Looking to remodel our kitchen and just stumbled onto this product online. No dealers anywhere near where I live. Looks like product is mainly in northwestern U.S. and Canada. Appears to be a superior product vs. Mohawk RevWood given its wood and resin core. With the RevWood product the surface is waterproof, but you need to caulk anywhere there is an exposed edge (perimeter of the room, etc.) to prevent water from running over the edge and getting under the flooring where it will be ruined. Really want to find out more about this Surge product. AC5 rated wear layer also has me very interested with 2 teenagers and a larger dog in the house. Please post if you find out any further info.

@mjc1901 haven’t read much about Evoke flooring myself the website looks promising and they offer wide planks and herringbone very realistic..... keep me posted lol

I too am interested in the Evoke surge line and would be interested if anyone has used it and what they think about it.

We just came from a store that carries Evoke Surge, and I think we're sold. This store does residential, new builds and commercial. They are putting Surge in the Beauty Salon I go to, and part of the reason they picked it is they were told it would hold up well to the chemicals used there. We have rambunctious dogs, and we can be pretty hard on floors, so I suspect this is a strong contender for us.

That'd be awesome, thank you!!

We'd also like to know how the experience goes with Evoke Surge flooring, we are right about to redo an entire home but not sure if we want to go synthetic vs. real wood. Cost savings and durability are the pros. We've seen it installed the other day and it does look nice.

Figured I would follow-back up on the thread since I posted the original question. We ended up going with Mohawk Revwood Plus laminate flooring instead of Evoke Surge. The Evoke Surge was probably our top choice but it wasn't going to be in stock/available until late April or May (and from other comments on this thread, seems like that was true generally). We weren't in a situation to wait that long. That said, we're happy with the Mohawk Revwood Plus product. It seems to be very durable and water resistant. I used a few scrap pieces to test out the water resistance. We let a pool of water sit on the seams for over 24 hours. No bubbles, warping, or any other signs of water getting through. This put our mind at ease regarding the occasional spill. We also tested out durability by dropping or dragging objects across the surface (e.g. dropping a hammer, etc.). No scratches or dings from those tests either. I think we would have liked the Evoke Surge color/pattern better but glad we didnt sacrifice on durability by going with Mohawk.

@Janet Williams did your install happen yet? Wondering what color you went with.

@Heather P Yes, it finally got installed in mid-May. I went with the Evoke Dunes collection - Nora (https://evokeflooring.com/us/products/nora). I am really happy with the way it turned out! It hasn't been in that long so I can't comment on durability but I think it has a nice feel to it when you are standing or walking on it.

Here are some pictures, although I am not sure whether the lighting is showing the "real" color.

@Janet Williams thank you so much for sharing pictures. I got a sample piece of Nora and it looked almost white in my house. Your pictures are very helpful!

Also, FYI, my cabinets are painted Pure White

@Janet Williams Did you install them in the wet areas as well? And how much do they cost? We have white cabinets and white wall and are looking at Evoke laminate or surge.

@Janet Williams, so glad to see you chose Evoke.

For everyone else, looking to know more about Evoke products and categories may click on the following link to find a dealer in their area and we assure you, you'll not be disappointed.

Locate a Dealer | Evoke (evokeflooring.com)

@rae110, I worked with a contractor so will need to go back and see if I can find the cost. I did not put it in very wet places. However, it is at the entryway of a double slider, a single slider and the garage door; all of which get a lot of foot traffic. I have yet to go through winter and a wet spring with it. So I'll know more in about six months although that probably won't be soon enough for you.

@Heather P I should say that it is fairly light colored wood and dirt and spots do show up on it (which is either a good or not-so-good thing depending on your personality, because you can see when it's dirty :) )

@Janet Williams We'll have to decide on the floor in 3 months. If you have time, would you mind taking some pictures during the day? My sample also shows very pale color, which I don't mind, but I'm not sure if the dark lines and knots are repetitive enough to make it look busy. Thank you so much!

@Heather P Did you end up with Nora? We're torn between Nora or Ryland.

@rae110 I didn't end up with Evoke. I think I'm going to go with AxisCor Trio Latte.

@rae110 did you go with evoke Ryland or Nora? We are also torn between the two.

Just got the Nora installed was a little lighter than i expected but overall feels good !

We are getting Nora installed next month. My sample was lighter than the pics on their website. Are your pics pretty accurate? Do you think they give off a warm vibe?

Anyone have more pictures of their Evoke Surge Laminate flooring?

We purchased the Tyler finish and are getting ready to install it but I am concerned about the planks having gaps between them.

I was also wondering your laminate planks "clicked" together. Mine seem to just lay next to each other snuggly, but not exactly locked tightly together with an audible "click" sound.

Thanks!

@HU-69277075 I'm sorry I didn't see your message. We ended up with Nora and while I'm happy with the color choice, I was very disappointed with Evoke's customer service.

@James Podobea We ended up with Evoke and yes, we had several issues with planks that don't really click flush with the next one to it and several planks with broken tongue so when you step on it, you can feel it sink in more than the rest. I've also had a box where all the 6 planks had smashed corner, which could be the cause of the above issue.

The installer we hired had 20 years of experience with laminate but this is the first time they worked with Evoke product and since they never had these kind of issues with the brand they normally dealt with, they didn't expect the tongue part to be that soft (compared to the other brands they usually work with).

I've just learned to not pay too much attention to it since trying to fix issues with the sales rep was not productive at all.

@rae110 Thank you for your response.

When you reached out to the sales rep, did they try to get any of the bad planks replaced?

How old is your floor now?

Do you have any pictures of your floor that you could share?

Hi there! We'd love to put you in touch with someone who can help resolve any issues. Where are you located?

@User

Hello,

I am located in Peoria, Arizona.

@James Podobea They did ask a lot of questions and asked for pictures and a lot of going back and forth. Also offered to have someone come and inspect the installed flooring and after confirming the time and date with our Evoke sales rep, the person didn't show on the day. I called him at the number provided and was told our sales rep never confirmed with him about the appointment. And instead of getting an apology for THEIR internal miscommunication, that person rudely told me I should've reached out to our sales person since he wasn't even in charge of the area I'm in.

I kept my cool but it was like... you guys offered to come here remember? I didn't ask you to do so?

After 2 months with no solution, I told our sales rep that this was our last attempt to resolve this issue since we had a family medical situation that was way more important than arguing with Evoke about the flooring. He got back to me saying they weren't responsible for the damaged flooring and hence wouldn't replace them.

I emailed the store/distributor and gave them feedback on our experience with Evoke. The store manager decided to purchase additional flooring to replace the damaged ones for us at their cost. We were grateful for the store but will stick to a larger company with better customer service history.

Our floor is about 10 months now. I can take pictures. Lmk what you want to see?

@rae110

I was wanting to see pictures of separation or gaps in the planks. If there is any unexpected wear to the floor, etc.

@James Podobea

I haven't noticed significant wear to the floor. The paint job on the sided and edges could've been a lot better IMO (see pictures below) but that was an issue from day 1. A lot of the planks arrived chipped/peeled and the installers weren't paying that much close attention to details so they were already installed by the time I noticed them.

The darker patterns on Nora do a great job masking the imperfections but I personally feel these shouldn't have happened in the first place. The tongue on the other hand, I don't have much experience with flooring but I do feel they are not superb quality since we have several failing already with light use.

Some pics for you.

Failed tongue. The corner will go in and level with the planks next to it when stepped on. Notice the peeled/cracked paint on the corner.

Gaps are starting to show up again after a couple of adjustments in the first 6 months. We're at month 10 now. Notice the paint are peeling slightly on the vertical edges of the planks.

More gap is showing on on different side of the floor.

The ones below were the damaged shipment they refused to replace.

@rae110

Thank you for taking the time to upload those pictures.

Sorry to hear about the damaged flooring and gaps. How unfortunate.

Are you able to send some wider-shot images of your floor so I can have a look at the more planks next to each other?

Also, What state do you live in?

Do you think that the climate your house is in could have factored into the gaps you are seeing?

Do you know if any of the flooring edges near exterior doors are glued/caulked down?

Thanks!

@Janet Williams @Sara Kufta hows your evoke holding up ?

Hello! It is stiill doing well! The first couple of months after they installed it, there was a "squeak" every time I walked on one of the planks. However, it seems to have gone away as perhaps the flooring has settled. I also have a pretty rambunctious dog that likes to run around and I haven't seen any scratches. It is slippery for her at times (I probably need to get some runner rugs). Overall, I like the flooring and it is doing well!

Thanks Janet. I ended up getting mohawk revwood premier, let's see how we'll like it :)

@rae110

When did you purchase your flooring? Do you have a lot number/ serial number? We are having the exact issue with our flooring. Thankfully we bought it through a flooring store here and the rep has been wonderful but sounds like it may be defective.

@Kari D We had Evoke Surge Tyler installed last summer, and have had a very similar experience to the one described by @rae110.

Chipped & cracked tongue and corners of delivered product. Dealer-Installer waived off as typical shipping damage, and said installers work with/around those defects all the time (used as end pieces and/or trimmed edge pieces). ...seemed not ideal, but also not unreasonable.

Noticed lots of creaking of joints and installation variances (e.g. end pieces too short, edge pieces too narrow) at the time of install. Repeated attempts to communicate with Evoke to verify installation practices and to have someone come out to inspect flooring were brushed off or ignored completely.

A number of surface dents occurred during installation (or on pieces that were not excluded as damaged prior to install). After repeated back & forth with installer, we made the hard choice that it was better to live with them than to incur further ware/damage due to removal & reinstallation of plank joints & baseboards.

One year later, cracking & creaking persists and has intensified throughout kitchen & high traffic areas (note: home-level 'high traffic'; still nothing compared to commercial-level 'high traffic').

Gaps at plank ends appear regularly. Have developed an effective system of using heavy duty suction cups and rubber mallet to tap boards back together, but procedure is tedious & should not be necessary.

Overall: the appearance, scratch & water resistance have held up very well. Those are about the only positive statements that I can make about the product.

While I'm willing to assign some of the issues to poor installation, the similarities to @rae110 suggest that poor packaging/handling & an ineffective click-lock interface are genuine manufacture issues; in addition to poor customer service.

I'll also echo the comment @Janet Williams made about the flooring being durable-but-slippery for dogs.

The creaking, plank separation, and corner raising issues collectively would put this product in the "WOULD NOT RECOMMEND" zone for me, and firmly in the "STAY AWAY" zone for anyone with dogs.

Edit: install location is Austin TX, installed July 2022, slab foundation

Hello Tee,

I have a very similar experience with this same product. We Installed it 7 months ago and many areas squeak when stepped on. We also have gaps appearing. Are you able to attach some pictures of the issues you are experiencing? Thank you!

We ended up having to have our entire floor replaced due to this. Seems like an issue with their lock system.

That's unfortunate, but at least you have anew floor.

Did the flooring store or Evoke cover any of the cost of the replacement?

@James Podobea

Yep, sounds like we (& prob many others) are in the same boat. I just did a round of repair endseam gluing the other day, so I don't have many pics, but have attached one plank gap that recently emerged.

Notably, the creaking occurs consistently on one end of each plank end; reinforcing my conclusion that this is not [just] installer failure, but genuine defective product/design. In our case, putting weight (stepping) on the north end of any plank-to-plank end seam produces a creak. I don't recall wether the 'north end' corresponds to the 'tongue' or the 'groove' segment, but once you know & test it around the house, its incredibly reliable.

I've found that gluing the end-seams with tongue & groove glue has been a [tedious] repair solution that has worked with decent success —for now. It stops the creaks, and prevents gaps from periodically forming.

The catch, and the "for now" part, is that it will presumably limit your ability to repair/remove isolated sections of the flooring in the future, because it effectively binds entire plank runs together into one piece. This is essentially a post-hoc method of gluing the end-seams of your flooring planks; the 'high traffic' installation directions provided by the manufacturer.

Notably, I/we are finding this is necessary in not just high —commercial level— traffic areas, **but in ALL installation areas**. ...a properly functioning plank interface **should do this on its own**, but *that is NOT the case with our Evoke Surge flooring (circa 2022).*

I can't provide any guarantees that this will 100% fix your issue, but it has worked wonders fixing the creaking & gapping in our higher traffic areas (in & around kitchen counter/seating, and living room walkways).

Repair Tools & Supplies:

• 1 'medium duty' suction handle from Amazon; the type used/sold for lifting heavy glass & mirrors (as pictured)

• Titebond Tongue & Groove wood glue. (the key is a waterproof glue with a strong-yet-flexible bond. There are various grades of Titebond available, going with the purpose-built version seems safe. I bout a two-pack online, and *one bottle* should be more than enough)

• Rubber mallet

• Small block of wood; a piece of 2-by-4 about 1/2" shorter than the width of your planks should be perfect.

• Start gluing end-seams *in the middle of a run* in which gaps/creaks occur. The suction handle is capable of sliding one plank reasonably well, but once you bond multiple planks together the accumulated friction will become too much.

• Attach the suction handle to the last plank in the run —closest to the wall

• Gently tap the end of the suction handle with the mallet to shift the plank toward the wall. ...you don't want/need to SMASH it, just tap it along, 1/8" or less at a time **until you've created a 0.25–0.5 inch gap between the end plank & the next one**. This is your *"working gap"*

• Move along the run and shift the working gap to the middle of the run

• Apply a bead of glue along the exposed tongue of the working gap. You don't need to "fill" the gap, and you don't necessarily want the glue to seep along the side seam.

• Attach the suction handle to the plank on the wall-side of the seam, and stand/squat on the plank on the "mid-run" side of the seam.

• Gently tap the end seam until the top surface of the boards are juust about touching, but don't smash them together.

• With a *dry clean cloth*, wipe up any excess glue that oozes out of the seam as it comes together.

• For the final 1/32–1/64th (just barely visible) gap, use the wood block to apply slight pressure to one side of the seam—the tongue side— as you apply the final mallet taps; not your whole body weight, but just enough.

• Wipe off any excess glue with a *dry cloth*, then a slightly damp cloth for the final clean-up. ...per the glue instructions, any additional water applied (by over wetting/wiping during cleanup) will decrease the strength of your bond.

• With some practice/experience, you'll figure out just the right amount of glue to effectively secure the seam without too much ooze-out.

• **BUT its better to err on the side of ooze-out** and clean-up, rather than *unknowingly* not have enough glue in the seam to create a strong bond. ....this is the kind of thing where "you only get one chance to do it right"

• Work your way along the run from the middle to the wall, then repeat in the other direction.

• Think through any doorway or cabinet obstructions that might be present. You may need to start gluing a run at these 'captivated' planks, then work your way to the wall.

The process is LOUD, cumbersome, and you'll also want to be able to not walk on the area for at least 24 hours while the glue cures (*definitely no walking for the first ~1-3 hours after gluing*).

Its really a pain in the but to apply this repair over any large area, so working through 2-3 of your most problematic/noisy runs at a time is probably the best way to go. ...this piecewise approach is also why its important to not let too much glue ooze into the side seams; you don't want adjacent plank runs glued together.

Example of an emergent gap between plank ends...these arise throughout the house quite regularly:

Here's the glue and the suction device I've used with some success to deal with the creaks & gaps

Does anybody have any leftover of the Evoke Serge Nora? I’d like to purchase it

Vadim where are you from. We have extra.

Evoke surge flooring is poor quality. Do not buy! i bought this because it was advertised as a quality waterproof floor. It is not even water resistant. Flooring has swelled at the edges where small amounts of water (melted ice) has set for a short period of time. Edges are chipping up in places. Flooring was installed by a conttactor so it was done professionally.Poor quality flooring and the dont stand behind their ”warranty”. They give excuses why it is the customers fault the flooring isn’t holding up well. I had a non water proof wood laminate floor in the same house for over ten years and I had zero issues with it.

Evoke surge flooring is poor quality. Do not buy! i bought this because it was advertised as a quality waterproof floor. It is not even water resistant. Flooring has swelled at the edges where small amounts of water (melted ice) has set for a short period of time. Edges are chipping up in places. Flooring was installed by a conttactor so it was done professionally.Poor quality flooring and the dont stand behind their ”warranty”. They give excuses why it is the customers fault the flooring isn’t holding up well. I had a non water proof wood laminate floor in the same house for over ten years and I had zero issues with it.

I have Evoke Surge floors, installed by the builder, in my new house. The floors squeak and pop something awful – we call them the Rice Krispie floors. If you drop anything on them, like a kitchen knife, it goes right through the protection layer resulting in a black mark. I tried dropping a knife on samples of other mfgs laminate and PVC floors and no marks were observed. These boards are very rigid and require a perfect subfloor.

Thank you for choosing Evoke floors. Evoke floors are manufactured and distributed by Metropolitan, a company with more than 30 years of flooring experience. We are interested in learning more about the issues you are experiencing. For further assistance, please contact us:

USA: 1-800-851-7056

Canada West: 1-800-992-3163

Canada East: 1-877-395-2021

We have had these floors for 4 months now and the sounds of the creaking is almost ubbearrable. They are beautiful, but a very very loud and expensive mistake.

We had these floors installed in our new home by the builder. They are beutiful, however I do not think I would recommend. They are not as resist to normal wear and tear as advertised and we have several areas, especially the kitchen. If something was dropped on the floor it would leave a dent or hole. You also have to be careful moving furniture to avoid scratches. For me the worst part is the consistant squeaking that developes at the joints. I could probably live with a couple but we have so many we cannot walk through the house without walking on several areas. We are going to try some of the suggestions noted above and I hope they work, but I cannot do anything about the gashes in the floor that dropping anything on them will cause. Disappointing.

We have the same issues, two years old installed by buider. So many squeaks and new ones develop everyday. It is disappointing. Additionally it does not hold up to normal wear and tear as advertised. If ANYTHING drops on this floor it will leave a dent, hole, deap sctrach, depending on what it dropped. Unfortunatly the kitchen area gets the most use and most damage through accidental dropping of something on the floor. We had a plate fall on the floor once and it left a 2 in, deep gouge in the floor. Having a family, dogs etc I would not recommend them.

Has anyone in this thread been able to reach out to Evoke's support to get clarifications on the lack of quality on their product? Perhaps they would have some suggestions?