Laminate flooring

[EL4]

We are pricing laminate flooring for our finished basement.

Are there any brandnames to avoid? Is Pergo the best? Is one just as good as another?

thanks for any advice!

[Rockin Ronnie]

We have a cheaper grade of laminate flooring - Quality Craft Click flooring, in our basement and have had it down for a year. We bought it from a local supplier who brought the product in bulk. Cost was a factor. We ruled out expensive laminate flooring as overkill since the light traffic in our basement did not call for a tough, resilient floor and therefore an expensive one.

It was easy to lay down and looks great in our basement. However, we try to keep the Relative Humidity constant in the basement by running a dehumidifier all year round. A basement with a high humidity, I believe, would cause problems with laminate flooring. We also laid a plastic barrier (joints sealed with tape) over the concrete floor to reduce humidity prior to laying the laminate.

I would recommend cheaper stuff it for anyone contemplating a laminate floor for the basement.

Ron

[CAStinneford]

We put down the top quality (at the time) Pergo in a 16'x24' room about five years ago and it's been great. No problems at all even with two dogs and two teenage boys. Last spring we put down another laminate floor in the kitchen, Wilsonart Estate Plus, and I'm even happier with this one. I priced it locally and it was almost US$7 a square foot and I was able to get it for $4.19 from

They are in Washington State and I'm on the east coast but they had a warehouse close by and I was able to pick it up the afternoon that I ordered it with no shipping charges either.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Pergo is one of the most popular since it is sold at Home Depot. You will do better at a floor covering or decorating store. More choices, equal or better brands, equal pricing.

I have Wilson Art

and it has not show any signs of wear in about 6 years on the stairs, foyer, and a section leading to the kitchen.

I have engineered hardwood in my family room. Mannington

makes both laminate and wood floors. IMO, the wood looks better than the laminate, but the laminate is a tougher surface. Ed [e-mail]

[Art Begun]

Go glueless and read warrranties. Most are worthless. Mannington seems to have a better warranty than most in that it covers normal household spills but not what would normally be considered an insurable accident. Some warranties say no coverage if a spill isn't picked up within 2 hours. I don't know of many spills which come with a stopwatch and photographic proof so I stayed away from those companies. I think Pergo was one of those.