Laminate floor recommendations, and tips please

[JCasper]

I am getting ready to tear out the carpet in the main level of our house. I am going to replace most of it with laminate flooring. Our main living room will have a very nice plush carpet put in, the rest will be laminate.



The laminate will consist of the entry way, hallway, 1/2 bath, kitchen, dining room, family room, and laundry room. It will be around 600 SQ. FT worth. I need to take a little more accurate measurements before I order it.



The flooring store here in Hillsboro recommended Wilsonart Classic. I was told by a flooring installer that it is "decent at best and he would not install it" mainly because of it is more difficult to install.



I am just looking for some other opinions before I order the flooring.



The Wilsonart is going for 2. 49/SQ. FT. I would like to be around that price, but I am not against spending a little more or less for a good product.



TIA Joe

 

[dpuckett]

I wouldnt hope for anything decent for less than that. I forget the brands we installed, but most of it installs the same. One thing you have to be sure of is that your floor is ABSOLUTELY LEVEL, or the laminate will crack under the gaps, and the warranty will be voided. Having installed laminate, I would never install it, considering most of it is priced as high as real prefinished hardwood, and it doesnt have to have the floor prep laminate does.



Now that I remember it, I think we installed a lot of Armstrong brand. Beyond that, I cant help much.



Daniel

 

[JCasper]

I wouldnt hope for anything decent for less than that. I forget the brands we installed, but most of it installs the same. One thing you have to be sure of is that your floor is ABSOLUTELY LEVEL, or the laminate will crack under the gaps, and the warranty will be voided. Having installed laminate, I would never install it, considering most of it is priced as high as real prefinished hardwood, and it doesnt have to have the floor prep laminate does.



Now that I remember it, I think we installed a lot of Armstrong brand. Beyond that, I cant help much.



Daniel

The pre finished hardwoods need to be nailed into wood. Most sub floors are particle board or OSB.



I am going to look into the hardwoods, there are now some tap lock hardwoods.

 

[dpuckett]

The guy I worked for had an angled stapler that went into the hardwood, and then into the OSB. It wouldnt be worth if for your (relatively) small area, but he does it for a living.



What else are modern subfloors made of? I know the 70+ yr old houses use plank flooring, but that is "too expensive" for modern day use.



DP

 

[bighammer]

Much of the grading or rating of flooring is on appearance rather than durability issues. (at least that's the case on unfinished, but I would guess it carries over to the pre-finished products)

If you want a clear, straight-grained, minimum color variance, kind of look, go with the best. I like the knots, mineral stains, and other "imperfections" so a lower grade is preferable, but maybe you want a more formal look.

Personally, I would choose the cheapo "cabin" or mountain" grade solid hardwood over an engineered, pre-finished laminate any day. Check out the Amish hand-scraped wood flooring.

Another thing to consider: Longevity. It's sort of like a roof. You can buy a 10 year shingle, or a 50 year shingle. The 50 seems expensive until you consider the labor of re-roofing (maybe with a tearing off of the old) and then buying the better shingles. The pre-finished floors look great (assuming you have a VERY FLAT subfloor) for a number of years. If there is a failure of the finish, or an area wears out, there is not much choice exept to tear the whole thing out and start over again. A solid wood floor can be maintained with additional coats of finish or sanded and refinished as necessary.

 

[staarma]

This is what we just had installed. http://www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/hartco/en/us/prod_detail.asp?itemId=92125.0&lineId=2548.0 It is sweet. It is hardwood but it is called an engineered floating floor. The wood planks are about 3-4" on width and the color and texture varies with some knots, etc. It looks realy good and the install went very well. They went right over the existing finish built the sub floor up in places that had carpet so it was all somewhat level. The guy said it didn't have to be exact as it floats. We are very happy we went the way we did. Flooring is a great way to really add alot to your home.

 

[JCasper]

I am also considering the pre finished hardwoods now.



staarma, that is a nice looking floor.



There are some tap lock hardwoods I am going to look into. I want to install it myself therefore I am trying to keep it from getting to labor intensive.



Any other recommendations on pre finished hardwoods?



Thanks, Joe

 

[BimmerAgent]

Prefinished Hardwood

J- We used prefinished cabin oak in our kitchen-something like grade 3, so it was not perfect-had knots and dark stuff. Put it in myself, and was a piece of cake. Last fall I helped a buddy install a laminate floor in a large area in his home, and I gotta tell you, it just doesn't feel right. It floats, and it feels spongy when you walk on it. It looks fine, but it's squishy to me, which I don't like because I expect a wood floor to feel substantial. Anyway, I like true hardwood, for looks, durability, and re-finishiblity down the road. I don't think cost is much different. Just my $. 02 Bruce

 

[ACoyle]

There was a thread on this, not too long ago. One of the TDR members that does flooring for a living gave a lot of input. Here is the thread. A lot of good info here.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176961



Take a look at www.lumberliquidators.com for flooring.



As to tools, the angle nailer is kind of a must for hardwood. There is an air powwered one that is supposed to be the cat's meow. When you get ready to go, you can probably rent the flooring nailer and whatever tools that you need from a local rental agency.



And, yeah, for what it is worth, Real hardwood, the kind you finish, would be my choice.



AC

 

[Royk]

The place I bought my oak flooring from lent me the angle nailer for free.