flooring choices

[rdavy]

We are prettying up our single wide 2001 Clayton Spirit (14 X 60) in hopes of selling the home & property. I'm not a big fan of carpet and our carpet doesn't look that great. I'm leaning towards pulling out the carpet and putting in a wood laminate. My wife likes the look of wood laminate but has concerns as to the durability. If wood laminate is not to be our second preference is linoleum. Not having much experience in this area we thought it best to get other's opinions here.

[Greg]

Good laminate flooring is as close to bullet proof as you can get. I had one by our front door for 10 years that showed no wear when I took it up last weekend (replaced with laminate to match the kitchen). One thing to remember, if you have pets be very careful laminate is like ice to them. Both of our dogs have slipped on the new kitchen floor and had very sore hips. You may want to put down som area rugs if you have pets. Greg

[Socalrudy]

I totally agree with Greg. If you have an IKEA near you they have wood laminate that starts at $1.15 a square foot. Home Depot has it as well for about a dollar more a square foot. It is snap in type with no glue needed and has a 15 year warranty. I am putting it in my place.
My handyman had a great suggestion. He said to paint the floor before you put it down. The paint helps seal the area and protects if there is flooding.
Throw a couple of area rugs down and it will certainly class the place up.
Hope this helps.

[Yanita]

Wellll,

I guess it depends on the brand you are choosing. I own a residential cleaning business and I have a few clients that the laminate flooring is tore up at the front entrance. looks to be moisture damage.


I am guessing these homes do not have leaks, this would be from tracking in and not keeping the floor dry, also constantly damp area rugs...

Some laminates like great, but remember they are only water resistant, not water proof.

Yanita

[Howkeh]

I got the following from http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/flooring:
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However there are still some environmental concerns for consumers thinking about laminate flooring. Few products are made with Forest Stewardhip Council-certified wood, which would ensure sustainability of the wood. KronoSwiss does offer a few types of laminate flooring with all FSC wood materials. There are, however, several other flooring options, such as cork flooring, which ensures a harvest law of no less than 9 years downtime for the recovery of the cork trees, or bamboo, which is a fast-growing plant which quickly replenishes. Cork floors, like laminate wood floors, float above the surface of the sub-floor without being glued down. Bamboo flooring, also known as Plyboo, offers a convincing hard wood appearance. While both cork flooring and bamboo flooring are roughly as expensive as hard wood alternatives, many laminate flooring choices are slightly less expensive. In addition to these alternatives, there are a wide variety of engineered wood products on the market which utilize reclaimed wood; look for theSmartWood Rediscovered label.
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Also, linoleum in its true sense is a quite natural product made from linseed oil. It is not to be confused with vinyl (which replaced real linoleum). Anything made from vinyl should be avoided like the plague. Making it creates some of the more dangerous toxins mankind has been able to create.

Don't forget a modern home is relatively air-tight and you don't want to breathe what is gassed off for years. And you may not want to approve of dangerous materials and fabrication methods by buying some other materials. In the near future people hopefully will be so educated that installing "green" materials in your home will be an asset.

[ront]

i put laminate in my home back in june, Im very pleased with it, and didnt hurt the pocket to bad . it looks really good.
i also painted the floor with Kills befor i put down the laminate.
good luck,hope everything goes well.

[Greg S]

If it is for the purpose of resale go with price. Although green products may be the wave of the future they are more expensive and most likely your buyer will not care.
Having said that I would advise not using laminate in kitchen or bath and for comfort under foot would definitely stay with carpet in the bedrooms.
Go with the "nicest" cost efficient neutral products for resale not what you would necessarily chose for yourself.

[Brenda OH reregister]

Lumber liquidators has a laminate that is 88 cents a square foot. it comes in oak and maple colors. it is decent flooring, occasionally I do chip a corner or mess up the strip that snaps the floor together, but is is maybe one board out of 50, and I usually can find a place it still gets used, like at the edge of a room when I have to trim a board in half etc.

the oak color even goes on sale to 78 cents a square foot several times a year.

if you are doing small spaces, home depot and lowes often higher quality laminate flooring on clearance, if you want more sturdy grade.

I have used it on two homes, with water proof flooring by the exterior doors, and it is holding up well. I put metal carpet strips over the transition from the vinyl flooring to the laminate.

Brenda (OH)

[Greg]

A word of caution about Lumber Liquidators, Make sure you can return it if you don't like the way it looks. I always buy a full box first and lay a section down to tell how it will REALLY look, the little 6" samples just don't cut it.

When I did the floor in the Kitchen I made it clear to the guy what I was doing, when I tried to switch the box for a slightly darker color it was, "Oh well, you bought it". So off to Mr Seconds I went. bought 14 boxes. Greg

[Brenda OH reregister]

well, no return policy is a bummer, but lumber liquidators have some 7 mil laminate on sale this weekend for 58 cents a square foot, so if the one on sale works for you, it is a good price..... and that is one mil thicker than the stuff I was buying at 88 cents a square foot. I have to see if mr seconds is in my part of ohio!


Brenda

[Greg]

Brenda, I just sent a link to their site. One thing to remember is every store has some different stuff, you never know what they have. Greg

[golfinglenn]

Be very cautious of Lumber Liquidators. In my old house I used laminate flooring from Costco and was amazed at how well it held up and resisted moisture. I even put a section of it in a bucket of water overnight and it did not swell at all. I was sold on laminate flooring. So my girlfriend just bought a 75 double wide that needed new flooring and we opted for laminate at LL. We got the cheap stuff and it seems that as soon as a drop of water hits it the seams are swelling where the water is. We have several sections that have swollen seams now and would be pissed if we weren't planning on burning the place in a couple of years. We just wanted something to get us by till we could buy a new place to put on the property.

I would get a sample and do a water test overnight to make sure it is not a sponge.

Glenn

[70dart360]

I've got it in the kitchen,hall and 1 bath. I did the kitchen a couple years ago and then a pipe busted under the dishwasher. Killed the sub floor but the laminate held up real well. Of course the ins. co cut me a check and I replaced the sub floor with real plywood and new laminate. But the old stuff is now in the hall and the bathroom, still holding up and looking great.