General > General info Somewhat hot tub related

Question for DIY... re: laminate flooring

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Brookenstein:
Well we finally finished the fence yesterday.  I thought that meant the end of major projects for a while.  Then I did our taxes last night and to my shocking surprise we are actually getting money back.  The man claimed married 8 so we were worried about owing... anyway looks like I have enough to do my floors.  Yeah!  But, I (along with the man) will be the installers as we didn't get enough back to actually pay someone to do it.

So couple questions... our house is just over 1200 sq ft.  We want to do the entire house minus the bathrooms.  Any idea how much of an undertaking this really will be?  I know now that its glueless it should be a bit easier than it once was.  I plan to take off the molding and then eventually replace those as well (we've done that before so I know we can do that pretty easily).

How long realistically will a project like this take?  We will basically just have weekends, plus Little League is starting up so that will limit 1/2 day every Saturday.

Also any advice on where to buy the materials.  Is Depot or Lowes is as good as any?  Anyone have experience with the stuff from Sam's Club?  What about discount flooring places?  The only thing I know is I plan to buy the kind with built-in underlayment.

Any feedback from BTDT appreciated.

Vinny:
What a women ... Tubs, flooring, fencing, TAXES and everything else ... All I can say is WOW!!!!

As for laminate flooring, stick with the major brands: Wilson Art, Pergo and there's a few others. I personally have a Wilson Art floor in the family room and it wears like iron. Stay with floors that have a hardwood backing (Pergo used to have flake board). I wouldn't buy the lower end stuff from HD or Lowes. The good stuff goes for about $3.79 per square foot here in NJ.

It seems relatively easy, my floor is the older glue style and I'm glad I had it installed. We are planning to have the kitchen done with laminate too but since I have to remove a layer of flooring and have cabinets on top of the floor, I'm going with an install job.

If you're doing planks, offset each row so that the seams don't match each other. It seems to cut nicely with a circular saw. The installers had a 4" saw they used. I would think that if there aren't too many cuts the floor would go in pretty quickly once you get the movement correct to snap the into place with each other. I think you could get a couple of rooms done in a day or so, 2 rooms definately within a weekend. Heck you might get half a house done as the "wood" planks" are about 1' x 3' and unlike hardwood floors there really isn't a pattern to worry about. Just remember that they are photos of things and the photos do repeat - that's the only worry.

But as a FYI, the install price is $2.00 sf so if you get into a crunch, a couple of rooms wouldn't cost too much.

Gomboman:
Brook, I would try this place out http://www.lumberliquidators.com/. I think there is one in your area. I know a few people who were going to go the Pergo route and ended up buying real engineered wood for less money from Lumberliquidators.

I personally like laminate floors but generally real wood floors will increase your re-sale value more than laminate. Just my two cents.......

JcDenton:
Hi Brooke!

I think I can add some advice here. We recently tore out our carpets from two levels of our home and replaced it with laminate flooring. Overall, about 700 square feet of the stuff. I had never installed laminate before. I didn't do it all at once, but rather in sections - and here's my best advice.

First - as suggested by Gomboman - if you want something long-term that really boosts the value of your home and you can afford it - go with hardwoods. They're a much nicer product in the end.

However, if you are like me and think you might change the floors again in say 10-12 years - there are many decent laminates out there for purchase. The most important criteria (in my opinion) is the thickness of the laminate. The cheaper stuff is pretty thin and can mark alot easier than the thicker stuff. For example, originally to start out - we placed the thin, cheaper stuff in our kitchen first (never done it before at this point). Once completed I dropped a can-opener or something and it gouged the floor and left a mark.

Secondly - if you are planning on laminating a stairwell you might want to think again - the specialty pieces are quite expensive and unlike wood, with the glueless flooring you have to maintain a specific width of board or you start to lose the integrity of the floor. I.e. - you can't cut the it too narrow.

If your room is relatively square, then you can polish it off in a full day if you know what you're doing. If you have to go around corners it can become a little tricky as each board has a specific orientation and cannot be flipped or reversed after cutting.

The only other advice I can think of is make sure you really snap/rubber mallet each piece together well. After several months I've noticed small gaps between certain pieces and it kinda ticks me off. However, considering the massive swing in temperature up here its a wonder the entire floor doesn't split! ;D

We are happy with our floors in the end. We ripped out the kitchen and replaced it with thicker stuff and it seems to be holding up quite well. We've also extended the stuff right into our master bedroom!

The key is to have a sharp saw and start where there's the least traffic - get a feel for it in a place that nobody will notice if you make a small error.

Anyways - good luck and I hope this helps!


Jc

Bonibelle:
HI Brooke,  You go girl... I will also give you my little bit of advice.  We did the engineered wood floors about 3 years ago. As Gombo says, they are beautiful but not forgiving and mine have many scratches and bruises. If my children were younger, I would not have considered the real wood. (My 110+lb.  dog has caused most of the marks on my floors)  If you do want to take a look at how the engineered wood is installed anyway, Family Handyman has an article in the February issue. That magazine is a fantastic resource and probably one of my all time favorites, you would probably enjoy it too.
Lowes and Home Depot offer how to classes and even if you don't buy from them, you would get a hands on class and have a better idea of how you can realistically do this project with the least amount of problems. I admire your spirit, it is hard to get projects done with little ones underfoot.  You must have a secret! Good luck and let us know how your project progresses!

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