do you think laminate flooring cheapens a house?

[Denisemomof4]

I'm really sorry of this question offends anyone. I truly don't mean to upset anyone.

 

We have maple floorings over most of the first floor. I love the lighter color, but I'm finding that I *hate* wood floors. They dull after awhile, but THE thing I hate is that my large dog is absolutely destroying them. I've been shopping for new wood floors, something harder, and everyone tells me that dogs are simply going to scratch them up. Having dogs is more important to me than wood flooring. We're considering laminate. Now I *hated* laminate flooring years ago. but a couple of times, recently, I was SHOCKED that what I was looking at was NOT wood! I can't BELIEVE how beautiful the new laminate flooring is!!

 

My issue is that we have a lovely post and beam home. Laminate flooring will LOOK like wood, but if we were to have to sell our house, I'm wondering if laminate flooring would be looked down upon. We have oak beams visible in the entire house, cherry cabinets in kitchen, extra detailed craftsman wood work everywhere - nothing standard. Would the laminate be out of place? Would it prevent a sale, should we need to sell? When you open our front door, most of the entire first floor is visible right at the entry. So this laminate would be a very ........... it would be everywhere.

 

The thing I LOVE? My large dogs won't scratch it!

 

Can you please share your opinions on this?

 

Also, is it true that laminate doesn't scratch? Will it dull like my maple flooring has? My plan is to put the maple upstairs (GET RID OF ALL CARPET!) and put laminate downstairs.

 

If you were looking at a pretty expensive home, would the laminate flooring bother you? FWIW, we have a farm, live on a dirt road, have a dirt driveway. So having EASY flooring for anyone in this home would be important, I would imagine. I'm not sure many people would buy a farm and not have dogs. :confused:

Edited September 6, 2011 by Denisemomof4

[LucyStoner]

Your dogs will be able to scratch the laminate. And it will generally not be "refinishable". Some laminate is totally not repairable. Be careful.

[Caterpiller]

im kind of stupid when it comes to this stuff having never owned a home or had any choice in the matter of what the house was made out of :tongue_smilie:... but wouldn't the lamenat go on top of the wood floors? Then when you sell you could simply strip the laminate and buff and stain the floors and not loose any value?

[Ria]

I wouldn't hesitate to put laminate in if you find one you like. The house is for YOU. Any potential future buyers can do what they want with it later.

 

I prefer nice hardwood, but would prefer laminate to someone's icky carpeting, if that helps any!

[Denisemomof4]

Your dogs will be able to scratch the laminate. And it will generally not be "refinishable". Some laminate is totally not repairable. Be careful.

 

really? I've been to a few places now and everyone has told me the dogs won't scratch the laminate. One flooring company we've done business with for years is very honest, even if it prevents a sale. I *love* that about them. They told us the dogs wouldn't scratch the floors but if we had chairs that would be moved around, that would unless they were well protected.

 

I'm so bummed to hear dogs could scratch laminate. I couldn't go with anything harder than a wood floor because I would have severe foot/back pain.

[Pretty in Pink]

I don't believe that laminate flooring adds to the appraisal value of your home in the same way that hardwood flooring does. I'm not knocking laminate flooring. There are some really attractive laminates out there. I'm sure that someone here knows a bit about real estate and tell you how the two compare when it comes to appraisals.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Pretty in Pink

[Denisemomof4]

I wouldn't hesitate to put laminate in if you find one you like. The house is for YOU. Any potential future buyers can do what they want with it later.

 

I prefer nice hardwood, but would prefer laminate to someone's icky carpeting, if that helps any!

 

Oh, I definitely PREFER a nice hardwood, but I can't stand the way dogs damage them. I'm shocked to hear people put in cherry flooring, spend thousands of dollars, all the while knowing their dog is going to scratch them up.

 

I used to think we'd just have small dogs, but we're getting a guard dog next year. I wish there were a perfect flooring option for me.

[Wendi]

I think it would really depend on your neighborhood. With so much natural wood in the house, it does sound like people might expect the floors to be wood. However, as you noted, laminate like Pergo is popular (we have it!) and easy to care for. Maybe some people would prefer laminate for the floor. Could you ask a realtor who knows your neighborhood well?

 

Wendi

[Slartibartfast]

I wouldn't cover a wood floor but I am strongly biased. :)

[Denisemomof4]

I don't believe that laminate flooring adds to the appraisal value of your home in the same way that hardwood flooring does. I'm not knocking laminate flooring. There are some really attractive laminates out there. I'm sure that someone here knows a bit about real estate and tell you how the two compare when it comes to appraisals.

 

It definitely wouldn't add to the value of the house. We got one estimate for wood flooring and it came in at 15k. :svengo: I wouldn't be ok with dogs messing that up.

 

Not having a dog is not an option here.

[Ria]

How about hardwood with area rugs or runners in the high dog-traffic areas?

[Denisemomof4]

I think it would really depend on your neighborhood. With so much natural wood in the house, it does sound like people might expect the floors to be wood. However, as you noted, laminate like Pergo is popular (we have it!) and easy to care for. Maybe some people would prefer laminate for the floor. Could you ask a realtor who knows your neighborhood well?

 

Wendi

 

the neighborhood wouldn't matter (don't really live in one) but the house makes a big difference with all the special details on our wood, all the oak beams and entire frame exposed, etc.

 

I wouldn't cover a wood floor but I am strongly biased. :)

 

I just can't bring myself to spend the money on a harder wood, only to have my dog scratch it up! We wouldn't cover the maple flooring. We'd rip it up and put it in the bedrooms upstairs.

[specialmama]

Denise, I'm in the same boat as you, except our home has mega oak detailing. We do have laminate in the kitchen, bath and hallway because ceramics in Edmonton, Alberta is just silly considering the -40 weather in the winter. Yes, the dogs will scratch it. But more importantly, if you drop something heavy like my son does all the time, huge gouges will come out. We're looking to replace and are having the same questions as you. Laminate does chintz down a house, imo, but I'm from a brick & ceramic tile or marble city and live in a siding & laminate or carpet world :glare: Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! :tongue_smilie: One of the floorings we were considering was cork, due to the insulating (weather & noise) factor and the beauty of it. It does cost more, but I don't know how it would hold up to doggy claws. It's not the kind of cork from a corkboard ;) it is much sturdier than that, but I've never researched the dog marks on it. Good luck! I'll be watching this thread!

[kahlanne]

We have hardwood and it gets super scratched. However our cork doesn't show its scratches as bad. Not sure about resale though.

[Jryanbass]

We have had a boxer and a german shepard, plus cats on our laminate wood floors. They have NOT scratched. We got them from lumber liquidators. I would do it. I LOVE ours, and thought it was an excellent alternative for this stage of life, with little kids, BIG pets etc....

[Night Elf]

I wouldn't hesitate to put laminate in if you find one you like. The house is for YOU. Any potential future buyers can do what they want with it later.

 

:iagree: Our carpet throughout the house was just plain yuck. We replaced it all with a laminate wood-looking floor that is water proof. We have pets and that was very important to us. We've had this flooring at least 2 years and although we want to move, I'm fairly certain it would be at least 5+ years before we can. That makes it worth it. I'm simply not going to live in my house always worrying about what potential buyers will or will not like. If it's a deal-breaker with a potential buyer, there can be a compromise of some sort. We could replace the flooring, although I would likely go with the cheapest carpet I could get, or give a flooring allowance in the closing.

 

I *LOVE* our flooring! We have two dogs and our floor isn't scratched. it looks just as great now as it did when we installed it, over plywood subflooring and also on a concrete slab. We purchased it from Home Depot: TrafficMaster

[Denisemomof4]

How about hardwood with area rugs or runners in the high dog-traffic areas?

 

this is what we have now. It doesn't work. I have an 8 x 12 in two areas but with the layout of the house, runners would look really awful. The wood floor is beautiful in the low traffic areas and under the carpets. The large, main areas look awful.

[Ellesmere]

Not offended. :) Ours is cheap, looks cheap, and we keep it for several reasons. We have young kids and are never horrified when they do something to the floor. We can't afford to replace it right now. It's better for our allergies than carpet. We intend to be here until we replace it.

 

Had we known how bad it would look, we would have sprung for either better quality laminate or hardwood in at least part of the house. Ours is easily scratched. But we didn't know what we were doing and go this rather inexpensive laminate. I think you really need to be willing to pay for the good stuff.

[Denisemomof4]

Denise, I'm in the same boat as you, except our home has mega oak detailing. We do have laminate in the kitchen, bath and hallway because ceramics in Edmonton, Alberta is just silly considering the -40 weather in the winter. Yes, the dogs will scratch it. But more importantly, if you drop something heavy like my son does all the time, huge gouges will come out. We're looking to replace and are having the same questions as you. Laminate does chintz down a house, imo, but I'm from a brick & ceramic tile or marble city and live in a siding & laminate or carpet world :glare: Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! :tongue_smilie: One of the floorings we were considering was cork, due to the insulating (weather & noise) factor and the beauty of it. It does cost more, but I don't know how it would hold up to doggy claws. It's not the kind of cork from a corkboard ;) it is much sturdier than that, but I've never researched the dog marks on it. Good luck! I'll be watching this thread!

 

the woman at the flooring company, the one I truly trust due to their complete honesty, said to absolutely STAY AWAY from cork. It is very, very soft. There are some BEAUTIFUL cork floor options.

 

Bamboo is supposed to be harder. She says it will still scratch. I could tell she was swaying me away from wood because she knew why we were wanting to replace our existing floor. It's just so hard for us with so much rich wood and detail everywhere. I wish I could do a beautiful stone floor but the amt. of pain I would be in would wreck my quality of life in a serious way.

[Denisemomof4]

We have hardwood and it gets super scratched. However our cork doesn't show its scratches as bad. Not sure about resale though.

 

I'm SHOCKED to hear this about your cork! How long have you had it? Is it in a high traffic area?

 

We have had a boxer and a german shepard, plus cats on our laminate wood floors. They have NOT scratched. We got them from lumber liquidators. I would do it. I LOVE ours, and thought it was an excellent alternative for this stage of life, with little kids, BIG pets etc....

 

I just received our catalog from LL. I feel we won't sacrifice beauty, but I still hesitate. We'd be going from wood to laminate. Still, I was shocked at the sample I was looking at on Saturday. I truly thought it WAS wood!

 

:iagree: Our carpet throughout the house was just plain yuck. We replaced it all with a laminate wood-looking floor that is water proof. We have pets and that was very important to us. We've had this flooring at least 2 years and although we want to move, I'm fairly certain it would be at least 5+ years before we can. That makes it worth it. I'm simply not going to live in my house always worrying about what potential buyers will or will not like. If it's a deal-breaker with a potential buyer, there can be a compromise of some sort. We could replace the flooring, although I would likely go with the cheapest carpet I could get, or give a flooring allowance in the closing.

 

I *LOVE* our flooring! We have two dogs and our floor isn't scratched. it looks just as great now as it did when we installed it, over plywood subflooring and also on a concrete slab. We purchased it from Home Depot: TrafficMaster

 

I understand about the allowance. Our house is a very specialized house that would be harder to sell just because of the location itself (one lane dirt road). WHile dh and I want to stay here until we have to leave due to health reasons, I still worry about making the wrong decision. Simply reading your response, though, is showing me why I'm really wanting to do this. It really doesn't cost much and we could switch it out later if we wanted to. I can't see ever being here without a large dog.

[Denisemomof4]

Not offended. :) Ours is cheap, looks cheap, and we keep it for several reasons. We have young kids and are never horrified when they do something to the floor. We can't afford to replace it right now. It's better for our allergies than carpet. We intend to be here until we replace it.

 

Had we known how bad it would look, we would have sprung for either better quality laminate or hardwood in at least part of the house. Ours is easily scratched. But we didn't know what we were doing and go this rather inexpensive laminate. I think you really need to be willing to pay for the good stuff.

 

well I thought I was looking at WOOD when the salesman told me I was looking at the most expensive option. I said it didn't surprise me :glare: until I asked the price. Then I :svengo: and that's when I found out it was laminate. I didn't realize there were different grades but now i know there are.

 

What is scratching your floor? Dogs, furniture or kids?

[Carrie12345]

Laminate has a wide range of grades. I have low-end. It's scratched to heck. My aunt has high-end. Her 90-some-odd lb. Weim never left so much as a scuff.

[Denisemomof4]

Laminate has a wide range of grades. I have low-end. It's scratched to heck. My aunt has high-end. Her 90-some-odd lb. Weim never left so much as a scuff.

 

:hurray:

 

We're going to be getting a Rhodesian Ridgeback and currently have a 70 lb greyhound. I need something to stand up to them.

 

and if your floors remain beautiful, I'l going to try my darndest to convince dh to allow me to have a potbelly INSIDE the house. Sssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! He doesn't know that yet!!!:D

 

I'm pretty anal about my floors. I vacuum daily, dust mop 1 - 2 times per day, wash floors weekly. I need something to stand up to all of that AND two large dogs.

[AEC]

I'm really sorry of this question offends anyone. I truly don't mean to upset anyone.

 

We have maple floorings over most of the first floor. I love the lighter color, but I'm finding that I *hate* wood floors. They dull after awhile, but THE thing I hate is that my large dog is absolutely destroying them.

 

that's called patina. :) After a bit, they're dinged up mostly all over and it adds to the charm. or so they say. but I find it's mostly true.

 

 

 

I've been shopping for new wood floors, something harder

 

like...concrete??!? Assuming you have solid maple, rather than a veneer, maple's much harder than most woods. IS it solid? If it's a veneer then that may be your problem. They lay a thin strip of maple on top of something much softer and IME they dent/scratch when you look at them funny.

[Impish]

What about an industrial grade sealant? Get the floors refinished and sealed with the heaviest duty sealant...probably cheaper than completely replacing the floors, and preserve the value of hardwood.

[Ellesmere]

well I thought I was looking at WOOD when the salesman told me I was looking at the most expensive option. I said it didn't surprise me :glare: until I asked the price. Then I :svengo: and that's when I found out it was laminate. I didn't realize there were different grades but now i know there are.

 

What is scratching your floor? Dogs, furniture or kids?

 

Kids! Their toys and a two year old that has a knack for finding scissors and markers no matter where I hide them.

 

Also, since the floor was so cheap and awful (getting scratched by the kids, and oops, I spilled some paint ... ok, a lot of paint) I got careless moving furniture.

 

If you got good quality and were more gentle than we can be in this stage of life, you might find something that works. We just found out the hard way that cheap is not the way to go with laminate. Thankfully, it was so cheap, we are not terribly upset.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

We bought a house with laminate flooring after having a home with unfinished hardwood floors. (I ripped up the carpet that someone had carelessly and with a LOT of staples laid over the beautiful wood floors in that house.) anyway....I digress. The wood floors were much harder to care for. The laminate is much easier, but still scratches. The scratches are not as deep or appearance-marring as the scratches were on hardwood.

[Parrothead]

Rugs. Big braided rugs. The price of laminate might be very comparable to good rugs.

 

 

If your house is really old covering the original wood with laminate would devalue the house if you decided to sell.

Edited September 7, 2011 by Parrothead

[kahlanne]

We put cork in all the kids rooms since it was much cheaper than hardwood. I think this was about 4 yrs ago.my largest dog, a great pyreneese weighing 100 lbs, claws her way under dd's bed. It does scratch some but doesn't show much. Matter of fact, nothing shows! I absolutely love it. Well, if I leave furniture in one place too long it will indent but bounce back a little over time once moved. I was told the cork self heals the scratches which is why I love it. I guess if there was a deep gauge then maybe not but Abbey hasn't managed to damage mine and neither have the 6 kids or eagle/pity mix named Lola.

[NorthwestMom]

We have laminate and it both scratched and gauged after a few years. In your situation, I would not put in cheap floors if the rest of the house is so nice.

 

Alternatively, I might put in cheap laminate with the full understanding it would have to be replaced before a sale.

 

Good luck!

[Denisemomof4]

that's called patina. :) After a bit, they're dinged up mostly all over and it adds to the charm. or so they say. but I find it's mostly true.

 

 

 

 

like...concrete??!? Assuming you have solid maple, rather than a veneer, maple's much harder than most woods. IS it solid? If it's a veneer then that may be your problem. They lay a thin strip of maple on top of something much softer and IME they dent/scratch when you look at them funny.

 

they are solid maple floors. I have a friend who also installed solid maple floors. Their dog is 1.5 years old and she said her floors look so bad she wants them ripped out.

[Denisemomof4]

What about an industrial grade sealant? Get the floors refinished and sealed with the heaviest duty sealant...probably cheaper than completely replacing the floors, and preserve the value of hardwood.

 

I believe polyeurothane is the hardest top coat you can put on. Baking on the finish is the best but even my friend with a 1.5 year old German Shepard said her floors didn't hold up to their dog. Her floors are new so I'm sure they have the baked on finish.

 

The flooring company said maybe sand them then oil them real good. I don't know....... how can I keep an oiled floor clean?

 

My current floors scratch down to the wood, taking off the polyeurothane. The greyhound causes this.

[Denisemomof4]

Rugs. Big braided rugs. The price of laminate might be very comparable to good rugs.

 

 

If your house is really old covering the original wood with laminate would devalue the house if you decided to sell.

 

I truly can't do rugs in a way to make the space look right in high traffic areas.

 

Our house isn't old (23 years - we've owned it for 15) but it's all the special woodwork inside that has me hesitating with laminate. Still, the maple flooring is an eyesore.

[DawnM]

I would ask.

 

We have been told to not even think of putting in laminate flooring or countertops and to only think about hardwood and granite. This has more to do with our area and what it has become.

 

DH did put in real wood flooring in the main areas, but we have now put up baby gates to keep the dogs out of the nicer flooring areas.

 

Dawn

[Denisemomof4]

We put cork in all the kids rooms since it was much cheaper than hardwood. I think this was about 4 yrs ago.my largest dog, a great pyreneese weighing 100 lbs, claws her way under dd's bed. It does scratch some but doesn't show much. Matter of fact, nothing shows! I absolutely love it. Well, if I leave furniture in one place too long it will indent but bounce back a little over time once moved. I was told the cork self heals the scratches which is why I love it. I guess if there was a deep gauge then maybe not but Abbey hasn't managed to damage mine and neither have the 6 kids or eagle/pity mix named Lola.

 

 

Again, I'm SO SURPRISED to hear this! Cork would be HEAVENLY for me! I need to do research, but we were told at the flooring store, the one where I truly trust the owners and have been doing business with them for years, to stay away from cork because of our dogs.:confused:

We have laminate and it both scratched and gauged after a few years. In your situation, I would not put in cheap floors if the rest of the house is so nice.

 

Alternatively, I might put in cheap laminate with the full understanding it would have to be replaced before a sale.

 

Good luck!

 

 

The laminate I loved is the most expensive grade, but I guess we could install it with the understanding it would have to be replaced.

 

I'm so undecided, still, that I think I'm just going to have to continue my research. I've been searching for alternative flooring that will look NICE for literally years now. I'm as stumped today as I was when I started.

[Parrothead]

I have 120-year old birds eye maple that hasn't been damaged by my dog. But I have a light dog. The floor is waxed (what a job when that needs doing) instead of oiled. Our dog is less than 50 pounds. I've only one rug down and my floors are in pretty good shape.

 

Any help there?

[Denisemomof4]

I would ask.

 

We have been told to not even think of putting in laminate flooring or countertops and to only think about hardwood and granite. This has more to do with our area and what it has become.

 

DH did put in real wood flooring in the main areas, but we have now put up baby gates to keep the dogs out of the nicer flooring areas.

 

Dawn

 

it would be impossible to keep the dogs off the wood flooring.

 

I'm so TORN!!! I think because of the style of our home, it really would not be a wise decision. BUT, we could replace it at a later date.

 

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.:confused::confused::confused:

[Denisemomof4]

I have 120-year old birds eye maple that hasn't been damaged by my dog. But I have a light dog. The floor is waxed (what a job when that needs doing) instead of oiled. Our dog is less than 50 pounds. I've only one rug down and my floors are in pretty good shape.

 

Any help there?

 

yes! I was considering sanding down the floors myself, putting down a tinted Waterlok product, then a thick coat of wax. OR simply sanding and then keeping them heavily waxed.

 

Just last week I rented a waxer. I'm lucky I didn't take down the walls on the side of the house. I didn't even give it 5 seconds before I packed the thing away and bought a floor buffer online.;) I'm going to wax/buff the floors but with the polyeurothane chipping, eventually they will all need to be sanded.

[lmrich]

so no tile? not even a warm earthtone slate with radiant floor heating?

 

Hardwoods show much nicer. but you live there now and you have to be happy.

[kathkath]

consider the noise factor--I can't stand the sound of dog claws on laminate--it is LOUD!

[chickenpatty]

We have laminate and it is not being scratched by our 50lb dog. Also, you an lay the laminate down over your maple, and if anyone else ever bought the house and wanted the hardwood, all they'd have to do is pull up the laminate.

 

I wish we could afford real hardwood, but we can't. The laminate is just so practical for us. We are country people and my kids get really dirty. Carpet would have been ruined very quickly.

[Danestress]

I have oak flooring and it has some major scratching - from moving furniture mostly. But I don't think my 75 pound dog has done much of it. I'm not sure if it's because he's calmer in the house or what .... I know when I was growing up, we had a dog who charged at the door and did gymnastics there when anyone knocked or rang. My parents complained about the scratching, but in retrospect, it would have been fairly east to train him not to do that.

 

If there is a particular area where the scratching is occurring and you can link it to a particular behavior, maybe you could train, limit the dog's access, or otherwise modify things so that he couldn't do it.

 

Otherwise, honestly, I would rather have scratched up maple than unscratched laminate. Ten years from now, my kids will go out, the dog will be a very old man (at best) and if I want to sand and refinish floors, I will do it.

[Ellie]

I've had hardwood floors since 1986 and will never go back to anything else. :-)

 

Do you know how your floors are finished? Because with several coats of polyurethane on them they should never become dull.

 

Also, what are you using to clean them? Some cleaners can cause dullness, too.

[Denisemomof4]

so no tile? not even a warm earthtone slate with radiant floor heating?

 

Hardwoods show much nicer. but you live there now and you have to be happy.

 

no, I have severe foot pain. When I stayed with my parents in AZ for a week, I was popping Advil for two weeks afterwards. And yes, I wore shoes in the house every day.

consider the noise factor--I can't stand the sound of dog claws on laminate--it is LOUD!

 

louder than wood? We currently have hardwood.

[butterflymommy]

I can tell you that when we were looking for houses, if the house had wood laminate, I would not even consider it. I think it looks tacky and dreadful. We were looking at fairly expensive houses-- less than a mansion but more than a "normal" house.

 

The only exception I made was if I knew real wood was under the laminate-- three rooms in our current house had laminate over wood. After we moved in we had the laminate removed and the floors underneath redone.

[Denisemomof4]

We have laminate and it is not being scratched by our 50lb dog. Also, you an lay the laminate down over your maple, and if anyone else ever bought the house and wanted the hardwood, all they'd have to do is pull up the laminate.

 

I wish we could afford real hardwood, but we can't. The laminate is just so practical for us. We are country people and my kids get really dirty. Carpet would have been ruined very quickly.

 

I was thinking we could lay the laminate over the maple, even though I had wanted the maple upstairs. I'm just too hesitant to really try anything at this point.

 

I have oak flooring and it has some major scratching - from moving furniture mostly. But I don't think my 75 pound dog has done much of it. I'm not sure if it's because he's calmer in the house or what .... I know when I was growing up, we had a dog who charged at the door and did gymnastics there when anyone knocked or rang. My parents complained about the scratching, but in retrospect, it would have been fairly east to train him not to do that.

 

If there is a particular area where the scratching is occurring and you can link it to a particular behavior, maybe you could train, limit the dog's access, or otherwise modify things so that he couldn't do it.

 

Otherwise, honestly, I would rather have scratched up maple than unscratched laminate. Ten years from now, my kids will go out, the dog will be a very old man (at best) and if I want to sand and refinish floors, I will do it.

 

the dog is causing the scratching when he runs and slips, or when he's standing in place on the hardwood and then tries to run quickly, usually after my cat or to see what my smaller dogs are barking at.:glare: I can't retrain him. He's very quirky, to say the least. He's a greyhound who raced for 3.5 years before we adopted him. I'm going to have to train the puppy not to run. It will be hard as we have a HUGE open space.

 

I've had hardwood floors since 1986 and will never go back to anything else. :-)

 

Do you know how your floors are finished? Because with several coats of polyurethane on them they should never become dull.

 

Also, what are you using to clean them? Some cleaners can cause dullness, too.

 

We have several coats of polyeurothane. I wash them weekly with vinegar and water, which is what I was told would do the best. I'm going to wax/buff them soon to see how I like that.

 

We need to get the polyeurothane up as it's chipping, 5.5 years after having the floors refinished.

[Denisemomof4]

I can tell you that when we were looking for houses, if the house had wood laminate, I would not even consider it. I think it looks tacky and dreadful. We were looking at fairly expensive houses-- less than a mansion but more than a "normal" house.

 

The only exception I made was if I knew real wood was under the laminate-- three rooms in our current house had laminate over wood. After we moved in we had the laminate removed and the floors underneath redone.

 

I completely understand what you're saying, but the laminate I was looking at was so beautiful that I didn't even realize it WAS laminate!

 

Still, point taken. I'm just too hesitant to make the leap because i think the type of house we have will not work well with it.

[tammyw]

I'm a hardwood girl. If I were buying a house and it had carpet or laminate, I would plan on having to replace the floors, and therefore the cost of doing so would reflect on how much I was willing to pay for the home.

[kathkath]

no, I have severe foot pain. When I stayed with my parents in AZ for a week, I was popping Advil for two weeks afterwards. And yes, I wore shoes in the house every day.

 

 

louder than wood? We currently have hardwood.

 

Yes

[kitten18]

 

I'm so undecided, still, that I think I'm just going to have to continue my research. I've been searching for alternative flooring that will look NICE for literally years now. I'm as stumped today as I was when I started.

I so understand. It's hard with a big dog.

 

We had oak in the entryway at our last house. I just can't imagine doing wood again. The grooves/gouges from our 80lb. dog were deep, they dented the wood not the finish.

 

We have mostly tile on our 1st floor and I LOVE it (I know that's not an option for you :(). When we get rid of the carpet (ick, don't know what I was thinking, but it was VERY expensive carpet) I will finish the 1st floor with tile. But the 2nd floor...................I don't know what we will put in, I have definitely been eying the higher end laminates.