Make sure to vet that local place, too. Being local doesn't automatically mean you're better, and there are truly awful local shops doing shoddy work all over the place.
Pretty much the case with any large corporate chain.
I remember working at a big electronics place years ago and the home theatre installers quit. They hired two new teams of two and just sent them out on their first day. No experience, no training, go hang this $3000 TV on the wall of this person's house and wire all the speakers.
Completely agree. F empire. Their bs can only go downhill from here on out if you stick with them. I mean they’re already fucking up and they haven’t even started. Fire empire! Mom and Pops are where it’s at. Imo
Exactly this. Right there is a big fat lie. AND negate the warranty to save money?? Sounds like bait and switch to me. And, if I understand that that bottom left color in the book is what you picked, then they are trying to gaslight you too. Once someone shows you who they really are, believe them. Go with someone else.
You shouldn't even be installing click together LVP or Laminate in a mobile home. The only flooring that should go down in a mobile home is a Glued down LVP, Sheet Vinyl or Carpet.
You're already waiving the manufacturers warranty installing that IN the mobile home,
However, $10,000 for 1500sqft is a fair price, that comes out to 6.67$ sqft
I compete against empire all the time with my business, If you REALLY want to get a good deal, sign the contract then the next day call to cancel the job they will lower the price on the phone right then and there to save the job.
At the end of the day it's your money and your house but I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.
Both of the local companies I got quotes from, the head of maintenance in the park and a few others all said glue down wasn’t a great idea either. That was what the empire salesman originally told me was the best fit for the home.
That’s interesting. I’ve installed tile and vinyl click in mobiles haven’t had any problems. As long as the proper thickness sheeting is down and the mobile is solid with no framing issues.
>May be dialect for me, mobile homes implies it is moved from one site to another, frequently.
Yeah to be it's just a type of manufactured home. Most don't ever move them except for the original delivery.
Floating floors are mold/fungus traps. Moisture gets trapped underneath, and stuff grows. Glued down floors also take more skill to do correctly and will usually be more expensive. Glued down lvp will flex a bit with the underlayment and not fail, floating flooring will eventually fail with any movement at all. Sales people don't waranty anything, most places use under insured subcontractors to do the work, that puts 4 parties in play if something is not right. I can guarantee that the manufacturer will accept zero liability, the store will point at the subcontractor, if the contractor is worth anything they probably will not mess with floating lvp for very long.
From Mohawk and their Revwood line. “C. Remove Bumps or peaks in subfloor and fill depressions with floor leveling compound to ensure no more than 3/16” unevenness per 10 foot span”
The problem arises when you have a double wide or in some cases regular mobile home.
if you were to install this, overtime that joint where the double wide meets in the middle it starts to separate and you get a peaking effect in the middle that is very noticeable. I’m not saying you CAN’T I’m saying you shouldn’t
Understood I see where your coming from, but as a retailer it’s a hard sell for me to want to put a floating floor in a mobile home because we have a lifetime warranty on installation. We have done it in the past, but I’m in Michigan were the winters rot out mobile homes flooring and the expansion and contraction is extreme.
You can put them down, but I honestly don’t think they would survive 20 years in a mobile home without issue
Depends on the size of the mobile home. If its a double or triple wide, the joints where they come together can move a bunch.. This can cause issues with material separation.
I have installed floating floors in mobile homes several times, and without issue.
The risk is higher.
Looselay/Glue down LVPs are a great options for this. As switching out planks to "fix" any issues with settling is easy.
Depends on the size of the mobile home. If its a double or triple wide, the joints where they come together can move a bunch.. This can cause issues with material separation.
I have installed floating floors in mobile homes several times, and without issue.
The risk is higher.
Looselay/Glue down LVPs are a great options for this. As switching out planks to "fix" any issues with settling is easy.
I'm working with my first double-wide customer. After I measure, we find out other companies and contractors wouldn't even touch it. The floor joists just aren't there. She has a crease in the center of her home. I feel bad for them, but I can't possibly estimate what that could cost.
(And i do not work for Empire, lol)
If this is how that branch is treating you now, BEFORE it has your money, please think to yourself how they will treat you AFTER they have your money ... and you bare, with no warranty.
I'd bunk at Mom's a bit longer and rebid your project. The 2 local firms you got bids from before would no doubt be interested to see the subfloor work you've just done. And it might save you a few pennies.
Empire can go pound sand. They screwed up on the bid and are upselling you. If you gave them any cash for a deposit, they have to do the job as required in the contract.
You will have to check your local laws though, but the city or county should have a contractor’s license board.
Gray floors are out of style and feel dated now. They are probably trying to get rid of overstock at the regular price. Don’t go with those floors, your original pick was much nicer.
The product is from LW Mountain the Coastal Collection. Straight up without knowing what you paid for the product. The cost of the product shouldn't really be more than $2.49-2.69 for a "cut order" online sellers have it for $2.11 so stocking it would be like $2.19 for a store that would do that. Which would make sense for a 8mm laminate product. There are lots of these kinds of laminates if take care of correctly will last 20 years and that was before the current "waterproof" trends. Not sure how the local stores couldn't explain all this and beat the price, though Empire exists by getting into people homes and getting them into financing, and the customer literally pays for it. See if LW Mountain will send you a sample so you can dodge Empire and get a real answer. Weird that they say they no longer carry it, because it's still on the website. https://www.empiretoday.com/laminate/wood-laminate-flooring-alexandria-way-como
Edit: did some digging and I feel confident of the pricing range I gave for that laminate, would likely be a $99-135 freight for any boxes ordered to the whatever warehouse location or storefront.
if your physically able to I would install it yourself. Plenty of YouTube’s that’ll show you how. I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it’s time consuming. Any big box store will carry credit cards and you can use that for financing.
You should be able to get the job done yourself for 5k or less, plus you’ll have all the tools for future home repair or other duties that come with home ownership.
I understand not everyone is in that position, so if you haven’t check out Facebook marketplace and you’ll find some great deals and some people who will offer amazing prices, but maybe not financing.
If you don’t have the app Nextdoor, get that and ask on there and your neighbors will give you their experiences and I’m sure someone will connect you with a reputable dealer who can meet your needs and they are satisfied with from personal experience .
My god man. How much do you have into this mobile already and how old is it ? As soon as things became apparent you had severe mold issues my thoughts would have been why? Does the roof leak? I own two mobiles in Florida. Both double wides around 12 years old. I bought them practically new about ten years ago for around 44k each. If they needed 12k in work I would have done it myself. Currently I’m renting each for 1,200 a month. Which currently is way below what I could rent them for. Both are paid for.
They brought the middle color for sure. I would go with another company and tell them how Empire screwed you. Might get you an earlier install but won't support dishonest people.
Fuck empire 12k for 1500 sq! N them three items financing, will cost ya triple by time ya pay it off. warranty to me there are no warrantys except the floor planks or garunetees i dont even give a timeline when I'll finish, i finish when i finish, next day install well that only works for carpets not lvp evp or hw they need least 24 48 hrs to acclimate to the house temp. Also empire hd lowes sub out their work to installers. And pay the installers peanuts of what they charging you. Honestly your better off staying local n findin and supporting small business fuck corporate greed. I know this handyman he charges 5.45 a sq for lvp labor approx 8100 plus the flooring
I recently paid a lot for an installer to put in LVP throughout most of my home. They did a terrible job. If it’s at all possible, I’d install it yourself. You can totally live on the subfloor while you install the click together floor.
Even better idea, get laminate and install that yourself. We’ve had both and the laminate is better IMO.
Say FUCK EMPIRE they truly are one of the worst out there. I installed 3 jobs for them and quit they really do not care about the work being done as long as they make money. It's absolutely the worst place I've ever installed for in 27 years
FWIW I went with a mom and pop shop in Southwest Florida.
1350 sq. feet, Mohawk Revwood laminate, vapor barrier, padding, move furniture and appliances, install new baseboards and caulk. Quote was $13K, ended up paying $13,750 due to some additional sub floor prepping. Lifetime warranty on installation. The quotes I had ran from $13-15-$20K for the same materials. I've had some poor installations prior and have to say this one is the best thus far. A floor such a big commitment, good luck.
Thank you. Originally my mindset was I’ll buy this mobile home to be temporary 2-4 year home and sell it. I live in an expensive area and feel like I may end up staying longer than 4 years. So anyway originally I was just thinking I wanted flooring to last while I lived there then the new owners can replace or keep depending. I wasn’t really thinking of this as a long term/forever home but I certainly don’t want to have to shell out another 10-15k in a few years.
Tbh tho I did not get good vibes from the two mom and pop shops either tho. One owner was showing me samples when her worker came to let her know a cust called and the owner goes “I don’t know why he keeps calling us. We’re not going to fix it” and that’s when I was like wait wut.
The floor they showed up with looks like the Geneva color to me. I'm not sure if that's what you're going with or not.
If you just had your subfloors redone, then there's no need for lauan.
I personally wouldn't do laminate in any bathroom, kitchen, dining, or entry areas. From what I've seen, even the majority of "waterproof" laminates void the warranty if used in areas that pretty much guarantee the floor will get wet. And usually there's a stipulation of like 'waterproof as long as it's a topical spill and gets cleaned up in an hour'.
Now, you can't blame empire for a product being discontinued. They're not the manufacturer and literally have as much control of that as your local Honda dealer having say on whether they should continue to make the civic.
Lastly, you're never going to have a clue if you got a good deal or ripped off because it's a matter of opinion. There's no standard for it. Bob down the street might quote you $2.50/sq ft for product and install and he could have bought a batch of dumpster flooring. You'll never know. I've seen on here, way too often, bad installs without subfloor prep, no expansion gaps, no leveling, no vapor barrier on slab, etc etc... and every comment is about how amazing it came out and how amazingly cheap it was. If you're going to pay for a floor, you want a product and install tandem that you're not going to have to replace again until you want to.
Nobody knows if it’s too much or not because we don’t understand the scope of the job. Based on your own information it sounds like it’s been a serious undertaking, and I think you’re doing the right thing by replacing the moldy and damaged areas uncovered by the demo. It’s a tough pill to swallow but by redoing all of that you provide yourself a healthy and solid foundation to live your life. The alternative is putting a bandaid on it and covering it up, but that will always come back to haunt you one way or another. If I were you I’d back out of anything you’ve got going with Empire. That doesn’t mean the next guy is going to be any better, but at least you control the narrative. You must have a Lowe’s or Home Depot, or a local retail store that provides financing for laminate flooring plus installation. Do not feel trapped. Keep fighting for your livelihood. You don’t have to be a dick, but you do need to be proactive because these decisions affect your future
Empire is terrible to work with.
I had a bad experience with them, just for getting a quote the guy made a few mistakes in writing the order.
I have friends that also had a bad experience with them.
Yeah, flooring can be a M.F. when working with these large companies. Just another number to them. We always enjoyed working with locals just for this reason. They don’t F around as their reputation is on the line.
If you still want to go with them, I would die on the hill of paying the price that was agreed upon for a product in a similar color. That definitely is not the flooring you picked out. They fucked up, not you.
I kicked empire out of my house during their consultation after they were measuring for 50 minutes a 700 sq ft area, then needed 90 additional minutes to give a presentation.
That second picture is the Geneva. You can clearly see the same knot pattern from the sample on the right hand side in the second from the bottom board
F Empire. It's only gonna get worse and you will almost def need that warranty that they "hope" you waive. Deal with your parents place a lil longer and go with a diff company!
Wow! I would go to Lowes get product and have them install it before I went back to Empire.
That is absolutely NOT the correct color. It is the flipper gray that is everywhere, and already outdated. Do not accept this product.
Problems already/ so do you really believe they are going to do a good job? I don’t. They are trying to get you to wave warrantee/ don’t bc if you give them you will need it
Empire is the worst. Do not use them if you can help it. They are crooks and do shoddy work. You are better off finding someone on FB Marketplace and checking their work and references.
If they aren’t able to sell you the original product at the price in the bid you signed, they should refund the purchase. Obviously if they can prove it’s the same flooring you ordered, that’s a different story.
First step: double check the flooring you ordered and what was delivered. It’s either the same one or it isn’t. Flooring can look dramatically different in different environments. The colors around you like the walls can also effect the look. If they bought the wrong kind they should refund you. Then you can decide if you want to place a new order with them. If you merely bought a floor which you regret in retrospect, that’s not their responsibility.
Empire is awful. I own a flooring store in San Diego. Constantly hearing awful things about Empire, and I’ve fixed more than a handful of their sloppy installs. They are notorious for their awful customer service, and bait and switching materials on clients. Go a different route.
Empire hires people that have no clue about flooring as salesman and the sub their work to who ever wants it. The chances of you getting a good honest sales guy and a good sub are very slim. I would avoid work with them or any known big chain company. You can find plenty of good hardwood guys with unless you live in a small town
Sorry you are going through this BS. I’m an Interior Designer with 34 years of experience. I have 20 years of interior merchandising (decorating the model homes) experience for production tract home builders and 14 years of residential remodeling experience. First off, did you do the demo work yourself, and if you did and discovered all the damage; was the damage covered by your homeowners insurance? Insurance doesn’t cover the repair (broken pipe or hose) that caused the damage but most insurance covers all the damages caused by a flood or leak. The damage to your property may be covered by your homeowners insurance. Secondly once Empire brought the wrong material, the sales person should have called immediately and told you that he was not aware of that the flooring selected months ago was no longer available. Which is surprising to me if you signed the contract months ago they should have kept your flooring in separate area from non sold material and possibly charged you storage or request hey store it in your home or garage. Either way, it was not handled well. He should have offered you similar material to reselect from and looking at your original selection in the book and then looking at the material loosing thrown on the floor is not even close, in fact it’s like a 180 of your first choice and looks like it’s between the two other options on the book. $12,000 is a lot of money and that ends up $8 per sq ft. I’m not sure where you live but vinyl runs anywhere from .99 to $5 per sq ft. Installation can be anywhere from $2-5 per sq ft. If you want to stay with them bc of their financing, etc. I would use that to my advantage. If you were my client I would suggest you contacting the Manager or Sales Manager (check to see if it’s a franchise, bc a Franchise doesn’t want to hear about clients being taken advantage of), explain everything and tell them it’s insulting to your intelligence that he attempted to tell it was the same material and the fact he wasn’t honest and that the entire project wasn’t measured, the house wasn’t ready for you to move it bc of their incompetency, and they didn’t keep your paid materials away from their other inventory and was obviously sold to some one else. You expect to reselect material that is comparable or better quality and you expect a discount after all the incompetences, especially after all of this unprofessionalism. Lastly does the LPV have an underlayment? Did they offer you padding or was it inclusive with the flooring you bought? That’s another way of compensating you, have them through it in. I know a lot ppl don’t want to use Interior Designer’s but this is another reason why you should. You wouldn’t have been taken advantage of. Designer pay for themselves, in a lot of ways. I just did a remodel of 5 rooms LR, DR, FR, Kitchen and nook, last year. We opened it up everything. I worked from the end March to the end of July. I charged them $7700 for about 120 hours of work @$75 per hour (I have no overhead). I saved my clients 28k because bc I gave them all my discounts. Their budget was 120k. I paid for myself, they had design direction, and they went to professional showsroom for their products and rec’d discounts everywhere and was able to afford better quality cabinets, flooring, tile, etc. Good Luck to you, K
The ppl below mentioned not working with large corporations, being a small business owner I’m all for working with Mom and Pop shops they are the back bone of the country. I have to concur with their statements. A lot of credit cards companies over 180 months no interest and I’ve noticed my credit cards (chase) has been offering a flat fee instead of interest and doing 4 major payments, there are always options. There are a lot of companies that you doing a little bit of leg work and find your own financing with companies like Brand Source, Synchrony Bank, etc.
Hopefully you have cancelled this already. Empire is total shit. Cancel this and RUN. Any company that can change their cost literally by 50% is criminal. Their products and practices are sub-par. They feed off of financing and get it installed before you can ask anyone their opinion and you cancel. Trust me. I know their inner workings. There is not a worse choice.
I work for every big corp, whoever has the best jobs, whenever i dont have any of my own. empire does not require any sort of bg check, i could grab pedro from circle k and have him install your floor.
They mark up prices and then give a "discount"
All of the big corp installers are a revolving door. So many new, so many quit.
Dodge this bullet. Look for a good local company. They will not want to risk the negative reviews. If your installer doesnt bust out a grinder or some floor leveler, be cautious. Your sub has to be 1/8" flat within 6ft. You can grab a level at your hardware store.
Im actually doing a job now that has about 2k worth of prep for a 1500sqft home. Slab was all over the place. There was even a 1 1/4” slope in 6ft. But instead of charging 6k and rising it up we opted to take down the highest point 1/4" and raise the lower by 1/4" (you can still feel the slope but at least its in spec).
All together about 18 hrs of grinding and 9 bags of patch. And the 2k was a discount bc they were returning customers and they're gonna make me do another 2k sqft house all tile demo install lvp. Thats over $10k
I just don't understand how you could possibly be spending 12k on 1500 Sq. Ft I just priced out a job using a higher end laminate and I came out to around 9k ish with labor at the maxium. Although it does look like you are using an engineered hardwood product so that could be why.
Empire sells expensive fake wood flooring. You can do a lot better.
I had an estimate from Empire in Virginia Beach for 1200 Sq ft of the highest quality fake wood they carry. Had another estimate using real Maple wood 3/4 " x 5" flooring and the good stuff was about 10% more. I was pleasantly surprised and very happy.
Next day install. What could go wrong? Too many unforeseen issues. Especially in a mobile home. Unfortunately.
Are you going with laminate or vinyl plank?
Garbage materials. They pay their installers shit. The installers your get are from other countries that work under an umbrella of someone who is here legally so you have no idea who they are. There was one illegal installing here and he shot his side chick. But yes, their material is shit.
If you read OP stayed with his mom's for 3 months because OP was having subfloors, gutted bathrooms, and replaced plumbing. No where did OP mention pushing off the work because of a lack of apology.
Say F Empire. Mom and Pop places are the way. In my area, Empire has some of the worst installers.
Make sure to vet that local place, too. Being local doesn't automatically mean you're better, and there are truly awful local shops doing shoddy work all over the place.
Pretty much the case with any large corporate chain. I remember working at a big electronics place years ago and the home theatre installers quit. They hired two new teams of two and just sent them out on their first day. No experience, no training, go hang this $3000 TV on the wall of this person's house and wire all the speakers.
Next day install my ass, that flooring needs to acclimate first.
Don't use Empire. Please, you will regret it.
Completely agree. F empire. Their bs can only go downhill from here on out if you stick with them. I mean they’re already fucking up and they haven’t even started. Fire empire! Mom and Pops are where it’s at. Imo
A lot of times the installers for Empire also install for the local companies
Yes, but the local companies can weed them out. Local doesn’t necessarily mean good, but you’ve got a better shot at it.
The one you originally picked they no longer carry, yet he swears they brought the right color??? 🤔
Exactly this. Right there is a big fat lie. AND negate the warranty to save money?? Sounds like bait and switch to me. And, if I understand that that bottom left color in the book is what you picked, then they are trying to gaslight you too. Once someone shows you who they really are, believe them. Go with someone else.
To be fair could just have left over stock, although that definitely isn't the same floor.
Fuck empire
You shouldn't even be installing click together LVP or Laminate in a mobile home. The only flooring that should go down in a mobile home is a Glued down LVP, Sheet Vinyl or Carpet. You're already waiving the manufacturers warranty installing that IN the mobile home, However, $10,000 for 1500sqft is a fair price, that comes out to 6.67$ sqft I compete against empire all the time with my business, If you REALLY want to get a good deal, sign the contract then the next day call to cancel the job they will lower the price on the phone right then and there to save the job. At the end of the day it's your money and your house but I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.
Both of the local companies I got quotes from, the head of maintenance in the park and a few others all said glue down wasn’t a great idea either. That was what the empire salesman originally told me was the best fit for the home.
That’s interesting. I’ve installed tile and vinyl click in mobiles haven’t had any problems. As long as the proper thickness sheeting is down and the mobile is solid with no framing issues.
Empire is going to say you had all these flooring issues so warrantee is not valid. Cancel them
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>May be dialect for me, mobile homes implies it is moved from one site to another, frequently. Yeah to be it's just a type of manufactured home. Most don't ever move them except for the original delivery.
Exactly they are rarely moved. And I’ve seen them brand new with tiled floors. Although yes during transport things happen. I’ve seen it.
Floating floors are mold/fungus traps. Moisture gets trapped underneath, and stuff grows. Glued down floors also take more skill to do correctly and will usually be more expensive. Glued down lvp will flex a bit with the underlayment and not fail, floating flooring will eventually fail with any movement at all. Sales people don't waranty anything, most places use under insured subcontractors to do the work, that puts 4 parties in play if something is not right. I can guarantee that the manufacturer will accept zero liability, the store will point at the subcontractor, if the contractor is worth anything they probably will not mess with floating lvp for very long.
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From Mohawk and their Revwood line. “C. Remove Bumps or peaks in subfloor and fill depressions with floor leveling compound to ensure no more than 3/16” unevenness per 10 foot span” The problem arises when you have a double wide or in some cases regular mobile home. if you were to install this, overtime that joint where the double wide meets in the middle it starts to separate and you get a peaking effect in the middle that is very noticeable. I’m not saying you CAN’T I’m saying you shouldn’t
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Understood I see where your coming from, but as a retailer it’s a hard sell for me to want to put a floating floor in a mobile home because we have a lifetime warranty on installation. We have done it in the past, but I’m in Michigan were the winters rot out mobile homes flooring and the expansion and contraction is extreme. You can put them down, but I honestly don’t think they would survive 20 years in a mobile home without issue
Floors don’t last 20 years unless it’s hardwood.
VCT would like a word
If it stays dry. The only problem is people aren’t clamoring for it in their house.
We’re talking in a mobile home too (which would Like a word).
This is true. I have done it myself but in my own mobiles.
Can I ask why you shouldn't use click together in a mobile home?
Depends on the size of the mobile home. If its a double or triple wide, the joints where they come together can move a bunch.. This can cause issues with material separation. I have installed floating floors in mobile homes several times, and without issue. The risk is higher. Looselay/Glue down LVPs are a great options for this. As switching out planks to "fix" any issues with settling is easy.
Depends on the size of the mobile home. If its a double or triple wide, the joints where they come together can move a bunch.. This can cause issues with material separation. I have installed floating floors in mobile homes several times, and without issue. The risk is higher. Looselay/Glue down LVPs are a great options for this. As switching out planks to "fix" any issues with settling is easy.
Thank you for this comment! I’ve been trying to research the best floors for my mobile home. This cuts to the chase.
I'm working with my first double-wide customer. After I measure, we find out other companies and contractors wouldn't even touch it. The floor joists just aren't there. She has a crease in the center of her home. I feel bad for them, but I can't possibly estimate what that could cost. (And i do not work for Empire, lol)
Had bad results with empire twice second was warranty and still a problem
If this is how that branch is treating you now, BEFORE it has your money, please think to yourself how they will treat you AFTER they have your money ... and you bare, with no warranty. I'd bunk at Mom's a bit longer and rebid your project. The 2 local firms you got bids from before would no doubt be interested to see the subfloor work you've just done. And it might save you a few pennies.
Empire can go pound sand. They screwed up on the bid and are upselling you. If you gave them any cash for a deposit, they have to do the job as required in the contract. You will have to check your local laws though, but the city or county should have a contractor’s license board.
Gray floors are out of style and feel dated now. They are probably trying to get rid of overstock at the regular price. Don’t go with those floors, your original pick was much nicer.
What is in style now? What color?
That’s a floating floor. Luan is for glue down plank and sheet vinyl
The product is from LW Mountain the Coastal Collection. Straight up without knowing what you paid for the product. The cost of the product shouldn't really be more than $2.49-2.69 for a "cut order" online sellers have it for $2.11 so stocking it would be like $2.19 for a store that would do that. Which would make sense for a 8mm laminate product. There are lots of these kinds of laminates if take care of correctly will last 20 years and that was before the current "waterproof" trends. Not sure how the local stores couldn't explain all this and beat the price, though Empire exists by getting into people homes and getting them into financing, and the customer literally pays for it. See if LW Mountain will send you a sample so you can dodge Empire and get a real answer. Weird that they say they no longer carry it, because it's still on the website. https://www.empiretoday.com/laminate/wood-laminate-flooring-alexandria-way-como Edit: did some digging and I feel confident of the pricing range I gave for that laminate, would likely be a $99-135 freight for any boxes ordered to the whatever warehouse location or storefront.
Oh wow look at you. Thanks for digging!! Doing more research now..
if your physically able to I would install it yourself. Plenty of YouTube’s that’ll show you how. I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it’s time consuming. Any big box store will carry credit cards and you can use that for financing. You should be able to get the job done yourself for 5k or less, plus you’ll have all the tools for future home repair or other duties that come with home ownership. I understand not everyone is in that position, so if you haven’t check out Facebook marketplace and you’ll find some great deals and some people who will offer amazing prices, but maybe not financing. If you don’t have the app Nextdoor, get that and ask on there and your neighbors will give you their experiences and I’m sure someone will connect you with a reputable dealer who can meet your needs and they are satisfied with from personal experience .
My god man. How much do you have into this mobile already and how old is it ? As soon as things became apparent you had severe mold issues my thoughts would have been why? Does the roof leak? I own two mobiles in Florida. Both double wides around 12 years old. I bought them practically new about ten years ago for around 44k each. If they needed 12k in work I would have done it myself. Currently I’m renting each for 1,200 a month. Which currently is way below what I could rent them for. Both are paid for.
They havnt screwed you yet that was just a little foreplay. Hire them and they’ll give you a ride of a lifetime I’m sure
Empire are the worst. I used to sub for them at their location in Hampton VA. They're crooks.
Did you pick the middle one? That’s what the planks look like.
No, the bottom one is what I picked
Looks good. Geneva is the right choice.
Fuck everything about Empire. If you can back out now do it. Years ago they did my flooring and it was a headache from start to end.
They brought the middle color for sure. I would go with another company and tell them how Empire screwed you. Might get you an earlier install but won't support dishonest people.
Fuck empire 12k for 1500 sq! N them three items financing, will cost ya triple by time ya pay it off. warranty to me there are no warrantys except the floor planks or garunetees i dont even give a timeline when I'll finish, i finish when i finish, next day install well that only works for carpets not lvp evp or hw they need least 24 48 hrs to acclimate to the house temp. Also empire hd lowes sub out their work to installers. And pay the installers peanuts of what they charging you. Honestly your better off staying local n findin and supporting small business fuck corporate greed. I know this handyman he charges 5.45 a sq for lvp labor approx 8100 plus the flooring
I recently paid a lot for an installer to put in LVP throughout most of my home. They did a terrible job. If it’s at all possible, I’d install it yourself. You can totally live on the subfloor while you install the click together floor. Even better idea, get laminate and install that yourself. We’ve had both and the laminate is better IMO.
Where are you located? That seems like high labor cost
Empire is absolutely the worst, do NOT go with them.
Say FUCK EMPIRE they truly are one of the worst out there. I installed 3 jobs for them and quit they really do not care about the work being done as long as they make money. It's absolutely the worst place I've ever installed for in 27 years
12k for click flooring...LOL. You'd be amazed how cheap it would be if you bought the flooring through Home Depot and DIY'd it.
FWIW I went with a mom and pop shop in Southwest Florida. 1350 sq. feet, Mohawk Revwood laminate, vapor barrier, padding, move furniture and appliances, install new baseboards and caulk. Quote was $13K, ended up paying $13,750 due to some additional sub floor prepping. Lifetime warranty on installation. The quotes I had ran from $13-15-$20K for the same materials. I've had some poor installations prior and have to say this one is the best thus far. A floor such a big commitment, good luck.
Thank you. Originally my mindset was I’ll buy this mobile home to be temporary 2-4 year home and sell it. I live in an expensive area and feel like I may end up staying longer than 4 years. So anyway originally I was just thinking I wanted flooring to last while I lived there then the new owners can replace or keep depending. I wasn’t really thinking of this as a long term/forever home but I certainly don’t want to have to shell out another 10-15k in a few years. Tbh tho I did not get good vibes from the two mom and pop shops either tho. One owner was showing me samples when her worker came to let her know a cust called and the owner goes “I don’t know why he keeps calling us. We’re not going to fix it” and that’s when I was like wait wut.
Unless you are disabled, install it yourself. It's easy
12k for 1500 is 8sq ft. What material are you installing? Unless it's real wood you are getting taken to the cleaners
I’ve heard awful things about them from friends. Get at least 3 bids.
NEVER go with Empire. Your local company will come in at 30% less at a minimum.
The 2 local companies were about $500-$1000 more than empire
Wow. That is rare. I'm hoping everything goes smoothly and you get years of enjoyment out of it!
The floor they showed up with looks like the Geneva color to me. I'm not sure if that's what you're going with or not. If you just had your subfloors redone, then there's no need for lauan. I personally wouldn't do laminate in any bathroom, kitchen, dining, or entry areas. From what I've seen, even the majority of "waterproof" laminates void the warranty if used in areas that pretty much guarantee the floor will get wet. And usually there's a stipulation of like 'waterproof as long as it's a topical spill and gets cleaned up in an hour'. Now, you can't blame empire for a product being discontinued. They're not the manufacturer and literally have as much control of that as your local Honda dealer having say on whether they should continue to make the civic. Lastly, you're never going to have a clue if you got a good deal or ripped off because it's a matter of opinion. There's no standard for it. Bob down the street might quote you $2.50/sq ft for product and install and he could have bought a batch of dumpster flooring. You'll never know. I've seen on here, way too often, bad installs without subfloor prep, no expansion gaps, no leveling, no vapor barrier on slab, etc etc... and every comment is about how amazing it came out and how amazingly cheap it was. If you're going to pay for a floor, you want a product and install tandem that you're not going to have to replace again until you want to.
Nobody knows if it’s too much or not because we don’t understand the scope of the job. Based on your own information it sounds like it’s been a serious undertaking, and I think you’re doing the right thing by replacing the moldy and damaged areas uncovered by the demo. It’s a tough pill to swallow but by redoing all of that you provide yourself a healthy and solid foundation to live your life. The alternative is putting a bandaid on it and covering it up, but that will always come back to haunt you one way or another. If I were you I’d back out of anything you’ve got going with Empire. That doesn’t mean the next guy is going to be any better, but at least you control the narrative. You must have a Lowe’s or Home Depot, or a local retail store that provides financing for laminate flooring plus installation. Do not feel trapped. Keep fighting for your livelihood. You don’t have to be a dick, but you do need to be proactive because these decisions affect your future
Why not ask for a discount for the wrong color?
What’s their number? I’ll file a complaint
Had a very bad install with empire and they would not make it right. Avoid empire and luna and all those places.
Empire is terrible to work with. I had a bad experience with them, just for getting a quote the guy made a few mistakes in writing the order. I have friends that also had a bad experience with them.
Yeah, flooring can be a M.F. when working with these large companies. Just another number to them. We always enjoyed working with locals just for this reason. They don’t F around as their reputation is on the line.
That mdf core is garbage... won't make it but a few years without noticeable issues
If you still want to go with them, I would die on the hill of paying the price that was agreed upon for a product in a similar color. That definitely is not the flooring you picked out. They fucked up, not you. I kicked empire out of my house during their consultation after they were measuring for 50 minutes a 700 sq ft area, then needed 90 additional minutes to give a presentation.
That second picture is the Geneva. You can clearly see the same knot pattern from the sample on the right hand side in the second from the bottom board
F Empire. It's only gonna get worse and you will almost def need that warranty that they "hope" you waive. Deal with your parents place a lil longer and go with a diff company!
Wow! I would go to Lowes get product and have them install it before I went back to Empire. That is absolutely NOT the correct color. It is the flipper gray that is everywhere, and already outdated. Do not accept this product.
Problems already/ so do you really believe they are going to do a good job? I don’t. They are trying to get you to wave warrantee/ don’t bc if you give them you will need it
Empire is the worst. Do not use them if you can help it. They are crooks and do shoddy work. You are better off finding someone on FB Marketplace and checking their work and references.
Why were they putting luan underneath the floating vinyl floor?
If they aren’t able to sell you the original product at the price in the bid you signed, they should refund the purchase. Obviously if they can prove it’s the same flooring you ordered, that’s a different story. First step: double check the flooring you ordered and what was delivered. It’s either the same one or it isn’t. Flooring can look dramatically different in different environments. The colors around you like the walls can also effect the look. If they bought the wrong kind they should refund you. Then you can decide if you want to place a new order with them. If you merely bought a floor which you regret in retrospect, that’s not their responsibility.
Empire is awful. I own a flooring store in San Diego. Constantly hearing awful things about Empire, and I’ve fixed more than a handful of their sloppy installs. They are notorious for their awful customer service, and bait and switching materials on clients. Go a different route.
Empire hires people that have no clue about flooring as salesman and the sub their work to who ever wants it. The chances of you getting a good honest sales guy and a good sub are very slim. I would avoid work with them or any known big chain company. You can find plenty of good hardwood guys with unless you live in a small town
Dude go with a local contractor with good reviews...I promise they will be cheaper and treat u better.
I’m agree go with small company. Floor&Decor sucks also. NuCore is the worst.
Do not use empire, their install is shit and they do not standby behind their products.
Sorry you are going through this BS. I’m an Interior Designer with 34 years of experience. I have 20 years of interior merchandising (decorating the model homes) experience for production tract home builders and 14 years of residential remodeling experience. First off, did you do the demo work yourself, and if you did and discovered all the damage; was the damage covered by your homeowners insurance? Insurance doesn’t cover the repair (broken pipe or hose) that caused the damage but most insurance covers all the damages caused by a flood or leak. The damage to your property may be covered by your homeowners insurance. Secondly once Empire brought the wrong material, the sales person should have called immediately and told you that he was not aware of that the flooring selected months ago was no longer available. Which is surprising to me if you signed the contract months ago they should have kept your flooring in separate area from non sold material and possibly charged you storage or request hey store it in your home or garage. Either way, it was not handled well. He should have offered you similar material to reselect from and looking at your original selection in the book and then looking at the material loosing thrown on the floor is not even close, in fact it’s like a 180 of your first choice and looks like it’s between the two other options on the book. $12,000 is a lot of money and that ends up $8 per sq ft. I’m not sure where you live but vinyl runs anywhere from .99 to $5 per sq ft. Installation can be anywhere from $2-5 per sq ft. If you want to stay with them bc of their financing, etc. I would use that to my advantage. If you were my client I would suggest you contacting the Manager or Sales Manager (check to see if it’s a franchise, bc a Franchise doesn’t want to hear about clients being taken advantage of), explain everything and tell them it’s insulting to your intelligence that he attempted to tell it was the same material and the fact he wasn’t honest and that the entire project wasn’t measured, the house wasn’t ready for you to move it bc of their incompetency, and they didn’t keep your paid materials away from their other inventory and was obviously sold to some one else. You expect to reselect material that is comparable or better quality and you expect a discount after all the incompetences, especially after all of this unprofessionalism. Lastly does the LPV have an underlayment? Did they offer you padding or was it inclusive with the flooring you bought? That’s another way of compensating you, have them through it in. I know a lot ppl don’t want to use Interior Designer’s but this is another reason why you should. You wouldn’t have been taken advantage of. Designer pay for themselves, in a lot of ways. I just did a remodel of 5 rooms LR, DR, FR, Kitchen and nook, last year. We opened it up everything. I worked from the end March to the end of July. I charged them $7700 for about 120 hours of work @$75 per hour (I have no overhead). I saved my clients 28k because bc I gave them all my discounts. Their budget was 120k. I paid for myself, they had design direction, and they went to professional showsroom for their products and rec’d discounts everywhere and was able to afford better quality cabinets, flooring, tile, etc. Good Luck to you, K
The ppl below mentioned not working with large corporations, being a small business owner I’m all for working with Mom and Pop shops they are the back bone of the country. I have to concur with their statements. A lot of credit cards companies over 180 months no interest and I’ve noticed my credit cards (chase) has been offering a flat fee instead of interest and doing 4 major payments, there are always options. There are a lot of companies that you doing a little bit of leg work and find your own financing with companies like Brand Source, Synchrony Bank, etc.
Hopefully you have cancelled this already. Empire is total shit. Cancel this and RUN. Any company that can change their cost literally by 50% is criminal. Their products and practices are sub-par. They feed off of financing and get it installed before you can ask anyone their opinion and you cancel. Trust me. I know their inner workings. There is not a worse choice.
I work for every big corp, whoever has the best jobs, whenever i dont have any of my own. empire does not require any sort of bg check, i could grab pedro from circle k and have him install your floor. They mark up prices and then give a "discount" All of the big corp installers are a revolving door. So many new, so many quit. Dodge this bullet. Look for a good local company. They will not want to risk the negative reviews. If your installer doesnt bust out a grinder or some floor leveler, be cautious. Your sub has to be 1/8" flat within 6ft. You can grab a level at your hardware store. Im actually doing a job now that has about 2k worth of prep for a 1500sqft home. Slab was all over the place. There was even a 1 1/4” slope in 6ft. But instead of charging 6k and rising it up we opted to take down the highest point 1/4" and raise the lower by 1/4" (you can still feel the slope but at least its in spec). All together about 18 hrs of grinding and 9 bags of patch. And the 2k was a discount bc they were returning customers and they're gonna make me do another 2k sqft house all tile demo install lvp. Thats over $10k
I just don't understand how you could possibly be spending 12k on 1500 Sq. Ft I just priced out a job using a higher end laminate and I came out to around 9k ish with labor at the maxium. Although it does look like you are using an engineered hardwood product so that could be why.
You will always get screw by them. Worked for them in Houston
Clearly you got Geneva, the knot matches.
Empire sells expensive fake wood flooring. You can do a lot better. I had an estimate from Empire in Virginia Beach for 1200 Sq ft of the highest quality fake wood they carry. Had another estimate using real Maple wood 3/4 " x 5" flooring and the good stuff was about 10% more. I was pleasantly surprised and very happy.
Cut bait and find a reputable store and product - that’s a lot of your hard earned money and while inconvenient, will save you in the long run
Do some research on Empire. You're welcome.
Next day install. What could go wrong? Too many unforeseen issues. Especially in a mobile home. Unfortunately. Are you going with laminate or vinyl plank?
Garbage materials. They pay their installers shit. The installers your get are from other countries that work under an umbrella of someone who is here legally so you have no idea who they are. There was one illegal installing here and he shot his side chick. But yes, their material is shit.
lol staying at your moms for 3 months because you didn’t get a apology. So soft. You can live in a house with only sub flooring.
If you read OP stayed with his mom's for 3 months because OP was having subfloors, gutted bathrooms, and replaced plumbing. No where did OP mention pushing off the work because of a lack of apology.