Fitting advice - Karndean Knight (Coastal Sawn Oak)

From a customer perspective, I fully agree. The issue is also with the retailers. I asked John Lewis the difference between the lower range tiles and the higher end; and they said they're exactly the same other than a difference to the wear layer. Clearly from the posts of experienced fitters this isn't true, and that the lower grade tiles are a lower grade product! Tbh I'm really disappointed at the whole Karndean experience, I definitely won't be using this flooring again.

Honestly, I do feel sorry for the honest fitters that are on this forum. For one reason or another the whole Karndean experience (from my perspective as a customer) is focused on the sale of the product and it seems like Karndean doesn't really care about the end to end experience of sale to final fit; and they are more interested in the 'sale'.

 

As a fitter and a retailer i can see the salesmans side, in a domestic environment, wear layers don't actually make much difference, if fitted correctly even the cheapest products on the market can last 15-20 years, a lot of the extra costs are usually related to things like design texture, quality of print, etc. As far as the salesman is concerned and what the manufacturer tells him, the standard of manufacturing is the same throughout the ranges.
As a fitter, i find that standard isn't always consistent and quite often we have to make it right as we fit it, a lot comes down to wether the fitter is happy to leave a job not right

 

Is this 'fitter' self employed working for themselves or is it a company??

 

Karndean clearly place a lot of focus into their brand, in particular the notion of luxury. Premium car manufacturers place a lot of emphasis into brand also (say Audi). Audi won't let anyone sell a new car, dealerships have to meet criteria and are quality tested. Surely if Karndean place this emphais into their offering then it will weed out the crap and serve to promote the skilled fitters.

I'm not blaming Karndean for the bodge job, but as a customer who will probably only fit such a product a few times - it hasn't been the best experience.