Laminate flooring questions

[Weldor]

Perfect thread, we just bought a house last fall. New luxury vinyl floor (if there is such a thing). My concern was the water damage to the subfloor, no one can provide with the condition of it before they covered it up. The previous insurance claim was like $120,000 . Vinyl at that price? plus I noticed the fridge sinks in the vinyl. These floors any good or am I in for a rodeo? They did leave 8 full boxes and some trim.

 

[Pescetism]

Not to thread jack (said the Same way as not asking for honey holes…)

If you were building a new home what would you go with for flooring throughout most of the house? Are some of the laminates noticeably better or more durable?

Is hardwood feasible or worth it in any circumstances? Can PM if that’s easier too

I'll PM you with a more detailed answer but if/when I build a home it would be etched, stained, or dyed slab with no flooring, just rugs.

 

[Pescetism]

Perfect thread, we just bought a house last fall. New luxury vinyl floor (if there is such a thing). My concern was the water damage to the subfloor, no one can provide with the condition of it before they covered it up. The previous insurance claim was like $120,000 . Vinyl at that price? plus I noticed the fridge sinks in the vinyl. These floors any good or am I in for a rodeo? They did leave 8 full boxes and some trim.

$120k sounds like full subfloor and flooring replacement, drywall repair, and maybe some other stuff thrown in if repairs were actually made. $120k should cover 10k - 12k sq ft using the most expensive LVP and labor a person could find from a typical flooring retailer unless massive amounts of prep are needed.

Denting isn't uncommon with LVP. Find out what kind of core your product has (WPC, SPC/rigid core, hybrid, vinyl) and wear layer thickness then go from there. We consider 20 mil wear layer to be the standard. IMO WPC is best core commonly available but it is more susceptible to denting. The flexible, fiberglass reinforced vinyl core products are far more likely to be a rodeo within a few years, at least in our area. Other parts of the country/world could have a completely different experience.

 

[Gobbler36]

Any fellow roksliders by chance in the flooring business? Ran into an issue after a small water damage, that apparently the laminate in my home is no longer manufactured at the same thickness. So I’m currently trying to source 4-5 boxes of laminate from someone’s basement lol. I have the ability to refloor the whole house if needed but was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

I’m in the flooring business
This will be tough not impossible but tough to find in same thickness/image/ and locking mechanism that will be compatible

I work for Shaw so you can send me some pictures and I can try and help you out

 

[Gobbler36]

Not to thread jack (said the Same way as not asking for honey holes…)

If you were building a new home what would you go with for flooring throughout most of the house? Are some of the laminates noticeably better or more durable?

Is hardwood feasible or worth it in any circumstances? Can PM if that’s easier too

IMO pure function some of the water resistant laminates are pretty hard to beat for durability…. That being said I rep for Shaw and with all the choices of flooring I can put in my house I always go back to our engineered wood, with all the tariffs LVPs have had some of the entry level woods are not much more that LVP and you get the aesthetic value of wood plus our aluminum oxide finish or uv oil finishes are top notch.

I’ll never go back to a plastic floor. The look and feel of real hardwood is tough to beat not to mention the value it adds to your house vs other flooring options

 

[Deeker]

Perfect thread, we just bought a house last fall. New luxury vinyl floor (if there is such a thing). My concern was the water damage to the subfloor, no one can provide with the condition of it before they covered it up. The previous insurance claim was like $120,000 . Vinyl at that price? plus I noticed the fridge sinks in the vinyl. These floors any good or am I in for a rodeo? They did leave 8 full boxes and some trim.

It really depends on what all was involved with the water damage. I am doing a duplex right now that is going to come out right around 250k. Multiple apartments that are sitting around 100k. So it all really comes down to scope of work. You should be able to get the mitigation company or the previous owner to email you over jobsite photos and a dry log. An xactimate breakdown would also be an awesome thing to have. If you can get that I could break down the job for you.

 

[Deeker]

Not to thread jack (said the Same way as not asking for honey holes…)

If you were building a new home what would you go with for flooring throughout most of the house? Are some of the laminates noticeably better or more durable?

Is hardwood feasible or worth it in any circumstances? Can PM if that’s easier too

I would install flooring in this order.
Concrete ( stained or etched)
Hardwood
Lvp snap together
Lvp glue down
Engineered hardwood
Carpet in bedrooms only.
Tile in bathrooms only, unless concrete.

 

[sky657]

fellow Rokslider here I've dealt with this exact headache after minor water hits on laminate.
Hunting 4-5 boxes of exact match discontinued stuff from someone's stash Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, local buy and sell groups, even Rokslide classifieds if you're lucky is worth a shot, but it's a long shot in 2026. Most folks say exact thickness color matches are rare once it's discontinued manufacturers cycle fast, and even close often looks off due to fading sun age on your existing floor.
Real life opinion: If you find it cheap quick, great patch and move on. But if not which is common, bite the bullet and refloor the house. Laminate's not crazy expensive these days, and you'll end up with uniform look modern waterproof ish options LVP is king now anyway. Patching with mismatched thickness sucks long term transitions look janky, and it bugs you forever.

 

[Weldor]

It really depends on what all was involved with the water damage. I am doing a duplex right now that is going to come out right around 250k. Multiple apartments that are sitting around 100k. So it all really comes down to scope of work. You should be able to get the mitigation company or the previous owner to email you over jobsite photos and a dry log. An xactimate breakdown would also be an awesome thing to have. If you can get that I could break down the job for you.

Previous owner not much help. Going to see if the old insurance will disclose. Fingers crossed.