Laminate Issues

[gdavis]

Trying to understand if laminate floors make sense.

What are the ins and outs? Where are the places to look for a good quality laminate? Any recommendations for installers?

What is considered a good quality laminate - brand and type?

 

[shorty]

Slab foundation go ceramic tile or stone all the way. Even stained concrete makes more dollar sense in the long run.

Laminate is easy to install. You can install it yourself. You have less floor prep than with other flooring. It is cheaper than wood.

You cannot have a moisture problem with your subfloor or it will warp. You cannot have over 1/4" difference in the subfloor being even over a 10' area. A kid cannot spill a glass of liquid and not mop it up as it ill make the laminate warp.

 

[brntorng]

If you're leaning toward wood floors, consider engineered wood flooring instead of laminate. It will have the look and warmth of solid wood flooring, it's easily installed on a slab, good quality flooring will easily last more than 25 years before needing to be refinished, it's stable, and it sounds solid because it's glued down (not hollow-sounding like a floating laminate). Much of the cost of installing laminate or wood flooring is in the labor for floor preparation (leveling, e.g.) and the actual installation. As a result the incremental cost of going with an engineered flooring rather than laminate isn't that much more.

Look into well-known brands like Mannington. We installed a Mannington commercial quality engineered flooring with a 25 year warranty and it looks fantastic. I bought it from one of the online flooring retailers and saved a bundle.

 

[mrjefft]

The problem with Laminates is, they have a limited life at best due to moisture, and lack of ability to refinish. Natural wood can be refinished for basically the life of the house. This is to say, sanded down, and restained, and coated. Most wood floors are going to incur some kind of scratches and gouges due to furniture, cats, kids, who knows what, so, you want to be able to refinish every couple of years, if needed.

I agree that concrete can get tile, wood, carpet, or stained, which is a popular option now. Tile on the second floor (plywood) will eventually be a problem, as the wood will eventually flex, and cause a crack in the tile, even if you use the subfloor material well. Usually, I try to use vinyl tile, carpet, or wood floors on the second floor, while the first floor, just about anything will work.