We’re re-doing our humble modular house. I’m thinking of putting wood-look laminate in the living room, hallway, kitchen and laundry. I’m looking for advice about whether this is going to work out well, which product to choose. Do any of you have laminate flooring? Does it still look okay? Are you happy with it?
I should say that we heat with a coal stove, which is situated right in the living room. The house is very dry in winter, damp (upstate NY!) in summer. I’m a little concerned about the humidity affecting the laminate.
I would love to put in real hardwood, but I have to be realistic about my housekeeping abilities. I have two little wild kids. The kitchen is traffic central and I cook like a madwoman every night. My house is small, driveways are dirty, you get the picture.
Advice? Please be frank!
Sharon
Replies
With laminate what actually protects your floor is the same finish as what you can find on prefinished hardwoods. Once you wear through the top coat your floor is going to have problems no matter WHAT is under that coat. With a laminate floor you have to replace to flooring because the colored material is only so think, with wood you can refinish.
I would think your looking for a wood or woodlike product that has the hardest finish you can find.
Sweaping and cleaning your floor is going to extend the lifetime of your finish. If your going to beat the floor to death, you may want to rethink.
Thanks for your thoughts, John.
You are absolutely right, I'm looking for a wood or wood-like flooring with the most durable surface available. I also need it to tolerate humidity changes.
I'm surprised to hear you say that pre-finished wood floors have the same surface that protects the laminate surface. That was not my understanding at all. As far as I know, laminates are essentially just like a countertop, a plastic product, laminated usually on a wood fiber core. The "wood" is a photo reproduction of wood grain. The reason that I'm considering laminate is that I have been told that I would find it more resistant to scratching, dinging and traffic wear than real wood. I know that finishes on pre-finished wood flooring have come a long way in recent years. What sort of finish are you referring to, though?
I would dearly love to have the real thing, in order to have the option to refinish when things get worn. I don't want to give you the impression that I don't clean my house! But I want to be realistic. This is a busy place and I want the results of my re-do to be as practical as possible.
Would you really put wood flooring in your entry/kitchen/laundry?
Thanks so much for your help.
Sharon
Laminate flooring from the start had a UV cured urethane with Aluminum Oxide finish which is far and away a much more durrable finish than standard urethane. Hardwood manucfacturers had not prefinished with this material until recently, however now they do. Given this you can have hardwood floors with the same finish as a laminate flooring, but not all prefinished floors have this coating.
Given the humidity which you say will change a lot, I don't think regular wood floors are going to work that well. Engineered wood floors which have much more dimensionally stable underlying materials wold work. Engineered is very close to laminate, but the wood coloring comes from a layer of real wood on top of the underlying material. Engineered COULD be refinished once maybe twice but you need to be a bit more carefull with it. Also, if you concerned about wear you could put it down and then put a layer or two of urethane over top giving you a lot of wear surface.
Style and price are going to determine which you pick. I've seen some amazing pricing on wood flooring on ebay if price is a big concern for you, laminate for $.99 a sq ft sometimes less.
I used Wilsonart laminate flooring in my kitchen and dining room installed in 2000 in Canton, NY. I have not succeeded in putting any scratches, stains, dings, nor any other kind of mark on the floor. Even under the kitchen chairs there are no visible scratches. I think you'll get tired of it years before you ever wear it out. I think if you have a doormat, and a little rug by the kitchen sink, you'll be fine.
One advantage of laminate over pre-finished hardwood is that you don't have those little grooves between the boards like you have with the prefinished hardwoods. Those little grooves are just dirt catchers to me.
Style is entirely a matter of opinion. In my experience when coordinated with other woods, carpets, and furnishings in a room it looks really good if you pick the right color to go with the rest of the decor.
You won't be able to put the coal stove right on it, of course. A nice tiled hearth would look good. Tile should go in before the laminate, because it's easier that way, and you can size the area to use full tiles, which looks better.
I think laminate would be fine in a laundry room, but you can get by for much less money with vinyl. The standard white, paper thin vinyls that builders use give vinyl a bad name, but some of the higher end vinyls look quite good. I had one that five people thought was real tile, it was so well done.
Hi Althea,
I have it in my kitchen, dining and study. I am very happy.
Only problems are, if water sits on the surface for a long period of time, it will bubble up on you. I know this because it happened in a small area that got wet, but I didn't notice until damage was done. No fixing it after that point.
Fledge
What's the buzz, tell me what's a happenin'
I have used a Pergo type laminate in a rental unit over a concrete floor with approved vapor barrier. It buckled in the wet weather in Southern california, ad we are in a drought. I am not happy about it. I had installed in a clients' kitchen a wood veneered vinyl strip floor. It looks like wood with a thick clear vinyl coating on it, because that is what it is. Looks great lasts great and not affected at all by water. There is my 2cents. Good luck!