Wood Laminate - What do you have?

15 years ago

We're considering installing a wood laminate floor and would like recommendations as to brand and style. We're not sure if we should do shiny or matte. Is the shiny too glaring? Is the matte too dull? We don't want it to be too obvious that it is not real wood. How durable is it? Do I have to worry about dropping things and chipping it? How easy is it to maintain? Whew!

Would appreciate hearing your experiences with wood laminates. Please post pictures if possible.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

brutuses
15 years ago
I have Bruce Park Avenue Makore laminate in a shiny finish. I don't live on it yet (I'm building a new house), but I can tell you it's very durable and beautiful and everyone who sees it thinks it's real wood. Someone else on this board has it installed in their kitchen. Maybe they'll post and tell of their experience living on the floor. Here is a photo of it installed in my office.
gemini615
Original Author
15 years ago
It looks very pretty. Please let me know how you like it. How exciting to be moving into a new home! Happy days!
Related Discussions
How do you know what kind of woods you have?By tree type soil etc
Q
Comments (5)
Forests are often defined by their dominent species in a the mature or last climax succession. For example a if a woodland site is completely burned first smaller bushes will grow then successively larger trees until eventually you get a fairly stable group of plants. It sounds as if you might be in a Maple, Cherry Beech Appalachain type of forest. If you find a forestry text ( also may be called sylvics or sylviculture) you can find a list of what types of trees grow. Usually this will include the big trees and the understory trees. It has been several years since I studied this but I think you might find. Red Maple, Black Cherry, American Beech, Tulip Popler, Sugar Maple and Hemlock as some of you dominate species. Understory might include grey birch, yellow birch, witch hazel, sassafrass. The non-woody plants and much harder to define because they change more rapidly. As the trees grow the shade conditions change and plants that grew well before no longer do. If an area loses its trees by wind or fire wildflowers and other plants which have not been there for years suddenly appear because there is more light. The seeds have been in the soil all the time waiting for the right conditions to grow, this is called the seed bank.
...See More
Do You Have Laminate Flooring in your Laundry Room?
Q
Comments (4)
We have just taken out the laminate out of our kitchen due to water damage accomplished by both us and the previous owners. I would not install laminate in any area with high moisture; kitchen/laundry/bathroom. We've installed vinyl when we replaced the laminate; our laundry room still has the original vinyl in it, and of course it's an easier clean than laminate. And, if you're tired of that particular vinyl pattern look,you can replace it fairly cheap.
...See More
Engineered Wood or Bruce Laminate Flooring if have dogs?
Q
Comments (27)
Sorry, didn't see this, Lynn. One thing I read while I was looking for the 5/16" solid -- and I may not recall this exactly right, so just derive the general idea -- was that when looking at engineered wood, there are 3-ply and 5-ply veneers on top. Obviously the 5-ply would have more resurfacing potential. They recommended to always get the higher ply veneer. I saw yesterday, in Home Depot, the 5/16" solid. Yes, it does look kind of thin, but it's solid. I don't have any idea how much weight those things can take or the type of damage, but I'd think having your subfloor correct would be important in supporting it well enough to withstand heavy cabinets. My mother has a huge antique armoire, extremely heavy, sitting on the thin 3/8" engineered stuff in their condo. I think I'd be more afraid the veneer would give, now that you've mentioned it, than a solid. They have 1/2" solids, too, not just 3/4". Which I'm sure you've discovered. How much is the sf price difference between 1/2" solid and 1/2" veneer? When I've casually looked around, just to get a feel for things, the prices seem to be all over the place. Very true with the laminates -- wood floors are slippery enough for our pets and the laminates are even more so.
...See More
Fireplace - Gas vs. Wood - What do you have?
Q
Comments (43)
I've had an wood-burning insert, open wood-burning fireplaces (some with gas starters), open gas logs, and sealed gas logs. My favorite was a sealed gas log unit. I loved it because there was virtually no fumes or mess--it's essentially an easy on/off gas furnace with ambiance. The look can be very realistic depending on upgrades. Unfortunately, it's the most expensive option of the above mentioned. Next best option IMO would be gas logs; again, spare no expense with log aesthetics. Not efficient as a sealed unit might be, but nice for ambiance, ease of use, and low ongoing maintenance costs. I have wood now. I would rather have a sealed gas unit but converting would require a major remodeling. I have free access to wood so that helps. I only use my fireplace in the shoulder seasons to take the chill off an unheated house . . . can't justify wasting energy for ambiance.
...See More
bfritsch
15 years ago
brutuses this looks great. I really like the wall color. Not too blue...not too grey. What brand/color is it?
ma-bookreader
15 years ago
I have Bruce Park Avenue Makore in my kitchen and just love it. Everyone who comes over is shocked to hear that it's not a hardwood floor.

Cleaning it is easy - just damp mop with a microfiber mop and a spray bottle of water/vinegar/alcohol.
However, it has a glossy finish and does show smudges readily. So, I do mop maybe twice a week. I doubt that a living room (or any room aside from a kitchen) would need to be mopped that often at all.

I would have preferred a matte finish but I did not see a laminate that looked as 'real' as this one in a matte finish.
straitlover
15 years ago
I had that Park Ave Makore on my short list from seeing it ehre on GW. I finally got to see it in person this weekend! It is beautiful, but I did not realize it had the shiny finish (they call it a piano finish). Bummer! It's too formal looking for my small casual house. I loved it, though. All the colors were pretty, not just the Makore. And it does look just like the real thing.

I am now considering Wilsonart Classic Century Walnut . I also like the Quickstep Eligna Walnut

http://www.fastfloors.com/lp_18366,0,128775/Wilsonart-Laminate-Flooring/_/Classic-Planks-5/product.htm#NAV

http://www.internetfloors.com/iv_40006_laminate-flooring-quick-step-eligna.aspx
gemini615
Original Author
15 years ago
We also had the Park Ave Makore on our short list but we were afraid of the shiny finish. It is beautiful.

Our #1 choice right now is Exotics Afzelia by Armstrong. It is similar to Makore without the shiny finish. It is a lot different in person than in this picture.

FYI - We went to some model homes this weekend and were surprised at some of the REAL woods that we saw. I thought they were laminates. My point is that the laminates are more realistic than a few years ago.

http://www.armstrong.com/resflram/na/laminate/en/us/prod_detail.asp?itemId=94716.0

Wood Laminate - What do you have?

Comments (6)

brutuses

gemini615
Original Author

Related Discussions

bfritsch

ma-bookreader

straitlover

gemini615
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Wood Laminate - What do you have?

Comments (6)

brutuses

gemini615Original Author

Related Discussions

bfritsch

ma-bookreader

straitlover

gemini615Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

gemini615
Original Author

gemini615
Original Author