laminate floors

[timmymac24]

Looking for any advice on brands of laminate flooring. Tons of choices out there. We started a major kitchen remodel this summer and took out around 1300 square feet of carpet and tile that needed to be replaced. We have looked at multiple brands from local shops as well as the big box offerings. Any advice is appreciated from your experiences.

 

[shader112]

Not sure I'd do laminate. The vinyl plank is waterproof and more durable. Make sure you level your floor really well. Sander, planer, thin set for the low spots. If you go click lock get something that you can't break the tongue off easily.

 

[Rokbar]

Smartcore LVP at Lowes or Coretek at HD. Its middle of the road but pretty nice. Durable. For 1300 sq ft. I would go ahead and get my own cutter for around $140 Lowes. Get the first couple of rows square and pretty simple after that.

 

[grfox92]

Life Proof LVT click lock Vinly Planks. You get it at Home Depot or Lowes

I've installed 10s of thousands of square feet of it. It seems to be the best most consistent LVT out there.

DO NOT install any type of laminate or any other click lock in your house. If your not doing Ceramic Tile or Hardwood floors I would only use an LVT floor. Almost all the brands I've used have been fine, but I like LP the best.

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[Salmonchaser]

I’ve been plagued by this. Seems the last three houses we have fixed up and sold all needed new floors. I’ve had great luck with life proof click lock. Do make sure your floor is level, thin set probably the way to go. I’ve used it in Bathrooms kitchens entry ways and laundry rooms. It is water proof.

 

[Spoonman]

LVP like said above. Easy install and extremely durable!

 

[FLS]

I just, like last evening, finished doing our entire house in vinyl plank. Coretek was what we went with. They make several different grades, and the stuff they sell at the big box stores is mostly the lower grades, that’s why its cheap. My wife’s cousin owns a flooring business and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about plank flooring. Go with the highest grade you can afford. We replaced laminate. We had Bruce laminate in the living and dining room and it still looked new after 10 years. I cheaped out and put the stuff from Lowes in our kitchen and laundry, and it didnt hold up near as well. It was a pain to install too. Didn’t snap together near as well as the vinyl plank or Bruce laminate. You really do get what you pay for with flooring. We still have to put down tile in the bathroom, but the end of our remodel is in sight. Good luck!

 

[scattergun]

Life Proof LVT click lock Vinly Planks. You get it at Home Depot or Lowes

I've installed 10s of thousands of square feet of it. It seems to be the best most consistent LVT out there.

DO NOT install any type of laminate or any other click lock in your house. If your not doing Ceramic Tile or Hardwood floors I would only use an LVT floor. Almost all the brands I've used have been fine, but I like LP the best.

Good to know. What issues with laminate have you seen that make it unadvisable?

 

[CDS8034]

How does this life proof LVT hold up to pets and such for scratching it up?

 

[OneShot]

I’ve installed lifeproof in quite a few houses. It has held up to kids, traffic and pets very well from what the home owners have told me. Doesn’t scratch easily.
We put Karndean Korlock in our house 3 years ago. It’s was a bit more money per sf, but we like it a lot. I’m very impressed with this flooring. Ours dogs and kids haven’t been able to scratch it yet, and they race around the house like they’re in the Indy 500

 

[Binz17]

I went with coretec for my entire first floor. It is spendy compared to big box brands but it is worth the extra $$$. Get the HD line or better, people can't tell its plastic. Its heavy and flexible. Lays tight to the subfloor. The cheaper stuff loses contact with subfloor and it's more rigid, you get a hollow feeling when you walk on it and it makes contact with subfloor, you'll know what I'm talking about when you feel it. I have two 70lb golden doodles that run on it all day long for the last 4 years and it hasn't scratched yet.

 

[wallab]

Another vote for coretec. It is worth the extra money.

 

[CCooper]

I will echo what has been said already- I can't imagine having anything but LVP after having it for 4 years now. We went with Lifeproof and it has been bomb-proof with the dogs. Our last house had hickory floors and I would about cry every time I heard one of the dogs do a burnout on it.

 

[Salmonchaser]

How does this life proof LVT hold up to pets and such for scratching it up?

I have two GSPs the life proof held up just fine. Only problem was going with a dark color floor I had to vacuum every other day or mama was unhappy

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I had LVP in 5 or 6 apartments and again in the house I built, it is a dramatically superior product to laminate in every way. Zero scratches from kids, dogs, ambitious wives rearranging rooms, etc. IMO, it's the best flooring type available.

By contrast, the couple of places I've seen laminate it has not survived very well, and it seems particularly sensitive to moisture - a big concern for the kitchen area.

 

[Clarkdale17]

Like others have said LVT or tile is the way to go for sure. If you're worried about heavy traffic on the lock in place flooring you can always go fully adhered as well.

 

[11boo]

How does this life proof LVT hold up to pets and such for scratching it up?

Mine seems bomb proof. Zero scratches, 3 big dogs.

 

[txjustin]

Do LVP. Laminate is junk in comparison.


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[timmymac24]

Damn fellas thanks for the replies. I shouldn't have used the term laminate since we have been looking at LVP which you all are suggesting. The wife has a pile of lifeproof samples. I also am all in on this purchase since our budget was blown up on this project a long time ago. I won't cheap out on this part of getting the house finished. Pay once cry once and be done for a long time is the hope. Thanks again for the input.

 

[timmymac24]

I did learn a ton about the wear layer from our local flooring shop. We are going with the minimum of 12mm for the wear layer, not sure if 20 mm is necessary for us since we are empty nesters with only a smallish dog.