# Shaw Epic Engineered opinions?



## CCP (Jul 17, 2007)

Anyone have any experience with Shaw's Epic Engineered wood flooring? I have not been able to find many reviews. I have found a good deal on a reminant but I want to make sure it is decent quality. Looks good to my untrained eye. 

Thanks 
Chris


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## Larryd4m (Aug 6, 2010)

The Shaw EPIC EnviroCore wood flooring is the worst quality flooring I ever seen. Saw burned cuts, cuts weren't even, floor is nailed in the groove, not the tongue making some nail guns useless. The locking technology is SLOPPY-it DOESN'T lock at all. It just lays in there. It sratches too easily as not enough aluminum oxide layers were used...SKIMPED again. It dents too easily because the wood and core is too soft. My old $1.00/ft laminate was much easier to install and more durable. My dogs didn't scratch my old cheap floor, but they scratched this new floor in one day. Shaw has horrible ethics and cusotmer service. They came to my house, but told me it looked "good enough". Call me with any questions! I'll even send you picture of how horrible the product is. I put the Opticore in water for 3 days and took it our. It separated easily. Larry 707-603-1201


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Never had any issues with it. Very few pieces have any locking technology to worry about. Most is tongue and groove. The wear layer is just fine. Someone didn't do their research in advance. Any wood floor will scratch easier than a laminate. Laminate is usually recommended if you have concerns over dogs scratching it because the wear layer is harder. Completely different technology there. As for Shaw's ethics, they are a big company and you might expect to be treated like crap, but they have responded well to every claim we have ever had to make and usually take care of the problem very quickly. You want crappy service, use a Mohawk product. Try submerging laminate in water and see what happens as well. No wood product is waterproof and none claim they are. 

Kind of odd you registered just to flame Shaw.


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## CCP (Jul 17, 2007)

I ended up buying this floor. No complaints yet. I floated it by gluing it together, it hasn't seen much traffic yet but it seems to be holding up well.


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## h1lp (Jan 16, 2011)

*Epic maple flooring*

We put down the Epic 3/4" maple 5" wide flooring. They discontinued the 3/4" size and I am wondering if it is because it is too soft. My broom can fall over and leave a moon shaped dent to give you an example. We have had our floor down for one year and by the scratches and dents in it, it looks much older and worn. I called to have someone come out and they never replied to my call.
I was talked into the engineered wood because I wanted the 5" width and they said engineered was a lot stronger and would not "cup". I wish I would have read more reviews before the big investment and disappointment.


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## DIY LA (Feb 5, 2011)

*Shaw engineered flooring*

One DIY Opinon

1. Shaw engineered wood is not intended for any high traffic areas, kitchens, hallways, bedrooms.
2. Finish is extremely fragile, it will dent and scratch easily.
3. After one year of install, we experienced peeling and chipping of finish.
4. Children or pets are not welcome.

I have only installed engineered, laminates in five projects, but I can't recommend this product.


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## [email protected] (Sep 21, 2011)

*Shaw does not make matching T molding/Stair noseing*

I purchased Shaw Epic Hickory Jubilee flooring in a 5" plank and had it installed as a floating floor. The installation went well and the floor looked great until.... I ordered matching T molding ($40.00/ 6 ½’ strip) and stair noses ($50.00/ 6½’ strip). When the material came in the color was an almost white, natural color, which did not even come close to matching the flooring.
When the store I purchased the flooring through contacted Shaw, Shaw said they did not make trim pieces to match their Jubilee Honey hickory. They said I needed to buy a top stain to put over their finish of their natural trim if I wanted a match or just live with the very white natural color against the rich honey of the floor. Since the natural molding has their very hard coating on it, the top stain will wear off quickly in any high traffic areas
If I had known there was no matching trim I would never have purchased the flooring.


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> I purchased Shaw Epic Hickory Jubilee flooring in a 5" plank and had it installed as a floating floor. The installation went well and the floor looked great until.... I ordered matching T molding ($40.00/ 6 ½’ strip) and stair noses ($50.00/ 6½’ strip). When the material came in the color was an almost white, natural color, which did not even come close to matching the flooring.
> When the store I purchased the flooring through contacted Shaw, Shaw said they did not make trim pieces to match their Jubilee Honey hickory. They said I needed to buy a top stain to put over their finish of their natural trim if I wanted a match or just live with the very white natural color against the rich honey of the floor. Since the natural molding has their very hard coating on it, the top stain will wear off quickly in any high traffic areas
> If I had known there was no matching trim I would never have purchased the flooring.


Which color did you order? I'll be glad to check on this for you. I've never seen one of these products not have matching trim pieces. I'd like to check into it and make sure whether there really are no matching trims available or if maybe the retailer is lying to you.


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## [email protected] (Sep 21, 2011)

*Shaw does not make matching T molding/Stair noseing*

No, the retailer is not lying. I contacted Shaw's customer service directly. They sent me the molding numbers to order and they were the same as those I received which did not match. They replyed back and apologized for the problem and gave me the name of a web site that sells a wide variety of moldings to match floors. Unfortunately all the site sells are laminate materials so I’m working with my installer to custom finish raw t- molding.


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## Selectingafloor (Mar 13, 2012)

h1lp said:


> We put down the Epic 3/4" maple 5" wide flooring. They discontinued the 3/4" size and I am wondering if it is because it is too soft. My broom can fall over and leave a moon shaped dent to give you an example. We have had our floor down for one year and by the scratches and dents in it, it looks much older and worn. I called to have someone come out and they never replied to my call.
> I was talked into the engineered wood because I wanted the 5" width and they said engineered was a lot stronger and would not "cup". I wish I would have read more reviews before the big investment and disappointment.


I am looking at installing this same floor. Are you sorry you put down that floor- Shaw EPIC engineered wood Maple?

Thanks


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## Selectingafloor (Mar 13, 2012)

poppameth said:


> Never had any issues with it. Very few pieces have any locking technology to worry about. Most is tongue and groove. The wear layer is just fine. Someone didn't do their research in advance. Any wood floor will scratch easier than a laminate. Laminate is usually recommended if you have concerns over dogs scratching it because the wear layer is harder. Completely different technology there. As for Shaw's ethics, they are a big company and you might expect to be treated like crap, but they have responded well to every claim we have ever had to make and usually take care of the problem very quickly. You want crappy service, use a Mohawk product. Try submerging laminate in water and see what happens as well. No wood product is waterproof and none claim they are.
> 
> Kind of odd you registered just to flame Shaw.


Do you still like your Shaw engineered wood floor? I am still on the fence about putting in this floor.

Thanks for the help with this.


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## nfm (May 7, 2012)

*Looking for opinions on the Shaw Epic*

This is the only thread I've been able to find specifically re Shaw Epic Engineered. We are considering this flooring also, and it's been a while since the "worst flooring ever" response was written. I'm hoping people who have had this flooring installed on a slab would be kind enough to give me their honest feedback. After weeks of researching and reading and reading, I can't seem to come up with current reviews that talk about the flooring itself and its performance with any consistency. I'm almost ready to just give it up and replace the carpeting with carpeting. We won't be installing it ourselves. We are heading into our late 50s and won't be doing this again any time soon, so it's really our one and only opportunity to have wood flooring. We couldn't possibly spend the money this requires and have to pull it out and redo it in a year or two because it looks bad or fails.

Thanks in advance to any and all who can give opinions!


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## Selectingafloor (Mar 13, 2012)

*Shaw Epic flooring*

I installed the Maple flooring throughout my place on a slab (I live in Florida). I love it. I do not have pets or children. I have only had it down for about a month- my contractor glued it down.

I too only wanted to do this once so I plan on having it for a long time. Good luck with your floor choice.


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## dgaugler (Feb 7, 2013)

Shaw Epic floors are absolutely terrible. We've been in our new house for only 3 days. The floating floor moves all over the place, it is bulging up in spots. Now we have several spots where the veneer is separating from the engineered wood. There are no moisture issues. This might be the worst product I've ever seen, I really hope we can get them to replace the entire floor. I’m so disappointed.


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## cluvender (Feb 22, 2013)

*Shaw Epic Windsor Walnut- TERRIBLE*

We had SHaw Epic Windsor Walnut installed in August 2010. Two and a half years later it looks like it is 15 years old. Our floor guy said it was the worst example of engineered hardwood he had ever witnessed. It scratches with the most minor of events (i.e. dropping a broom). It is advertised as kid and pet friendly, which it absolutely is not. When the floor scratches,even minor scratches, it scratches to leave a white mark which I would guess is the all the way through the veneer. We will be pursuing a claim with Shaw.


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## dgaugler (Feb 7, 2013)

Good luck. They are just ignoring our request.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

http://www.flooring.net/wood-flooring/reviews/shaw/


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## dgaugler (Feb 7, 2013)

Wish I would have found those reviews of how horrible of a product the shaw epic is before going with them. My reason for sharing my review here is because I want others to know what to expect.


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## h1lp (Jan 16, 2011)

*Shaw Epic 3/4 discontinued flooring*

I think there should be a class action suit for this flooring. Besides being too soft and aging 15 years per one mine is yellowing and I have had people notice it. I had an ice cube melt on the floor and it lightened and warped the wood. I am certain this would not happen with solid wood that is sealed. I was talked into this product because it was stronger. It is the complete opposite!


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## lazzlazz (Mar 29, 2010)

I got it cheap through Habitat for Humanity (as a learning project) & put it in a closet. It scratches really easily - my plastic vacuum attachments leave marks. I learned a lot. Never buy this product.


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## lheil (Jul 17, 2013)

*SHAW Epic Engineered flooring*

This flooring should not be sold as flooring, it should be considered wall paneling. It is very pretty but within a year of having it installed in the majority of my home it looks terrible. It has numerous dents from even the smallest thing being dropped (ie: romote control, cell phone, keys, silver wear dropped from an open dishwasher 10 inches from the floor, even a coin that my daughter dropped put a dent in it) There is also rippling in some places were SMALL amounts of water was not caught and wiped up right away. If it is anywhere near a seam there will be damage. When I bought this, the sample board info on the back states water and dent resistant....IT IS NOT. :furious:


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## floordude22 (Sep 12, 2015)

[email protected] said:


> If I had known there was no matching trim I would never have purchased the flooring.


 Staining trim pieces, baseboards, etc to match flooring is a normal part of the wood flooring installation procedure. Sometimes you can get finished trim to match the floor, sometimes you can't. Most of the time it's more cost effective to buy stain grade trim and match the floor so that you don't have to stock twenty different brand names and colors for the same same piece of trim.

It takes a half hour to stain and finish trim for a 3-4 bd house, and since the majority of hardwood/laminate floors are the same 4 shades, there's no problem finding the right color stain. It's no big deal.

If you want to do your floor yourself, don't whine when you're required to have a professional level of knowledge and competence in installing the product.


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