the appropriate diameter metal wire you can slide it into the hole and it will push the locking tab in.  Then you can very carefully lift the last plank away from the one previous.  I used the wire stem from a utilities mark out flag (you can find these at home depot) with a little bit of masking tape on it and it worked perfect.  I was able to get all 7 planks apart without damaging them.

Transition Pieces:  One word here; garbage.  I am really not pleased with the quality of these pieces considering they sell for almost $30.  The laminate surface is very thin and easily peeled off.  The pieces themselves do not match the instructions.  The main flat piece is supposed to have a tongue in it that slides into a groove on one of the adapter pieces.  Well, mine doesn't have that tongue so it's never going to hold.  I may have to resort to just building my own out of oak or finding another brand.  I have 3 more that I will have to return.

Overall:  I can't comment on the longevity of the floor as I haven't even finished it yet but so far I like the way it feels underfoot.  Getting used to that 2mm of padding still as with hardwood there is zero cushion when you walk.  So far, I don't hear any squeaking or rubbing between planks but the floor is still brand new so who knows what happen in a few years.  Pergo brags about their locking tongue system but I'm not sure I buy it just yet.  The piece that the plastic locking mechanism locks into seems weak and the most likely part to fail.  I hope the surface is as scratch resistant as they claim because it is super thin.

My Tips:

1)  You will definitely want to buy a laminate installation kit.  I bought the Blue Hawk kit from Lowes and the plastic tapping block and bar work pretty well.  The wall spacers are garbage.  Unless your drywall goes to within a half inch of the sub-floor they won't work.  And in most homes that's rare.  You're better off buying some 3/8" plywood and cutting it into strips.  You'll also need a rubber mallet or dead blow hammer.  Harbor Freight sells an all rubber one that you can drop onto the floor without worrying about scratching or denting it.

2)  If you are going to go between rooms and have the tongue side of the planks exposed to foot traffic lock some scrap pieces onto the exposed tongues to protect them from being kicked or hit by tools and broken.

3)  Let the boards acclimate!  Pergo recommends 72 hours.  Mine acclimated for a week and a half but that was only because I had other stuff to do.  No need to take them out of the box until you start work.  The box gives them a little extra protection.

4)  Save your planks that were in the box and damaged.  From what I hear Home Depot is pretty good about replacing damaged planks.  I bought mine so long ago there isn't much I can do now about mine. 

5)  When you first start (if the wall is short enough) before sliding the planks against the wall assemble 3 rows of planks together so you know you have a straight line.  The more rows you can assemble but still slide and then dis-assemble later, the better.  My walls ended up being more parallel than I would have thought.

6)  Anywhere near a source of water (ex, sink, dishwasher, stove, fridge) you are supposed to fill the 3/8" expansion gap with silicone.  This way if you spill a large volume of water, it will not run down underneath the planks and destroy them.  It is mentioned in the directions but rarely executed.  I'm not really sure how this doesn't negate the required expansion gap, but that's what is recommended.  In our downstairs bathroom I used the silicone around the toilet flange and along the edges of the wall.  Hopefully, if the toilet ever leaks it won't be able to easily find it's way under the floor.

7)  Put the felt sliders on everything that sits on the laminate.  Couches, end tables, lamps, and bookcases.  I even put them on the adjustable feet for the oven and dishwasher so when I slide them out they don't gouge anything.  If water ever dumps behind the oven I can quickly and easily slide it out to mop up the water.  Make sure your dishwasher will still fit under your counter with the added height.  Mine just barely fit after the 12mm of laminate and the 1/4" tall felt pad.

8)  I have a super heavy fridge so I put 1/8" tempered hardboard on the floor under its wheels.  This is to keep them from sinking into the laminate and scratching it.  If I need to roll the fridge out I just butt a piece of 1/8" hardboard against the ones that are there and roll it on to that.

9)  After the planks are locked in, use the tapping block to fit them tightly against the previous row.  The tighter the seams are the more resistant they will be to water getting between them.  Nothing will prevent it though.

10)  Pergo specifies that the seams between planks should be spaced no less than 8" apart.  For added strength I decided to space my seams at least 12" apart.  Plus, I think close seams are more noticeable.

11)  Per Pergo, the minimum plank length is 12".  In areas with zero foot traffic (under stove, dishwasher, back of pantry) I cheated and have some that are only 8" long.

12)  Under-cutting door jambs is the way to go!  I've seen some terrible hack jobs where people used a jig-saw to try and carefully cut around the jambs or molding.  This looks hideous and negates your required 3/8" expansion gap.  These are the same people that complain when their Pergo floor bows in the summer time.  Treat yourself to the $40 Harbor Freight Oscillating Multifunction Tool.  It is a worthwhile investment that has hundreds of uses.  Now that I have one I don't know how I survived without it.

13)  I HIGHLY recommend opening ALL of the boxes you have, inspecting for damage, and laying them out based on their patterns.  It makes the job of not having matching patterns near each other much easier. Inspect the entire plank because some of mine were in the middle of the box but still had surface damage that could only have occurred at the factory.  Some of the damage I found was very minor but enough that I didn't feel comfortable installing the plank.

14)  Scribing the last wall is super easy thanks to the tip shown in this video.  However, the technique shown here is a little flawed.  First, the tongue on the Pergo XP is only 3/16" wide and you need a 3/8" expansion gap.  So, if you just use a piece of scrap plank you'll wind up being too tight to the wall when you install it.  The Pergo XP Highland Hickory planks are 4 7/8" wide, so add the 3/8" expansion gap and you need a tracer board that is 5 1/4" long.  In my opinion the length of the board he is using in the video is too long to get an accurate contour of the wall if it has significant bowing (like the walls in my house).

I cut a scrap piece of wood 3" wide and 5 1/4" long and that worked much better.

15)  Have plenty of saw blades on hand.  You'll know the blade is getting dull when you start smelling the laminate burning and it starts to chip at the edge.  For 800 square feet I will probably go through 3 10" saw blades.  More teeth are supposed to reduce chipping but I haven't had too much of a problem with a 60 tooth blade versus a 200 tooth blade.  A dull blade is what will cause the most chipping.