Home Makeover Diva

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Should I Buy Discount Laminate Flooring

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Today Tammy writes:

Diva, we’re giving serious thought to buying discount laminate flooring and there seems to be a huge gap in price, starting at $.49 cents a square foot and going all the way up to $5.00 a square foot, what gives? Is there a difference? Should I buy discount laminate flooring and if so, is it okay to install in heavy traffic areas?

Tammy, you have hit the nail on the head with this question! There is indeed a huge price discrepancy in discount laminates.  This is partially because there are so many styles and levels of quality when it comes to laminate flooring. And it is also because different store types see discount as a different price point.  Meaning a discount laminate from a warehouse store will usually cost less than a dollar while one found at an upscale flooring showroom could be as much as $5.oo a square foot.

As to the second part of your question, yes there is a difference.  This is because typically the price difference is attributed to the quality difference.  So you do get what you pay for.  It used to be pretty simple if you wanted flooring for a heavy traffic are, you didn’t spend anything less than $2 a square foot.  These days, however, I’m not so sure.  I’ve seen laminates that are under $1 a square foot boast a 30 year wear warranty.

Should I Buy Discount Laminate FlooringBut I’ll tell you the things I know for sure.  No matter what product you are looking at, no matter what the price range, do the key test.  The key test is a simple test that will help you determine how your flooring will hold up in everyday usage. You simply take a sample of the flooring and put it on the ground, “finish side” up.  Then you hold a set of keys out, above the flooring, at shoulder height and drop them.  Then you pick up your keys and the flooring and see if there are any discernible marks.

If you’re looking for laminate that will hold up to heavy traffic, you will want to make sure that there is no mark left on the sample from the keys.  Typically speaking, a flooring that can’t handle the pressure will show scratches or dents.  This would be a bad flooring to put in any house with children, pets, or for anyone who is as clumsy as I am.  Especially since I drop at least one thing on the floor everyday.

Another thing you should look at when choosing discount laminate is the locking system of the laminate.  This is because if the locking system is chipped or has a lot of imperfections it will be more difficult to install.  This means that you could end up spending more money than you saved in labor costs, or purchasing extra product to make up for the “bad” pieces. This is also why most people have difficulty putting together laminate flooring.  Simply put, not all laminate is created equal and sometimes paying a little more will ensure a happy experience when it comes to installation.

Typically speaking, you will still want to look at a laminate in the $2 a square foot or more range for ease of installation.  Usually the more expensive laminate options have more quality control to ensure that the boards fit together tighter and install easier. This is also true when it comes to laminate from flooring companies, because those companies are in the business of making flooring, so their reputation is on the line should there be any issues. Specifically, I’d recommend companies like Pergo Laminate Flooring and Shaw Flooring. Both Pergo and Shaw have quality control in place to make sure that you are getting the best product possible. While the laminates under a $1 a square foot are usually imported from factories all over the world that are only making laminate because they can do so cheaply.

Does this mean you shouldn’t get discount laminate? Heck, no! It simply means that you need to try the key test and check out the locking system before purchasing. If the flooring dents or scratches, or you have a difficult time putting the pieces together at the store, then it’s a bad idea!  Remember if you’re “penny wise but pound foolish”, then you haven’t really saved anything.  Instead, you’ve only created more expense and heartache in the long run!

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog!

Choosing Laminate Vs Wood For Your Home

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Summer is in the air! Have you gotten the remodeling bug yet? With summer, often comes a great opportunity for new flooring. A lot of people out there find themselves confused when choosing wood vs laminate flooring. Truthfully, it just depends on what area you are installing your new flooring in and the traffic to that specific area.

Solid wood – Invest in real wood when you are trying to add value to your home. Real hardwood flooring also lasts the lifetime of your home. Avoid using in overly wet areas like kids bathrooms because real wood is not water-resistant like vinyl and laminate. As real wood ages (like with reclaimed wood flooring), it enhances the beauty of the floor itself. Beware if you have large dogs or kids that are hard on your flooring.

Certain woods resist scratches and dents more than others. South American woods (like Brazilian Cherry) are generally a harder wood than the easily available American Oak. But it depends on the quality and how rough you are on your floors. One thing I like to do to any potential flooring is to try the key test. It’s simple: place said potential hardwood flooring on ground, hold keys at arm level above it and drop. Pick up the flooring and look at the damage. This will give you an idea of how well it will hold up in your home.

Choosing Laminate Vs Wood For Your HomeLaminate – Use for a wood look in wetter areas, or in other areas of your home where durability is number one. Laminate won’t increase the value of your home as automatically as wood flooring. But it might increase the its attractiveness to a potential buyer. Laminate is a great alternative to real wood if you have large dogs or pets. If you get a good rated laminate it will resist most scratches and dents. Just make sure to pick one out with a good coating. Stick an AC rating of 3 or higher if you have pets or children. Laminate is also great in areas where you can’t glue-down or nail into your subfloor. It simply click locks together and rests on a pad. Unlike most vinyls which have to be glued down or the majority of real wood floors that have to be nailed, stapled or glued to the subfloor. The simple fact that it doesn’t need to be nailed or glued makes laminate a good do it yourselfer project.

Whether you are adding value to your home or just looking for something scratch resistant, think of your needs before you go head first into either type of flooring.

Discount Laminate Flooring

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Have you ever wondered what makes one type of discount laminate flooring different from another? Some laminates sell for as little as $.39 per square foot, while others are over $10 per square foot. And, they all claim to have long warranties ranging anywhere from 10-50 years. If you wonder how to choose the right discount laminate for your home, and can’t seem to differentiate between all these differences, then continue reading.

Discount Laminate Flooring

What is a discount laminate? As a general rule, I consider anything under $1.50 per square foot a discount laminate. If you see the words: special buy, limited time, or clearance attached to any laminate flooring than it fits in this category. Although there is some discount flooring available on clearance, typically speaking, it has been mass-produced and then sold at an incredibly low price. Because of this, it can be poor quality and not worth the money.

While not all discount laminates are bad news, you will need to know a couple of things before installing one in your home. First of all, quantities are limited. This is especially important to know if you’re only installing part of your flooring now and want to install the same laminate later on. In this scenario, you would want to purchase more than enough for the entire job. Because it probably won’t be available later, and it will be near impossible to find an exact match. Another thing to know before purchasing laminate flooring is to ignore most of what the salesperson or packaging may tell you about the product. Specifically as it relates to the warranty.

Discount Laminate Flooring

About the Warranty

Don’t trust the warranty printed on the side of the carton of any discount laminate flooring. For all practical uses, these are merely guesstimates and should only be expected in the best-case scenario. Remember what I said above, these laminates are mass-produced and after one run aren’t made again.

Despite having a printed warranty, I doubt you’ll be able to find help should you need it. To be honest, I don’t have a lot of faith in warranties for do-it-yourselfers in general.  Because they are limited warranties and are only honored if the flooring was installed and used in the exact ways specified by the manufacturer.  On top of this, if you need to file a warranty claim it could take months to get anything settled.

AC Ratings

The warranties can be misleading but depending on the company you may find help in the form of an AC Rating. This type of rating, rates the type of wear a specific laminate can withstand with a number value from AC1 to AC5. The low point of the rating is an AC1. This rating is for light residential use, in barely used rooms like spare rooms and adult bedrooms. While AC2 laminates were for slightly more traffic areas, such as dining rooms and formal living spaces. AC3 was deemed the perfect rating for more commonly used areas of the house, such as kitchens, hallways, and family rooms. While AC4 was rated for light commercial and AC5 for higher traffic commercial settings. Unfortunately, the AC rating is not always found on the product packaging. So be prepared that you may have to do some research online or contact the manufacturer to it find out.

The Key Test

All of the other research and warnings aside, the most important aspect of finding out if a discount laminate is right for your home, is to do the key test. It is a very simple test and will let you get an idea of how a laminate will hold up in your home. You simply place a sample or plank of laminate on the ground and hold out your keys at shoulder height, above it. Then drop them. If your keys hit the plank then pick it up, and examine what type of damage it did. Otherwise, drop them again, until they land on it. If the keys did a lot of damage to the laminate plank, I’d stay away from it, unless it is going in a low-traffic room. Otherwise, in a short time you’ll start to see scratches and dents.

While this test will only help you with how the planks will hold up with light objects causing dents and scratches, if you use it combined with the AC rating, you’ll have an idea how the flooring will hold up over time and if it provides enough value for the price.

Hardwood Vs Laminate Flooring

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Today John asks:

Diva, I am completely stumped on this one. I was told that wood flooring looks nicer and will make my floors worth more than going with laminate flooring. Is this true? Should I go with the extra expense of hardwood vs laminate flooring? My kids are all moved out and it’s just me and my wife. Thanks.

Laminate flooring has come a long way in the last 15-20 years. Most of today’s laminates look like real wood flooring. This is because of newer printing technologies that are much more realistic than those that were available when laminate floors were first becoming popular. Some companies even apply texture to the surface that matches the image. By doing this, they are creating a depth that mimics real wood flooring. One company that is known for this is Real Touch by Dupont. Real Touch calls the technology Embossed-In-Register. Real Touch says the technology “embosses surface texture precisely over underlying patterns; creates an amazingly natural and authentic look; and provides increased traction and improved slip resistance.”

When companies put that much effort into the laminate flooring, they make it difficult to tell the difference between actual wood and laminate when you see the flooring actually installed. Keep in mind that not all flooring companies are created equally and some will look more realistic than others. If you’re considering laminate but want to make it a dead ringer for wood flooring, considering going with a product that has that Embossed-In-Register technology or one that comes in a plank size that looks like one individual piece of wood. Because of the added depth both of these features create, it will be nearly impossible to tell it’s not real wood when the flooring is installed.

As you can see, laminate can look like real hardwood flooring. It just depends on the brand and type of wood species you’re looking at. Laminate flooring doesn’t add value to your home like wood flooring does though. That part you were correct on. If you were having your house appraised, the value would be greater with real wood flooring than with laminate. That’s not to say that laminate won’t increase the value of your home some, just that wood would increase it more. While hardwood flooring does increase the value of your home, some people shy away from it.  Especially families with kids and pets.  In this instance laminate would be a better fit.  If you have large dogs I’d stay away from hardwood and go with laminate because it can take a beating much better.

If you don’t have dogs or grandchildren visiting, then hardwood is definitely worth the extra expense as it will feel more solid than most laminate floors. Just remember not all hardwoods are created equal and some are harder than others. The harder wood floors are generally more expensive and often people have a love hate relationship with them. Because sometimes the harder woods are also only found in darker colors. One thing to remember about darker color woods is that they are harder to keep clean. This is especially true for the glossier finishes. So if you live in a dusty climate, stay away from darker wood floors because you will see every speck of dust.

Hardwood Vs Laminate Flooring

A few tips to keep in mind before you purchase any hardwood flooring is that not every wood flooring product in the same wood species will be the same “hardness”. Just because it’s Brazilian Cherry from company X does not mean it is the same hardness as the one you saw from company Y. There are many variables to consider from manufacturing process to how old the tree was when it milled to where the tree is from.  All of these things will affect how tough the wood is.

No matter what type of wood flooring you are looking at, you should do your research and read reviewers comments for each product being examined. I’m not trying to keep you away from purchasing hardwood flooring John, rather trying to make sure you are informed and know what to expect before you buy. One great test to do this is the key test to test how tough the wood is.  Get a sample of the flooring and lay down flat on the floor finished side up, then hold your car keys at shoulder height out from your body and drop them on the flooring. Then examine the flooring to see what kind of marks the keys made on the board. Now you will know what to expect if the flooring should get any damage from day to day life. In fact this a great test for any flooring you decide on whether it is laminate or wood.

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe (diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog.

Laminate Flooring For Allergies

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Today Monique writes:

I am living in a coop in Westchester City NY, and I want to replace the
wall to wall carpeting I have because it’s disgusting and my kids have
asthma and I have allergies. I’m on a limited budget as a single mother and I realize that laminate is cheaper than wood.

I just want to make sure it’s not something that is toxic and could cause allergies.  Please tell me if laminate flooring for allergies would be a  good choice?  Does it have formaldehyde and does wood have formaldehyde?  I want something that doesn’t off gas and that is pure.   Does cork have any adhesives with formaldehyde?

I don’t like the  look of cork, even though I like what I have heard about it. How does linoleum  compare? Please advise.  I am desperate to get this carpet out of the  house!   Thanks, Monique

Dear Monique, most laminates are a good choice for allergy and asthma sufferers.  You just have to do a little research before choosing the right one for you.  The easy way to select a laminate that will be good for both you and the kiddos is to look for a GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified or GREENGUARD Children and Schools Certified laminate flooring.

Laminate Flooring For Allergies

The GREENGUARD Children and Schools Certification is specifically designed with little people in mind and will give you the absolutely least amount of off gassing. One company I found from the GREENGUARD website with this rating is Kaindl.  They also make an affordable product, ranging from $2 per square foot and up.  Just make sure you do the research and make sure the specific product you are interested in still has the GREENGUARD rating.

As for cork, yes most brands do live up to the standards you’re looking for. But if you don’t like the look of it, I would skip it entirely. Consider looking at Marmoleum instead. It is a natural Linoleum made of linseed oil, wood flour, rosin, and jute.  And there is absolutely no VOCs or off gassing. Expect to pay around $3 a square foot.

Both Marmoleum and Laminate will do well with the traffic and commotion caused from a household with kids and if the proper research is done at the same time, either will be a healthy alternative to carpet. This being said, wood flooring is more expensive but can also be found with these features. You will just have to be prepared to spend about $5 a square foot and up. With any luck, this will get you on the right track for finding a flooring option that meets your criteria.

Do you have questions about the selecting or the installation of: tile, carpet or wall treatments (window blinds, etc)? Then email me your tale of woe(diva(at)homemakeoverdiva.com) and perhaps I will be able to answer your questions right here at the Home Makeover Diva Blog.