Home Renovation
05-29-2016, 08:20 AM
#1
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Home Renovation
Let's start with kitchen flooring.
I'm considering laminate "wood" planks for the kitchen and family room.
Three young kids, no pets, contractor-grade home in a typical midwest subdivision. Laminate seems popular in new (and overly priced) homes. My goal is to update the look of our home with a material that is compatible with the young-children lifestyle.
I'm familiar with the Lumber Liquidators fiasco: buy Made in the USA/CARB compliant.
Thoughts/advice?
I'm considering laminate "wood" planks for the kitchen and family room.
Three young kids, no pets, contractor-grade home in a typical midwest subdivision. Laminate seems popular in new (and overly priced) homes. My goal is to update the look of our home with a material that is compatible with the young-children lifestyle.
I'm familiar with the Lumber Liquidators fiasco: buy Made in the USA/CARB compliant.
Thoughts/advice?
05-29-2016, 09:14 AM
#2
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Posts: 270
I've seen many laminate planks used by friends in their remodel jobs that looked terrible. Mostly because the planks had such obvious dips in the top surface. The dips correspond to the hollow part of the plank, and run its full length. My guess is that they used the el-cheapo brands.
I've installed oak and fir tongue and groove, and it was pretty easy to do. Definitely takes longer than the laminate, but the look is good. Check out Fine Homebuilding: they have books and magazine articles that walk you through the process and help you avoid amatuer/homeowner remodeled mistakes.
I've installed oak and fir tongue and groove, and it was pretty easy to do. Definitely takes longer than the laminate, but the look is good. Check out Fine Homebuilding: they have books and magazine articles that walk you through the process and help you avoid amatuer/homeowner remodeled mistakes.
05-29-2016, 07:05 PM
#3
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I just learned a lot about wooden flooring options when I had some put last year. There's a lot more to it than I realized, but I read a lot online to study up on it. I also visited several flooring stores and talked to sales representatives.
Your three main options are (1) SOLID hardwood flooring. (2) "Engineered" Hardwood flooring. (3) LAMINATE wood flooring. But did you know that there is also a very realistic-looking TILE flooring now that comes in "planks" and is another very durable option for wet or heavily-trafficked areas. Each of these options has pro's and con's, so there is a lot to consider.
SOLID hardwood floors are the priciest option, of course. But they will definitely look the nicest. And you can tell if floors are genuine by the way they sound and feel when you walk on them. Hardwoods are usually made unfinished and the finish and/or hand-scrapping is done once they are put in place. My home is on a slab and actually, I learned that solid hardwoods are NOT recommended for slab installation since they are less forgiving to temperature and moisture variations of cement slabs. Hardwood flooring requires more maintenance since it has to be refinished periodically.
Engineered hardwood is what I decided to go with. Engineered hardwood is made of several layers of wood material topped with a veneer of genuine hardwood. It has the "look" of real wood (since it is real wood on top) but the layers underneath make it more stable in moisture and temperature variations. It's also a less expensive option, both to buy it and to maintain it since it NEVER has to be refinished. Engineered hardwoods are coated at the factory with protective materials (such as aluminum oxide) after they are finished to provide a very durable protective coating. My flooring came with a FIFTY YEAR (50!) finish warranty, for example! I love my engineered hardwood floors!
Laminate is the next option. It is cheaper still than even the engineered flooring, but just as you can tell the difference between full solid hardwoods and engineered flooring, you can see a SUBSTANTIAL difference in the quality of engineered hardwoods and laminates, in my opinion. Laminates have a hollow, tinny "clack" when you walk on them. The top layer of laminate flooring is NOT actual wood veneer. It is a computer-generated simulation of wood grain. Granted, the technology is such that it still looks very good and very realistic, compared to the ability to simulate wood grain a few decades ago. Laminate is not only cheaper to install but also cheap to maintain since it also never requires refinishing. Laminate is even more "stable" than engineered hardwood, and it is a great choice for wet areas like kitchens or basements, as well as very heavily trafficked areas. However, the "life" of laminate flooring is considerably less than engineered hardwood. Depending on wear, you may only get 15-20 years out of it compared to double that for engineered wood. And, in my opinion, the engineered wood looks much better too.
Some people try to do flooring themselves. While I know you "CAN" do major projects like this, I personally think it's worth it pay a professional to do the job right the first time and to make it look good. After all, flooring is an investment in the value of your home.
I shopped around before I bought my floors and found a considerable difference in price. I used "Angie's List" and got five different bids on the exact same brand and model of flooring, so that I could compare apples-to-apples. I also got a bid from Costco's alliance with Shaw flooring, but my experience with the rep didn't impress me and the prices were nowhere close to competitive. A couple of brick-and-mortar stores were very high, one was reasonable considering his retail overhead, but my chosen contractor had great reviews, specialized in wood flooring, and didn't have the "overhead" of maintaining a retail store front. I'm very pleased with my experience.
Your three main options are (1) SOLID hardwood flooring. (2) "Engineered" Hardwood flooring. (3) LAMINATE wood flooring. But did you know that there is also a very realistic-looking TILE flooring now that comes in "planks" and is another very durable option for wet or heavily-trafficked areas. Each of these options has pro's and con's, so there is a lot to consider.
SOLID hardwood floors are the priciest option, of course. But they will definitely look the nicest. And you can tell if floors are genuine by the way they sound and feel when you walk on them. Hardwoods are usually made unfinished and the finish and/or hand-scrapping is done once they are put in place. My home is on a slab and actually, I learned that solid hardwoods are NOT recommended for slab installation since they are less forgiving to temperature and moisture variations of cement slabs. Hardwood flooring requires more maintenance since it has to be refinished periodically.
Engineered hardwood is what I decided to go with. Engineered hardwood is made of several layers of wood material topped with a veneer of genuine hardwood. It has the "look" of real wood (since it is real wood on top) but the layers underneath make it more stable in moisture and temperature variations. It's also a less expensive option, both to buy it and to maintain it since it NEVER has to be refinished. Engineered hardwoods are coated at the factory with protective materials (such as aluminum oxide) after they are finished to provide a very durable protective coating. My flooring came with a FIFTY YEAR (50!) finish warranty, for example! I love my engineered hardwood floors!
Laminate is the next option. It is cheaper still than even the engineered flooring, but just as you can tell the difference between full solid hardwoods and engineered flooring, you can see a SUBSTANTIAL difference in the quality of engineered hardwoods and laminates, in my opinion. Laminates have a hollow, tinny "clack" when you walk on them. The top layer of laminate flooring is NOT actual wood veneer. It is a computer-generated simulation of wood grain. Granted, the technology is such that it still looks very good and very realistic, compared to the ability to simulate wood grain a few decades ago. Laminate is not only cheaper to install but also cheap to maintain since it also never requires refinishing. Laminate is even more "stable" than engineered hardwood, and it is a great choice for wet areas like kitchens or basements, as well as very heavily trafficked areas. However, the "life" of laminate flooring is considerably less than engineered hardwood. Depending on wear, you may only get 15-20 years out of it compared to double that for engineered wood. And, in my opinion, the engineered wood looks much better too.
Some people try to do flooring themselves. While I know you "CAN" do major projects like this, I personally think it's worth it pay a professional to do the job right the first time and to make it look good. After all, flooring is an investment in the value of your home.
I shopped around before I bought my floors and found a considerable difference in price. I used "Angie's List" and got five different bids on the exact same brand and model of flooring, so that I could compare apples-to-apples. I also got a bid from Costco's alliance with Shaw flooring, but my experience with the rep didn't impress me and the prices were nowhere close to competitive. A couple of brick-and-mortar stores were very high, one was reasonable considering his retail overhead, but my chosen contractor had great reviews, specialized in wood flooring, and didn't have the "overhead" of maintaining a retail store front. I'm very pleased with my experience.
05-30-2016, 08:56 AM
#4
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You got a flooring quote from Angie's List? I thought they only dealt with labor costs. We have a membership; I'll have to check into that aspect of it.
After doing more research yesterday, I'm now leaning away from laminate.
Thanks for the help.
After doing more research yesterday, I'm now leaning away from laminate.
Thanks for the help.
05-30-2016, 10:04 AM
#5
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Originally Posted by Speed Select
You got a flooring quote from Angie's List? I thought they only dealt with labor costs. We have a membership; I'll have to check into that aspect of it.
After doing more research yesterday, I'm now leaning away from laminate.
Thanks for the help.
After doing more research yesterday, I'm now leaning away from laminate.
Thanks for the help.
Yes, on Angie's List you can look up contractors by type, read their reviews and then contact them to get bids. Their physical address, phone number, point-of-contact, and link to their website is displayed in their profile.
I didn't actually get the bids through the website itself; I just used it to find and screen the prospects. They all still came out to the house to measure and give me bids. Since flooring cost is so dependent on the size of the project, no one will give you a written estimate unless they measure it themselves and see the actual rooms so they can identify any extra costs or problem areas that need attention.
Good luck with your project!
05-30-2016, 12:12 PM
#7
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I installed the engineered floors in my home, though went with (and highly recommend) tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. Even so I still had an issue with a leaky dishwasher and a dog that wasn't quite pee trained. In both those cases I had to replace sections of the flooring... (Same dog chewed on all the outside corners of my new baseboard as well, and had to fix that too... If you spill water or similar, wipe it up quick. Other than that, we love our floors.
05-30-2016, 12:51 PM
#8
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I'm gonna go with a contractor install... a little extra flying is worth it for me. Besides flying airplanes, just about all I can do is pound nails and boil water.
Did the contractor arrange the material purchase, or did you buy the flooring on your own? I can get the 10% mil discount at Lowes/HD. Not sure what price contractors pay...
Did the contractor arrange the material purchase, or did you buy the flooring on your own? I can get the 10% mil discount at Lowes/HD. Not sure what price contractors pay...
05-30-2016, 06:12 PM
#9
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I didn't need a contractor as I formerly worked in construction and have built homes from the ground up. I was able to get a good deal on the material through a friend in the business. A contractor can generally get the materials much cheaper than you, but good luck having them pass it on. Contractors typically make money on both labor and materials when they can. Nothing wrong with using a contractor and would recommend it if you don't feel comfortable tackling the project. You would just need to do your homework first. You will need a chop saw and know how to read a tape measure as well as have a back and knees that will hold up!
05-30-2016, 06:29 PM
#10
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Originally Posted by Speed Select
Did the contractor arrange the material purchase, or did you buy the flooring on your own? I can get the 10% mil discount at Lowes/HD. Not sure what price contractors pay...
My quotes for the engineered hardwood flooring I purchased were all in the approximately $4 to $5 per square foot range. It wasn't the cheapest grade of flooring, nor the most expensive. Installed, final out-the-door price including materials (including 10% overage which left me about an extra box and a half for later repairs), labor, haul-away of old flooring, and taxes cost me about $8.67 per square foot.
I would guess that some contractors would allow you to purchase the materials separately, but I imagine that might affect their quote for labor. Even if they are selling it to you for less than full retail, I think that they are getting at least some (marginal) markup on the cost of the flooring. If you take that profit margin away, they might possibly charge you more on labor to make up some of the difference. But it's worth asking the question.
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