Laminate, hardwood, bamboo flooring

[AckermanPartyof6]

Hello!
we have come to a point where we need to get rid of our carpet and therefore are discussing laminate, hardwood and bamboo flooring. I would like to hear about your experiences and suggestions. Costco is coming out to measure and quote this evening.

Thanks!

 

[natfrac]

I've had laminate before and it's much noisier than hardwood. Real hardwood floors are nice--we had those in a previous home and they were easy to maintain and I loved the look. We recently replaced the carpet in our current home with engineered hardwood, and I don't know if that was the best choice. It looks good, but scratches really easy.

 

[mikehn]

I would at least go look at one other flooring shop and get one other quote. Costco is simply farming this out to a flooring shop so it wont necessarily be the best deal, nor the best selections

 

[jensen]

My sister's and mother all have laminate floors and they like them, but I HATED them and swore I'd never put that crap in my house. Sorry if I'm offending anyone who likes the stuff.

My good friend and my boss both used the engineered hardwood and it looked good at first, but quickly showed wear and damage. They both regret it since it wasn't much of a savings over solid. My boss said he'll be replacing his with solid hardwood within 10 years.

So, when I was redoing my house, I insisted on solid oak floors throughout (excluding bathrooms). They were more expensive, of course, but they'll last a lifetime with proper care and mainenance. I absolutely LOVE them.

I've never used the bamboo floors, but I know a couple of people who have them in their kitchens and love them. They are nice and soft so your legs and back don't get tired as easily. I'm not a fan of the look, though.

 

[pixiewings71]

Definitely check around for the best price, you might be surprised by what you find.
We have laminate bamboo, all the look of bamboo (which I loved) and all the ease of laminate. We have 2 kids at home, 1 grown kid with a kid of her own, 2-3 dogs (DD24 has her own 2 dogs and we have 1) and 3 cats, it was important we have floors that would hold up well. Our floors were installed about 6.5 years ago, they look great.

 

[marlynnp]

I have all three!

The hardwood was already here under carpet. I had to refinish it. Love it.

I installed laminate in my dining room when we bought the place 13 years ago. It has held up well but it is not a high traffic area. It's really not much louder than any other floor - you must use the proper under-layment!

Bamboo! I just remodeled a room last summer (now my daughter's bedroom) and installed this. I LOVE it. It installs just like hardwood. There are only a few colors because it cannot stain - the color variations come from applying heat.

Here's a pic of the bamboo

 

[AckermanPartyof6]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

 

[ilovemk76]

I've had laminate before and it's much noisier than hardwood. Real hardwood floors are nice--we had those in a previous home and they were easy to maintain and I loved the look. We recently replaced the carpet in our current home with engineered hardwood, and I don't know if that was the best choice. It looks good, but scratches really easy.

We have engineered hardwood that was pre-stained and acrylic impregnated. It had maybe a scratch or two in each room. It has been in for over 15 years. Our is 100% red oak and has a 25 year warranty. The seal is and the wood it is made of are critical.

 

[butterflygirl3]

We installed Bamboo flooring in our living room and hallway 3 yrs ago and LOVE it!!! We have three kids all under the age of 7 so it gets ALOT of traffic!! It has held up well. HTH

 

[mom2d&b]

We have laminate and love it. I wanted hardwood but with a dog I was worried about scratches, and the tine and expense to refinish. We have had no issues at all with out floors. A coworker was looking at bamboo but found it was sift and dents very easily.

 

[rogerjustin]

We have hardwood floors and i would suggest you too the hardwood floors. They last longer, can be re-furnished, looks good and is durable. More importantly it absorbs stains.

 

[mistysue]

We have a lot of laminate and a lot of bamboo... I love them both. The newer laminates aren't loud because of the way they pad the back of them. You really have to consider your location in the home. Laminate should NEVER go in a room with a lot of water- bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, front entrance- because if you have a puddle the edges will raise and it does not go down.

We installed bamboo in the kitchen and the kitchen flooded a few days later. You can't tell. My only issue with the bamboo ever is that it does get gouges in it, but that is mostly our fault. Somebody decided to slide our oven across the floor and there is a trail from all 4 corners that crosses the room and then pushes into place. Ours is also the Costco bamboo and the way it clicks together leaves a little gap between boards on the surface. Dirt falls in and there are basically lines of dirt between the boards that you have to scrape out, but I am the only person who notices it here. It doesn't happen everywhere though, just the area of our kitchen where baking supplies fall when DH is making things. (it's mostly flour and dirt caked in the little cracks between boards where a hardwood would have had a seal)

 

[4HppyCamprs]

We have laminate throughout our house. We did not get the cheap laminate. It does have the attached padding and is not loud at all. Not noise aside from footsteps. We have laminate in our kitchen, it has been there 7 years and has no issues. Our laminate also has a 25 year warranty. It has fooled a number of people into thinking it is real wood

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