aloha gang
what have your experiences been with hardwood, engineered wood or wood laminate flooring.
Please let me know of details, e.g. for hardwood, what type, oak, maple, ash, cherry what length planks, and width. for engineered, what type of surface trhickness, and the backing thickness, type of wood
and for laminate, what manufacturer, what type of product etc.
Just doing some research
Thanks
Oh I am in love with wooden flooring. They are much easier to clean, take a damp cloth and wipe off the dust and bacterias.
I have laminate click system floors at home. Laminate floors are more stronger, as they do not leave prints of highheels or other prints.
I was looking at laminates and the issue I have with them are that they can not be refinished, so if you mess it up i.e. the thin veneer of printed paper on top of the particle board then u have to replace that part. solid wood flooring on the other hand may get dings easier but add to the character of the place.
The sound quality of Laminate was not interesting either, the underlayment makes it sound more like real wood and the higher number of patterns now make it look more real as well, but it still looks fake due to the printed lines which make it look like separate wooden planks but infact its just a line.
but then hardwood is expensive and needs to be professionally installed. it does add to the house resale value, but the price iss till high. I think good maple flooring is easily $8+/sq foot, same goes for floors of ash or newer stuff like bamboo.
Engineered floors may be the answer because they have the ease of installation of laminate, but have more relaistic look to them, and they can be refinished 2 times, laminate can not be refinished,a nd hardwood can be refinished 6-7 times.
if costs were not a factor, I would go for hardwood, I have to gauge whether i can be happy with laminate or not.
If money is not the factor then go for the hardwood. I'd agree that laminate cannot be refinished (polished) again, but they can easily be used for 12-13 years if kept in good care, and then changed for some other options, where as hardwood can be used for double that time.
Of course the age would add to the character of the age, thats why hardwood has more value, but if you think that you would get tired of seeing the same kind of floor forever and would want some change (at least I would)
I don't really know what Engineered floors are, so cannot say anything about them.
Laminate may look faker but also has stability and you can walk on highheel on the floor without damaging the floor. I think that hardwood, gets more staines with time then laminate. Laminate image has improved a lot and many household are optioning for this, also because its cheaper then wooden floors, so easily financed from families with low budget.
Real wood flooring all the way. The older it gets, the better it looks.
I am actually leaning towards bamboo, environmentally responsible, harder than oak or maple (non carbonized bamboo) and higher structural rigidity to deal with climate swings. plus it works well with the zen feeling of my place.
I have seen some good laminates there, but somehow they just dont capture the same look.
engineered floors are basically laminates however the top layer is not paper with wood pattern pic, but real wood veneer. most of the engineered floors can be refinished 2 times.
HSL
btw, what is the approximate per/sq foot price for good laminate also how much does the underlayment cost, cuz thats a necessary evil with the laminates to prevent the clickity clankity sound that laminate floor makes when u walk on it.
i have seen maple for about $8/sq foor, oak for about $5.sq foot, and good bamboo for about $7-8/sq foot
Mr F., I'm living in Europe, so can only say the prices here, I'v seen some sales in big stores, where the prices went really down, but then the quality was really bad of those.
When I got my flat, I had this contract with the buying company that included carpets and some plastic floor for the kitchen, I decided against carpet out of hygenic and cleaning reasons, so I was given some refund to get the floor of my choice, ofcourse the overpayment, had to be paid by me, well to make a long story short, the contracting shop, had really high prices but I had to get my floor from them, the laminate costed me around 17 € (per meter I think), the quality was the best, I choose a light wood, the underlayment is just an layer of plastic, its not expensive at all. (maybe 2 € per meter)
Unfortunately, the salesman convinced me for the laminate, whereas I was interested in some real wood at the beginning, then later I found out the the prices of real wood was starting 25 till 40 €.
The laminate I have is not paper surface but some kind of hard plastic, that doesnt look different from real wood, but of course, not the real thing. Sound and feeling of real wood is better, now I regret not having the real thing.
HSL
when did u get the laminate? semes like they have the coating to make it feel more authentic to teh touch. the wood pattern u see is still paper, it is just covered with teh hard film sometimes with some texture though.
My bro is trying to put wood floor in the family home in London too dunno what he has decided on. I am looking to change mine for covenience, hygiene, allergy, ease of maintenance and long life etc.
I just dont want to regret down the road that for 30% more i could have had real wood. lets see.
About an year ago.
Yes, go for the real thing if you want to make sure you are having the best flooring.
Good luck!
gracias, still doing research. figuring out what to go for.
Do let us know for what you go for at the end.
decided hardwood, now l;ooking at which one. leaning towards ash or maple.
I guess I am too late, but for what its worth here is my advice. I will advise against going with Real Hardwood...they look nice and all but they are a pain to clean/maintain. If you ever "mess up" like drop water, juice etc have to clean it up right away and with proper "stuff".
I have "Pergo" in my home. Comes with 15 years warranty, waterproof, no specail care especially if you have kids or pets(like I do). It looks just as nice if not better than real hardwood. anyhow..it looks like you alraedy have made up your mind.
kaleem
thanks for the advice. I am factoring all that in the decision as well.
I have eliminated engineered wood floors from consideration, they ahve the benefits of both, but have the wekanesses of both as well.
now its between hardwood and laminate. now there are many laminates out there, some ppl ahve told me to avoid Pergo and suggested i look at Shaw and some other companies.
I want to make the decision pretty soon though
Lifestyle channel gives alot of information on these kind of things..
you can get info from their website, i guess..
Peer ji I was incorrect, I have wilsonart not pergo. I dont remember the exact reason why decided against pergo, but Wilsonart has held up pretty well considering the abuse it takes with three 2 plus year olds and three cats.
yeah kaleem, wilsonart is a brand recommended, its amazing how many ppl know pergo and when i talk to flooring ppl thats the least favourite or recommended brand.
Mystical
thanks, I was looking for people's personal expereinces because you can find just as many pro hardwood statemnst and pro laminte online :)
decided to go with hardwood, looks amazing, will post pics when i finally buy a digital camera :D
Fraudz did you get the ash or maple color? Love hardwood floors, they look nice and are easy to clean :).