What do you think about laminate flooring?

[S. C.]

Several have said to get the good laminate. Would you please tell us what you consider to be the good kind? What to look for? What not to buy? We are also considering going with laminate and have never had it before, I need educated.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

We have Pergo laminate throughout our downstairs. My husband installed it himself. We have a dog and two kids, so we needed something that would take some abuse. It is easy to care for. If I were house hunting, I would not turn up my nose at a house with laminate wood floors in good shape, but I would turn up my nose at a house with carpeting throughout!

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

Some of the higher end laminate is pretty nice, but at that point, you could get engineered wood for the same price. It's not as durable, but IMO, looks MUCH better.

Whatever you do, don't get cheap-o laminate. It looks beyond horrible, IMO.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

M friend has hardwood and I have laminate. SHE is jealous of my flooring and told me so. I do agree with others to buy the better laminate. Ours is Pergo and has worn very nicely.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

We just installed laminate flooring in the baby's room and it looks really nice. It's Pergo and was the most expensive Lowes had - something to do with thickness? Not sure, I chose it because it was pretty! It took DH and his father less than a day to install.

One of the perks so far is that my cats HATE it because they keep falling over! That's one way to keep them away from the baby!

 

[Luv2Camp]

We have laminate flooring throughout our entire downs stairs, and I love it. It's nine years old, three dogs, two kids, and it still looks brand new. Good thing I like it - I don't think it will ever wear out!

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

I love, love, LOVE mine and I have a bunch of dogs running around on it, and one cat. lol

Oh yeah...and kids too. <3

 

[fairestoneofall]

we had laminate in our previous house because my DH is cheap (just being honest). he didn't want to spend the money to put in hardwood knowing we'd be moving soon (it wasn't going to make that much of a difference in pricing). it was a smaller home in a lower-cost area of town. we had no problems selling it ($115k).

our new house has hardwood. honestly, they look VERY similar. we've lived here a year and i already have a few places that have scratches.

when we redo our kitchen, i want cork flooring.

 

[marie1203]

I'll be one of the minority posters here. I had hardwood. I HATED it. When it came time to have it refinished once again I tore it out and replaced it with high end laminate. I love it does NOT scratch with my dog's nails, easy to clean and has not had to be replaced or refinished in 13 years unlike my hardwood which I had to have refinished every 4 years because of my dogs and kids.

I definitely would say get the higher end laminate. Mine is Pergo and it was the best one they offered at the time.

I have no regrets putting it in and I have no desire to sell my house anytime soon so it's all good that way.

I agree 100%. We have many dogs and the first thing to go in our house was the carpets. I don't like tile and I think there is nothing worst than seeing scratch up hardwood floors. We put laminate down and it looks great. It is going to be 5 years soon and there is not scratches and it is very easy to clean. Go what makes you and you pocket happy not by what other people think or like. I am happy with our flooring and wouldn't put real hardwood down even id someone else paid for it. Laminate works great for us.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We had laminate flooring installed on the main floor of our house a few months ago and we LOVE it! We decided to go with the laminate because of the cost and also we didn't want the maintenance of hardwood.

After doing lots of research on laminate flooring we went with the Pergo XP Peruvian Mahogany 10mm. I've had several people ask me if my floors were real hardwood.

Here's a picture ---

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Nice! I got the honey oak, on sale black friday last year, $17 a box.

 

[RadioNate]

OP - I'd look into a hardwood like Bamboo. My bamboo was cheaper than my laminate at our house in Florida.

That said, our laminate there is beautiful and you'd never know it was laminate. It is 100x nicer than the cheap engineered wood flooring that in our neighbors house. There's looks way cheaper. I used to post pictures and people always thought the laminate was the real wood and not the other way around.

 

[S. C.]

We had laminate flooring installed on the main floor of our house a few months ago and we LOVE it! We decided to go with the laminate because of the cost and also we didn't want the maintenance of hardwood.

After doing lots of research on laminate flooring we went with the Pergo XP Peruvian Mahogany 10mm. I've had several people ask me if my floors were real hardwood.

Here's a picture ---

Beautiful, thank you for posting the picture.

 

[Poohbug]

I love my laminate. However, I don't know what kind of quality you get at Costco. The quality of the laminate make a huge difference as does the quality of the pad you put below it.

I know hardwoods are all the rage now but the fact that my mother has a house full of it and refuses to get rid of her carpet tells me something. If you are looking for low maintenance and durability, a good laminate is the way to go.

 

[Nette]

OP - I'd look into a hardwood like Bamboo. My bamboo was cheaper than my laminate at our house in Florida.

That said, our laminate there is beautiful and you'd never know it was laminate. It is 100x nicer than the cheap engineered wood flooring that in our neighbors house. There's looks way cheaper. I used to post pictures and people always thought the laminate was the real wood and not the other way around.

We put bamboo in when the wood in our kitchen and office was rotting out. It still looks good in the kitchen, but by the back door, there is scuffing where the door swings, and in the office there is MAJOR scuffing under the rolling chairs.

I wish we'd gone with laminate.

I agree that it depends on the area of housing too. In the case of my dad's house, I put in cheapo laminate because the area did not dictate more expensive materials. It sold pronto.

 

[Lilliputian]

I think it really depends on where you live. In some areas (particularly in the north), people tend to live in older homes with great hardwood floors. Laminate can look cheap and be a hinder selling when that's the case.

If you live in an area with mostly newer homes, only the people in very nice homes have the really great quality hardwoods. Laminate is just fine and even sometimes preferable in those areas. If you live in a house with lots of built-ins, granite counters, rounded corners, arched doorways, and other architectural details, laminates probably aren't the best choice. Otherwise, they're probably fine.

 

[Coconut36]

Laminate is generally considered a negative when selling a home (watch enough HGTV and you will see potential buyers discount a home or make faces when they learn the flooring is laminate..real estate people I know here say it is a huge negative when they are trying to sell a home..to the point that buyers are known to ask for an allowance in the sale so they can replace it).

I would go with hardwood. We put ours in over 8 years ago and couldn't be happier with it. People I know that put in laminate are not so happy with theirs. Mine can be sanded/refinished..laminate can't. Mine can easily have sections replaced..in most instances you can't with laminate. The people I know with laminate have had issues with the finish, the sound of it (sounds plasticy/echoy and yes it was installed correctly) and areas that have chiped or warped that are not fixable. All I know that have laminate are planning to eventually replace with hardwood.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have hardwood and softwood floors throughout my home and while I love the floors they do require maintenance. I keep putting off having them refinished because I know the work I have in front of me.

My sister installed good laminate in her living areas of her home about 20 years ago. My DS owns that house now and the laminate still looks lovely. I would make sure that the laminate you buy is very good quality, the cheap stuff looks cheap very quickly. My DD bought her condo with laminate in the kitchen and it is not in great shape three years later. It is not scuffed but the finish is just not what it was when they moved in. She has almost no traffic in her home and no dogs.

 

[Pigeon]

It depends on the laminate and the application. I have very expensive slate-looking laminate in the entry way and kitchen. It's holding up perfectly and it looks great. I love it.

I have cheaper wood-looking laminate in the family room. I couldn't really do hardwood there. It's a slab, and I've got french doors, so can't raise the height of the floor. It's orders of magnitude better than the carpeting that was there. It won't last forever, but since it wasn't that expensive, I'm OK with that. I'd really like tile, but because it's a slab, it would be too cold, and putting radient heat would raise the floor too much.

I have a dog, and hardwood in other parts of the house. She does scratch the hardwood, but neither of the laminates. I doubt we'll get another dog when she dies, so maybe we'll put hardwood in the kitchen then.

 

[usd2bmd]

We put laminate in the kitchen and love it. It is super easy to clean and looks wonderful. I would do it again in a heartbeat. But I agree with PP in that you get what you pay for (like anything).