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Posted: 8/27/2016 2:36:27 AM EDT
[#1]
I like laminate flooring - I just hate when they try to make it look like wood.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 2:39:01 AM EDT
[#2]
laminate sucks, last house I built the owner hated having an electric bill so he shut off the heat and the instant water heater froze and then flooded the main level
laminate can't take any water, hardwood would have been fine |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 2:46:38 AM EDT
[#3]
With that many feet running around the house, I'm tempted to say "fuck it, tile EVERYTHING."
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Posted: 8/27/2016 2:57:22 AM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My dad has poplar floors on his cabin that are roughly 250 years old.... |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 3:01:22 AM EDT
[#5]
Porcelain tile that looks like wood is the way to go with pets.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 3:53:23 AM EDT
[#6]
We have hand scraped hardwood, for a rustic look, in our living room, bedrooms, hallway, and stairs. Absolutely love it.
Had a home improvement contractor install the hardwood. Guy nailed it. Flawless install. Pergo in our basement / downstairs family room, (concrete floor). Looks just like oak hardwood. If I wouldn't have had to put a subfloor down for hardwood, we may have went with it. Went with the vapor barrier, (giant sheet of plastic). I installed the Pergo myself. But it looks great, and we're satisfied. Been down about 5 or 6 years and still looks like new. The hardwood just feels SOLID, and the Pergo has kind of a clicky sound and feel. If I had the choice between only one of the two, I'd def go with the real deal. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:25:23 AM EDT
[#7]
Wife and I tore up the beautiful 70's vintage brown shag that was in our house when we bought it and laid down real unfinished oak flooring.
Did it ourselves, never did it before, rough on the back. Hired a pro to sand and finish. Laminate/pre finish was never an option for us. The cracks between each board will let liquids in. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:40:00 AM EDT
[#8]
Take it from an old guy.........in almost ALL THINGS HOUSE............go with the wife's choice.
Life is made easier that way. 
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:42:17 AM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A laminate that is wood laminate with an upper ply that is thick enough for sanding is probably superior to solid flooring due to improved stability. Thin plies or crappy photo engraved paper aren't so hot. This. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:44:47 AM EDT
[#10]
I've got kids, dogs, hardwood and laminate in my house. Absolutely no question that the laminate holds up MUCH better. I'm not saying it's a better product, but it wears much better. Dogs also have a learning curve when it comes to laminate and traction that is rather amusing.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:47:58 AM EDT
[#11]
I had hand scraped Brazilian Cherry wood that was $10/ft in my basement. The kids and animals destroyed it before they finally flooded the basement out due to a baby wipe down the toilet.
Laminate |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:49:27 AM EDT
[#12]
We have 3 cats in the house, no dogs in the house.
The cats are all declawed (front paws only) and they have just destroyed the oak floors in the living room and kitchen. The run, play, chase around and their back claws are gouging the hell out of the oak. The laminate flooring looks as good as the day it was installed in the bedrooms. When we redo the floors upstairs (remove the carpet) we'll put down more laminate flooring. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:52:11 AM EDT
[#13]
Are you sure you want a hard floor of any sort on a second floor? That's going to get noisy.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:52:24 AM EDT
[#14]
Strand woven bamboo nail down planks
Hard as shit, no hollow sounding/feeling floating floor crap, looks like wood and wears well |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:55:04 AM EDT
[#15]
Tell her you can give'er lamb 'n' seven or goat 'n' eight, but you gotta outsource the latter to an Ethiopian guy.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 7:56:07 AM EDT
[#16]
Laminate is garbage.
Use real wood or LVP |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:01:25 AM EDT
[#17]
I have hardwood through my whole house except the three bathrooms... No regrets even with a 110lb Black Lab
The wood gets a little "texture" from roaming paws, but nothing you would notice unless you were looking for it |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:05:43 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
google image "laminate floor water damage" Real wood doesn't care well to water damage either. Had real wood floor flooded and popped up. So I went with laminat. What I can say is: -louder than real wood -softer to walk on -dogs and toddler haven't destroyed it yet. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:16:41 AM EDT
[#19]
There are some badass laminates that look great and have a solid sound/feel to them, usually 8mm+ thick with a pre-attached underlayment. They are pretty much indestructible but they will cost more. There are a ton of posts in this thread that are worth less than the shit I flushed two days ago. Do your research, but don't sink a significant amount into something you don't want-it will just piss you off every time you look at it.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:16:43 AM EDT
[#20]
Vinyl plank flooring is awesome. Goes down like laminate, looks convincingly like wood, doesn't care about moisture.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:23:22 AM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
Redoing our upstairs which consists of a master bed/bath, a study and what was a darkroom(husband/previous owners hobby). We have a good size dog, 3 cats and a 2.5 year old girl. She is convinced we need laminate(thanks father in law) because it will hold up better. Yes, it should. I'm trying to tell her for one, no increase in value to the house. Two, it's got no soul to it like solid wood does. If laminate gets damaged, you're screwed. If hardwood gets damaged it can be fixed. Any help? Do what your wife wants. She'll be happy you went with her choice and this is a stupid thing to do battle over. There is no "soul" in flooring and no one (that I know of) is going to say "Oh they have hardwood flooring, lets bump our offer another $10K". No one gives a shit as long as it looks good. P.S. All flooring gets damaged eventually. We call that used. Scuffs, scrapes and eventually a dent or ding is part of life. 10 years later it's going to look like every other wood floor unless you live like a freak with plastic over all your furniture and everyone only wears socks indoors including the declawed pets. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:45:48 AM EDT
[#22]
High quality laminate is better than wood these days for a lot of reasons, but the real question is who is paying for it?
If you are, then smile listen to her input and buy what the hell you want.If she is paying for it, then smile and tell her what a wonderful choice you made while cutting up your man card. Sometimes you gotta make decisions like a boss OP. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:54:02 AM EDT
[#23]
We put in 1500 feet of 3 1/2" mill run birch 19 years ago when we built the house. Put on 4 coats of solvent based, high solid gym finish. The smelly stuff. Never recoated since. The floor still looks spectacular and all we ever really do is vacuum and damp mop.
We have 3 kids and an 80lb dog for 13 years. The floors have held up like iron. The tile...not so much. They break. I put 500sq ft of good laminate over the garage trying to save time and a few bucks. It feels cheesy to me. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 8:58:44 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Vinyl plank flooring is awesome. Goes down like laminate, looks convincingly like wood, doesn't care about moisture. This is the practical winners choice... |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:04:52 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Vinyl plank flooring is awesome. Goes down like laminate, looks convincingly like wood, doesn't care about moisture. yup. Coretec Plus is my #1 floating LVP Karndean is my #1 glue down. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:05:48 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Tell her that laminate will always have non sealed cracks between the "boards". Just imagine dog piss or spilled drinks getting between the "boards" and sitting there forever and stinking up the house. Hardwood that's properly installed and finished in place is sealed, until the coating is worn through. Then you refinish it. A well done and maintained hardwood floor should last 90 years. I've never seen a laminate live up to the hype. Trained dogs don't piss in houses  . I'd be more concerned with their nails scratching the floor while running around. That being said, good quality laminate or hardwood is the way to go. Do not buy the el cheapo $0.99 sq ft laminate. You'll be replacing it in two years.
We put down Armstrong laminate($2.89), four years ago and it still looks close to new(with two dogs). |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:07:55 AM EDT
[#27]
Tell her she's gonna take your hardwood and like it. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:13:46 AM EDT
[#28]
no slip tile that looks like wood or rough sawed wood, laminates and glossy wood are very slippery surfaces for animals, kids and older people with dry skin on their feet
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:17:07 AM EDT
[#29]
I am not a big laminate floor fan. I have been in multiple offices that women wear high heels in and the floor has dimples all over it. I don't know that a real wood floor would fair that much better, but it would look a hell of a lot better with the wear marks than laminate.
I like tile and carpet, don't put hardwood or laminate anywhere there is a flood potential(under a fridge, sinks, toilets, washer/dryer) |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:21:50 AM EDT
[#30]
Wife wants laminate, you want wood. So you both compromise.
Get the laminate.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:33:17 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I recently sold a house in the Dallas metro area, upper 300k range. I put in brand new high quality laminate flooring in the dining room and office right before it was listed. One comment from EVERY prospective buyer - why did he cheap out with a fake wood floor? Never again. This. No matter how high the grade, laminate floors look and feel cheap to me. I'd go with hardwood or wood plank look ceramic tile. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:37:52 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
yup. Coretec Plus is my #1 floating LVP Karndean is my #1 glue down. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Vinyl plank flooring is awesome. Goes down like laminate, looks convincingly like wood, doesn't care about moisture. yup. Coretec Plus is my #1 floating LVP Karndean is my #1 glue down. Coretec is great stuff. I'm going to use it over concrete in my basement. 
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:40:55 AM EDT
[#33]
Didn't even read the full thread. Put pets and wood is not good. Especially if you have a big dog. Laminate or composite vinyl is what you want.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:41:39 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
laminate sucks, last house I built the owner hated having an electric bill so he shut off the heat and the instant water heater froze and then flooded the main level laminate can't take any water, hardwood would have been fine No it wouldn't. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:44:35 AM EDT
[#35]
Wife is right. Laminate, all the way.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:46:32 AM EDT
[#36]
Noise won't be a problem. The upstairs is over the garage. It's a 50's Bedford stone house. Kind of a weird layout but a very well built house.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:47:56 AM EDT
[#37]
I put 5/8" bamboo in 1 1/8" tongue and groove decking on the second floor. It looks very nice is hard as fuck, is stable so no perceptible shrink/swell and was less expensive than good hardwood.
No regrets would do it again, but after 8 years it appears I will never have to. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 9:53:55 AM EDT
[#38]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
wood grain tile. this is what we are doing. Dogs and kids spell disaster for laminate and wood. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:10:25 AM EDT
[#39]
HMmm... A picture of wood or real wood.... That's easy.
Wood can be refinished... Laminate can't. Use a good water based gym-floor poly like Bona and you'll be gtg |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:10:55 AM EDT
[#40]
Why doesnt she want wood OP?
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:14:06 AM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
this is what we are doing. Dogs and kids spell disaster for laminate and wood. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
wood grain tile. this is what we are doing. Dogs and kids spell disaster for laminate and wood. The tile is great and would use it if possible. Wood is best for long term if tile wont work. Laminate is for cheap and temporary or resale to those who don't know any better. I have used all of the above. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:16:26 AM EDT
[#42]
Happy wife, happy life.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:16:40 AM EDT
[#43]
We have 8 kids 13 and under. Most of the main floor is tile, but the TV room we did in pre finished solid hand scraped hickory. It looks like new 5 years later. The kids rooms we are getting ready to do in vinyl plank just because I'm afraid of them spilling stuff or leaving a wet towel on it and not catching it.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:17:28 AM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
wood grain tile. When we redo the floors in our house I'm pushing so hard for that. 
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:18:33 AM EDT
[#45]
A lot of brands of the engineered wood products can be refinished once or twice if you need to. Don't put it in your bathroom.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:23:32 AM EDT
[#46]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
You don't want wood with that many people + pets. High quality laminate is outstanding these days, it costs a lot too. Edit: Buy 3 extra boxes of the laminate; it's more than you'll ever need. Edit 2: Hardwood can be repaired, but in general it's way more expensive than a few extra boxes. Edit 3: Keep wood/laminate out of your bathroom. Neither are all that great for dealing with moisture. Tile is the way to go. All of this. I go with laminate because it is essentially maintenance free, installs easy, and is usually cheaper than real wood. It also holds up to pets and kids better. I also lay tile anywhere there's more moisture than usual....door entries, kitchens, laundry rooms, bathrooms. |
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:25:31 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Do you ever want a BJ again? Apparently not. He already married her. 
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:33:23 AM EDT
[#48]
Nothing wrong with wood looking tile.
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Posted: 8/27/2016 10:46:16 AM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
A laminate that is wood laminate with an upper ply that is thick enough for sanding is probably superior to solid flooring due to improved stability. Thin plies or crappy photo engraved paper aren't so hot. It's called engineered hard wood and would be a great compromise. |
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