Just got my copy of Kitchens & Baths, and there’s an article comparing the different types of floor covering. Each section has a pros and cons for that material, and under “Laminates, the look of the familiar and more” they list as a pro “damaged planks can be replaced” (along with “DIY installation”). I thought the consensus here was that repairing laminate floors is dang near impossible.
Oh wait! This is getting better! I just started to read the article (I look at the pretty pictures first…takes less brain cells) and I’m not sure I can believe what I’m reading. One of the other pros is “portable” and I wasn’t sure what to make of that the first time through. To me, portable is like a portable radio or table saw or something. The author is “a kitchen designer in West Hartford CT”. If that’s akin to interior designer or house designer, well, that answers a lot of questions. Long on concept and short on details. Anyway, here’s the first couple of sentences in the article:
“In Europe, our source for many a savvy design tip and trend, homeowners often take their kitchen cabinetry with them when they move. More and more often, they are taking their kitchen floors as well. Snap together laminate, a removable, portable flooring…”
Yep, after a couple of years of wear and tear and spilled food, I want to be sure to take up that portable flooring and re-install it in my new home. Hope the kitchen is the same size…
Replies
I think the idea is that at least with the snap together Pergo, you can theoretically replace a damaged plank. However to me that sounds like something read of the mfg's website, because as you mentioned, after a few years of use that "new" plank will stick out like a sore thumb. IMO laminates are good for one of two purposes... either where the area is expected to see little use, or where the flooring is meant to be disposable and replaced more or less on a schedule, like cheap carpet in a rental unit. I could never imagine taking it up and bringing it with me to a new house.
ELCID, haven't looked at the article yet but can relay this from a friend in Dresden. They in fact do own and move their kitchen cabs from apt to apt. As to the floor, I spose if you had a certain look you wanted to keep and ran it wall to wall, you could feasibly take that with you too. A little different custom across the pond.
Additionally, lam. floors (those glued too) can be repaired with the proper bit and technique. Someone adept at the repair can do so w/o it showing. Many of the styles and finishes mask the wear on a laminate floor better than others. Fast eddie, my recently retired from his knees floor guy went to a cpl day pergo trained installer school where he learned the tricks and technique. I believe the going rate for a one plank replace was quoted out somewhere around 250.00. Nice work if you can get it.
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Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
El Sid -
Taking up a snap-together laminate floor doesn't seem far fetched if you consider the different living styles overseas, mainly the custom of not wearing outdoor shoes in the house.
Floor material that would not be considered durable or suitable in the U.S. would last nearly a lifetime just by not tracking dirt/grit into the house.
Alan
I can see it now; on your offer to purchase, you're gonna have to specify if the floors, cupboards, walls, doors, windows, etc come with the house. Used to be the appliances you fought over. Oh, wait, I really like the sod, so I'm taking the lawn.
I heard the same pitch from a salesperson that the snap together flooring is great because you can replace a damaged piece, and you can take it with you when you move. Yes, and if that damaged piece is in the middle of the room, you wind up removing the whole damn floor anyway to get at it, don't you? I can't imagine.
In many instances overseas, folks are renting their flats/small apartments that they furnish themselves, which would include the kitchen cabinets, flooring, etc.
Owned or rented, the apartment/condo unit really is a shell. People bring in their own plumbing, cabinetry, flooring, cupboards ... and take it with them when they go. Not what we're used to, but they think we're weird for leaving stuff behind in houses/apartments when we move. It's all what you're used to.If you can't play a sport, be one.
When I first read Elcid's post I thought it was a joke. I know it's true that on the other side of the pond they treat kitchen cabinets like their furnitures, they take them when they move. Not all kitchens are the same size and have the same lay out but they do it anyway. So a portable laminate floor isn't that far fetched, I guess it's like the Ikea concept where everything is modular, in 3D, and a snap together laminate floor can easily be disassembled and take it to the new place, akin to rolling up you area rug. I guess we just have to change our frame of mind to see other possibilities.
Tom
Most things have a much longer service life overseas then what's expected in the U.S.
Unfortunately, many U.S. influences in materialism and affluence has not translated well in enhancing the overall quality of life.
(More disposable or discarded things headed to the garbage heap.)
I don't think the disposable attitude (which has infected USA very badly) can be applied to kitchen furnishings. How many times have you, or a client, replaced a kitchen floor, cabinets, or appliances simply because they are out of style? Most of the time those items are in place for 10 or more years. Yes, they usually have a useable life or probably twice or thrice that, but compared to the frequency people change vehicles and clothes and even furniture, the kitchen furnishings tend to stay around a while. I can understand, a little, the euros taking their cabinrets with them, since we take our furniture with us, and if built properly the cabinets are nothing more than furniture. Look at the early Americans: they didn;t have closets in the bedrooms, but instead used wardrobes, armoires, and presses. The part that amused me was taking the floor. I will agree that the practrice of leaving shoes at the door extends the life of the flooring, but it's the details that I can't fathom. If the portable cabinets are an inch or two short, no problem, it's just a gap in the furniture like betwen the sofa and the chair, or the cabinet and the fridge. But if the floor is an inch short, you better hope theres a place to hide that gap.
El Cid -
I am going to agree with your assertions since you are focused mainly on the issue of flooring, which I guess is what started the thread anyway.
However, with snap-together flooring, sections can be added or removed to suit the new environment.
(But I have no idea what they did before snap-togethers came along.)
Perhaps the concept of portable flooring is not as widespread a practice but not that unusual either.
I understand your bewilderment but at the same time I am comfortable with the concept.
How's that for a middle ground compromise ?
Alan
Closet politician.
re - Closet politician.
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Ouch !!
A friend who lives in Belgium will be visiting soon.
Also have one who lives in France.
I'll take a very un-scientific survey on flooring.
lol,
yes european cabinets, you take them with you, so , if you want to take the sod with you, it's "european sod", right? listening for the secret.......searching for the sound...