Laminate Flooring - Pergo vs. Armstrong SwiftLock

[poohs_hunny]

I am going to be putting laminate flooring in place of carpet in my living room, hallway, and two bedrooms (approx. 600 sq ft). Lowe's has 15% off of Pergo, so I had been focusing on that. But I also fell in love with a color of Armstrong SwiftLock. The price is quite a bit cheaper than Pergo, but the quality appears to be the same. The only difference is it doesn't come with the attached underlayment, so I'd have to buy it separately, Still, the total would be much cheaper with the SwiftLock. (The attached underlayment on the Pergo is very thin anyway.)

Anyway, has anyone had experience with SwiftLock? Is it as good as Pergo? I don't want to go with something I'll regret later just to save a few hundred dollars. Thanks for any help you can give!

On a slightly different note, I have heard that you can put laminate on stairs. How do you do that? Is it horribly difficult and how does it look?

 

[auntie]

We put a laminate in our kitchen. It was about 7 years ago..and options were different then. We actually wound up using a Formica Brand because I liked the color. It's held up incredibly well. Looks brand new. I don't even know if they still make laminate flooring. We did look at Pergo..but it seemed as if you were paying more for the name, and I didn't care for the options at that time. To me..it seems many people use the name "pergo" interchangably with "laminate flooring". It's like people calling a tissue a kleenex. There are quite a few good laminate products out there. I think with Pergo..you're paying for the name as much as anything else.

 

[MAKmom]

I have used Pergo & the Dupont brand. They are both awesome.

I have to tell you doing the steps yourself will be VERY difficult. I would get a professional to tackle the steps for you.

 

[Kronk's girl]

We have pergo and we only got it because we tore out some carpeting and continued the same pergo from the other room that the previous owners put in. We have been very happy with it though. We installed it ourselves and it wasn't too hard.

When we were house hunting a few years ago we saw a house that was completely laminate flooring including the stairs and I'll just say we could tell they did it themselves...it looked awful . I agree with getting help if you want it on the stairs!

 

[poohs_hunny]

I have to tell you doing the steps yourself will be VERY difficult. I would get a professional to tackle the steps for you.

Don't worry - I wouldn't attempt any of this myself. My handyman friend will be doing it and I will be "helping". I didn't even think putting it on steps was possible until I read about it.

 

[LuvBaloo]

When you put laminate flooring on the stairs, you need to buy the right type of trim pieces for the stairs. They are using pretty expensive.
Done properly, laminate on the stairs looks nice. My sister has it, and it looks good; hers was proffesionally installed. I read up on it when I did my living room, and it seemed difficult, so I just did tile on the stairs.
If your friend is experienced, then you should be fine.

 

[poohs_hunny]

I think I've decided against putting it on the stairs. I'll go back to my original plan of painting the risers and staining the tops.

Anyone else have opinions about Pergo/SwiftLock?

 

[MAKmom]

I think I've decided against putting it on the stairs. I'll go back to my original plan of painting the risers and staining the tops.

Anyone else have opinions about Pergo/SwiftLock?

Cheaper laminate just like cheaper carpet is ok for areas that are not high traffic like bedrooms. If this is a high traffic area I would go with a better brand. That being said I do not know if the Armstrong product is good but the store should know.

Also the size you your household should be a factor.

 

[AristocatFan]

I have Pergo in my kitchen, dining room and family room and love it! So easy to install ourselves, low maintenance and very durable. My sister had the Swiftlock and she had trouble with boards warping and fading.

 

[kidshop]

I actually have pergo and armstrong in the same house! our house flooded many years ago when the ice maker line broke and all the flooring except one hallway had to go! That one hallway was pergo and although I don't really remember why we went with armstrong for the replacement.....I think pergo didn't have our color and the armstrong was a match plus we did another entire room (previously we had just done the 2 hallways). anyway, they don't touch and they look identical and have worn the same. I believe they are equal in quality. The house has been a rental for 6 years now and the floor still look brand new. (no pets though) I love them both. And, I now live in a house that has a really cheap brand of laminate and it is not the same. it looks dull and has tons of chips. Definitely get a good brand.