Laminate Flooring

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Aeneas

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A friend plans to put in laminate flooring in his new house. He has received conflicting advice about the durability of the various thicknesses available with some people saying that the thinner quality laminates (6/7mm) wear just as well as the thicker, more expensive, ones. Any advice/guidance on this would be welcome. Also is it a good idea to put "water-resistant" laminates in kitchens where there is a risk of flooding from dish-washers or washing machines?
 
Buy the best laminate you can afford, ........buy cheap buy twice !, and get a pro to lay it. good luck
 
I have 3 different makes of laminate in my house, the Quick-Step is by far the best, and the Homebase one is a never again job! Can't remember what the other one is called, it's fine but the Quick-Step is definitely superior.
 
I had a carpenter put down B and Q flooring and like TreeTiger, never again... it's cracking and creaking, not good quality at all.
 
I put B & Q stuff down in an apartment, and it was great, not a problem with it in three years (apart from the hall which flooded ). Same with the Homebase laminate in my bedroom (which didn't flood )

Fit it right and the cheaper stuff works well. I don't think water-resistant would make a difference if you have a full flood, but would help for splashes and the like.

My attitude on laminate is that it's basically a disposable floor. Use it until it gets wrecked (10 years or so) and then rip it up and put down a new one. Your underlay would still be there, so the cost wouldn't be ridiculous.
 
dieseldave said:
I had a carpenter put down B and Q flooring and like TreeTiger, never again... it's cracking and creaking, not good quality at all.
Click to expand...

I know he was looking at laminates in B&Q which come in various thicknesses. Do you happen to know what thickness your troublesome flooring was?
 
Aeneas said:
Do you happen to know what thickness your troublesome flooring was?
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, the Homebase laminate I bought was the same thickness as the "alright" stuff I have, the biggest problem with it was that the top peeled at the edges unless it was handled with kid gloves. There was a lot more wastage than usual as a result. It was put down by a pretty experienced fitter who has fitted other laminates in my house with no problem.

j26 said use it until it gets wrecked - 10 years or so - well I don't think I'll get 3 years out of this rubbish. Never again.
 
We bought stuff on sale at half price and it was still €10/sqm and it's brilliant! It's got the V-groove which makes the floor look like a solid wood floor. It's quite thick, 10-12mm but it's easy to lay, just harder to cut using a jigsaw.

We've also other stuff which looks lovely but the patterns are limited so the same boards are repeated too often throughout the floor. I notice it as I look at it every day, but I'm not sure anyone having a passing look would notice it.

Pay around €10-15/sqm and you'll get the best of both worlds. any more is overkill and any less is going to have problems with chipping, bad fitting at times and poor pattern diversity.
 
I would not put Laminate in the Kitchen. We had it - pipes leaked under the sink and water started seeping between the floorboards. Did not know we had a leak until water seeped between floorboards as pipes were behind shelving. Must have water still there after a week and the floor was warped. We riped out the Laminate and have the tiled the kitchen it is much better.
 
It's called Floormmaster Easi loc laid over a foam base... i'd say an inch to inch and a half thick... now it was cheap but i have put down cheap laminate before in my last house and had no problems fitted by the same man.
 
Re: Laminate Flooring - with Geothermal Heating?

Hi there,

A family member is looking for advice on flooring in self-build in Co. Wicklow. Is there any reason why one should think twice about laying a laminate floor over geothermal heating system?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,
Pukka
 
i am a floor fitter and id advise a good quality laminate, do not buy cheap flooring. also if your going to lay flooring in your kitchen, any laminate will get water damage if your washing machine floods. you should go for boru laminated floor, its 14mm thick and has a heavy layer of laminate on top with a 20 year guarantee
 
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