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A varied, and educational, long weekend laying down laminate flooring (one of the Uniclic range from Quick-Step) to help an acquaintance improve his house in London. The task was to lay about 3 rooms-worth full of Uniclic Laminate (28 packs), and moving a lot of furniture around - the killer reason for needing two people. My protagonist in laying the laminate, and moving all the furniture, is a detail-of-finish man, and at one stage was whittling away with a multitool for 20 minutes at a piece of laminate to match the outline of a curly 1930s doorpost; a demented boy-scout aiming for "Floor Laying, Advanced". Inevitably the worst happened. As at Beauvais Cathedral in 1284, the integrity of the structure did not quite measure up to the aspiration of the designer, and there was a sharp crack followed by some of the most creative language expressed in 750 years. It worked second time around. Having bought a car with the dimensions of a small barge (aka my new Skoda Superb Estate), this was the first opportunity to really test the performance over a long run. An MPG of 59 on the way down to London on a Thursday afternoon / teatime, and 64 mpg on the way back on a clear run, measured on a tested-and-accurate car-computer, will do for a car that can fit in a couple of coffins, and tow 2 tonnes. It is about 10-20% more economical than my old non-turbocharged Citroen BX from the mid-1990s, and has twice the power. Whilst on waiting time, I was able to binge-watch on Netflix the documentary The 9 episode 11hr documentary mini-series The Civil War, by Ken Burns. I never studied this historical period at school, and time to reflect provoked a few new insights for me - a bit of an eye-opener. I had not absorbed just how contemporaneous is the American Civil War. We (or at least I) think of it is a long time ago, but the war was only 5 years before my own Great-Grandfather was born. The last Civil War widow - Maudie Hopkins - only died in 2008. Yes - she was a 19 year-old who married a pensioner during the depression, on what looks like a classic security-for-care type arrangement, but the point stands. Sobering.

This week I am helping a mate lay a floor over about 55sqm. He wants to use a Quickstep Uniclic Oak. Versions are available from Howdens or B&Q, the latter at a little under £20 per sqm. Two questions. 1 - Has anyone used the Howdens Quickstep Laminate products. Ie one of these. It is a genuine Quickstep product. https://www.howdens.com/flooring/laminate?atr_flooring_locking_system_sm=Uniclic How was the price and performance? 2 - Can I use my Howden’s account at a different branch on the same day? I know I will probably have to set up a local account. Cheers Ferdinand

I happened to be in my local Howdens branch yesterday in search of light coloured Quick-Step Uniclic Laminate Floor. This is the full range (I was told), but not all branches stock all of them. Prices in my Howdens without underlay are around £18 per sqm inc VAT, but the VAT may not be reclaimable. Obviously colour reproduction from poor light to dodgy phone pic to colour autobalance to your screen to different lighting means that a physical sample of the one you are thinking about is important, and it won't look like that anyway in your new house ?.

I just received 'Livyn' Vinyl Tile samples from Quickstep Uniclic. They seem *really* tough. 4.5mm vinyl with uniclic joints. Look to be a good option if you need a thin but hardwearing floor. Prices are just a bit large, mind - from about £30+ per sqm. Left to right: Chestnut, Slate, Travertine. The laminate uniclic can be relaid a couple of times without undue damage. This should be reusable more times. Worth a look, Ferdinand