Comments on: Cage Match! Laminate versus Wood

By: easyrt

easyrt — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:37:08 +0000

Great post!! A lot of people really do not know the benefits of laminate flooring. next summer we are planning on redoing our laundry room with laminte. We were going to do it this summer but we decided to go on vacation insted ;o)

By: La Petite Acadienne

La Petite Acadienne — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:12:01 +0000

Aesthetically, I do prefer wood to laminate. But I also love the look of a white sofa, and I know darned well that THAT’s not going to happen. We’re dog people. We’re going to be having kids. And we’re on a tight budget. Those three factors make the decision pretty easy. However, we did compromise by eschewing the cheapie laminate, and choosing slightly higher-end stuff that actually has some texture to it. (It’s called “Barn Oak” and well….it looks like reclaimed barn boards.)

Someday, maybe when the kids are older and our salaries are higher, we’ll get hardwood (or bamboo, my personal fave). But for now, our laminate will do just fine.

By: Joan H.

Joan H. — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:56:11 +0000

We have 3 kids and 2 cats, so when we ripped out our old and disgusting carpet last summer, we put in laminate. Twice. The first time the installers messed up and practically every plank “peaked”, or didn’t match edge-to-edge with the boards around it. They ripped that entire job out and re-did it with our new choice, Lowe’s house brand Alloc in Rustic Pear. It’s gorgeous, and it has a lifetime warranty on fade, dents, scratches, and wear.

And it’s easy to repair laminate, you just pop out the offending board and pop a new one in, or so the installers said — but that depends on the laminate. Wood’s forever, but it’s also really, really expensive, and you have to be much more careful with it.

By: Toby Wollin

Toby Wollin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:11:38 +0000

Oh, and for wet areas – forget wood. Go with slate, ceramic tile, etc. It’s easy to clean, and looks far more classy than laminate in my not so humble opinion.

By: Toby Wollin

Toby Wollin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:10:46 +0000

Sorry, I’m a wood girl all the way(and my DH’s last name is Wood, so I could not escape). We ripped up all the horrific dark green carpeting in our house to find…really horrific dark stained hardwood floors. Our contractor assured us that underneath the horrible varnish were gorgeous floorboards just waiting to be discovered. He was right. Of course, also underneath that horrible varnish was…stains on the wood from when we had a dog who was incontinent – the pee had gone through the carpet, through the varnish, right into the wood. And when that happens, there is really nothing you can do because to get that stain out, you’d have to sand the floors down to practically nothing. So, we had the floor guys do the best they could, stain the wood with a light stain, and have learned to call the dog pee stains “character”. But I do love wood and it has lightened the house immeasurably.

By: Jennie

Jennie — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Wood in living areas, laminate in wet, moist areas, or as the budget and lifestyle allows. If a dog’s human, laminate all the way. Not damaged by claws, accidents, drool….

By: Phyllis

Phyllis — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:44:57 +0000

Nah – I’m not buying this argument. We have laminate flooring in our house and it was the perfect solution. Looks just as good as real wood.

By: Peaches

Peaches — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:07:34 +0000

Ive heard that vinyl is crazy loud with a house full of dogs. Our Pergo is very noisy.Think clickety clickety…
Im steering toward hardwood for this reason. We need a hard surface that adds warmth and durability yet isnt so noisy.

By: Little Red

Little Red — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:26:06 +0000

I’m planning on ripping out the carpeting in my condo and have hardwood put in for all the reasons Carol mentioned. I’ll be broke when it’s done but I’ll have a beautiful home.

By: Never teh Bride

Never teh Bride — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:06:54 +0000

Right on, Carol! You’ve cheered my heart, because while the first floor of our house is all pretty wood, the upstairs is horrid old carpet tacked into what looks like vinyl. We’ve been discussing out DIY options for a while, so it’s nice to know it’s doable!