Advice-Buying Hardwood or Laminate Flooring

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

So since we have a large amount of posters from diverse backgrounds who offer great advice, I am looking to upgrade my flooring.

I have carpet in my living room, dining room, sun room and awful laminate flooring in the kitchen. I have just started the process of shopping for hardwood or the Faux Wood laminate flooring.

I would appreciate any feedback on companies, pricing, what to look for, performance of materials (laminite vs flooring) hidden pricing.

I will have to hire someone to install bc I am a girlie-man.

Any help is appreciated!

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[TheAmericanDream]

Well if money is not a issue go hardwoods for sure. I have laminate all thoughout my house and love it. You will be surprise at how much your carpet hides dirt. We sweep the floors all the time.

[Johnny Rockets]

I have put faux wood laminate in 2 of my houses and never regretted it. If you have faux wood put down, pay attention to the thickness of the pad and also if the pad comes preinstalled on the wood or not. There may be a price difference for installation if the padding is put down separate but not sure.

 

 I bought my first flooring at Sam's club year's ago and this last time was at Lowe's but I have heard that Lumber liquidators is an excellent place for selection, price, and advice. I just didn't have time to make it out to them the last time I put down flooring but if you have one near you, it may be worth your time to pay them a visit. 

 

http://www.lumberliquidators.com/

 

 

[Ja Rhule]

I pro hardwood.  If you decide to go hardwood, never go thru big companies.  Find some brazilians and they'll do it for the half of price.  If you live in Charlotte area and can't find Brazilians, let me know... I'll hook you up.

[thefuzz]

So since we have a large amount of posters from diverse backgrounds who offer great advice, I am looking to upgrade my flooring.

I have carpet in my living room, dining room, sun room and awful laminate flooring in the kitchen. I have just started the process of shopping for hardwood or the Faux Wood laminate flooring.

I would appreciate any feedback on companies, pricing, what to look for, performance of materials (laminite vs flooring) hidden pricing.

I will have to hire someone to install bc I am a girlie-man.

Any help is appreciated!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

 

What type of foundation do you have?

 

That will determine a lot.

[thefuzz]

So since we have a large amount of posters from diverse backgrounds who offer great advice, I am looking to upgrade my flooring.

I have carpet in my living room, dining room, sun room and awful laminate flooring in the kitchen. I have just started the process of shopping for hardwood or the Faux Wood laminate flooring.

I would appreciate any feedback on companies, pricing, what to look for, performance of materials (laminite vs flooring) hidden pricing.

I will have to hire someone to install bc I am a girlie-man.

Any help is appreciated!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

 

Also another big one...budget?

[Jase]

floating engineered wood on slabs

 

hardwoods on upper floors

[PhillyB]

IMO having a mixture of carpet and hardwood is nice. i went with the faux-wood floating laminate for my lounge and installed it myself in two days. it looks phenomenal.

[SmokinwithWilly]

You're going to be looking at about 2-3x the cost for engineered hardwood vs laminate for purchase and a bit more for the install. A big thing to consider too is how much traffic you're going to be putting on the floor. If you have kids/dogs running around a lot, I'd stay away from laminate. Once you get a chip, it seems to start peeling over time at least in my experience. Also, look at the locking system and figure out how hard it would be to make a fix if necessary and is it possible to do partial repairs at all. 

 

Another thing to consider is would you ever want to change colors. After 10 years, you may get tired of a particular color. Real hardwoods can be refinished and have the stain adjusted without having to do a tear out and reinstallation. 

 

My personal rating for flooring is real hardwood, engineered, laminate for installation costs, durability and ease of repair. 

[toldozer]

I did my living room/dining room with laminate planks for 300 bucks. I searched craigslist till I found something decent and bought it. Came with the moisture barrier too. I will see if I can find the pictures. It looks good and looks amazing for 300.00 bucks. My brother and I ( mostly him) did the install.

Lumber liquidators was around 1300 for laminate and about 3k for engineered hardwood and I don't think that included the moisture barrier. Honestly mine looked good as new once installed and cleaned.

[toldozer]

How many square feet? Also I would tile the kitchen but depends on the layout

[Happy Panther]

Vote for real hardwood here

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

Great stuff!! Ill have to research my local installers but a ton of great advice. Bc I feel like we will move in two years I am leaning towards the faux laminate.

This is a starter home slab-style. Just trying to upgrade a bit to move this place and upgrade to a bigger house with upgrades.

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[toldozer]

Engineered or real hardwood will add value to your home though. May make the difference in your house from the one down the street. If you can afford it I'd go with the nicer option unless you can get a good deal and install yourself with someone's help. Install on any option that's not nail down will probably be about the same