We are having the exact same issues. We had previously laid the exact same IKEA laminate, Tundra for a friend in her kitchen when we visited her in California with no issues whatsoever. It went down great with very little issues. That is one of the reason we picked Tundra for the basement project. We also had previously laid hard wood floors and laminate in our current home as well and it looks great. Our basement is approximately 25 x 38 feet. We have the dri-core already down over the concrete. Our home was built about 10 years ago and the basement is dry. We purchased the laminate in March 2009 from IKEA. We purchased the form and a laminate laying kit from IKEA too. We started installing the Tundra laminate May 2010. The flooring bundles were in the basement the whole time so we don�t think there was a climate acclimation issue. When we started installing the laminate, we had problems right away. Laminate did not seem to click in easily at all. When you clicked in one side of the laminate, the other end would pop out. Or you might get to two or three rows and a gap would appear. You would have to go back and try and tap it in. It was so time consuming and hard to deal with. No new box seemed to be any easier to install than the last box. We finally gave up about half way through the basement when 5 or 6 rows back a larger gap appeared. We did stagger about half a board so that no seems were close. We also used the spacers around the boarders from the IKEA laminate kit. We are at a loss as to what might be the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. PS We are about ready to pull our hair out!!!!!!!! IKEA offered to take back the boxes that are not open but that would mean $900 loss. Help! Can you glue it down what?

Practigal makes a good point! If I did that I could stay within the same 36 inch footprint and probably not have to notch for the sink - it could just be a little off center of the right side door. I don't really like that idea though - not so much for due to the mounting of the trash slides as Salex mentioned (the one I am using mounts on the base only), but because I see how dirty my trash cabinet seems to get, especially when the trash isn't emptied when it should be! And I was planning to use the cabinet under the preps sink for things like colanders and maybe even cutting boards. But is something to consider! Herbflavor mentioned the microwave location. If it were not for the group here, I probably would have stayed with an over the range microwave like the one we have in the current kitchen (and it is vented to the outside). Instead, I felt "required" to get a "real" hood for over the range. We did buy one off a display so we already have it. But then I did struggle with where to put the microwave. I went back and forth for a while about whether I should try to use a tall cabinet on the end of that run where the microwave is shown and somehow build the microwave into that cabinet. But it seemed like a lot of work and not much usable space gained. Raising it off the counter on a shelf would leave an unusable area underneath and/or reduce the accessible space in the wall cabinet above it. I do have a lot of counter space where it is located now that probably will not be needed for anything else. And having it on the counter will make it easier to replace with another model (size) later on if it fails. And to be frank, we don't use the microwave much at that house since we cook outdoors a lot. If it were just us in the house (no renters), I would actually be happy with it being in the pantry. As a matter of fact, I think I will make sure there is an outlet there in case we ever want to put it there! In any case, I would be interested to hear feedback on the microwave from others. Or feedback on whether a tall cabinet might be better for that spot. We could use a 24" cabinet, but I would want double doors on top which I think would be a PITA - the 24" single door would have such a wide swing! Salex/herbflavor, yes the DW is to the left of the sink. I plan to put my dishes in the cabinet above and silverware in the 18 inch drawer bank to the left of the DW. And the trash pullout under the sink will be on the right side - bummer there is no left drain sink option but we are using a the rear drain Silgranit super single and have determined the garbage disposal and trash pullout will both fit. The DW cannot go on the right due to the shallow depth counter there. Its on the right in the current house, and when it's open, no one can go in/out of the entry door! Even closed, it creates an obstruction as you enter the door.

I hear you. I'm a visual person which is why I was trying to find a photo, and I finally found something similar from an Inspired Kitchen photo. It appears they have done similar in this photo, but it's not close up enough to tell exactly what was used. It does look as if they just extended the cover panels above and placed trim in between. The panels are sized to extend 2.5 inches beyond the bottom of cabinet, and the trim is 2.5 inches. These look to be taller than 2.5 inches, but possible they used 30" IKEA cabinets and cut the tall panels to fit whatever trim piece this is. I suppose I could just try it out and see what it looks like above one cabinet row without actually screwing the panel in. I just wondered what anyone thought about the look. I'm looking for a very simple and plain idea for trim because of the shaker style doors.

Thank you all! My most urgent needs are night privacy and cool temp insulation. I'm leaning towards drapes on the sides to soften the space and a blind in the middle to lower at night. As for all the wood, I agree, it's too much and I've been considering painting the built-ins. I'm just worried I won't like it afterwards and can't unpaint it. It's been a tough room to deal with altogether. I appreciate all the advice!! Please keep it coming!