Laminate flooring??

[bananiem]

Ok, so we go to the flooring store today and the guy really wants to sell us laminate flooring for the kitchen, back entry and laundry room. I do not want hardwood or ceramic. I was assuming I'd get a high end vinyl like I've had before. Those of you who went with the laminate, please tell me the pros and cons! Would you get it again?
Thanks!
ann

 

[Hillbeans]

We have laminate in our kitchen and it holds up really well. It's also easy to clean and doesn't scratch easily.

It looks like wood flooring, and I like it a lot. It was about a year old when we moved into our house and we've been here just short of two years, and it still looks great.

 

[zippeedee]

We just had it put in our two living rooms, master bedroom and upstairs hallway. There was enough left to do one flight of stairs, which look amazing. It looks beautiful and is very easy to take care of, BUT I've been told many times DON'T GET IT WET. The three areas you are thinking of are all places likely to get very wet. If that is the case, I'd think twice. One friend told me that she loved it in her kitchen but she didn't notice an area where her dogs repeatedly sloshed water out of their bowls until it was too late and the laminate started to separate from staying wet. I've been totally paranoid about wiping up every little spill, but the scrap has been in an uncovered trash can outside for weeks, uncovered, and it all looks fine. so maybe I'm over-reacting. It does look beautiful and wears like iron. Other than the water, it is pretty hard to hurt it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[bananiem]

Ok, I don't mean to sound stupid here but if you can't get it wet how do you clean it? Can you use a wet swiffer or is that too wet? I take it my sponge mop is a no-no. Can you use those new vacuum-like things that have the rotating brushes that are supposed to suck up the water?

 

[ucralum]

Maybe it depends what kind you get...we have had Wilsonart in our kitchen for 5 years, get it wet all the time (walking in from the pool, dogs drinking, etc.) and it looks wonderful. We had Pergo in our old house and it was the same story. We are planning to add more throughout our downstairs.

 

[MosMom]

We have laminate in our entry way, kitchen, back hall, bathroom, & laundry room. We have had it for 3 years with no troubles. The dogs run on it, the kids play on it, we've moved furniture over it, spilled water on it and use water to clearn it, and generally abused it. It still looks great! No complaints here.

 

[zippeedee]

I don't know what brand I have, it has a 30 year warranty, so it's not junk! The directions said damp mop only. I guess they just mean don't let it soak underwater, like maybe in a flood? I've been using the clorox wet jet with just a little of the solution, but it seems to make it sort of sticky. I also use my shark cordless sweeper, a dust mop or the vacuum cleaner. It's only been in about a month and I've been a nut case about protecting it. You are all making me think I can relax a little. Thanks!

 

[Kitty 34]

We just ordered laminate for our bathroom.....DH will be remodeling soon. We have it in the kitchen and I swear it lasts forever!

 

[lsyorke]

I've got Pergo in the kitchen/dining room/family room. Its great stuff. Its been wet alot with no problem. I use the high density sponge mop for cleaning and it leaves the floor dry with no streaks!!

 

[ByTheSea]

We love our laminate in the bathroom, we will be putting in more in other areas of the house as we get to those rooms.

We were warned about not getting it soaking wet and got advice, if you are using it in areas that may possibly be extra damp - like bathrooms and kitchens, or if you have pet's that tend to scratch up floors, to use something called SPAR varnish, it's varnish for wooden boats. Very hard, very waterproof. We used 4 thin coats of SPAR varnish on the bathroom floor, very thin coats or it bubbles, and you have to let it dry completely (8-10 hours) between coats. It was sort of a pain to do but our floor looks great.

 

[4greatboys]

I know the flooring looks good but how does it sound?? I have heard for a couple of people that say the laminate flooring is louder than hardwood floors (more of an echo sound when walking on it). Have any of you noticed that?

 

[ByTheSea]

I would say it's quieter. We have hardwood floors in most of our house, and the Laminate is quieter and easier on the feet. I think it depends on the cushion you put underneath. We picked the highest quality, (denser/thicker) layer and it's most definately quieter than the hardwood.

We are thinking about putting it in over the hardwood in the livingroom/dining room, rather than refinish the hardwood we have.

 

[RNMOM]

We have the Quickloc brand. Had it installed over two years ago and it still looks great. Ditto about the water. I chose to put the dog's water in the half bath, we have a raised area there so it is easier for him all around.

I tried using a home made cleaning solution in a spray bottle that I found on a web site but only did that once. Too many streaks. I buy the laminate cleaner on line. I get a few bottles at a time and it lasts a loooong time. You need to lightly spray and wipe it around. The mops they sell are washable and we toss it in each time.

We have it in laundry room, kitchen and entry.

 

[Alice28]

Love it- have it in entire downstairs.

Love it mostly because of how durable it is. It's easy to clean. And it looks very, very pretty.

I have young children and the durability was the key issue when we chose it.

 

[lucky_bunni]

I love the stuff. I have it in my bathroom and entryway. It gets pretty wet in both places. My shower leaks some water when the door isn't shut all the way. The entryway also gets wet during the Winter when we drag show and slush in. No problems at all. It's almost 4 years old and it looks like the day we put it in. Too bad I can't say the same about my carpet. If I had it my way, I'd have it throughout. Many people don't even know it's not real wood. Clean is easy, just use a squeeze-out mop and then I usually dry it with a dry towel so it doesn't leave streaks. It has huge advantages over real wood b/c it won't warp and does require any maitainence.

 

[Danauk]

I have laminate flooring in the whole of the downstairs of my house. I love it as it is so easy to clean and always looks great. To clean it I just sweep through with a regular brush and then mop the floor. I add some wooden floor cleaner to the bucket of water.

 

[Minnie824]

What about in a basement? We're going to get maybe Pergo in half of our basement (DH wants this, I want carpet, so we're doing half of each) It'll be in the bar area, exercise area and bathroom. We've had no flooding issues at all and have 2 sump pumps also. Think it'll be ok?

 

[SC Minnie]

How put in your floors? We have hardwood in out entry and dining room and vinyl in kitchen and carpet in living roon downstairs. I HATE the vinyl in the kitchen. I cannot get it clean because it is white and has little dimples that collect dirt. Anyway, I want to get hardwood in the kitchen and living room and have looked at the laminate. I got a quote from Home Depot for them the install and it was expensive almost $3000 for just the kitchen and its not even a big kitchen. Since then I haven't checked into anymore. DH is not the handyman type so installing it ourselves is probably out of the question.

So my question is where would I get the best price for the porduct and installation? I have been wanting this for over 2 years but the cost scares me. For what HD quoted I was expecting to get real hardwood

 

[clutter]

I put in Pergo almost 2 years ago. I went to the Pergo website and contacted one of their certified installers. He sent me to a place where he can buy the Pergo for less than retail. I saved a lot over installation by a flooring shop.

 

[zippeedee]

I originally got a quote from Home Depot. The installer that came to measure told me that HD adds 25% overhead to the installation cost. I ended up using a local carpenter and he got a wholesale price for the materials. It saved me over $2000 from the HD quote, and he did the stairs, which they said they couldn't/wouldn't do.