I seem to remember that a local dealer www.njb.se 'criticized' the Byggmax boards on their website. Now the text seems to have been removed.
Did they have grounds for their claim that BM's boards were too poor to be laid on cc 600, or was it just an attempt to keep selling their own boards at an overpriced rate?
Anyone know if it's safe to use BM's boards?
Did they have grounds for their claim that BM's boards were too poor to be laid on cc 600, or was it just an attempt to keep selling their own boards at an overpriced rate?
Anyone know if it's safe to use BM's boards?
Have bought among other things floorboards (Moelven, B-sort), flooring chipboard (seems to be of good quality), oiled ash parquet and mortar at Byggmax and so far I have never had anything to complain about. Well, one exception: The mineral wool smells... fish(!). The flooring wood was better (fewer black knots, etc.) than the B-sorting I bought from the local sawmill. Other timber - it's important to check what you pick.
Don't know if they are worse than others... they are cheaper anyway. It depends on where you're going to install it. Installed it in our outbuilding with c/c about 80-90 cm. Maybe not the most clever, but we haven't had any problems yet with a sagging floor. It can be mentioned that we placed a washing machine + dryer in a stack on this floor. Doesn't vibrate much during spinning. I probably wouldn't install a byggmax floor in my new build (though I don't know if it's much worse), but for a budget renovation, it works just fine. Otherwise, I think Byggmax often has acceptable quality for its material. It's important to choose carefully and not just be "penny wise and pound foolish."
It also seems to insulate a bit worse (on par with loose fill), and the thickness is somewhat uneven (the material is concentrated on one side of some rolls). But if you are aware of this (the unevenness can be compensated for to some extent), it is cheap insulation to, for example, insulate the attic with. I might not use them for the exterior walls of the entire house, but for sloped ceilings/roofs on the upper floor, I thought they worked perfectly fine.Kasch said:
By the way, my rolls also smelled like fish at first. They needed to dry for a few weeks before I used them (some rolls got a bit of water on them when I loaded them), and then they didn't smell at all. They are on the outside of the plastic, so hopefully that will prevent any future smells from getting in.
I started with the insulation, and when I checked, Byggmax had low-price insulation with lambda 39, Rockwool 37, and Byggmax "pro" 35. Since lower is better, I figured that if you choose the pro version, which is somewhat cheaper than Rockwool, you should end up with somewhat better insulation.
The timber is exactly the same as many local lumber yards have. An acquaintance works at one, and the timber comes from the same sawmill and is delivered by the same truck. Then the timber is likely handled worse at Byggmax since many people rummage in the bundles and don't put the timber back neatly.
It's always important to be vigilant as a customer, but you can also find great deals. You shouldn't hesitate to ask the hardware store what discounts they're willing to offer you. I managed to bargain the timber for my frame from Byggmax down by 20-30% to the same or even lower price than Byggmax.
I only have the flooring chipboard on a workbench, but now two of us have been up and walking on the bench, and so far it's holding up well.
The timber is exactly the same as many local lumber yards have. An acquaintance works at one, and the timber comes from the same sawmill and is delivered by the same truck. Then the timber is likely handled worse at Byggmax since many people rummage in the bundles and don't put the timber back neatly.
It's always important to be vigilant as a customer, but you can also find great deals. You shouldn't hesitate to ask the hardware store what discounts they're willing to offer you. I managed to bargain the timber for my frame from Byggmax down by 20-30% to the same or even lower price than Byggmax.
I only have the flooring chipboard on a workbench, but now two of us have been up and walking on the bench, and so far it's holding up well.
True that the insulation has good values on paper, but how is it in reality when you can sometimes see through a 45mm?? Or when 120mm is partly 100mm??
And regarding floor chipboard, buy a sheet from byggmax and an elite or similar and put them on the bathroom scale, and you'll soon see which one is better (the heavier, the better). The same goes for a pine door or a plank.
And although the wood often comes from the same local sawmill, they have MANY different classifications for the wood.
Even though it's hard to believe, I actually think you can buy a lot of cost-effective items from the big home improvement stores IF you have time for it. Unfortunately, you can't just grab the first thing off the shelf and hope it will work with Swedish building standards, and an example of this is an exterior door marketed as 10x21 which should mean it is about 990x2085mm?? It was very problematic to install as it was 970x2040!!! That budget door cost over 10,000 installed on site. :-X
And regarding floor chipboard, buy a sheet from byggmax and an elite or similar and put them on the bathroom scale, and you'll soon see which one is better (the heavier, the better). The same goes for a pine door or a plank.
And although the wood often comes from the same local sawmill, they have MANY different classifications for the wood.
Even though it's hard to believe, I actually think you can buy a lot of cost-effective items from the big home improvement stores IF you have time for it. Unfortunately, you can't just grab the first thing off the shelf and hope it will work with Swedish building standards, and an example of this is an exterior door marketed as 10x21 which should mean it is about 990x2085mm?? It was very problematic to install as it was 970x2040!!! That budget door cost over 10,000 installed on site. :-X
I have no experience with particle board from Byggmax specifically. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
As I see it, Byggmax can keep prices low for several reasons:
1) Lower quality
2) Large sales volume
3) Materials purchased from low-cost countries
4) Lower service quality (=lower personnel costs)
5) Limited assortment
However, I think BM can be good if you know exactly what you want, have some time to rummage around, and don’t need the absolute highest quality. For larger projects, I think you might get better prices elsewhere, if you are willing to haggle a bit.
As I see it, Byggmax can keep prices low for several reasons:
1) Lower quality
2) Large sales volume
3) Materials purchased from low-cost countries
4) Lower service quality (=lower personnel costs)
5) Limited assortment
However, I think BM can be good if you know exactly what you want, have some time to rummage around, and don’t need the absolute highest quality. For larger projects, I think you might get better prices elsewhere, if you are willing to haggle a bit.
Indeed, it is so:
The major costs are personnel and premises, and there Buildmax significantly saves compared to regular "hardware stores."
When you can buy the exact same window at Buildmax and Silvan and there's a 200 SEK difference, the window didn't get any better for that, did it?
We should also remember that the price level in Sweden is 15-20% above Europe even if we disregard tax differences, and a lot of that is profits and margins.
German bricks hold up in Germany, so they should hold up here too, but they cost significantly less.
The same goes for Edsbyn windows, -20%-25% if I had bought them from Poland, including shipping by a Polish carrier to Sweden.
I don't believe for a second that foreign building materials are inferior to Swedish ones. However, manufacturing costs differ due to taxes and due to entirely different competition, so the prices are significantly better.
The major costs are personnel and premises, and there Buildmax significantly saves compared to regular "hardware stores."
When you can buy the exact same window at Buildmax and Silvan and there's a 200 SEK difference, the window didn't get any better for that, did it?
We should also remember that the price level in Sweden is 15-20% above Europe even if we disregard tax differences, and a lot of that is profits and margins.
German bricks hold up in Germany, so they should hold up here too, but they cost significantly less.
The same goes for Edsbyn windows, -20%-25% if I had bought them from Poland, including shipping by a Polish carrier to Sweden.
I don't believe for a second that foreign building materials are inferior to Swedish ones. However, manufacturing costs differ due to taxes and due to entirely different competition, so the prices are significantly better.
Exactly right Mats_o
A lot of what you buy at Byggmax comes from the large European suppliers that maintain quite good quality.
Tired of all the trash talk about Byggmax.
I would be grateful if someone could find specific examples of what is substandard. And in such cases, don’t compare an item for 50 kronor with one for 75 kronor.
The service is substandard but that is their business idea - if you want service with your plasterboard, then buy it somewhere else and add a tenner.
A lot of what you buy at Byggmax comes from the large European suppliers that maintain quite good quality.
Tired of all the trash talk about Byggmax.
I would be grateful if someone could find specific examples of what is substandard. And in such cases, don’t compare an item for 50 kronor with one for 75 kronor.
The service is substandard but that is their business idea - if you want service with your plasterboard, then buy it somewhere else and add a tenner.
Large stacks of timber at Byggmax do not adhere to standard dimensions. It's a bit annoying to have to buy more timber than necessary. Perhaps the person in charge hasn't quite understood the dimensions correctly. 3.6--4.2--4.8 are the dimensions used, not 3.0 or 4.5 m etc. When it comes to chipboard, there have been quite a few different manufacturers over the years; some brands have been very soft, while the Finnish ones that appeared about 30 years ago would make the blade on the circular saw spark.