My wife just saw some laminate flooring she likes, and she wants to pick it up for our kitchen area. I've never had laminate flooring before, so I don't know much about it. It is affordable, but I'm worried about durability -- especially in the kitchen, where there's water, and apple-juice to be spilled. I was wondering if anyone had any insights.
(the particular flooring is called Trillium, oak)
Thanks
John
If you mean like Pergo I have it in the kitchen and its ok, just ok, it has a few holes from knives and pans that have dropped, its been through a small flood I caught right away and it dried fine, but they make a water resistant grade I did not use. Pergo is so smooth it shows all dirt, it cant be kept looking clean in my kitchen with 3 dogs so thats a big big negative. If I were to redo it I would get a tile pattern that has alot of natural looking variations to hide dirt, they make vinyal tiles that look real, hide dirt, and have a thicker top layer so a knive or dropped pot wont leave a gouge. Your kitchen will get the most wear of any room, get something thats real good and takes abuse. You might find a wood laminate rougher and tougher than pergo that will hide dirt, if the Pergo had less gloss and more of natural woods roughness and uneveness it would have been better.
Don't know about Trillium but I had Pergo laminate floors in my kitchen for many years (5yrs that I lived there and they were installed long before me). Nothing could get to it until one day a condensed water drain of A/C in nearby mech. closet clogged up and spilled enough water overnight. That pretty much destroyed the floor - a good 75 - 100 sq.ft. of it went badly warped, planks disconnected, pretty grim sight it was. I had redone it in laminate again - nothing else can withstand the claws of my two dogs and I like how easy it is to clean.
Just as a precaution - if you spill enough liquid that it may stay for awhile, just wipe it off, nothing bad will happen if you don't let it stay.
Good luck!
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I wouldn't do it. Even if you thought it was waterproof, all it takes is for some funky sauce to get spilled in the gaps to cause never- ending smell, not to mention mold growth.
Laminets like pergo have a plastic barrier underneath and are sealed on top, I was lucky I got it quick because a leak left really cant dry out easily. If it was overnight I think the floor would have ben ruined.
Tile
I've had it in mine for 7+ years as a temp measure. Still there and has stood up well except where the dogs water bowl is.
Tile's nice, I'd say the best kitchen floor surface I had but it will end up 3+ times more expensive with all the prep work and materials. Laminate floor (with proper underlayment) is pretty forgiving where it comes to the subfloor surface. Tile's not. Also, laminate is several times lighter per sq. ft. than flooring tile - depending on the home's construction weight may be important.
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This is a wood laminate, and it's textured, so that might help hide dirt/marks. I took a hammer and nail to the sample yesterday (separately) and it does dent with a mid-force blow from the hammer (e.g., dropping a frying pan force), though the texture does hide the dent nicely. I have to press pretty hard with the nail to leave a mark, and again, the mark isn't noticeable due to the texture. I'm mostly worried about water damage because I have no way of measuring that.
I appreciate the advice on the tile, and that's the way I would go if I was on my own, but I was looking at over $3000 with real hardwood and tile (We are covering the family room, hallways and kitchen at the same time). With the laminate I can keep the flooring consistent between both rooms, and can do this for sub $500 (and a lot less time). I'm figuring in that mythical day when I have more time and money, I might do something nicer which involves cherry inlay in a maple floor, with a curved border to a marble-tiled kitchen... but I think I'll go with the laminate for now.
Thanks
John
ransley, you sound like an absolute pig! Get off your lazy butt and sweep & mop, instead of trying to find ways to "hide" the dirt.
I'll you get plenty of hair balls in your food, letting 3 dogs in the kitchen. You're a very disturbed, nasty, dirty type of trailer trash.
And you're a rude, plonked putz.
If you're looking for something inexpensive, why not vinyl? It is essentially waterproof and pretty tough if you avoid the ultra-cheapo stuff.
Agreed. My mother's retirement village just re-did the kitchen floors in all the cottages, and her vinyl flooring looks just like tile. I thought it was tile until I touched it. WAAAY nicer than the cheapo linoleum they had in there before. Personally, I have hardwood in all rooms except for laundry, kitchen and bathrooms, where I have tile. There's no other flooring I would even consider. Carpet just skeeves me beyond belief. If it can't be washed I don't want it in my home. However, YMMV.
Whats your issue, kity piss in your wheaties today, no sex this year, facing forclosure of the shed?
Laminate varies in its resistance to various assaults.
Step 1:
I did the above and the distortion for the brand/pattern I chose was within the tolerance of my micrometer (less than 0.002").
Step 2. Take the same or another sample and subject it to gross abuse: Try to scratch it with a nail or wood rasp. Hit is with a ball-peen hammer. Let the dog gnaw on it. Try to stain it with kitchen stuff (ketchup, soy-sauce, cooking oil).
I did this also and concluded bullet-proof vests should be made of the stuff. The only test in which the laminate failed was the propane-torch test - the material charred.
Tile's all about the labor. If you shop the big box stores you'll find decent neutral tile for less than a $1 a square foot. If you do it yourself including backer board and mortar you can keep the total cost around 2-3$ a square foot. In a kitchen you might have to double up a few floor joists, again cheap materials, just labor.
As far as I'm concerned tile is the gold standard for kitchens and baths. It will last forever and more importantly water doesn't both it.
Agreed. But...
A. The wife wants it, and B. Laminate can be had for less than fifty-cents a square foot. Plus you don't need thinset, mortar, and sealant.
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