Floors: Laminate or Wood?

[LeftyTom]

LOML wants to get rid of the carpet in the house. She is is torn between laminate and hardwood flooring. She has done her fact checking, but is having difficulty making a decision. We have no kids, and Charlie the Beagle only likes to careen thru the house about once a day. So wear should be average.

So, what thinks yous?

This may not be a DIY project, since installers she has gotten quotes from will move the furniture (we just put away the breakables).

 

[McRabbet]

I'd go with real hardwood flooring. Adds considerably more value and lasts forever, plus they can be refinished if necessary. They may cost more to start, but only an increment more for their long-term advantages. IMHO, laminate floors look cheap.

 

[Larry Rose]

I'm with Rob on this. Some time back we put a good quality laminate in the kitchen and laundry room and it looked like the plastic it was ( this was not the cheap stuff). 2 years ago we tore up the carpet in the rest of the house and the laminate (it still looked new and plastic). We replaced all of it with a prefinished solid oak flooring. The wood floor has a few scratches from our youngest child Annie (a 4 year old Chocolate Lab) but it still looks great. Wood just gets better and better.

 

[Ray Martin]

One thought about laminate... what kind are we talking about? Some of the engineered flooring products do have a real wood surface. Yes, it is a veneer and not a solid wood... kind of like hardwood plywood.

Another consideration is the subfloor. Hardwood floors, usually 3/4" thick are nailed down and require a subfloor that will hold a nail. Materials like plywood, OSB, Plytanium, and AdvanTech hold nails quite well. Particle board doesn't do that good of a job.

Just some things to think about...

Ray

 

[NCPete]

There are some high quality engineered flooring products that are definable as laminates, but are more like plywood - but with a much thicker veneer wear layer - about 3/16". these are often about 5/8" thick, and ostensibly may be refinished, and run the gamut of installation methods from glue-down, nail down, or even snap together floating floors. Have fun. There are plenty of mistakes to be made buying a cheap floor - easier to eat the cost just once on a better, more durable product.

your friendly former flooring installer.

 

[scsmith42]

If it's a true laminate, I would stay away from it for the reasons mentioned by Rob and Larry.

If it's an engineered plywood with a real wood wear surface, then that is in the same league as hardwood flooring and would be a good choice.

Personally, I like real wood floors - nothing beats them for warmth and character.

Scott

 

[Keye]

We have both. The downstairs is hardwood and the upstairs is laminate. We did have carpet upstairs and decided to change. We used laminate for several reasons. The most important one is the way the joists are installed. This is the only house I have ever lived in which I was not involved in from the ground up. The joists change direction every time you turn a corner. I have no idea what the framing crew was thinking about. I do know they had there heads where the sun don't shine. We would have had to tear out all the way to the joists and install structural bracing to run hardwood all the same direction. The upstairs would have looked like a crosswork puzzle without doing this. The cost to install hardwood would have been out of site. I still wish we had installed hardwood. The laminate is OK but it just does not compare with real hardwood.

Unless you already know what is going on with your joists you might want to check.

 

[SID2]

I have installed both types. There is no way I would install laminate again.
We were installing the laminate at my daughter's house in one room and I thought I would go nuts. The interlock system on the ends and sides must be hooked before laying the run down. The pop loose and you have to start that run again, real pain. Harbor Freight has a air flooring nailer for about $125.00 which works fine. Did not have any problems putting down the real wood floor. Thats my 2 cents worth.

 

[Bob Buchholz]

From a purely esoteric point of view go wood. Laminate is hard, cold and makes awful noises when the dog's nails click on it. If you manage to get it wet and not realize it (like when the diswasher sprung a leak and the water went under the laminate) it will delaminate.

 

[Bas]

Laminate is super durable, simple to install and relatively cheap. But, it doesn't look like wood, and has a very hollow sound.
Prefinished hardwoord floors are very durable, don't require sanding/ finishing, and look like real wood floors. The factory finish is very strong.
Traditional hardwood floors are the most attractive (in my opinion), but require periodic sanding/ finishing.

Since durability isn't the top concern (kids/ dogs), I'd go with a hardwood floor. If you (and LOML!) don't mind the dust and smell of poly for a few days every 10-15 years, then go for the real thing.

 

[rita541]

AS most of you guys know My shop is in my house which is a trailer, it had a rug in that room and was not fun sliding around on and I kept spilling paint on it so Dick put down laminent. It is working out pretty well. The trailer is too old to put a lot of money into a wood floor.
Rita

 

[norm932]

Tom
It depends on what your budget will stand and what you are looking to accomplish. Solid hardwood flooring is the ONLY floor covering that will add value to your home, and it is in a kitchen or bath also. On the other hand unless you are will to do the work yourself it is still really hard to recoup the cost of the hardwood floor should you sell. Should you accept this mission and do it yourself and don't mind a lot of work and time below is a site that has unfinished hardwood and all the material and directions needed to install. The tools you can rent at most tool rental places.

http://senecahardwoods.com/

 

[ACobra289]

Not much to add here. Everybody has given great advice. I agree that you should go with a real wood product. Be it engineered or solid. Some of the engineered have a thick wear layer. I say it comes down to where you are installing (above or below grade) and subfloor type. I don't believe any solids are recommended below grade. Depending on your subfloor, it may need work to accept solid wood.

I recently installed a prefinished Bruce 3/4" maple and had to remove the particle board underlayment and replace with 1/2" ply. This was not an easy or quick job.

Good luck with your choice.

Bill

 

[CarvedTones]

We have Pergo in one room. It is the semi-recent engineered wood product, not the old laminate (lots of conflicting opinions are based on apples to orages comparisons). I forget the exact numbers, but cost was not a compelling reason. I think Pergo was a little more if you compared plain vanilla milled slats, but Pergo's price only changes a little as you vary the look and hardwood gets expensive. I voted for wood, but don't like sleeping on the couch, so we got Pergo. It looks good, but won't fool you. It does have a 20 or 30 year warranty. There have been some times that I have inspected for damage after the kids tried something ill advised and was surprised to find none. If I had it to do over again I would still vote for wood but would not push as hard for it.