Laminate flooring

[FP]

We are going to be getting new floors installed in our house and the number of options are staggering. We have dogs so real wood is out of the question. We have been looking at laminate flooring and really like some of the Pergo products.

Does anyone have any recommendations? We were going to have it professionally installed but I wouldn't mind doing it myself if there is a significant price savings.

 

[Winchester]

Sam's Club has Lock N' Seal which is the same. We installed it in our home and are very happy with it. Took up carpet and put it on the slab.

$1.55/sqft.

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Originally posted by: binister
We are going to be getting new floors installed in our house and the number of options are staggering. We have dogs so real wood is out of the question. We have been looking at laminate flooring and really like some of the Pergo products.

Does anyone have any recommendations? We were going to have it professionally installed but I wouldn't mind doing it myself if there is a significant price savings.

My parents have had it in for about 3 years, with a dog who runs around and slides all over the place... So far I have yet to see a scratch. We installed it ourselves, it was very easy.

 

[FP]

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp

Originally posted by: binister
We are going to be getting new floors installed in our house and the number of options are staggering. We have dogs so real wood is out of the question. We have been looking at laminate flooring and really like some of the Pergo products.

Does anyone have any recommendations? We were going to have it professionally installed but I wouldn't mind doing it myself if there is a significant price savings.

My parents have had it in for about 3 years, with a dog who runs around and slides all over the place... So far I have yet to see a scratch. We installed it ourselves, it was very easy.

Did you install it on subflooring or slab?

 

[ultimatebob]

Whatever you do, don't get a light color "wood" floor. The dirt sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[TheRyuu]

I consider Pergo to be just a name.
As long as it has the same warranty, it's all good.

Get whatevers cheapest at Home Depot or Lowe's.
It's all the same to me. Don't know about the stuff at Sams Club though.

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Originally posted by: binister

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp

Originally posted by: binister
We are going to be getting new floors installed in our house and the number of options are staggering. We have dogs so real wood is out of the question. We have been looking at laminate flooring and really like some of the Pergo products.

Does anyone have any recommendations? We were going to have it professionally installed but I wouldn't mind doing it myself if there is a significant price savings.

My parents have had it in for about 3 years, with a dog who runs around and slides all over the place... So far I have yet to see a scratch. We installed it ourselves, it was very easy.

Did you install it on subflooring or slab?

Subfloor, made sure it was all even. (Sanded down all the areas that were not) Put down the foam and air nailed and glued the first few then went on from there.

 

[thebigdude]

My uncle got a Pergo floor maybe 8 years ago and it still looks good.

 

[zerocool84]

Personally I like the Dupont Laminate at Home Depot. it looks really good and has a "Grain" to it so it looks and feels like real wood plus it comes with the underlayment attached but it is a little more expensive but i believe it comes with a 30yr warranty. or like said above get whatever is cheapest since you have dogs and well you know, accidents happen

 

[FP]

Anyone know how much installers mark up the price/sq ft to install the stuff?

 

[NoShangriLa]

Any laminate surface will last longer than wood if you have dogs. IMHO, 15 year warrantee product would be sufficient because dogs will eventually scratch through laminate.

Installed cost depends on the labor cost in your area, number of closets, hallways, and steps. Best thing is to call your local flooring shops for quote.

 

[DrPizza]

IIRC, the installation price was significant compared to the cost of the flooring per square foot (through Home Depot). I can't remember the exact amount, but when I looked at a pergo-like stone look laminate, it was around $2 per square foot. But, installed, it was around $7 or $8 per square foot. Of course, the installation included the glue, trim, etc.

 

[teckmaster]

Originally posted by: wizboy11
I consider Pergo to be just a name.
As long as it has the same warranty, it's all good.

Get whatevers cheapest at Home Depot or Lowe's.
It's all the same to me. Don't know about the stuff at Sams Club though.

yeah, the cheap versions are the exact same as the Pergo brand. I think a couple of them even have better warranties.

 

[drnickriviera]

Fine Homebuilding had an article on laminate a couple months ago. They had an interesting point on warranties.

"A 15 year warranty covering wear, fade, stain and moisture sounds good, right? That's reassuring, but only until you read the fine print. Trith is, it would be tough to get a laminate to stain or fade. And when it comes to wear-through, the warranty covers the product only if the photo layer is completly worn through ina sufficiently sized area. Small scratches, gouges, or chips are typically not covered. If the product carries a moisture warranty, it typically does not protect against edge swelling, or water damage caused by moisture emissions from concrete."

 

[leftyman]

on a side note, I just put laminate down in our living room..my dog is becoming quite the professional ice skater!

 

[Scarpozzi]

Be aware, for ease of install, some manufacturers combine subflooring padding with the bottom of the flooring pieces. It's tongue & groove, so all you have to do is pull up your carpet or whatever other flooring you have, remove your baseboards and put the stuff down. You'll probably want a good power mitre-saw to make precision cuts to stagger the joints.

The design is to install it as a floating floor, so you only need to put it down, then put corner-round over the edges to finish the look after you reinstall your baseboards. I've installed this stuff in a few houses for friends. You can do a whole house in a day or so...but get some kneepads before you start. It will help a lot....

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: Winchester
Sam's Club has Lock N' Seal which is the same. We installed it in our home and are very happy with it. Took up carpet and put it on the slab.

$1.55/sqft.

Same here. Put it in the dining room. Easy to install and looks nice. Took the dogs (Black Labs) a while to get used to it as they always run for the back door!!

 

[djheater]

I had a recent thread about this.

I'm doing my first floor 550 sq ft, on a plywood subfloor.

Bought my stuff from ifloor.com and picked it up this past weekend.
Opened the ends of the boxes to let it acclimate (probably less important with a non-wood floating floor, but hey why not) and did floor prep Sunday (pulled out staples, pulled off the base, etc.

We layed out a couple of boxes and are pretty excited, it does not look bad at all. I'll take pics when we're done.

Good luck.

PS - Ours is 10.3mm with a sound-absorbing (rubber) underlayment attached and we got it for $1.31 sq.ft.