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I don't mind laminate if installed right, but this ugly knotty pine cabin look junk that people put in can ruin an otherwise neutral room. I don't like laminate in wet rooms (kitchens or baths) partly because it looks awful. However, in my modern kitchen, with a highly irregular floor, levelable, but not stable enough for tile, I found, for 97 cents a sq ft at HD, in the aisle, very subtle wood-look laminate, with barely visible grain, no knots, and a color that harmonized with the cabinetry. I'm very happy with the look. It just blends in; nothing more.
Just venting about flooring, in my quest for a new home.
When looking at older homes to buy, I see repeatedly that, when "renovated" or "updated," over and over again the flipper or renovator has chosen laminate or wood-look vinyl flooring. That is so frustrating! One of the reasons I'd buy an older home (1930s-1950s) is for the high quality of build and the WOOD FLOORS. Why oh why would a renovator tear out existing floors & replace them with something so inappropriate as laminate or vinyl? Those floors are not quality and won't last. I know it was probably the cost....and that's the problem.
The home I just sold is a 1950s home. I replaced flooring in the den. The choice was always either ceramic tile or real wood! Nothing artificial or modern would have been appropriate.
It's just frustrating, as I look at home after home...and it seems the majority of older renovated and newer built homes have laminate. Laminate gets dull over the years, and will be ruined if there's water in the home. It also doesn't look very nice or have the depth of grain to it that real wood has. Yet the homes are priced as if they had real wood or tile flooring. To me, the cost of the home should be reduced to account for having to replace the flooring to the real thing.
There is also a health concern with laminate. Engineered wood is better, but even that is lower quality. I'm thinking that if someone can't afford to renovate with the real thing, maybe they bit off more than they could chew. And that probably other updates are not quality, either (the kind you can't see).
I'm not speaking of an elderly person who updates the flooring in his/her home. I'm speaking of the pros. It's so frustrating!
Once you buy the old house you can put any kind of floors in it that you choose.
People don't always make their flooring choices with resale in mind. They choose what they like that will meet their needs at a price they can afford.
We plan to live in our house for a long time. I would rather have hardwood than laminate, but I would rather have laminate than carpet. I've seen some vinyl wood look floors that look really nice. I also like the wood-look tiles. We had a stained concrete overlay floor done in our family room and it looks great. The guy who did it also does concrete floors to look like wood. It looks really cool.
The rest of our house has carpet and tile. The house was built in 1949, so under the carpet is hardwood. I don't know what kind of shape it's in, but if the small areas I've seen from pulling back corners of the carpet is an indication, they are very nice. I am SO antsy to get rid of the gross carpet, but we have two old dogs, so we plan to just clean the carpet and deal with it.
If we didn't have wood, I would be open to different options. I wouldn't mind a nice vinyl for ease of cleaning with animals, but we also have a parrot who will eat vinyl. Laminate does not hold up well to moisture or pet accidents. I've also seen tile crack from accidents.
There's no option that is perfect, so people need to do what works for them and not worry so much about resale.
And don't trust Home Depot. We had uneven cement floors and were told wood would not be an option. Went to a real hardwood flooring company and they were able to do it with no problem. They had to level the floor, but it was not that big a deal. We've had our wood floors for 10 years now and they still look great, even with 2 kids and an 80 pound dog.
Interesting information, and although I haven't been to Home Depot yet to actually look at wood flooring I was thinking to myself that if they can level a floor for either laminate or engineered flooring to work then why couldn't the same sub flooring work for real hard wood.
I guess now though its a moot point because after seeing all the flooring choices I'm leaning towards the engineered flooring just because it looks nice enough and its mid price range. The most difficult choice I have regarding the floor is the stain color which as I said I am leaning towards a dark Walnut color. The ceilings through out house in all rooms (including living areas, kitchen, bedrooms and master bath) are all 12 foot high. I figure with a dark floor that the walls and other spaces will then be highlighted with all the light we have in the place due to large windows all over the house.
Curious what stain color (Walnut, Mahogany, etc) you went with.
I wend with Somerset engineered hardwood, Wide Plank collection, Midnight color. It's very dark, almost black. Here's a link from the manufacturer's website which shows the color pretty well: http://somersetfloors.com/pages/wide...dnight.jpg?v=4
If I can figure out how to post a photo to this board, I'll try to take a picture of my actual floor and post it for you.
Engineered hardwood is passable. At least it's able to refinished a couple of times. And it has a layer of real wood on the top.
I would have preferred solid hardwood, but it wasn't feasible in my condo. It would have required installation of a subfloor over the concrete condo floor, and that would have raised the level of the floor too high for it to be flush with the floor-to ceiling windows and sliding glass doors in my bedroom and living room.
Apart from the dust issue, I've been pleased with my new floor. Only time will tell, of course, if I'll continue to be happy with it long-term, but I'm optimistic.
Just venting about flooring, in my quest for a new home.
When looking at older homes to buy, I see repeatedly that, when "renovated" or "updated," over and over again the flipper or renovator has chosen laminate or wood-look vinyl flooring. That is so frustrating! One of the reasons I'd buy an older home (1930s-1950s) is for the high quality of build and the WOOD FLOORS. Why oh why would a renovator tear out existing floors & replace them with something so inappropriate as laminate or vinyl? Those floors are not quality and won't last. I know it was probably the cost....and that's the problem.
The home I just sold is a 1950s home. I replaced flooring in the den. The choice was always either ceramic tile or real wood! Nothing artificial or modern would have been appropriate.
It's just frustrating, as I look at home after home...and it seems the majority of older renovated and newer built homes have laminate. Laminate gets dull over the years, and will be ruined if there's water in the home. It also doesn't look very nice or have the depth of grain to it that real wood has. Yet the homes are priced as if they had real wood or tile flooring. To me, the cost of the home should be reduced to account for having to replace the flooring to the real thing.
There is also a health concern with laminate. Engineered wood is better, but even that is lower quality. I'm thinking that if someone can't afford to renovate with the real thing, maybe they bit off more than they could chew. And that probably other updates are not quality, either (the kind you can't see).
I'm not speaking of an elderly person who updates the flooring in his/her home. I'm speaking of the pros. It's so frustrating!
I agree. I adore original hardwood floors - there is nothing like it. Cheap, wood-look vinyl flooring is the new normal. Yes, I agree cost should be reduced when this is the case.
Apart from the dust issue, I've been pleased with my new floor. Only time will tell, of course, if I'll continue to be happy with it long-term, but I'm optimistic.
Are you saying ceramic floors don't get dusty too?
Look at it this way, even if the hardwoods show dust more easily you are more likely to keep your floors/ house cleaner thus resulting in better health and happiness.
I wend with Somerset engineered hardwood, Wide Plank collection, Midnight color. It's very dark, almost black. Here's a link from the manufacturer's website which shows the color pretty well: Somerset Hardwood Flooring - Somerset Home
If I can figure out how to post a photo to this board, I'll try to take a picture of my actual floor and post it for you.
Nice looking floors! I'm trying to achieve a nice richer dark mahogany or walnut look that will (or so I hope) make the place more high-end. That and the new furnishings / decor combined.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eeko156
I agree. I adore original hardwood floors - there is nothing like it. Cheap, wood-look vinyl flooring is the new normal. Yes, I agree cost should be reduced when this is the case.
I've even seen the new ceramic tiles that have wood grains and are cut in planks like real wood floors. I recently saw a picture of a house that had them and the owner loved the ceramic flooring option. Again I just don't want cold ceramic flooring in my bedrooms.
Because they're not RESTORING the house to historical originality, they're updating and renovating to FLIP. OR to what they can afford.
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