Laminate Flooring?

[reb]

We installed Formica brand laminate flooring in our house about 10 years ago. At the time it was the only brand we found with a 25 year warranty that covered water damage. It required glue; some of the new ones don't. It has held up very well.

 

[forgeblast]

just as an fyi, In my coop i have laminate down under the roost board (called a poop board) that i scrape into a bucket to compost once a week. the laminate is holding uup well there.

 

[Kays Supply]

Reply to question, Yes water. I have had an issue with some of the new faucets. They are trying to be lead free. They use plastic supply lines made into the faucets. The first models came with plastic ferrels to use if you had to cut the extremely long supply lines that are made onto the faucet. Well, I was one of the first to find out the plastic ferrels would pull off the plastic supply lines if cut. Even though we were on the site when they popped, it still cost me $1600 to replace a room of flooring that wasn't wet over 15 minutes. Now we have to roll up 30" of plastic line under every sink. It looks like $@%^*(*^%#.

 

[picker77]

FWIW, we're getting ready to do several rooms worth of insurance-covered floor covering work due to a plumbing disaster that happened while we were away for a few days (Murphy's law strikes again). Wife wanted wood, but I didn't like that idea because it's all high wear areas and is going down directly over concrete. After looking over what's available for water/damp resistant flooring in our very high traffic kitchen/breakfast nook/mud room area, we've settled on random-laid 3-1/2" x 24" wood-grain finish 3/8" thick porcelain ceramic tiles. I didn't even know they made this stuff. We looked at several sample floors done with this stuff, really liked the look, and it's practically indestructible as far as wear and moisture go. Comes in several kinds of wood grains and colors, and runs around $4 per sq/ft, not much more than good laminate, although a pro installer is needed so labor is higher. These will be going down directly on a concrete slab. Our tile contractor thinks wood plank look porcelain tiles are a great idea, says they are hands-down more preferable than laminate or solid wood if the flooring is going directly onto concrete, and his customers love them. They also come in wide planks, too, but we liked the look of the narrow version. We'll see how they work for us.

For concrete slab floors on or below grade, this stuff might be worth a look before you commit to any type of "floating" laminate or wood flooring that has to be put down over a moisture barrier and refinished every few years.

 

[beemerphile]

Sign me up for "I hate it" too. Our elderly dog took leak on it and it buckled. I think mine was Armstrong brand. The dealer said if you wipe up a spill within 15 minutes all is well. That means never leave home.

Also it is LOUD. Drop a dime on it and it sounds like a snare drum.

I'd rather have a dirt floor.

Lee

 

[EddieWalker]

I've installed quite a bit of it and believe that you get what you pay for.

The warrentee's are worthless. While the companies will honor them, the fine print is just replacement. So if you have a board in the middle of your floor that needs to be replaced, the manufacturer will give you a new piece of flooring. Now what? Somebody has to replace it. They can either cut out the bad piece and modify the new one to fit, or remove all of the floor to get to that one and then re install the floor. Who pays for that? You do. Labor is not covered under any warrentee that I've ever come across, nor wil I do warrentee work. If you hire me to fix it, I'm going to charge you for my labor.

Several things that really make a huge difference in the final floor, and how it ends up.

First, make sure that the sub floor is smooth and flat. It sounds obvious, but very few slabs are totaly flat. If you put water on the slab, you would see that puddles appear all over. Depending on the size of the low areas, and how bad the difference is, I fill them with floor leveling material. It mixes up watery and you just pour it out, then feather the edges. Simpe, kind of price, but time consuming.

Making sure the slab is dry and you don't have moisture coming up is critical. Tape a piece of plastic to the floor for a week. Pull it off and see if there is moisture under the plastic. If so, you will have that same level of moisture under your wood. If so, your wood will fail and come apart. if its dry, then you are good to go.

Unnderlayment is critical. I use a felt type underlayment. Right now, I find that Lowes has the best deal and the best product. There is no other type of pad that I would put under a floating floor. I don't care what the cost increase is, it's cheap compared to the live of the floor.

I like to take off the baseboards, then install the flooring and then inststall the baseboards, or new baseboards. I hate quarter round.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Dallas_Lilly]

I bought 700 sq of the sam's club stuff 3 years ago. It has the foam underneath it. I thought for sure it was going to buckle and look like crap because I found after removing carpet that I had some very un even floors. 3 years later with 4 kids under the age of 10 and 2 dogs it still looks great. I did have to put one or two finish nails in the places where the floor was un even.

We are however careful to clean up any spills and the entry way is tiled for taking off boots.

 

[clemsonfor]

FWIW, we're getting ready to do several rooms worth of insurance-covered floor covering work due to a plumbing disaster that happened while we were away for a few days (Murphy's law strikes again). Wife wanted wood, but I didn't like that idea because it's all high wear areas and is going down directly over concrete. After looking over what's available for water/damp resistant flooring in our very high traffic kitchen/breakfast nook/mud room area, we've settled on random-laid 3-1/2" x 24" wood-grain finish 3/8" thick porcelain ceramic tiles. I didn't even know they made this stuff. We looked at several sample floors done with this stuff, really liked the look, and it's practically indestructible as far as wear and moisture go. Comes in several kinds of wood grains and colors, and runs around $4 per sq/ft, not much more than good laminate, although a pro installer is needed so labor is higher. These will be going down directly on a concrete slab. Our tile contractor thinks wood plank look porcelain tiles are a great idea, says they are hands-down more preferable than laminate or solid wood if the flooring is going directly onto concrete, and his customers love them. They also come in wide planks, too, but we liked the look of the narrow version. We'll see how they work for us.

For concrete slab floors on or below grade, this stuff might be worth a look before you commit to any type of "floating" laminate or wood flooring that has to be put down over a moisture barrier and refinished every few years.

Just a note you cant put wood over concrete (solid wood). Well let me rephrase that, you should not put wood over concrete. You would have to glue it down creating a mess or put treated 2xs or something then put plywood down then have a moisture barrier to be able to nail the wood down, and if you glue you cant have a plastic barier as the glue will be on plastic not concrete. I would never do it, this is where these floating laminits with a quality foam/plastic vapor barrier are really used i guess? Tile would be my choice though.

 

[Bird]

The warrentee's are worthless.

That's a fact, at least in our case. Our Mohawk laminated floor is just over 3 years old. I learned the manufacturer (Mohawk) will not reply to any questions; except to tell you that you have to go through your dealer. And the dealer who installed ours was bankrupted by a lawsuit they lost.:laughing: Overall, I suppose we aren't too unhappy with it, but I'll bet we never have anymore laminated flooring installed.

 

[/pine]

I like to take off the baseboards, then install the flooring and then inststall the baseboards, or new baseboards. I hate quarter round.

just to expand on this a bit...for those that do not do a lot of remodeling...be sure to use a utility knife and cut the paint/calking along the top of the baseboard befor removing to prevent tearing or peeling the sheetrock paper/paint... when replaced a thin bead of calking will restore the finished look...
another trick is to use pliers and pull the old nails through the back of the baseboards to prevent checking...

Another option if the floors are smooth and flat is using a jamb saw...this tool can be set to cut the bottom of baseboards (and door casings etc) to allow just enough clearance to slide the laminate under to give a professional looking finish without having to remove the trim....

a "jamb saw" (for anyone tht is not familiar) is a horizontal circular saw that has an adjustable base that is on rollers...

for those that only need to cut a few door casings an offset flat saw (hand) can be placed on top of a piece of laminate to guage the height of the cut off the floor...