Anyone installed Pergo or something like it?

The Dancing Peacock

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Dec 22, 1999
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My parents are looking at installing Pergo in the entry way of the house and the kitchen. I haven't figured out how many square feet it is, but it'll be substanstial, maybe 300+ sq ft. just from rough estimates. None of us are very handy, ie using tools and whatnot. How hard is it really to do? There would be anywhere from 3 to 5 of us.

House is built on a concrete slab.

It would cover 3 different areas. One is some ugly parquet flooring that my mom would like to pull up, not sure if there is anything between that and the concrete. The other area has some carpeting, which i would assume is concrete->padding->carpet. We would have to cut it on two sides, one enters a room, and the other is the staircase. Third area is some lineoleum, which is laid directly over concrete.

Any experience you could share with the stuff would be great.
 

Fatwhiteslug

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Nov 8, 2002
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Pergo is easy to put in but it does take work. If you get it from some where like Home Depot the Sales person should be able to tell you everything you need. They also have classes on weekends to show how to do it. It is expensive stuff though.
 

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
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If you can put a puzzle together, you can install pergo. It snaps together. super simple.

P.S. I was a HD employee.
 

compudog

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Apr 25, 2001
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Lowes has the Armstrong version and it's not bad installing. The entire flooring system "floats" and is not actually secured to the underlying floor. You lay a padding material underneath the laminate, and put the floor material on top of this. It's not hard to cut to fit around obstacles. I have it in my kitchen and it holds up real well, is easy to clean. It's been in for about 5 years. I like it. Armstrong has a new version where you do not need to glue each individual tongue and glue joint between the flooring pieces. It's a self locking arrangement. My brother in law installed the new Armstrong stuff in his foyer (about 40 square feet) in an afternoon.

Edited for typoes.. ;)
 

The Dancing Peacock

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Dec 22, 1999
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the classes might be a good idea. It's anywhere from $3 to $4 a square foot. The $4 one has the lining already applied to the bottom of the planks, so there is no laying out of the foam that you have to do with the $3 one.

My concern is that it's not alot of straight areas. I need to grid it out, but it's a not a very normal looking area.
 

The Dancing Peacock

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Dec 22, 1999
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Originally posted by: compudog
Lowes has the Armstrong version and it's not bad installing. The entire flooring system "floats" and is not actually secured to the underlying floor. You lay a padding material underneath the laminate, and put the floor material on top of this. It's not hard to cut to fit around obstacles. I have it in my kitchen and it holds up real well, is easy to clean. It's been in for about 5 years. I like it. Armstrong has a new version where you do not need to glue each individual tongue and glue joint between the flooring pieces. It's a self locking arrangement. My brother in law installed the new Armstrong stuff in his foyer (about 40 square feet) in an afternoon.

Edited for typoes.. ;)

what did you use to cut it?
 

MainFramed

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May 29, 2002
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i have pergo in my house, my whole downstaris (besides living room dinning room...) is pergo. i have had it in my house for 6 years this july, it still looks brand new...in this peroid of time (6 years {almost}) you can just imagine how many beatings its gotten. its fine...people love it. you cant go wrong with it. its eaxclty what they say "kid proof"
 

The Dancing Peacock

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Dec 22, 1999
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Did any of you do any designs with the pergo, like laying accent strips or different patterns. I was checking the website and some of the patterns look okay, and the rest look nasty. If you did a pattern or design, any pics?
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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That stuff costs a fortune! Personally, I don't much care for the looks of it either, but that's just me. You said, "House is built on a concrete slab." Man, that's perfect for tile. You can get a tile saw for $100.00.. I'd go that route. Cheaper, looks better and you can do it!
 

Soybomb

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Jun 30, 2000
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Originally posted by: Ornery
That stuff costs a fortune! Personally, I don't much care for the looks of it either, but that's just me. You said, "House is built on a concrete slab." Man, that's perfect for tile. You can get a tile saw for $100.00.. I'd go that route. Cheaper, looks better and you can do it!

I'm with you. I've helped put in pergo/armstrong before and I much prefer the look of tile over it.
 

The Dancing Peacock

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Dec 22, 1999
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Originally posted by: Ornery
That stuff costs a fortune! Personally, I don't much care for the looks of it either, but that's just me. You said, "House is built on a concrete slab." Man, that's perfect for tile. You can get a tile saw for $100.00.. I'd go that route. Cheaper, looks better and you can do it!

It's what Mom is looking for, she want something easy to put in and take care of. Tile is much more difficult to put in, for non-handy types, ie the grouting and the stuff you lay underneath it.
 

arcas

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Apr 10, 2001
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A friend of mine installed Pergo-type flooring in the living room of in her old house. It looked alot better than the carpet that it replaced but it didn't look or feel like a real wood floor. Her dogs scratched the hell out of it within a month. On the plus side, the it made her room look alot bigger. Given the amount of effort she put into installing it, I think she would have been better off going for something a little more resilient.

 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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"..the stuff you lay underneath it."

You're on a slab, you don't anything under it! It ain't that hard... really!

"Tile snapper" my ass! With a decent blade, it can cut like butter... I KNOW!
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
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We had to rip up all our hardwood flooring do to some termites. We laid some wilsonart laminates down. Well, we didn't but hired someone to do it. If I had to do over again I would have done this myself. It looked like it took hardly any effort at all. The hardest part looked like putting in the last pieces up against a wall. Get the stuff that floats, ie. does not glue to the floor, this will save you on glue costs and also dealing with a mess. It'll feel and sound alittle hollow compared to anything glued, but you'll get use to it. You can use a nice little table saw to do your cuttings. Our house is also on a slab, which in my opinion sucks. I will never again buy a house on a slab.

KK