Decided to rip out the old carpet and lay some laminate wood flooring in our dining room. I laid laminate in the kitchen a few years ago and it takes so much abuse from us and the dogs, and it hardly shows any wear. I figured i couldn't go wrong with it again. Forgot to take an actual "before" pic The old pine subfloor Wore one of my helpers out already Getting ready for new baseboard trim Finished product! Don't pay any attention to some of the gaps. They come natural with this old house
That's really nice. Aren't gaps around the perimeter required with these floors? Didn't want to redo the old pine floor? That would have been a good choice, but more work.....btdt. We have some old linoleum in the kitchen that looks dirty no matter what we do.......just the pattern or something, but we REALLY want to change that. What kind did you put in the kitchen? I've heard any little bit of fluid gets into the seams and causes swelling eventually. That's my big concern with using it there.
Thanks dave. Yea gaps are needed around the perimeter but mainly between the flooring and walls. The trim can pretty much be set right on it and nailed to the wall. I thought about bringing back the old pine flooring but it was very uneven and had lots of gaps. Also the dog's nails would've torn it up easily. I used a different brand that looks more like oak in the kitchen but it's also seamless unlike the stuff in the dining room (new stuff is designed to show seems). I've spilled all kinds of stuff in the kitcken, some large spills too and cleaned up many doggy accidents and havent had an issue with it yet after 8 yrs.
The edge's between the planks are not tapered so they end up perfectly smooth when they're "snapped" together. The new stuff i got has a small taper on the edge of each plank so it shows a slight seem between each one.
Very true how the edges will flare up if the floor gets wet. That is one reason it is so important to use vapor barrier under the laminate. I think the stuff is tough as nails, but I would not use it in a kitchen. Had done the basement with it years back. Loved the result down there. It made for a softer floor, held the room temperature better, and stopped most of the basement odors immediately. Lost that floor to a leaking pipe. Tore it up and threw it away. Bought more and while it was stacked in the packages, had a mishap with the washer and soaked the cases of flooring that were at the bottom of the stacks. Decided that was enough and returned the good boxes. Laminate floors are a surface material glued to an MDF base. MDF is like really hard cardboard. Get it wet and the compaction releases and the stuff swells up never to return to its' original state.
I put some laminate in the half bath off the kitchen in my house and it has held up very well. Last summer we had a birthday party for one of the girls, and someone clogged the toilet and didn't have the decency to tell me about it. When someone finally came and got me, the floor was under water. I sopped it up as quick as possible, threw some fans on it, and it survived quite nicely. One tiny spot of bubbling, but it was behind the toilet, and you can't see it. I was pretty surprised how well it did with that short exposure to moisture.
Nice looking floor! We have 2 dogs and I'm looking to find something to handle the abuse as well. We have maple hardwood flooring upstairs and their nails are making slight marks.
The laminate floor we laid (living room) here isn't as tough as we thought. I dropped a lightweight hand stapler on it about 18" and it suffered a permanent gouge. Yours looks really nice.
There definately seems to be a difference in toughness/durability between certain manufacturers. The stuff i put in the kitchen 8yrs ago was just over $1 sqft and it's basically bullet proof. I went the somewhat cheap ($1.69 sqft) route this time too, hoping this stuff has the same toughness. I've talked to people who paid over $2.50sqft for quality name brand flooring and it was junk.
Love that stuff. We pulled the stinky carpet. Put down some stuff the has av rough saw cut look. 14 mm thick with the backing. Hard as nails. Found some bullnose trim and did the stairs the same way. So easy to take care of. Had to put stair treads so the dog didn't fall. I used commercial Velcro on the back so I can pull them off and toss into the washing machine. Does a fantastic job. No more struggling with stains on carpets. The thickness off this flooring made them silent to walk on. No hollow click click sounds. I did have them professionally installed because I can't crawl around on the floor. If you have a few tools, this is a DIY project with good reward. Go to you tube to watch clips of it being done.
That looks really good, Piney! But I'm a sucker for the old authentic flooring, I would have loved to have seen that hidden pine floor. We remodeled our fireplace room over a year ago and I bought reclaimed flooring from an 1830's farmhouse near Daniel Boones hometown. I had the antique planks all planed, new tongue and grooves milled, and installed it on the room. Those pine planks were around 16' long, random width, gives the room a TON of character......but it was a MOUNTAIN of work. That flooring you installed in your room makes the space look very warm and cozy...nice job bud!
About 4 or 5 years ago, I put this moisture proof stuff on the landing at the base of the front stairs to our raised ranch. This floor catches all kind of he!! . Lot today the same as it did when I put it down. Comes in all colors and patterns and us so easy to install. http://t.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMAS..._pip1_rr-2-_-NA-_-202722422-_-N&showPLP=false
