Opinions on laminate?

[surferguy]

Me = long time lurker..first post right here, right now!!!

Laminate is not the best. Not everybody that buys your home will b eon the same mindset of dogs and scratches. If you are looking to sell you home then it should show off any features it has. Hardwood is a huge feature, laminate is not feature. I am currently redoing my kitchen and have taken up all the laminate that was put down a few years ago. I am so happy to see it go.

That said if your still interested in laminate, I have some "oak style" for sale. roughly 200 sq ft... pm me.

[habernac]

anyone who thinks laminate sucks must have bad laminate. Ours has been mistaken for hardwood on more than one occasion. Looks fine to me.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by habernac

anyone who thinks laminate sucks must have bad laminate. Ours has been mistaken for hardwood on more than one occasion. Looks fine to me.

Well Laminate is fine, but I wouldn't be taking up a wood floor and replacing it with Laminate. If it was a carpet floor in a high traffic area a good laminate floor would be a good option, and they are easy to install. But to rip up a wood floor, and replace it with a laminate one would be senseless. I've had both and my dogs do mark up the wood floor, but there is a difference, and the fact that wood can be sanded and refinished to a different color does give it a longevity factor. I'd use laminate in like a rec room, kids bedroom, or anywhere else that you'd normally use a cheaper carpet any day, maybe even in on the entire main floor of a rental property. But I'd never take up a wood floor and replace it with a laminate one.

[Flames_Gimp]

i think my laminate looks pretty real.... what do you guys think?

[Winsor_Pilates]

I would stick with hardwood since you're selling.
Laminate can be nice, and do a good job for you, but it won't help the value of your house and if you're planning to sell, that should be your focus.

scratched up hardwood is still worth more then new laminate

[greyshep]

We replaced our linoleum areas with laminate and are very pleased with it. Looks way nicer than lino which is crap IMO.

I would agree that real hardwood would be the best, but laminate is a definite upgrade over linoleum and also offers some nice durability features that are not found in real wood.

[Sylvanfan]

^^^^^
I agreee with you Greyshep, Laminate does have it's uses for sure. In high traffic less formal area's or rental properties it might be one of the best options. It's affordable, durable, easy to clean, and installs very easily. I certainly wouldn't hesitate to put it in a basement rec room, kids bedrooms, kid's playrooms etc. If I had a rental property I'd probably consider doing all the floors in laminate. Even if I was in an entry level house for myself, I'd still probably choose laminate over carpet or vinyl. But unless the wood floor is rotted out, or if it was a really cheap engineered wood floor that can't be refinished, I'd keep the wood and refinish it.

[Slava]

Flames Gimp, your laminate looks good. I think that I have some very similar in my place right now, and its different from "normal" laminate. The bevelled edges are one reason. Some laminate though seems cheap and you can totally tell!

[Bobblehead]

Is laminate alright for a kitchen area, or does the threat of spills/water pretty much rule it out?

The vinyl in my kitchen has definitely seen better days.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Is laminate alright for a kitchen area, or does the threat of spills/water pretty much rule it out?

The vinyl in my kitchen has definitely seen better days.

I'm not sold on it personally because water/wood is a bad mix! But my sister has it in hers and has had it for years now...she has had no problems at all, and it looks really good.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

you can get commercial grades that claim to seal water out. I got some at auction - basically like gimp's pic - for ~ $1 sq. ft.

[Jagger]

I have both original hardwood (50 year old plus) which is still excellent and laminate in my bedroom, basement, and at the cabin. We have had comments that the laminate looks like the real thing and it really does. It doesn't look cheap in the least. That being said, if cost wasn't an object (when is that exactly?) then I would go with hardwood just to have the "real thing".

However, laminate does get a bad rap. There are laminate products out there that looks very good. Will it last? I guess, time will tell. So far I've had it for a while and it's lasting very very well.

[TheDragon]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Is laminate alright for a kitchen area, or does the threat of spills/water pretty much rule it out?

The vinyl in my kitchen has definitely seen better days.

I say the same thing to anyone who is considering puting laminate/hardwood in their kitchen:

Get tile, instead.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by TheDragon

I say the same thing to anyone who is considering puting laminate/hardwood in their kitchen:

Get tile, instead.

That's how I have been leaning, but the cost is a factor. We saw a nice tile on one of the Ikea kitchens the other day, but everytime I look at the price I shudder. Largely because I know if we redo the kitchen floor, we should redo the kitchen counter, and that leads to the 5 most expensive words in renovation - "while we are at it"......