Flooring: Real wood or laminate?

[mstng86]

subconsciously, she must be a bisexual.

[dville_gt]

subconsciously, she must be a bisexual.

just motivated me to make a post in the back porch about sleep walkers. i told sarah that she prob did it on purpose and cause she thinks sarah is hot

[STANGGT40]

I'm flooring illiterate, but here it is in a nutshell.

I have 4 maniac dogs, 1 at 100lbs, and 3 at 20lbs or less. Also, 2 elderly cats - the reason we're ditching the carpet with only living in the house for 1 year. Between them bieng the heathens that they are and me walking in and out of the garage (workshop) - we've succesfully ruined the cream colored carpet.

Moving right along - I have questions as to durability of the different types of wood-type floor coverings.

Laminate - ease of installation I guess.. supposedly more durable for claws and maniac JRT's.

Real wood / overlays - looks better? more expensive, but not as durable?

Am I on the right track? Am I missing any pros/cons?

it really depends on the house...if you have a high end custom home, you don't want to use anything but real wood for resale value. if every house around you has 3/4" wood floors, it's really going to hurt your home's resale value and time on the market, if you have laminate or even engineered wood. i used to put laminate wood floors in rentals all of the time, but they've really come a long way, as far as looks are concerned. i just put a bunch of it down in my house, and i really like it. i don't have one stitch of carpet in the whole house...it's either laminate wood or tile. i got it through home depot (pergo), and it is a dark finish with a "scraped" look. i've had several people ask me if it's real wood. it's not going to fool someone that has a ton of experience of wood floors, but your normal everyday joe won't know the difference. you'll never have to refinish it, it will (in most circumstances) look just like it looks when new, when it's 20 years old. now, i'm sure it will fade some if it's in direct sunlight constantly. anyway, the stuff that i used has the padding actually on the board, so all you have to do is clean/prep the floor, lay down the painter's plastic (get the plastic from the paint section that matches the thickness of the flooring stuff...it's the same thing and it's cheaper), then just lay the floor. it's simple to install, especially since you don't have to use glue anymore.

now, i'm no flooring expert, but i wouldn't suggest engineered wood, especially with big dogs. you'll have the ability to refinish it once, but that's about it. obviously you'll never be able to refinish the laminate, but you shouldn't ever have to worry about it.

as i've said before, go find what you like at home depot (have them price match, if you find it somewhere else cheaper), then get a change of address packet at the post office, get the lowe's 10% off coupon...use it at home depot...then use my cell number for another 3% off. (you'll get 10% off of the plastic because it's in the paint department)

there ya go!

[STANGGT40]

btw, don't cheap out on the thickness...they sell the 6/7mm stuff for dirt cheap, but get at least 8mm and preferrably thicker. the thicker the plank, the better it will look, feel, sound, etc.

below is a link to what i used:

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-Laminate-Flooring-Laminate-Wood-Planks/Pergo/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbejkZ150/R-100637641/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[turbostang]

it really depends on the house...if you have a high end custom home, you don't want to use anything but real wood for resale value. if every house around you has 3/4" wood floors, it's really going to hurt your home's resale value and time on the market, if you have laminate or even engineered wood. i used to put laminate wood floors in rentals all of the time, but they've really come a long way, as far as looks are concerned. i just put a bunch of it down in my house, and i really like it. i don't have one stitch of carpet in the whole house...it's either laminate wood or tile. i got it through home depot (pergo), and it is a dark finish with a "scraped" look. i've had several people ask me if it's real wood. it's not going to fool someone that has a ton of experience of wood floors, but your normal everyday joe won't know the difference. you'll never have to refinish it, it will (in most circumstances) look just like it looks when new, when it's 20 years old. now, i'm sure it will fade some if it's in direct sunlight constantly. anyway, the stuff that i used has the padding actually on the board, so all you have to do is clean/prep the floor, lay down the painter's plastic (get the plastic from the paint section that matches the thickness of the flooring stuff...it's the same thing and it's cheaper), then just lay the floor. it's simple to install, especially since you don't have to use glue anymore.

now, i'm no flooring expert, but i wouldn't suggest engineered wood, especially with big dogs. you'll have the ability to refinish it once, but that's about it. obviously you'll never be able to refinish the laminate, but you shouldn't ever have to worry about it.

as i've said before, go find what you like at home depot (have them price match, if you find it somewhere else cheaper), then get a change of address packet at the post office, get the lowe's 10% off coupon...use it at home depot...then use my cell number for another 3% off. (you'll get 10% off of the plastic because it's in the paint department)

there ya go!

Interesting. I never thought of that approach.. what's with the cell phone number?

[STANGGT40]

Interesting. I never thought of that approach.. what's with the cell phone number?

it's their pro rew program...i've spent a fortune there, this year, so i'm at either the platinum or diamond level, which is 3% off the total order and 10% off paint products. you just enter my cell phone number, and they knock it off your total...you'll see it on your receipt.

[Chili]

We are still in the process of putting down vinyl at our place and really couldn't find anything we woudl rather have had. It is a floating floor, waterproof (good for kitchen and bath) and can be laid down over many existing flooring. It looks great and has a very real handscraped look.

We have / had pergo in and this stuff is way nicer. Also has a lifetime warranty for residential use.

We worked with a couple of flooring people and nobody could get anything that looked as good. This stuff is only sold at Home Depot right now:

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring/h_d1/N-apwrZ5yc1v/R-202352552/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

TrafficMaster Allure Ultra 7.5 in. x 47.6 in. Allure Ultra Vintage Oak Cinnamon Resilient Vinyl Plank Flooring

The Allure Ultra Vinyl Plank Flooring features a wood-grain pattern and shock-absorbent, waterproof construction to provide resistance to skidding, staining, scratching and marking. This tile is recommended for floating installation in interior residential and commercial spaces over many subfloor surfaces.

• Wood-grain design with a vintage-oak color complements many home interiors
• Resists marks, scratches and stains and absorbs shocks for easy care
• Waterproof material offers skid resistance
• Designed for floating installation over most subfloor materials
• No underlayment, expansion joints or heavy tools required
• Luxurious embossing and natural look of wood plank flooring
• Quiet underfoot
• Commercial grade wear layer
• Lifetime residential, 10 year commercial warranty
• For use indoors and temperature controlled environments only. See installation instructions for more information.
• MFG Brand Name : TrafficMaster Allure Ultra
• MFG Model # : 517115
• MFG Part # : 517115

It's not cheap but does not require any underlayment or whatever, whic offsets the cost.

It's not as easy to install as they lead you to believe, certainly not as easy as Pergo because it flexes, but is still DIY stuff.

[akfodysvn]

I know someone that has the laminate and its about int he middle of the room where there is a desk chair that has distorted the color of the floor... the only way to fix that would be pull up half the floor, replace 5 or 6 pieces of the laminate and then lay the rest back down...

if it were real floors you would fix just that spot pretty easily

wrong, you can cut out the boards you wish to replace... obviously you've never performed the task, but it's very simple.

My laminate floors are awesome... look like real hand scraped wood. On a slab I didn't want to fuck w/ hardwood even w/ a moisture barrier... my 90lb lab does laps all over the shit and never will you see where he's been.

On contrast my neighbors have a brazilian hardwood and the other w/ a an oak floor, and they both scratch w/ their kids, not to mention their dogs.

I am very picky, so maybe other don't care about minimal scratching, but i'll take my zero maintenance laminate wood floors over a hardwood in this house any day.

[Swamp Donkey]

I just did 600 sqft of engineered, hand-scraped, 10mm thick, in the house I'm building. The sound is as close to 3/4" real hardwood as it can get in my opinion.

[ethic1]

I just did 600 sqft of engineered, hand-scraped, 10mm thick, in the house I'm building. The sound is as close to 3/4" real hardwood as it can get in my opinion.

What type is this? Looks real good!!! How hard was the install and where did you get it?

[Swamp Donkey]

What type is this? Looks real good!!! How hard was the install and where did you get it?

Thanks! It's engineered laminate, made by Shaw. Installation was a breeze. My brother and I installed all 600 sqft in three hours. I bought it at G&S sales in Terrell, TX. I paid about $2.15/ft I believe. They have many different styles to choose from and if you don't like what they have in stock they have lots of samples to choose from. Also, they are negotiable. I was able to get them to drop the price about .29/ft

[fordracing19]

We put engineered in our rent house. After a year they still look like new.

[turbostang]

both of those look great!

Keep 'em coming guys!

[KoopaTroopa]

We put engineered in our rent house. After a year they still look like new.

I like it!

[ELVIS]

wrong, you can cut out the boards you wish to replace... obviously you've never performed the task, but it's very simple.

My laminate floors are awesome... look like real hand scraped wood. On a slab I didn't want to fuck w/ hardwood even w/ a moisture barrier... my 90lb lab does laps all over the shit and never will you see where he's been.

On contrast my neighbors have a brazilian hardwood and the other w/ a an oak floor, and they both scratch w/ their kids, not to mention their dogs.

I am very picky, so maybe other don't care about minimal scratching, but i'll take my zero maintenance laminate wood floors over a hardwood in this house any day.

how would you do that since it is beat into place so the grooves mate up?

god bless.