Laminate Flooring

[pnutmnm]

I want to replace my kitchen flooring this year. I really want to do a wood looking laminate (LIKE A PERGO)but have some concerns/questions about it first.

We have two dogs - a pug and a lab (70 lbs and very active). Would their nails be an issue with scratching the laminate?

My DH told me that we HAVE to put tile down at the front entrance (which is very rarely used-we all enter through the garage) and at the back patio door (for when it rains or snows). How is it in areas like this? Would a throw rug work?

I would be ok with tile in the foyer, but it would be awkward at the back door because this is also our eating area and the chairs would get hung up on the transition from wood to tile (and I think that it would look terrible).

Any thoughts on these areas and can you recommend a durable laminate that would be good for this situation and the dogs?

Thanks

 

[ceecee]

I would rather have tile than laminate. Check out carpeting stores and see what they recommend for the transition between the two. We have tile through the kitchen and entryway that is carpet in the living room and they put a wood strip between the two, it looks good and it's so easy to clean.

 

[mrudman]

We just put laminate down in our kitchen and mud room last summer...

We had been looking for a wood-looking one to replace the laminate from the 60's that was in there (green tile looking, lol)....

Found a remnant at Lowe's that was just over the size we needed.. beautiful wood-plank looking, and thicker than most laminants out there.. we believe it was a special order one that either they chose not to use, or had a piece left over that was this big.

I know it's only been a year, but it still looks as new as the day we put it down.. and the big test was our mudroom... it's not insulated at all out there... gets a workout from all the traffic/muddy boots/etc/etc... (we use it as our main entrance into our house).... and even in there, it still looks brand new.

I'll post a pic of what it looks like in a few if I can figure out how to post pics,


Just noticed your addition to your original post (pergo), and realized what I was referring to a laminate is actually linoleum in our case.. we decided against the pergo-type laminates, because we were told it would not work in our kitchen.. we have a 1930 home, that was too uneven, and would need to make too many adjustments and was going to be too costly.

But I'll post the pic anyway, just so you can see how a wood-looking linoleum can look.. it shows up a bit darker (and a lot more red for some reason) in the pics than it is in real life.. really does look like wood in real life.. have had many people think it is.

And please excuse the mess in my kitchen,

 

[pnutmnm]

We have tile through the kitchen and entryway /QUOTE]

Does it get cold in the winter? That is one of the things that is holding be back from tile.


I also edited my OP - I am looking at Pergo types of laminate flooring.

 

[ceecee]

We have tile through the kitchen and entryway /QUOTE]

Does it get cold in the winter? That is one of the things that is holding be back from tile.


I also edited my OP - I am looking at Pergo types of laminate flooring.

It does get a little cold. I usually wear socks in the winter and you can't feel it then! I would love the have the heat under the tiles (our friends have that)!!! The major draw back I have with the tile is if you drop anything on it, the object breaks (dishes, glasses, etc). But with two dogs and the easy clean up it's worth the draw back.

 

[pixiewings71]

We have ceramic tile in our kitchen and bamboo laminate in our main living area, including the entry way and the area by the back door. We used to have to 2 dogs but DD23 wanted one of them for her DD2 so Blue now lives with them. We now have 1 dog, but we also have 3 cats and 2 kids. Our bamboo laminate has held up great, even with 2 dogs running on it for 4 years. (Blue has only been gone 6 months) It's easy to clean and it looks great. The tile and the laminate both get cold in the winter, but we have throw rugs where we need them and I wear socks in the winter anyway so it's not a big deal. I definitely love my bamboo in the living area but I much prefer the tile in the kitchen, it just looks so much better to me.

 

[Padme]

We put laminate in our kitchen about a year ago. It was from Lowes and I think the name was something like Monticello. It ran around $25 a box- not too expensive.

We have three teenagers and all their friends coming in and out of the kitchen constantly. In the summer they have wet feet/dripping wet bathing suits. We have two dogs- 60 and 80 pounds and their nails are always long no matter how often we trim them. They love to pace around the kitchen and are in and out all day long so the floor has seen a lot of use from them alone. Add to that all the snow and mud and ick we had this year and the floor has really been put to the test.

With all that, we had friends in town a week ago who hadn't seen the floor and they thought we had just installed it. It has held up really well! No scratches from the dog's nails, no bubbles from the dampness, no scuffs from all the walking and dragging laundry baskets across it, etc.

I take minimal care of it and it still looks new. The main things we do are to make sure if the dog water spills or if there is a really large puddle that it gets wiped up fairly quickly and that it gets sweeped and damp swiffered when needed. Easy as can be!

One thing I do like about it over tile is that I do a lot of cooking and standing on tile for hours would kill my feet and back. The laminate has a little give to it.

We had a linoleum floor that looked like crap within 6 months so I really wasn't too optimistic about this since the floor is in such a high traffic area of our house.

Good luck to you whatever you pick.

 

[mdrob214]

I've had Pergo laminate 'wood' floors in my kitchen and entry for 10 years--it's in terrific shape still. I have 2 kids (who used to play in the sandbox when they were little, hence laminate over wood), 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a husband. No scratches and there have only been 2 dings (my own fault for dropping a pan in the kitchen, but it was easily filled with the Pergo laminate filler stuff). It looks great and the quality is tops.

The entry is where both the front door and garage door open and gets lots of use every day. The laminate extends to the patio door, which is also frequently used as that is where the dogs go in/out/in/out/in/out... all day long!

 

[sinnika]

We put down Wilsonart Laminate (treasure wood is the style) over 10 years ago when we built our house and it still looks great! We have it on the whole first floor including entrances, dining room, kitchen and living room. We purchased it at a carpet store and had them install it and it is a higher grade than what they sell at Home Depot. We've had dogs, cats, my son roller blades on it, I pull furniture across it and no scratches. We have tile in our bathroom and laundry room and the tile is much colder than the laminate in the winter. Love our laminate floor!

 

[Anne34]

We put in Pergo when we had our house built 13 years ago. Love that stuff -- we had it in the front hall, kitchen, hall & into the powder room. There are 3 doors in that area: garage, front & back doors. All with lots of traffic. It has held up beautifully with 3 kids & a dog. Our dogs nails don't scratch it, but you do hear them clicking when they are getting too long & need to be cut.

I put rugs down in front of the doors & it protects them from the wet feet (backyard pool) and the mud& dirt from the everyday wear.

 

[kkwis2]

We put Wilsonart laminate in our kitchen/dining area (looks like tile, not wood). We have 2 kids and have had up to 3 dogs (2 Springers and a Lab - 2 have recently passed away). The floors are great! We just put wood look laminate in our bedroom. It is gorgeous! We absolutely love both floors.

We put tile in our family room. My biggest complaint is about the grout line. I just think it looks terrible. Different colors depending on whether it is a high traffic area or not, covered by rugs or not, etc.

I say go for the laminate!

 

[VAN]

We've had the laminate/Pergo-type floring in our kitchen/eating area for about 10 years. Still looks good!! I do use rugs near the entryways and in front of the sink. Also have a braided rug under the kitchen table.

My DH wanted wood floors and I did not. This was a good alternative and has worked well for us. And, yes, we have a dog.

 

[Kae]

We have tile in our kitchen, does it get cold? yup. when I let the dog out in my bare feet at night I have to but them on DH to get warm We have laminate in the Foyer, Laundry Room & Dining Room & I love it. We have no marks from their nails(we had 2 dogs) my sister & a few friends have real wood & dogs & their floors are scratched up.

Kae

 

[kmacht]

We have laminate in a number of places in our house. Getting it a little we ever once in a while isn't a problem but you don't want it in an area that is constantly getting wet as it will soak up water between the seams and swell and start to warp. I would do tile in the entrance area if I were you. If you don't you will constantly be wiping up water from peoples wet boots in the winter.

If you are looking for an inexpensive laminate take a look at Ikea. We bought some from them about 2 years ago. The cost worked out to be around $1 a square foot. We have 2 dogs and a 4 year old and it still looks as good as the day it was put down. Even if it shot it 10 years, who cares. For $1 a square foot I couldn't even do vinyl flooring.

Keith

 

[Pigeon]

Sadly, Wilsonart is getting out of the laminate floor business, which is a shame because that stuff is bulletproof. I've had it in my kitchen and it's amazing.

 

[DisMomme]

We had Pergo floors in our kitchen & dining room in our old house and LOVED it! Nothing scratched it. We used to let the kids drive their little electric cars on it with no problem and we had a dog that never scratched it.

In our new house we put down an inexpensive brand of pergo type flooring and I can tell the difference. This floor has a couple of knicks out of it already by the entry. Not a big deal and no one ever seems to notice it...except me. The dog's water dish is also in the dining room here. She slops water all over and it's causing bubbling at the seams. We have tried putting a mat under her water but it just collects underneath.

Next time we replace our floors (probably before we sell) we will go with a better quality laminate floor. It just wasn't worth the money we saved.

 

[Sprockie]

I would never install laminate again in any area of the home that has a risk of getting wet. We had a very slow leak in our fridge ice maker we weren't aware of. We came out one morning and the whole area was heaved - like wet cardboard. We had to rip the floor up - there's no replacing small areas with that flooring. If it was a bedroom with no risk of breaking or leaking or sweating pipes, I might consider it as a durable flooring.
If you put your dogs water bowl somewhere on the flooring where they might slop and the water might stay a while - beware.

 

[momofrrr]

I have Wilsonart as well and could not be happier. I can move my China Hutch/Cabinet alone and there is not a single scratch. We have 3 kids and 2 dogs and they have held up just perfectly. My only advice would have it professionaly installed. Mine is Mesquite (color)