Hardwood vs. laminate vs. ceramic flooring

[Galahad]

Unfortunately, those of use that don't have a basement can't go with traditional hardwoods.

Just curious, why not? We have a basement and all, but we have been looking at Pergo flooring. What is "traditional" hardwood vs. "non-traditional". The high-end Pergo stuff seems pretty good.

 

[mckryan]

Originally posted by Galahad
Just curious, why not? We have a basement and all, but we have been looking at Pergo flooring. What is "traditional" hardwood vs. "non-traditional". The high-end Pergo stuff seems pretty good.

When I say traditional hardwoods, I mean flooring that is the same wood for the entire thickness of the board. Because you can't lay them on concrete, they can't be used on houses without a basement. You can probably use them on houses with a crawl space since they would have wood subfloors. What I have on my slab house are engineered hardwoods. There is a thin layer of real wood on top of particle board. The site below calls them laminated hardwoods. http://www.hardwood.org/display_article.asp?ID=252

Here's a page that shows you a picture of the difference between the two woods.

I will say that I do love my floors, other than the ease that they dent and scratch. They are builder grade floors, so I'm sure I could go out and get a better grade engineered hardwood for slabs that would hold up a bit better.

My brother has Pergo, and he loves it. It looks great and doesn't sound hollow when you walk on it. He could have put in hardwoods, but he wanted something more durable.

 

[mamajoan]

Pergo.. we have it installed in our living, family, kitchen, hallways, and stairs. It is Prodigy, weathered wheat plank. LOVE IT!
We had it professionally installed.. cost a bundle.. the stairs were $80 each stair for labor... yowza!! It is easy care.. swiffer and mop with vinegar/water. Looks very good, sounds good and is standing up very well to dogs, kids, and heavy traffic.
I am a very picky woman.. very.... I like the look of the pergo.. I don't try to "fool" myself or anyone else to think it is hardwood. Most of the neighbors bring their dh or dw over to see the floors.. many have installed the pergo into their homes now.

We had hardwood floors in our old house. I will admit it looked nice... for a while. It was hard to upkeep, expensive to repair.
When I am retired, hardwood would be a good choice for me.
Tile is nice and cool but hard to stand on for extended periods.
Carpet is beautiful.. and my favorite floor covering. Just can't keep it clean enough to suit me with the kids and pets right now.

I think it is different strokes for different folks. oh... and I do believe you get what you pay for...

 

[snoopy]

We have hardwood all over our house except in the kitchen where we laid Pergo. Given the opportunity, I'd redo the whole house in Pergo, its sooooooo much easier to take care of then hardwood!

 

[dejr_8]

We have a Mannington laminant wood flooring in our dining room and entrance hallway. We also have two large dogs and after four years of use (abuse) the floor/finish looks virtually new.

The polyurethane finish that Mannington uses is almost indestructable. It is much harder than any polyurethane that you could apply over real wood.

I would go for Mannington over real wood...

 

[faithinkarma]

Yep, Mannington, that's what I used. I could not for the life of me recall that name. And it was wonderful !

 

[Denine]

These are all great comments. Keep them coming.

I didn't know that about a slab house. We have a slab now, but have laminate flooring.

 

[mudnuri]

boy- what a varied amount of opionons! great to see


we have hardwood..well it's really not 'hardwood" its pine...floors in our house, except for the bathroom and kitchen, where we have vinyl...

I dont know why everyone is having problems with dog nails, and a horrible time cleaning them. Our house was built in 1967, and these floors are ORIGINAL..never been refinished, or resealed. and hold up fine to our 140lb plus yellow lab, and 2 kids...who just last month spent about 20 minutes clunking up and down the hallway in their skiboots while DH was suppose to be 'watching them' not a ding/or dent in my floors.

As for upkeep- wow- this is the easiest too...your not suppose to mop hardwood with a mop and bucket..excessive water damages even the best sealed woods, it can get into the cracks between boards, and cause water damage...the only way to clean hardwood floors is with a drymop...thats the easiest way. I do use murplys oil soap on them 2x per year...spring and fall cleanup...and I vacum them A LOT! dog/cat hair etc. If something is spilt on them, I wipe it up with a cloth, then use a sponge with multi purpose cleaner to cure the stickyness

Brandy