Wood Flooring...

[Melissa in CA]

We have added a small room onto our laundry room and would like to put in wood flooring in it and laundry room. We are pretty clueless on what type to buy and what to look for [or watch out for]. Anyone willing to share advice or experience? I have heard to stay away from pergo. :confused:

 

We live in the boonies [aka desert] on 2 1/2 acres with a lot of sand/gravel. No grass to speak of. If that makes any difference on wood type to look for...such as scratching from gravel on shoes, etc.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Aggie]

I've had wood flooring, which I love, but I sure wouldn't put it in a much-used entry way or a laundry room.

 

The gravel will scratch it, and if any water gets on it....yikes.

 

Have you thought about tile or vinyl in those areas?

 

And do stay away from the laminates anywhere there may be water, too.

[Grubbsfamily]

Laundry rooms or other places where water issues could arise are not good places for wood flooring.

 

I would talk to different flooing manufacturing compainies (customer service #'s off the web is where i would start) since you are dealing with 2 tough issues water and the desert.

 

Good luck

[MotherMayI]

My husband is in the flooring industry and this is his advice- hth:

 

"I would either stay away from wood and look at tile or if wood is what they want they should go with a rustic look that already has some character “checking†a part of the look. An example would be at http://www.carltonhardwoodflooring.com/html/monterey.html and use engineered flooring as it is more stable and can handle the humidity better in that environment. Solid wood will want to “find†the right level of humidity and will expand and contact with the changes in humidity due to the dryer."

[Peek a Boo]

another vote for anything BUT wood in the laundry room.... ;)

[elegantlion]

My husband is in the flooring industry and this is his advice- hth:

 

"I would either stay away from wood and look at tile or if wood is what they want they should go with a rustic look that already has some character “checking†a part of the look. An example would be at http://www.carltonhardwoodflooring.com/html/monterey.html and use engineered flooring as it is more stable and can handle the humidity better in that environment. Solid wood will want to “find†the right level of humidity and will expand and contact with the changes in humidity due to the dryer."

 

My dh is in construction and he would heartily agreed. There are some very nice durable vinyl tiles available now. We just put some in our entry that looks like marble. I believe you can even find vinyl that looks like wooden planks.

HTH

[Alexandra]

looks just like wood. It is a product from Mannington called "Adura". Looks good and is reasonably priced.

[TraceyS/FL]

I"d go with the vinyl that looks like wood or tile (there is decent wood like tile too).

 

Here is some armstrong to check out. I want to do this in my schoolroom!

 

http://www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/tile/en/us/mode.html

[Melissa in CA]

Thanks everyone! I guess we better rethink the wood. :glare:

 

I didn't consider water issues because never once, in my entire life, have I had water issues in a laundry room. :confused: How often does ones washing machine overflow? Truly? It seems an unlikely event to me. :001_huh: But never having had wood floors before, I can definitely claim naivety. ;)

 

Can't you somehow protect the wood flooring from water though? What do restaurants & hotels do?

 

I was also already seriously considering the stressed wood look, mainly due to our sand/gravel issues...not to mention dogs and their claws. Plus I was going with an old-fashioned antique look.

 

As for the dryer issues...now THAT I did not think of at all. I can see how that could be a problem on solid unengineered woods.

 

You've all given me a lot to think about. Thanks for your replies and if you have more....keep 'um coming! :D

[MotherMayI]

I think there are tubs that you can place your washer in to prevent problems. I had never experienced any water leaks from our washer either, until my 5 yo decided to climb back and explore- apparently lots of goodies back there. When it started "raining" in my living room (laundry is upstairs) I soon found the cause! He dislodged the water hose in his exploration. I do agree that there are several products that look like wood- and are very nice. I was shocked at how good the "wood" ceramic tile looks.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose:001_smile:

[Krista in LA]

I agree with not putting wood in a laundry room. However, they do make a ceramic type tile that looks like wood http://www.trendyfloors.com/_e/gdept/01-001/Wood_Look_Ceramic_Tile.htm?gclid=CODemNyO_ZcCFQIyxwodHi2z8Q

[TraceyS/FL]

I agree with not putting wood in a laundry room. However, they do make a ceramic type tile that looks like wood http://www.trendyfloors.com/_e/gdept/01-001/Wood_Look_Ceramic_Tile.htm?gclid=CODemNyO_ZcCFQIyxwodHi2z8Q

 

Oh pretty.

 

Darn it. I need to hit the powerball :lol: (for multiple reasons....)

[Desert Rat]

I'd go with either tile or laminate. Wood just wouldn't last long in damp conditions (like a laundryroom or bathroom). HTH

[Melissa in CA]

I agree with not putting wood in a laundry room. However, they do make a ceramic type tile that looks like wood http://www.trendyfloors.com/_e/gdept/01-001/Wood_Look_Ceramic_Tile.htm?gclid=CODemNyO_ZcCFQIyxwodHi2z8Q

 

 

Oooh nice! I've never seen this before...I wonder if you grout it, or what. I'll have to see if I can find more info on this. The website is not the most informative. ;)

[Tree House Academy]

My dh was an engineer for a wood flooring company and he tends to agree with the poster above on either switching to tile or at least using engineered flooring. It has a layer of wood at the bottom, particle board type stuff in the middle, and a layer of real wood at the top. It does not expand and contract nearly as much.

 

We have a "knotty hickory" engineered floor in his man cave and it looks so pretty - and even with the kids playing in there, you can't see any scratches. We also have engineered natural cherry in the laundry room and have had no problems, but we live in the mountains and not in the desert and we have tons of grass (many, many acres of it).

[Krista in LA]

I saw some like it in a local tile store when I was helping a friend pick out tile for her new house. I don't know if you use grout with it or not, but the lady did say that they lay it down with the edges up against each other to make it look more like real wood. Maybe they put a thin amount of grout in between? It looked really nice.

[alpidarkomama]

I didn't consider water issues because never once, in my entire life, have I had water issues in a laundry room. :confused:

 

Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't say that out loud!:w00t:

[dawn of ns]

I think I would stick with vinyl. As other said, water isn't kind to wood and ceramic tile is awfully cold on the feet if you're standing there working away at laundry.

 

It's not the prettiest option but it's probably the most practical.

[Melissa in CA]

I think I would stick with vinyl. As other said, water isn't kind to wood and ceramic tile is awfully cold on the feet if you're standing there working away at laundry.

 

It's not the prettiest option but it's probably the most practical.

 

Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately. :tongue_smilie:

 

I was standing in the new section of our laundry room yesterday, folding clothes and ironing in my bare feet, when it dawned on me that if we put in tile I would need to wear slippers or my footsie's would freeze. Of course I COULD place a rug there where I stand. It's not a large room by any means. So confused on what I want. Well...I KNOW what I want, but what I want is is the worst possible choice. ;)

 

We had large amounts of tile in our old house: kitchen, dinning room, entry, hallway, laundry. Tile is cold, cold, cold! And so much tile made our house...noisy? I REALLY like the looks of the wood tile, but I think we'll probably go with vinyl or MAYBE take our chances with some engineered wood flooring. Something not too terribly expensive in case it doesn't pan out. I know that even some of the best vinyl has problems with scratching and denting because that is what we have in our kitchen. It's probably only going to last about 4 more years (10 total). If I can get that much out of engineered wood I'll be happy.

 

Those of you in the 'know' about engineered flooring....can you give us a heads-up on a good manufacturer? Armstrong? Is Pergo good? Bad? Does Lowes or Home Depot have anything worth buying? Would love any advice or recommendations you can provide.

 

Thanks everyone!! :D

[Melissa in CA]

but we live in the mountains and not in the desert and we have tons of grass (many, many acres of it).

 

[Gasp!] Rebecca! Are you trying to make me jealous?? :blink:

 

It's working! :lol::D

 

Another thing I am jealous of....concrete! A large beautiful slab of concrete would be divine! :lol: Hubby plans to add a car port onto our garage. A lovely large carport with heavenly concrete. {sigh}