Snap laminate flooring?

[freeform911]

Need some help...again!

We are in the process of choosing materials for our kitchen remodel. One of the flooring options is snap laminate, which looks like wood, which is suppose to hold up better than traditional hard wood or even engineered planks.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this type of flooring.

Does it look cheap when installed?
Hows it hold up to foot traffic?
Hows it hold up to dogs?
Hows it hold up to sun on it daily?

I truly appreciate any and all feedback.

TIA
Steve

[mepstein]

Buy a carton of it. Put it down on the floor. Live with it for a week or 2. Then you will know.

[drcoastline]

Yes it looks cheap. Very cheap but is a better look than an old torn, stained, burned vinyl floor and will smell better than a dirty old shag carpet that a wet English sheep dog slept on for the past twenty years.

Laminate flooring is basically Formica applied to a hard backer. It will scratch when anything with an edge scrapes across it. Such as a knife, fork, broken glass, a stone stuck in the sole of your shoe. I would dispute the claim it holds up better. The backed may hold up but laminate is not repairable. just as a Formica counter will scratch from a knife. If your dogs have any tendency to scratch they will make quick work of the less than 1/6" laminate. In my experience one of the biggest problems with laminate flooring is the sound. It is very loud when walked on even with the padding between the flooring nd sub floor.


Hows it hold up to sun on it daily? I can not answer that question. I have never had it anywhere long enough to see the long term affects of sun light.

I would look into an engineered wood flood. An engineered wood floor is a thin veneer of select wood applied to a plywood backer. You get the look and feel of a real wood floor on par price wise with a laminate floor. Yes it will also scratch but being a real wood veneer of 1/8"+ you can make minor repairs. It will discolor over time due to light, oxidation.

[drkshdw]

Used it in my kitchen and it was replaced with real hardwood after about 3 years.

Does it look cheap? It can, especially if you get the cheap kind. Foot traffic? Fine. Dogs? Fine. Sun? Fine. Where it doesn't do well is with water. Which in a kitchen, comes with the territory.

The stuff I installed (IIRC was Pergo from HD) swelled at the edges almost immediately after installing it whenever water dripped or spilled on it, no matter how fast you wiped it up. At the end of those 3 years, you could feel every joint under foot because it was so uneven. I'll never install it again.

[JavaBrewer]

Some laminates are better than others, but they all feel strange to walk on and sound cheap (clack clack). I have run engineered hardwood in our last two homes including the kitchen. Here in SoCal with concrete slab foundations I use high quality glue to install and have never had failures due to water/spills/moisture.

[p911dad]

The experience I had with laminate was unsatisfactory. If it is used where water is likely to be spilled, it wlll eventually swell up, and there is no fix to that.

[fastfredracing]

I did pergo in my kitchen also. 5 years , and it is holding up alright. I wish I would have just done hardwood

[aschen]

I wouldn't put laminate in the kitchen. There is new "luxury vinyl Plank" flooring which is inexpensive like Laminate but impervious to water. I think Tile is best for wet areas however.

Wood look tile or long plank tile is much more tolerant of water and is quite reasonably price.

[Tobra]

Buddy put it in his house and it has been great for a long time. Have some in my office and it looks crappy after about 10 years.

[KFC911]

I have put it in a couple of rental houses...holding up well...ten years. Buddy has it in both his kitchen and bathrooms, with lots of dawg traffic, etc....same for him. But I'm a 3/4" hardwood and tile guy personally...

[LWJ]

I have some Ikea brand upstairs in the "teen lounge." It is great. I have tongue and groove red oak hardwood on my main floor. Different products for different situations.

The install is a big deal. Crap installs look like crap. I do think snap flooring looks cheaper but some might be fine. I think if I were looking to have a nice wood-like floor without the hardwood cost I would look at the vinyl flooring that simulates wood. It is pretty good. And have it professionally installed.

[dad911]

Are you near a Floor and Decor Store? We've been using this in basements/utility rooms on concrete: https://www.flooranddecor.com/nucore-flooring?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlpyd14HI3AIVFVYNCh3dJAT yEAAYASABEgKoGfD_BwE

Pretty tough stuff.

But if it was my kitchen I'd use wood or a wood-look tile.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I have some Ikea brand upstairs in the "teen lounge." It is great. I have tongue and groove red oak hardwood on my main floor. Different products for different situations.

.... And have it professionally installed.

From laminate, to nailed 3/4 hickory, to tile & grout, I guarantee no professional will do a better job than I do...but I am SLOW, meticulous, and anal retentive too

It's not rocket surgery...YMMV

[freeform911]

Yeah..i do agree that it looks cheap.

The concern with hardwood is we live in SC, on the coast with very high humidity. I'm worried that hardwood might swell.

At this point i think porcelain wood look tile is the way we'll good. Only down fall to this is all the grout lines..

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and experiences.

Steve

[Bugsinrugs]

Look into LVT ( luxury vinyl tile) much better looking then laminate.

[rrental]

Don't go the laminate route. The vinyl plank is the "new laminate". You can get it in many different sizes and styles. We got 20 years commercial warranty on it at the shop.

It it easy to use ( I used both click and glue) doesn't bother moist or water, and is VERY scratch resistant.

For the shop we used a generic pattern and at home we used the brand "Armstrong". Not cheap bu very good quality.

In the motorhome:




At Home:


At the shop:


www.Citationrv.ca

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by freeform911

Yeah..i do agree that it looks cheap.

The concern with hardwood is we live in SC, on the coast with very high humidity. I'm worried that hardwood might swell.

At this point i think porcelain wood look tile is the way we'll good. Only down fall to this is all the grout lines..

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and experiences.

Steve

Steve,

Real wood has been used in building in humid regions for thousands of years. Look at the old homes in and around Charleston that are 100-200 years old that have wood frames, siding, floors, etc. Many still have their original floors. I am sure you have air conditioning. A/C is a dehumidifier. The amount of moisture you would need to buckle a solid hardwood floor would only come from a deluge of water. A flood, broken pipe, etc.

[Erakad]

Whichever you choose, and I don't prefer laminates, if you're floating the floor, invest in good underlayment. Even the best floor will sound cheep if you don't take care of what lies underneath. Read reviews and choose wisely.

[widebody911]

I did Pergo in my kitchen about 8 years ago, and then 3 years ago I did the living room, dining room, and hallway. The old Pergo is holding up OK, but the newer stuff is already falling apart. The edges are starting to curl up just ever so slightly, and it's even worse on the ends where the pieces meet. I will have to rip it all out, and you bet your sweet bippy I won't be re-installing this Pergo crap again.

When I bought the new Pergo - same color code - I noticed the box and the material within looked slightly different. The guy at Lowes told me "Oh, it's the same, they just changed the box design for marketing" blah blah blah. Of course anything a Home Depot/Lowes employee tells you is worth less than the electrons I wasted typing this.

So, if you're flipping a house or fluffing a tired section-8 rental, by all means use it, but if it's a dwelling that you care about, don't go anywhere near Pergo.

Have I got across the theme yet that Pergo sucks donkey balls?

[freeform911]

Originally Posted by Bugsinrugs

Look into LVT ( luxury vinyl tile) much better looking then laminate.

This is actually what the floorings call. What we looked at was by Cali vinyl. It's supposed to be pictures printed on vinyl. 50 year warranty( I'm sure that goes a long ways).