Laminate Floor Recommendations

[Irish]

Anyone have any brand/product recommendations for laminate (wood) floors? I was in HD the other day and noticed how price comparable this is to carpet nowadays (even cheaper in some instances), and I'm thinking of using it for 2 new bedroom renovations I'm in the middle of doing. I initially was going to have wall to wall carpet installed, but I this stuff looks like a breeze to put in, whereas I'd have to get someone else to install the carpets (I hate installing carpets, I don't have the knees for it anymore). Both bedrooms are on the second floor with plywood subfloors and will be for little kids. Anyone have any recommendations (Pergo, Armstrong, Shaw, etc)? TIA

[Quads]

We've got Pergo, and you can't destroy them. (the dogs have tried)

[gator20]

If you plan to re-sell...dont put laminate.

[Irish]

If you plan to re-sell...dont put laminate.

Any particular reason why?

[gator20]

Not to be to opionated.....Im a Realtor and around this area, I show a lot of homes, I have never once had a client walk into a house and be happy about laminate. It is usually frowned upon. The real stuff isny much more and you will probably get a better return for your money....upon selling the house. Again, just my opinion and what I have seen in 5 years of real estate.

[Irish]

Not to be to opionated.....Im a Realtor and around this area, I show a lot of homes, I have never once had a client walk into a house and be happy about laminate. It is usually frowned upon. The real stuff isny much more and you will probably get a better return for your money....upon selling the house. Again, just my opinion and what I have seen in 5 years of real estate.

Thanks, not calling you out or anything, I just had remembered you were a Realtor and was curious if you knew the reason why they're frowned upon. :D

They're starting to become a little more popular around here - I know a few people, mostly pet owners, that were looking for them vs hardwood because they're supposed to be pretty durable under pet claws.

To me they seem a little hit or miss - I've walked on a few that were very hollow sounding and ugly and others that you could hardly tell it wasn't real. Figured I'd ask around to see if anyone recommended a particular one they liked.

[Doctor_XXX]

Generally, yeah, laminates are more durable and often times cheaper than "real" wood. We've got it in our place, and it looks, feels, sounds, and wears GREAT. Like the paint on the walls, I'm sure everyone has an opinion, and some people might not like laminate, just because it isn't "real". (I, for one, wouldn't ever have wall-to-wall carpet again...just my personal preference).

We have Wilsonart Flooring (http://www.wilsonartflooring.com/category.asp) in our entire house (aside from the bathrooms). INSTALLED IT OURSELVES!!! Wouldn't change a thing! ;)

[Quads]

And under the category of "flooring"
Look at Lumber Liquidators, and consider bamboo as a flooring alternative.
Really sharp looking material at a fair price.

[Gadgets]

Along those same lines isn't cork flooring becoming popular as well?

[Joe Bass]

We've been looking at cork. Anyone here have it? Likes/dislikes?

[RyGuy]

We've been looking at cork. Anyone here have it? Likes/dislikes?

The cork we have (actually in the area of the house where my mother-in-law lives [yes, you read right, my mother-in-law lives with us]) faded?bleached?turned very pale? in the areas where it was exposed to direct sunlight. Took us about 6 months to really tell it. But unless you move all the furniture or a rug or something and check it out, you can't much tell.

Other than that we have really liked it.

[P-Funk]

We have Quick Step in the basement and I just put it in the kitchen and dining room on the main floor. Very satisfied. Installed both myself.

[Irish]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[MisterShark]

And under the category of "flooring"
Look at Lumber Liquidators, and consider bamboo as a flooring alternative.
Really sharp looking material at a fair price.


I've seen that bamboo option and agree that it looks pretty nice.
As I recall, bamboo will take an s-load of abuse too.

[Quads]

I've seen it in a few installations. I remember Shadow put it in his house (their old house) in Michigan. I have a few other friends who have used it and are very happy with it.

[rumackay]

We have Quick Step in the basement and I just put it in the kitchen and dining room on the main floor. Very satisfied. Installed both myself.
Quick Step is the main brand we sell at work. Have sold thousands of m2 of the stuff to both residential and business customers and have never had any complaints/dramas or claims. Not sure about the states but it's miles ahead of anything else on the market here in Oz.

[P-Funk]

Quick Step is the main brand we sell at work. Have sold thousands of m2 of the stuff to both residential and business customers and have never had any complaints/dramas or claims. Not sure about the states but it's miles ahead of anything else on the market here in Oz.

As I understand it, the quick-lock snap together joints are pretty much state of the art. They work great. After a very short time installing it, I was able to do everything without a hammer and tapping block. Just wiggle the joints and they pull together perfectly.

[mikeyinsd]

you can also get bamboo at costco, at least they have it here in San Diego. It's better if it's glued down instead of the floating method. it's more solid. my father in law has it and it's really nice.

I have laminate and the hollow sound when you walk on it is annoying and sounds cheap. but at $.99 a sq/ft at ikea 5 years ago and it still looks like the day we bought it is ok. there are a couple of spots where moisture by the doors started to make way and you can tell in the joints where they swelled a little but other than that i'm happy with the purchase. Just put a small area rug at the doors. The floors had a 5 yr guarantee on them anyway so I got my money's worth.

The installation tools that they gave me at ikea were very primitive. the tapping block chipped the laminate on a couple of boards and I ended up using a wood block to tap them together lightly. The installation tool worked well for the sides where it butts up against the wall and you can't get a tapping block in back of it. Just be careful using it. Took me 3hrs to do the whole downstairs about 750 sqft. and all I needed was a jigsaw, a square and a tape measure. Cut the boards on the backside so that the top doesn't chip. Hope that helps. good luck :)