Wilsonart Flooring

[Cruisin]

We are thinking about having this kind of flooring installed in our kitchen renovation.

Does anybody have this kind of flooring?

Any opinions, good or bad

 

[Nicolepa]

We are thinking about having this kind of flooring installed in our kitchen renovation.

Does anybody have this kind of flooring?

Any opinions, good or bad

We had this installed in our last house. It was great. Indestructible, even my dog couldn't scratch it. People could not believe it wasn't real hardwood (until we took some sharp tool out to prove it to them, did I mention they are indestructible?)

When we had it installed we were told Pergo faded a lot easier than the Wilsonart. The area we had it installled was floor to ceiling windows. In the time we were there it still looked great.

We got talked into real wood in our new house. Big mistake! As soon as I can I will rip it out and put the Wilsonart in!

 

[Nala56]

If it's like the Pergo flooring, the kind they call floating floor, where you lay it and sort of pound it together, we had that installed in our kitchen two years ago. We knocked out the wall between kitchen and dining room and make one big room. We have Pergo laminated flooring. I love the way it looks, it looks very much like real hardwood, although cheaper and easier to lay. The one downside is, you must be careful with water. Since it's not sealed, you really can't mop it because water will seep between planks. I started out using a sponge mop, and tried to wring it very well but it was still too damp and you can tell where the floor darkened (just slightly). I now use Murphys oil soap in a little water and a hand sponge and wring it almost dry and wipe the floor. This works very well.

If doing it again I would probably go with real hardwood. When you start shopping for this floor talk to salesman and tell him it's for kitchen. I think now they sell a sealant you can use to eliminate problems with water.

I don't mean to discourage you. Like I said I love how my new kitchen looks, just wish I had researched a little more.

 

[golfgal]

Can you be more specific? Wilsonart makes a lot of different flooring options. We were looking into putting some of the Wilsonart laminate tile in our house but opted for hardwood instead.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We have Mannington tile lamininate floors in our kitchen. I think that it's a great product and looks just like tile. We are careful about the water and I use the Swiffer wet pads to mop the floor so I'm not putting water down that could get into the cracks. We're careful with spilled water, the dog's water, etc and haven't had a problem yet, but it's pretty new. We did have a laminate at our old house and didn't have a problem with that.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Wilsonart is a brand of laminate flooring like Pergo. Laminate is very tough, denser than wood, cleans up very well, and can stand up against most punishment.

We have Pergo laminated flooring. I love the way it looks, it looks very much like real hardwood, although cheaper and easier to lay. The one downside is, you must be careful with water. Since it's not sealed, you really can't mop it because water will seep between planks. I started out using a sponge mop, and tried to wring it very well but it was still too damp and you can tell where the floor darkened (just slightly).

Hmm. I've seen (and given) demonstrations of laminate where a small amount of water was poured onto the joint of two planks and left for a while, and when checked later had not seeped through. There is a sealant that is used for the expansion space between the floor and the wall. This is to protect against any water from flowing over the edge and under the floor, not for the surface or between the individual planks. Being careful with water is still a good idea and I would advise against oversaturating the floor, but the amount on a mop shouldn't affect the floor. It sounds like it could be either improper installation or a manufacturer defect.

I would advise against pulling up the hardwood to replace with laminate. Hardwood adds more to the home's resale value than laminate will. Besides, the laminate can be installed directly over the hardwood without damaging the hardwood.

 

[bananiem]

I have this laminate in my kitchen and entry way. It looks like stone and we've had a ton of compliments on it. It's big(12x12) interlocking squares. It looks great, doesn't seem to get scratched, and the few drops of water that have been left before I found them don't seem to harm it. It hides a lot too!

 

[Nala56]

I'm beginning to think my floor wasn't installed correctly if no one else has trouble with water. When I first started damp mopping it was fine, after a while the area closest to sink and island where I cleaned more often there was a definate difference. There is a little separation between planks and the cracks have darkened. The area where I don't clean as often still looks like it did originally. Maybe I should investigate this with Pergo?

 

[laurie31]

We have Wilsonart laminate in the kitchen (looks like stone) and in the family room (looks like hardwood). We have been very happy and it stands up nicely to the kids and the pets. I haven't had a problem with water or pet stains damaging the floor. We have real hardwood in the foyer and it's scratched terribly from the pets playing (they like to run circles through the house and they dig their claws in to "corner") but the laminate still looks new. We've had it 2 or 3 years. We put it in ourselves without any problems.

We chose Wilsonart because it was the highest quality we could afford. I think it has a 20 year warranty. We do not want to replace the floors again anytime soon! It wasn't technically difficult, but it was a PIA to move all the furniture, etc.

Laurie

 

[golfgal]

I'm beginning to think my floor wasn't installed correctly if no one else has trouble with water. When I first started damp mopping it was fine, after a while the area closest to sink and island where I cleaned more often there was a definate difference. There is a little separation between planks and the cracks have darkened. The area where I don't clean as often still looks like it did originally. Maybe I should investigate this with Pergo?

I would also check to make sure you don't have a leak in your plumbing under the floor. I know my in-laws installed Pergo floors in their kitchen at least 6 years ago and it still looks new. I wonder if you have something defective or a leak.

 

[bananiem]

I'm beginning to think my floor wasn't installed correctly if no one else has trouble with water. When I first started damp mopping it was fine, after a while the area closest to sink and island where I cleaned more often there was a definate difference. There is a little separation between planks and the cracks have darkened. The area where I don't clean as often still looks like it did originally. Maybe I should investigate this with Pergo?

You might want to investigate. There is no separation between my squares. They butt-up right next to each other and it's a completely smooth surface.

 

[hydster]

We've had pergo in our family/living room for 5 years and not a single scratch on it. My youngest even tried rollerblading on it a year ago when I wasn't home....still not a scratch on it. As for water...I use pinesol and a little windex and mop my floor every other day and have had NO problems with it leaking or looking different anywhere. I love the pergo and we are going to put it in the kitchen this year and in our master bedroom too because it's so durable. We have hardwood in our kitchen now and I absolutely HATE IT! We've had to have it re-glazed twice in 6 years and it has these huge scratches on it from the barstools going back and forth on it and it just looks like crap. I can't wait to get pergo installed in there!!!

 

[Nala56]

Thanks for all the advise. I think I will call Pergo, it has been two years since our remodel and installation. Thanks again.

 

[Cruisin]

Thank you to everyone for all of your replies about the flooring.

golfgal, we haven't really decided which type we are wanting to put in. At first we liked the tiles but we also like the look of the wood flooring. We would definitely be putting in the mid grade or maybe even the top grade of the flooring depending on how much of a price difference there will be.

I have this laminate in my kitchen and entry way. It looks like stone and we've had a ton of compliments on it. It's big(12x12) interlocking squares. It looks great, doesn't seem to get scratched, and the few drops of water that have been left before I found them don't seem to harm it. It hides a lot too

I do like the way the tiles look too. I was given a small sample of the different grades and I tried (very hard) to damage the mid grade sample, I scratched keys on it, the ends of pens etc. The only way I got it to scratch even just a tiny bit ( and even this was hardly noticeable) was by taking a very sharp knife and running it over it repeatedly which of course you wouldn't do on a daily basis

I guess we would have to be careful with the cat water dishes, maybe put them on a placemat of some sort to protect the floor from water spills.

Thanks again everyone for all of your opinions, I do appreciate them all.

 

[Denine]

We put Wilsonart laminate flooring in the kitchen and foyer of our last house. I loved it. It looked so pretty and held up very nicely.

 

[Cruisin]

Thanks for all opinions.

I'm glad that so many of you are enjoying your floors.