Pimpbot

Any pro's or cons going the laminate wood flooring route? and by laminate, I don't mean the kind you stick to the floor. Obviously the price is cheaper, but how hard wearing is it?

Manc

you mean like tonge and groove stuff, or wood looking lino?

Jerseygirl

We have just finished the last room. We bought unfinished white oak from Home Depot and layed it ourselves. IMHO wood looks much better than laminate. Hardwood flooring certainly adds to the value of the house, not sure about laminate. Laminate may look OK now but in a few years it could look a bit naff, like those sheets of stick on bathroom tiles years ago.

dunroving

If you have a dog (I'm guessing you do), do think about the clatter of laminate every time your dog walks over it. I house-sit and dog-sit for a friend with a very active lab and laminate over the whole ground floor and the noise can be very, very irritating after a while.

lolly

We put laminate in 2 of our bedrooms in our last house. We brought a good one but after 2 years it had faded in places, it is better to buy real wood flooring.

Jerseygirl

Wanna buy a pneumatic wood flooring nailer and compressor?

Sophia_S

We put 'wood' laminate in our kitchen/dining room,about 3 years ago,we were very 'iffy' about it at the time,but we're very pleased with it,still looks exactly as it did when it was first put down,very easy to clean (I just 'mop' it over with one of those microfiber floor mop thingys,my brand of mop is the 'starlifter' bought from QVC/HSN)...my husband 'warned' me about dropping things on the floor when he first laid it!....needless to say,he cursed himself and dropped nearly everything he touched in the kitchen for weeks after!,however,despite him,there is not even one mark on the floor!
Be warned,..... he does all the remodelling and repairs in and around our house...but he had a heck of a time getting the first few rows of the flooring laid,but it went much easier after he re-read the instructions!....Good luck.....Sophia

lolly

How much was the white oak ?? much cheaper to do it yourself and you know it is done properly.

Bob

Laminate stuff, noisy bugger if you have pets, but not to bad, oh, and really bad if you walk around in heels, tends to leave marks, as do large vacuum cleaners...swifer thingy works a treat though, and easy to lay....the in-laws have had it for a few years and still looks pretty good

the other downer though, if the room doesn't have a steady temp, it'll warp a bit along the seems, well might not be a problem for you, but in extreme temps around here, can be an issue, but the room the folks have it has decent heating/insulation, so not been a problem.

Jerseygirl

I think a bundle of 19 sq ft cost about $40/50. Spent about $1K buying the right equipment, but certainly saved loads doing it ourselves. It was hard work but worth it in the end.

snowbunny

Laminate can only be refinished a couple of times because the real wood is so thin. It is NOT the lifetime investment that a proper 3/4" wood tongue-and-groove floor is. It IS easy and quick to install and doesn't require height adjustment of doors, cabinets, floorboards, adjoining tile/carpet surfaces.

Jerseygirl

My sister living in the UK has laminate on most of her floors. Each room is a different shade, ranging from very light to dark. Looks dreadful but she thinks its great and refers to it as wooden flooring. Sounds very hollow when you walk on it.

Pimpbot

I'm guessing if you've laid the correct padding underneath the floor, the sound is very similar to real wood?. We do have a dog, and had tiled floor in the old house and the sound never bothered me. Funny thing is, before I pulled the carpet up in the new house, she sounded like a herd of horses when she ran across it. If we can get 5 years out of it, I think I'd be happy.

Jerseygirl

Under the 3/4" tongue and groove you just put down a thick paper that we bought in a large roll from Home Depot. As far as I am aware this is not 'padding' though. You say you would be pleased to get 5 yrs out of it, I would be more concerned about what effect it will have on the value of your property. I am not saying that laminate will devalue your property, but that hardwood adds to the value.

mandpete

We're having laminate flooring fitted in the hallway on Friday. We placed the order with a local well established flooring company and when we asked about having wood or laminate they actually recommended laminate (less maintenance). We chose a relatively expensive laminate (compared with Home Depot) and are having the premium underlay.