Laminated wood flooring

[Francie]

Originally Posted by iowarobin

I have had laminate flooring and just built a house 3 years ago and opted for hardwood in great room den and entry. Kitchen has linoleoum. I would never put laminate in again. It is prone to trouble from dog dishes dripping water, accident etc. will buckle the floor. I put in prefinished oak 3/4 inch hardwood. It can be refinished a lot of times if needed. The pet nails do give small scratches, but I guess it is like a victorian house, it just adds character. It does not scratch deeply, and frankly, hardwood looks real to me and laminate looks like fake wood and when you walk across it, it does not feel the same. This is just my opinion as having them both.

What is the cost differential between hardwood and laminate? I've always preferred hardwood....

Francie

[Francie]

Originally Posted by red98vett

Me Too Sheila - Here is my Den - we did it in Tile and Granite.....ignore the Mauseleum look it has - my husband went NUTS when he designed it 2-1/2 years ago..... This goes thru out the house except in Bedrooms - they have carpet.

Then my KITCHEN when we moved in BEFORE AND AFTER...excuse the stuff in my sink - must have been the maids day off

oh ...wait - I'm her !

Hahahahaha! You're too funny Vilette!


Francie

P.S. The linoneum DOES look nice...very different then when I was growing up...I had some vision of my mom's kitchen floor...lol!

[TatumsMom]

Originally Posted by Francie

P.S. The linoneum DOES look nice...very different then when I was growing up...I had some vision of my mom's kitchen floor...lol!

They actually have linoleum that looks like wood or tile. Some of it looks not too bad but of course some can look cheap. But still, it's a great idea if you can only have linoleum and want the look of wood or tile.

[iowarobin]

The cost difference is not huge, it depends on what you install, some wood species are cheaper than others. The installation of hardwood is more expensive if you nail it like mine is. I know they have hardwood, that is installed the same as laminate. I dont know how well this works, but it is worth researching/ go to google and type in hardwood flooring and you should be able to find the associtation that will tell you the differences.

[RowdysMom]

Originally Posted by iowarobin

I know they have hardwood, that is installed the same as laminate. I dont know how well this works, but it is worth researching/ go to google and type in hardwood flooring and you should be able to find the associtation that will tell you the differences.

I have hardwood that is like laminate in that it is not nailed but in strips and glued together. We got it from Home Depot and did it ourselves - it is beautiful. We've only had it 3 years, but it looks as good as the day we put it down. It too, was prefinished, and has a 20 year warranty - it can be sanded and refinished too, if needed. It is pretty much what you have to do (at least that is what I was told) if you don't have subflooring to nail to or you can't have subflooring put in to nail hardwood to. I couldn't because I have tile that the wood would bump up to and if we put a subflooring down to nail the hardwood flooring to - it would have been significantly higher than the tile. Anyway, it was pre-glued so you just put it together and tapped it (or HIT it), it was like tongue and groove - it snapped together and then when the two sides with glue were together, the glue stuck. That was kinda hard to describe!

I absolutely LOVE the floor!!!!! We've had no problems with it and we have 3 (small) dogs.

[Francie]

Originally Posted by iowarobin

The cost difference is not huge, it depends on what you install, some wood species are cheaper than others. The installation of hardwood is more expensive if you nail it like mine is. I know they have hardwood, that is installed the same as laminate. I dont know how well this works, but it is worth researching/ go to google and type in hardwood flooring and you should be able to find the associtation that will tell you the differences.

Thanks for the info...I'll google ...!


Francie

[RowdysMom]

Originally Posted by Francie

Thanks for the info...I'll google ...! Francie

Here's a good site which talks about the differences in the different types of hardwood floors. Be sure to look at the "frequently asked questions"

http://www.tarkett-floors.com/floors...d_na/offer.asp

[JessicaB]

Hello everyone! I personally have a lot of experiece with just about everything mentioned in this thread. I own my own home and am a do-it-yourselfer. Linoleum is the ideal solution to avoid moisture problems, but some linoleum tends to scratch and gouge a lot. I started with carpet and got really tired of having to get out the carpet cleaner for mud and all that. So I tore it out to reveal the beautiful dark hardwood floor underneath. It was still in great condition. Well, I had a 145lb Argentine Dogo and his nails (not matter how much I kept them clipped) always scratched the floor when he would play or get excited (he was an indoor dog). I also had a little terrier mix and his nails did not seem to be a problem because he was so light weight. Another problem was that my big dog was potty trained, but developed hip displaysia and a spinal problem and during treatment could not always make it outside. ANY sort of wet puddle that stays on hard wood will distort the color and sometimes peel off the top protective coating. Wood will also absorb liquid so you cannot get the urin smell out once it soaks in. And yes, wood is more expensive then laminate and also much more difficult to install or replace. I just recently decided to cover the wood floor with new light cedar colored laminate to brighten up the house. I am not married or anything so I did all this myself. It was not very difficult to install. You lay a moisture proof protective barrier between the 1st flooring and the laminate. The stuff I bought is also antibacterial and kills microorganisms. I bought the interlocking pieces which are easily cut to shape with a hand saw if you prefer to stay away from power tools. Both my dogs passed away before I installed this new flooring, so I cannot say how it holds up with dog nails, but I haven't scratched it up yet with anything else. It does say in the package not to leave any spills on the laminate though. From what I have read, sounds like it causes problems.

Good luck to everyone!

Jessica

[Sugar's Mom]

Thanks, jessica, Lots of helpful info. WOW, I wish I were more like you. we have to hire everything done and that is usually where we run into big bucks.

[RowdysMom]

Originally Posted by Sugar's Mom

Thanks, jessica, Lots of helpful info. WOW, I wish I were more like you. we have to hire everything done and that is usually where we run into big bucks.

LOL! I know what you mean. My first husband (loooooooong time ago), couldn't even change a lightbulb. My current hunny pie hubby knows how to do everything. He and I (well mostly he) built on an 800 sq ft addition to our house, but now that he has developed heart problems, he can't do much at all. But he can still be the supervisor!

It does greatly increase the cost of things when you have to hire them done.

[JessicaB]

There really is nothing better then doing things for yourself and stepping back to see what a good job you have done! Not only that, but I have saved myself thousands of dollars by doing things myself. I am an only child so my parents raised me with the motivation to be able to do just about anything. I am really proud of my closet project. I was really annoyed by the fact that I had this tiny dark little closet for the master bedroom. So I tore out the old one, combined it with the closet from the office on the other side of the wall, reframed it, put in sliding mirrored doors, shelves, and new track lighting! That was also the beginning of my laminate flooring adventure! I have some "before" and "during" pictures, but still have to take the "after" pics. I will show them to you when I get a chance!

[alpayton]

It is my understanding that there were some changes made to laminate flooring in the very recent past that made it a VERY muchso better product than it was when it first came out.

I replaced the carpet in my den with laminate flooring. Middle grade with texture. It was around 1.80 a foot. My laminate is not shiny so it doesn't matter as much on the streaking from mopping. I have to figure out the right stuff to mop with though because about a day after mopping, I walk across the floor and my tennis shoes act like they're sticking to it for some reason. They make the sounds like there's something on the floor and I know there's not. It's ridiculous. I use Murphy's Oil Soap on it. It does a good job cleaning it. The laminate I have is a click and lock style as I saw the guys lay it and it has a pad under it to help cushion it from anything that would fall on it. All of my tables, chairs, etc have felt pads on the legs or corners as to hold the pressure points off of the floors so not to make "divots". Another thing they advised me of was metal pads on the bottom of furniture. If you scoot them across the floor, the metal will heat up and cause the plastic coating on the laminate floor to melt! SO it will leave a mark. Permanently. My dogs and my kiddo have spilled everything known to man on this floor and they have definitely been hired by the company to do the pee test to see if pee can ruin the laminate. Not one single spot can you see. And let me tell you...my dogs are the best employees, cuz they're hiding their spots EVERYWHERE!

[Laura]

Originally Posted by Bonnie's Mom

One question I do have, does anyone here have laminate on their stairs? I want to do my stairs and upstairs hall/bathroom, but wasn't sure if they made laminate that would go on stairs. That is my next project, because Bonnie and my cat have found a place upstairs that they use the bathroom I would love to have it all over my house, but don't want to move the bedroom furniture downstairs, so I will probably leave carpet in the bedrooms.

We have wood (not laminate) 1/2 way up the stairs, the rest is still carpet. I would probably say laminate might be too slippery for stairs. The wood is very slippery when polished. We are trying to decide wether to carpet down or wood up. The kids choose carpet, they are the ones using it most. We may finish the wood and use a carpet runner.

I have ceramic tile in all my downstairs except my bedroom and bath which have wood and laminate. Also upstairs hall is laminate. I much prefer the ceramic tile to laminate for cleaning and LOOKING clean. The laminate always shows puppy prints and footprints. We are starting a repair two strips wide by the tub and shower this week (still planning) as the floor has seperated. It is also much noisier than the tile. The grout lines between tiles are sealed and clean beautifully (but pee flows through them like a river). My living room grout is a light pink color and when clean is light pink. I do not find the ceramic tile to be colder than laminate or vinyl flooring (kitchen). It is louder than carpeting (talking and tv noises are not absorbed.) I love to clean my ceramic tile floors as they look clean; I hate to clean carpets and pergo - they never keep a clean look for more than the time it takes to back out of the room.

[Sugar's Mom]

Originally Posted by Laura

We have wood (not laminate) 1/2 way up the stairs, the rest is still carpet. I would probably say laminate might be too slippery for stairs. The wood is very slippery when polished. We are trying to decide wether to carpet down or wood up. The kids choose carpet, they are the ones using it most. We may finish the wood and use a carpet runner.

I have ceramic tile in all my downstairs except my bedroom and bath which have wood and laminate. Also upstairs hall is laminate. I much prefer the ceramic tile to laminate for cleaning and LOOKING clean. The laminate always shows puppy prints and footprints. We are starting a repair two strips wide by the tub and shower this week (still planning) as the floor has seperated. It is also much noisier than the tile. The grout lines between tiles are sealed and clean beautifully (but pee flows through them like a river). My living room grout is a light pink color and when clean is light pink. I do not find the ceramic tile to be colder than laminate or vinyl flooring (kitchen). It is louder than carpeting (talking and tv noises are not absorbed.) I love to clean my ceramic tile floors as they look clean; I hate to clean carpets and pergo - they never keep a clean look for more than the time it takes to back out of the room.

Okay, i just went and picked out ceramic tile this morning. The guy is coming on Wednesday to give me an estimate on cost. he said my grout would be very narrow and not like the usual wide grout. I also told him the reason i want it is because of the dogs pee. he said they will put a sealant over the grout which will make any water just bead up. So when you say it flows like a river are you saying it still goes under the tile or just flows down the little 'ditch". Thanks

[RowdysMom]

Originally Posted by Sugar's Mom

Okay, i just went and picked out ceramic tile this morning. The guy is coming on Wednesday to give me an estimate on cost. he said my grout would be very narrow and not like the usual wide grout. I also told him the reason i want it is because of the dogs pee. he said they will put a sealant over the grout which will make any water just bead up. So when you say it flows like a river are you saying it still goes under the tile or just flows down the little 'ditch". Thanks

I wasn't the one to say "it flows like a river" but I will say that, when Rowdy peed on my tile (only once), it flows like water in a ditch - it didn't go under the tile.