Floors

Are laminate "floating" floors any good?

Reply to
mo
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Wow ! I've been wondering that myself. I don't know.

A friend of mine has them and they look good and don't seem any worse for wear about 3 years down the road.

I've been thinking about them for in the kitchen but now they don't do the glue thing like they used to do, so I am worried about spilling a jar of pickle juice and it getting in and under the floor via the seams.

Reply to
roger61611

Yes and no.

Like most things in life, some are good some not. Some fit your needs and desires and some don't. Sort of like wives.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

No visible cracks. It's amazing they can make wood joints snap together to perfectly and reliably. End to end or side to side, all 4 sides lock together, and you just can't see any seams.

Water penetration: They do warn about that. Don't let liquids stay on them for any length of time or it could penetrate the seams. That's why we went with wood rather than mdf etc. laminates. They also sell a non-gluing to use inthe seams at outside doorways etc.

Recommended cleaing is a damp mopping, never use floor cleaners. Finish still looks excellent. They "click" together, making perfect seams. NO idea how they accomlisth it so reliably and perfectly, but they do. If you find a cull, they take ti back and replace it or pay for it.

Goes down FAST and easy, full directions included.

NO scratches yet. None at all. Have a 25 yr warranty plus the surface is extremely hard to scratch. Even dogs don't seem to bother it. It does "dent" though, just like any wood will. But, the dents don't crack away any finish; it stays put. Dropped a hammer on it recently; dinged it, but no other damage & the ding isn't visible unless you turn on the overhead lights.

Claims it can be sanded three times. But needs surface refinishing if you sand it. Sanding will void the 25 yr wear warranty so they say sanding's for end of warranty replenishment . You interpret that!

Sbufloor must be straight; forget the specs. I discovered a "sunken" part of my floor outside my coputer room door and had to slide a bunch of 3/16" panelling in there to support it so it wouldn't flex when stepped on; didn't want the joints to loosen and break.

With a proper floating foam under it, it's not at all noisy to walk on. They do warn against spiked high heels.

Can be hard to get the transitions looking right at doorways, etc..

Have to allow (with mine anyway) 3/8" expansion joint all around edges; can't use the cheapie mopboards, etc., but who wants to?

Can't nail or glue a floating floor. It -must- float in order for the seams to stay so perfect. The nail/glue types I looked at did have noticeable seams along the sides.

Many different kinds available. Lots of info articles on the 'net. Just search for them; easy to find.

Max length of our was 29 ft. At 29', needed to add a spacer "T" and continue from there. Had a wide 5' doorway, so used it there.

And finally, it makes the wife want to redo the entire living room and the rest of the floors in the house! It's not cheap, but it's a good floor, IMO.

So far, no visible problems noted. But it's far from 25 years old!

Pop

Reply to
Pop

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What you are describing is typically described as an "engineered wood floor". What just about everyone means when they say "laminate" flooring is not real wood on the surface and most definitely cannot ever be sanded. It is high pressure laminate (formica).

While engineered wood floors are made from "laminated" wood that is not the term to use when describing it.

Reply to
Rick Brandt

I wonder how long the foam underlayment will last? foam generally turns to dust after awhile.

have realtives with this floor, it looked good the last time I saw it, and they have a big dog, still I dont trust the material. it will likely be similiar to vinyl floor replaced every X number of years.

Reply to
hallerb

I have WilsonArt laminate on my heavily used stairs and landing. After about 10 years, it still looks as good as the day it was installed. I have engineered hardwood for three years now. Two scratches from mishaps.

Any floor covering will wear over time and good products go a LONG time. Or you get tired of it and want a change. I don't see that as a detriment at all.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

"Rick Brandt" wrote in message news:CrpHf.11955$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com... : Pop wrote: : > "mo" wrote in message : > news:6jmHf.10292$0H1.9353@trnddc04... : > > Are laminate "floating" floors any good? : > >

: > In my opinion, they're pretty good. But like most other things, : > you get what you pay for and need to pay attention to the maker's : > reputation. We have a floating laminate floor in our living : > room. Here are my opinions: : [snip] : > Claims it can be sanded three times. But needs surface : > refinishing if you sand it. Sanding will void the 25 yr wear : > warranty so they say sanding's for end of warranty replenishment : > . You interpret that! : [snip] : : What you are describing is typically described as an "engineered wood floor". : What just about everyone means when they say "laminate" flooring is not real : wood on the surface and most definitely cannot ever be sanded. It is high : pressure laminate (formica). : : While engineered wood floors are made from "laminated" wood that is not the term : to use when describing it. : : : : : You're playing a symantics game: I have one of the package images glued to my garage wll with the project date, etc.: It very clearly and speficically calls it a "laminate floor" mateiral in several places. Laminated wood = laminated wood. Laminated flooring can be made from wood. You'll find plenty of varying definitions around the various manufacturers. If you want to split hairs, pull one from around your own bunghole. If I want to laminate a bunch of cardboard layers with an acrylic top finish and call it laminated, it's laminated. Lamination is a method, not a product.

Sorry, no canter for hair splitters today - this group's got way too many of them. I won't discuss this further with you.

Reply to
Pop

One thing I do like about it is that it almost cannot be scratched; it'll dent, but the surface doesn't crack or come loose. Yet at least . I can say with a fair confidence that it takes more punishment than varnish or poly would take. Plus there is no stain to speak of: the color permeates the whole top layer of material which is pretty easily visible when you but it.

The only worries I have at the moment are that the seams might open up and become visible - I cannot believe that perfect fit is going to last over the years. Guess only time will tell.

Oh, I used some of the leftover scraps to make table-saw sleds; two of them; one ofr miters and the other for crosscuts. Outstanding material for that, albeit a little expensive, but since it was scrap, well, I'm cheap .

Pop

Reply to
Pop

Not hair splitting at all. Look how these guys define laminate and engineered wood.

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Wow, these guys same the same thing
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Hey, that Pergo stuff is called laminate too. Who'd have thunk it?
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These guys differentiate laminate from engineered wood also.
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These guys have both, but on the engineered wood page, they don't say it is laminated, but the laminate page talks about the plastic made stuff.
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So far, it seems as though you are the only person that calls engineered wood laminated flooring in real life use terms. Plywood is a series of laminated layers, but it is not called "laminate" in the trades from what I can see.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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