I was in the flooring business for many years. I would absolutely go hard wood. You can get a 3/8" or 1/2" engineered floor glue down for close to the same price. Amazingly the price for wood now is less than when I did it in the late 90's. The clean up and scatch resistence of laminate (Pergo Floors) is a selling point BUT no matter what anyone tells you it does not look like wood. The appearance is more formica looking especially in large areas because you lose the graininess of wood. Also don't let people tell you that water does not damage the floors. We replaced many Pergo floors after a pipe leak. If the wood does not swell, water still gets under the flooring and will get trapped thus creating mold. FYI Pergo "floats" over a foam underlayment. Also it does scratch. Hardwood also scratches but can be refinished unlike Pergo which would need to be replaced.
Here is a good website to educate you. If you want any advice just post here and I will pass on what I know
http://www.woodfloors.org/consumer/
Here is a good website to educate you. If you want any advice just post here and I will pass on what I know
http://www.woodfloors.org/consumer/
my wife & i got it about four years ago....after we got back from vegas.....she hit 10 k on a dollar slot machine..... that was a fun trip... well anyway..we had the whole up-stairs carpet taken up...and had the pergo put down... if i can remember right...there were three different kinds of grades of the pergo...and we got the best grade they sold with a small amount or texture in it....so it would not be so slippery. we love it so far....and we have two large english bulldogs.....and when they walk on it ......it won't scrach it at all.....and if they "pee" on it.....well no problems so far !! but don't get me wrong......we would of loved to of had real wood......but doing all of the upstairs......it would of been more then 10 k.......and just wait till you start pricing the side molding...man thats some high dollar stuff !!....i think you will be fine with the pergo....and it's supper easy to clean.......just get the good stuff..... make sure it's good and thick.....you will see the difference when the salesman....show's you the samples & different grades of the stuff....
so good luck & keep us posted !!
scott from california......p.s. how many square feet are you talking about ?
so good luck & keep us posted !!
scott from california......p.s. how many square feet are you talking about ?
Bulldog- no offense but I am going to post rebuttals. This is not to discount your like of the floor it sounds like it is great for you.
and just wait till you start pricing the side molding...man thats some high dollar stuff !!. --- you need moldings (1/4 rd and transition strips) for both floors. Unless you rip up base board and set base board on top of floor. price is about same. We stained our own real wood 1/4 rd. Go to a hardwood flooring store not a carpet retailer!
...i think you will be fine with the pergo....and it's supper easy to clean....... -------cleaning wood is exactly the same 1-2 parts windex 8-10 parts water. Mist directly on floor and use terri cloth mop to clean..easy as it comes
just get the good stuff..... make sure it's good and thick.....you will see the difference when the salesman....show's you the samples & different grades of the stuff.... ------ agree with this point but then you will be higher/same as wood trust me.
and just wait till you start pricing the side molding...man thats some high dollar stuff !!. --- you need moldings (1/4 rd and transition strips) for both floors. Unless you rip up base board and set base board on top of floor. price is about same. We stained our own real wood 1/4 rd. Go to a hardwood flooring store not a carpet retailer!
...i think you will be fine with the pergo....and it's supper easy to clean....... -------cleaning wood is exactly the same 1-2 parts windex 8-10 parts water. Mist directly on floor and use terri cloth mop to clean..easy as it comes
just get the good stuff..... make sure it's good and thick.....you will see the difference when the salesman....show's you the samples & different grades of the stuff.... ------ agree with this point but then you will be higher/same as wood trust me.
no.. i hear ya... you know allot more about the flooring then i do.....it was the first time the wife & i had ever done that.....so it was quite new to us.....we have tile all downstairs...and that stuff is really good !!.....but i think we can all agree on one thing.......anything is better then carpet.....when you have dogs.that like to pee in the house !! hehehe
thanks for your input !
scott "aka" bulldogboogers
VERY TRUE!!! I could tell you stories about carpeting that we pulled out of people's homes that have you running to the bathroom to puke. The germs dust and dirt that live in carpet is staggering. Yes it is affordable but add up the times you have to replace it and you have your answer..
It is a fact that with wood flooring you add 15% to the value of your home (more if you have more).
Here is another good website. Our last home we put in 2000 sf of White Oak (Kahrs) floating floor. It looked absolutely awesome. An installer can fly putting this stuff down since it is 7ft long and 12" to 16" wide. Floating wood floors are more expensive but cheaper for labor and you may be able to find someone handy to put it down with you. Remember even though costs are important now and any time. You get what you pay for..There are so many financing deals now hardwood is a easy option.
http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/Hardwood_Floors_7/4/Floating_Wood_Floors.aspx
It is a fact that with wood flooring you add 15% to the value of your home (more if you have more).
Here is another good website. Our last home we put in 2000 sf of White Oak (Kahrs) floating floor. It looked absolutely awesome. An installer can fly putting this stuff down since it is 7ft long and 12" to 16" wide. Floating wood floors are more expensive but cheaper for labor and you may be able to find someone handy to put it down with you. Remember even though costs are important now and any time. You get what you pay for..There are so many financing deals now hardwood is a easy option.
http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/Hardwood_Floors_7/4/Floating_Wood_Floors.aspx
Go with the engineered wood!!!
PERGO LOOKS CHEAP....
Did both in differant homes, love the engineered wood....
Buy it at lowes or HD 1 year same as cah and get I can usually get a some out of work construction guy to do it for a few hundred bucks or so labor only.... (your only out of pocket cost for a year)
WOOD WAY BETTER FOR RESALE TOO...
PERGO LOOKS CHEAP....
Did both in differant homes, love the engineered wood....
Buy it at lowes or HD 1 year same as cah and get I can usually get a some out of work construction guy to do it for a few hundred bucks or so labor only.... (your only out of pocket cost for a year)
WOOD WAY BETTER FOR RESALE TOO...
funny how 3/8" and 1/2" glue down hardwood was once known as laminate unitl Pergo came around and then they had to change to engineered..BTW if you do it on your own don't forget the glue!!
Also if you go with a natural (no stain color) red oak, white oak or cherry don't buy premade 1/4 rd. You can go to a lumber store or some other wood distributor buy the 1/4rd yourself, buy a 1/2 gallon of polyurethane prop up the 1/4 rd take a brush and apply poly and you are done..EASY!! and you can save a bunch there as well. Other tranisition pieces you will have to buy from store..
Also if you go with a natural (no stain color) red oak, white oak or cherry don't buy premade 1/4 rd. You can go to a lumber store or some other wood distributor buy the 1/4rd yourself, buy a 1/2 gallon of polyurethane prop up the 1/4 rd take a brush and apply poly and you are done..EASY!! and you can save a bunch there as well. Other tranisition pieces you will have to buy from store..
I think there is a significant price difference between the real stuff and what I call laminate.
I did my whole condo ( including stairs) with some T&G stuff that I bought at Costco. It was pretty reasonable, but trim stuff like stair nose is expensive. Stairs were very difficult !
I'm happy with it, about 2 years later.
Carpet is nasty stuff, for sure !
One should be a fairly decent carpenter-type, before attempting laminate flooring as a DIY job, probably double that for real wood. Mine came out fine, but I have considerable construction experience.
I'd say the laminate flooring is appropriate to a lower end application....like a condo or starter home....not right in a nice $700,000 home with marble countertops and high end stuff.
I do have a couple of spots where I have like 1/16th " gaps , now, and I glued the planks...against instructions ! It would likely be worse without having had glued the tongues, IMO !
My final cost was comparable to fairly cheap carpet installed, but I'm not accounting for my labor.
All in all, I'm satisfied with the laminate.
Sometimes you have a limit on what you want to spend, but still want to get rid of the wall to wall carpeting !
It's funny to watch the cat slide around on it.
I did my whole condo ( including stairs) with some T&G stuff that I bought at Costco. It was pretty reasonable, but trim stuff like stair nose is expensive. Stairs were very difficult !
I'm happy with it, about 2 years later.
Carpet is nasty stuff, for sure !
One should be a fairly decent carpenter-type, before attempting laminate flooring as a DIY job, probably double that for real wood. Mine came out fine, but I have considerable construction experience.
I'd say the laminate flooring is appropriate to a lower end application....like a condo or starter home....not right in a nice $700,000 home with marble countertops and high end stuff.
I do have a couple of spots where I have like 1/16th " gaps , now, and I glued the planks...against instructions ! It would likely be worse without having had glued the tongues, IMO !
My final cost was comparable to fairly cheap carpet installed, but I'm not accounting for my labor.
All in all, I'm satisfied with the laminate.
Sometimes you have a limit on what you want to spend, but still want to get rid of the wall to wall carpeting !
It's funny to watch the cat slide around on it.
Did you get the soundproof backing? Really makes a difference.
We have Pergo in our bar room and entry hallway, and I am very pleased with it. I dropped a hammer on it from 8 feet up once accidentally, not a scratch. Lotsa accidents, have a couple dogs and the stuff has held up really well.
Was easy to put down and I think it looks really good.
stairs are an entirely different beast..I remember a stair case we did in Naples and our price was almost 20k!!
Installers back in the late 90's charged $1-$2 per sf to install hardwood whether glued nailed or freefloat. I would think it is not much different today. There was an additional charge for trim. Freefloat whether laminate or wood does sound hollow when you walk on it. But it is easy to install, easy to repair and is soft to stand on since it is on 1/8" foam..
As you can see in this miniscule sample alot of people have laminate and are satisfied but not thrilled. You spend any large sum of money like this and you better be ecstatic with the results (even if it more expensive).
Installers back in the late 90's charged $1-$2 per sf to install hardwood whether glued nailed or freefloat. I would think it is not much different today. There was an additional charge for trim. Freefloat whether laminate or wood does sound hollow when you walk on it. But it is easy to install, easy to repair and is soft to stand on since it is on 1/8" foam..
As you can see in this miniscule sample alot of people have laminate and are satisfied but not thrilled. You spend any large sum of money like this and you better be ecstatic with the results (even if it more expensive).
I have no problem with a hollow feeling ( have the foam under it).
No foam on stairs, I glued it down there.
I might not want to try to install the real stuff myself, so the laminate was a reasonable compromise..... considering I was comfortable enough tackling it myself, and the real stuff was a bit of overkill for an average condo unit.
I could easily see the real stuff having cost me 15K installed, I paid something like 2.5-3k in materials for laminate, much of that for stair trim, maybe $1,000 !
I did two sets of stairs ( 28 steps total), 3 landings, a large BR, an average BR, and a fairly large LR.
I put indoor/outdoor carpet in the basement.
