I've just spent about five hours trying to get a single board in to start my second row. First row is easy, the short sides of the boards just go in on an angle, then lay flat. Started the second row with the left over from the first row.

Then the problems begin. Now, for the first time, I have to lock into the short side, as well as the long side. The instructions say to put their wedge under the previous board. That's the first problem, as no one sells these wedges and other accessories here. So I'm trying to wedge with something that looks similar to the one in the instruction.

Anyway, so I angle in the board on the short side as they say, while simultaneously laying down the long side and locking it into place. But you're locking into both at the same time, so if the short side is locked the long side isn't, and vice versa.

And of course, there's no official Kahrs tapping block available either, so I'm tapping with a 3rd party block and being careful not to hit the important stuff too hard.

If anybody could offer up some more specific info on getting these boards to lock into place I'd appreciate it. I've tried all different sizes of wedges, I've tried holding the boards at low angles, 45 degree angles, higher, lower, leaving a tiny gap on the long side and trying to tap it in, leaving a large gap...

The instructions say "Apply pressure, board should fall easily into place". Yeah, right.

Your doing everything right, but if your trying to use a regular laminate flooring tapping block and a hammer, give it up and get a 2x4 about a foot long. While at the angle and the end inserted down as far as you can, knock the long edge in going back and forth up and down the board. As you see it going in, start to remove your wedge.

I got my wedge and tapping block, at a Kahrs seminar held here 5 or 6 years ago. Right after they went glueless.

Thanks for the help. I was able to get going by basically putting a whole row together, and then having a few friends help snapping it onto the previous row in one shot.

I was able to get a few in the recommended way, but I find it much tougher. I think I was being too gentle at first.

Have you dealt with the Linnea product before? I like the look of the actual product, but the packaging is a mess.

There's twelve boards in a stack, the bottom of the boards facing top and bottom becoming the top and bottom of the "box", then a bit of cardboard encircles the stack, then one bit of strapping put around it, then it's shrink wrapped in plastic.

The instructions note that the boxes are sealed at the factory, and not to open them until you're installing. Which is a joke, because by the time they were put into our car at purchase, every single one of them had open tears in the shrink wrap, and were exposed to the air.

Literally ever single package I opened had the woodloc joint crushed on the top and bottom board because the strapping is so tight. Then, of the ten remaining, I'd find several boards had a scratch or a poor visual at a seam, etc. It's like I'd get six good boards out of twelve each box. Sometimes even less than that.

If that is the case, you should have never loaded it in your truck.

It is damaged goods. 5% is allowable for waste, and your getting 25 to 30% waste.

Had no way of knowing until install day. Didn't know the shrink wrap thing until I opened the package and read the instructions, and didn't know about the damage from the strapping until opening each package.

It hasn't been too bad, because I've been really planning ahead. Each board is categorized as a starting board if the damage is on the left, end board if damaged on the right, or running board if perfect. Because the room is almost an exact multiple of the plank length, I don't have the situation where I use the end of the one board to start the next row.

So, I'm assuming this isn't normal. Is this likely some sort of repackaging job by the floor place? Did anything about my description of the packaging sound different from usual?

No. Sounds like typical wharehouse damage from handling. This stuff is moved around so much that by the time you got it, it had probably been moved ten times or more. It's packaged like a laminate and need to be handled more gently but wharehouse workers don't give a rat's ass about the material. I rarely ever get any material that hasn't been poked, banged or somehow damaged by a fork lift. A funny thing about that 5% rule. If a board is damaged at one end, the distributor/manufacturer do not count the whole board as bad but only the damaged end. So they'll say the installer needs to cut off the damaged part, which may only represent 10% of that particular board. So the 5% deal means 5% totally unusable AFTER the installer has cut off the damaged areas and utilized the rest of the board.