Looking for anyone that has installed Shaw Expressions engineered wood

5 years ago

We are looking at Shaw Expressions Lyric engineered wood flooring. I’m seeing awful reviews for their engineered floors and am hoping someone can give me feedback specifically on the Expressions line.

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SJ McCarthy

5 years ago

My biggest concern is the total thickness (5/8" is thinner than 3/4" gold standard for solid hardwood). My second concern is the thickness of the wear layer...what is it???? Shaw is notorious for not mentioning these things. And the third concern is the wire brush finish.

Do you have a sample that you can measure to figure out the top layer thickness. This will tell you if you are purchasing quality vs. a name with a 'look'. For an engineered wood floor that comes in at $12+/sf I would expect to see 4mm - 6mm wear layer (top wood layer).

The width of these planks requires full glue spread install. That gets expensive. It will require an extra $1-$2/sf for labour + material (glue).

Please DOWN LOAD and READ the installation instructions I'm including below:

PDMS - PDMSViewDetails (shawinc.com)

There are big warnings in the instructions which clearly point out what they cover and won't cover. This is normal...but Shaw has gone to the extremes (8 pages of SMALL PRINT instructions). They spell out the NWFA Wood Flooring Installation Best Practices. This tells me they have had PLENTY of 'builder/installer' issues in the past and they are sick and tired of taking all the blame.

The requirements 'look' strict but they are in fact part of the NWFA (and Canadian Wood Flooring Association) Installation Hand book. The book, if you want to purchase it in Canada = $750!

Right...so Shaw is covering it's collective butt in the VERY DETAILED installation instructions. The reason why I tell you to PRINT IT OUT and READ IT is you will need to PASS IT ON to the builder/installer SEVERAL WEEKS before the wood ARRIVES.

I would print two copies. One for myself and one for the builder/contractor/installer. I would give one copy to the builder - with date and personal signature on the front page on both copies. This is to cover your own bottom line.

If you have issues with the floor look to the INSTALLER first. This is normal but some homeowners blame the product first....which is not the right way to do it.

Remember: 95% of flooring issues come from the HUMAN who installed it. Human error. The other 5% (or less) come down to the manufacturer.

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Comments (10)

Lori Griep
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you! That was a lot of useful information and you’re right, no wear layer info on the sample. I appreciate your input.
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SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
It's easy enough to measure...simply find a ruler or tape measurer with mm on it and measure the top wood layer straight off of the sample. Very simple.
C G
5 years ago
The wear layer is 4 mm which means and can be refinished if needed
jysoccer
4 years ago
@Lori Griep - Did you get the Shaw floors and do you like them? I was just looking at that same one. Thank you.
jysoccer
4 years ago
@SJ McCarthy - you seem to know a lot about engineered floors - are there particular brands you prefer? Thank you.
audra_01
3 years ago
Anyone have any updates on this flooring? Looking to purchase.
PRO
John B. in Madison
2 years ago
I have this floor. It's gorgeous. It's not cheap although if you are a DIY, you can find bulk resellers of builder grade who will ship it nationally for $4-5/square foot, maybe even less if you buy a whole pallette. I got it installed as part of a new home build and actually reached out to my local Shaw rep to get it knocked down to $8/square foot by committing to using Shaw for all my tile showers, backsplashes & fireplace along with their carpet on my stairs & basement bedrooms & LVT in my wet rooms. The glue install is not cheap.

With all that said, this floor is gorgeous. It has so many elements of dimensionality to it: mineral streaks, wire brushed, knots, and shade variation. It's just gorgeous and everybody wants to know who made it and where I got it. They all assume it's solid oak. The nice part of this floor is that there is like 14 shades, so if you don't want mineral streaks but do want the plank variation, they've got it. If you want mineral streaks but no plank variation, there's a color for that too. It's all just stunning. The top wear layer is 4MM and it looks thicker. No residence probably needs a wear layer this thick.

If you can't quite afford Expressions, then Castlewood White Oak is a good 2nd choice. It is basically the same floor but with a 2MM wear layer, and a few less shade choices. There is Castlewood Prime which is less rustic & Castlewood Hickory which is more rustic. Utmost & Sanctuary are decent back-up choice whereas Cornerstone is really builder grade. Anderson Tuftex makes one called Noble Hall that's very similar but has a 1.2MM or even thinner wear layer, even though it's 1/2" thick. If you're going to stay in your home for less than 5 years, that could be an option but if you drop anything on it, I expect it would chip.
Renee Reilly
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Hi! on the Expressions Lyric does it look like there is glue in all the little creases and crevases the left is a brand new piece i got out of left over box and the right is installed and every piece has that stuff in creases but the new box has none and the installed floor has only been in for 60 days thanks for any help
Renee Reilly
2 years ago