Style of house? A certain look or feel of flooring? Same throughout?

The style of house is modern farmhouse with touches of coastal and transitional. We are thinking a mid-tone (not too dark or light) grayish brown white oak look. Something that will wear well and not show too much dirt. Some we have been looking at are Kronotex Mammut Capital Oak and Mannington Restoration French Oak in Carraway. We really like a matte, less slippery look/feel (which I know is hard to find with laminate). We are doing the same throughout except bathrooms, mudroom/laundry, and stairs (which we hope to do oak treads stained to match since I worry laminate is too slippery). Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

Good laminate, or vinyl, or basic engineered wood, will all be in the same $4-6 range. Installation and adjunct material costs will not be similar. All need a good, FLAT, plywood or concrete subfloor to go down over.

Good laminate still needs a good quality pad under it in order to perform well. Add another .75-$1.00 per foot for something that will reduce the hollow sound and last for years.

Good vinyl means glue in place vinyl plank. If you want ''healthy'' glue, you will be over $1 a square foot for that. Plus floor prep. Click lock vinyl is much less forgiving of subfloor imperfections, and would need even more prep in order to be successful. That is usually in the .25-.75 range.

Nail down engineered wood can absorb some floor imperfections that vinyl would just transfer through. Nails are cheap, as long as you have a plywood subfloor. No particle board for any of these materials. Glue down over flat cement is in the .50 range if the slab meets standard moisture testing.

Labor for these is not the same either. The exact rates would be local, but nail down engineered is less than glue down engineered. And most Flooring pros just don't like dealing with vinyl, as it is less forgiving of poor prep or install, so the rates for it are generally higher. Laminate rates are generally about the same as a staple down engineered.

Thank you Sophie. We will actually probably lay the laminate ourselves as my husband has experience doing this. I am finding AC-4 or 5 commercial grade laminate for around $2-$2.70 a square foot for over 3000 square feet. Is this not high quality stuff? If not, can you recommend more high quality laminates? We'd prefer something waterproof. Thank you!

I don't know why your floor area is so large and your flooring budget so low but if neither can change, before considering imitative materials of unknown wearability that might be difficult to replace with hardwood later, I would first consider wall to wall carpet over underlayment in bedrooms and elsewhere hardwood flooring around the perimeter of large rooms with underlayment under area rugs. That would allow removal of the underlayment and installation of hardwood flooring later.

Sorry if this is a hijack - but I'm confused why anyone would chose LVT over sheet vinyl - both are vinyl products, and sheet vinyl doesn't have the aging/wear/leak issues that a supposed 'tile' product has.

Appearance probably. There are more options with tile, like planks. There used to be some really nice sheet options across the board but the patterns have become more and more limited.

In our ongoing budget lake-house build we did what JDS suggests and what lookintomyeyes refers to as well. Originally we looked at all flooring being laminate for price. It looks great in photos but in person... no. We are going with site-finished hardwood in the public spaces, sisal coir loop carpet in the bedrooms, and Mannington luxury vinyl sheet in baths and mudroom. We saved money with other decisions, everyone has different priorities, but I have to say that every single day that we visit the lake house ongoing build I am thankful, so thankful, so grateful, for the hardwood floor.

Edited after palimpset's comment: Mannington has applied the luxury vinyl printing technologies to sheet vinyl and they do have better options, they were not available at the local flooring store but I was able to see them elsewhere and get them ordered. The ability to get a seamless floor in a lakehouse bath and mudroom is very appealing!

In response to the question about why not use a quality flooring material in the main areas and carpet in other rooms, if allergies are an issue then hard floors are generally preferable. Can't speak for OP, but for us we were willing to step back to a more modest material to maintain the hard floors throughout the house. It will be better for allergies, plus I do like the continuity throughout. Only the bathrooms and laundry room have tile. Our new home will be our retirement home, and we are looking at more modest size and finishes than in the house we're living in presently.

I'd also like to say that, having done extensive research in our area, we came to the same conclusions that the OP did about the relative costs of various materials we could use in the house. I guess we could have sacrificed the central vac and put that money toward better flooring, but it wasn't the right choice for us.

I've found that laminate wears much better than hardwood in rentals, short of putting-out-your-cigarettes-on-the-floor assaults. (At least, you can sand down hardwood.) And it's popular in lower-end townhomes. I've got about 1,600 sf in boxes in my garage--picked it up cheap--waiting for installation in upcoming foreclosures, renos etc.

But to me, a 3,200 sf home spells higher-end, demanding better quality. OTOH, I've seen enough real estate agents and buyers confuse ceramic with granite, quartzite with Formica etc. that I may be all wet on this--especially in that I don't know the tastes in your market.

Thank you for your advice everyone. We cannot put in carpet due to severe allergies, eczema, and asthma in our 2 year old. That is really a non-negotiable. Rugs will have to be either washable or replaceable yearly. Her health is not worth it and is a large reason we are only looking at GreenGuard Gold certified products. The reason we have 3200 square feet of flooring is because we are putting it throughout and have about 1500 square feet on the upper level and 1400 square feet of finished basement space on the lower level (plus 10% overage of materials) It is a 2200 square foot ranch - not high end by any means. We need the lower level to be finished due to me working from home and needing an office space and my husbands work schedule that requires him to sleep during the day (which is hard when you have two toddlers and one level of house). Hopefully that helps!

I would think twice about using any laminate, agreed or pressure sensitive adhesive flooring on a basement slab. Perhaps carefully applied heavy duty foundation waterproofing and under slab vapor retarder will make it possible. Avoid sand under the slab. Delay installation as long as possible after pouring the slab.

Slab has been digitally moisture tested twice. It has a drain tiles installed and under slab vapor retarder. It is entirely walkout on one wall (several large windows and french doors). All below grade walls also have waterproofing/vapor retarder XPS board. Concrete has cured for 6 months and will cure another 1-2 months before flooring is installed.

This stuff is supposed to be 100% fine for slab installation (waterproof, click so no adhesive) and has cork attached as a vapor barrier. I am not sure it would be in your price point but I thought I'd mention it - we have thought about using it for our basement when we finish it (and we are also DIY'ers): US Floors Stratum

It IS LVT though. Hey I just noticed it says it's greenguard gold. :)

I'd do sheet vinyl everywhere and call it good. You can have that done for about $5 a square, materials and labor, as long as the floor is perfectly flat.

What about keeping the basement floor concrete and finishing it?

We've lived with laminate for the last 8 years in our current home and I still love it as much as the day we placed it. It has a few knicks, but otherwise almost no wear and tear. Our house is far from level due to lots of settling, and we have no issues with noise. If memory serves, we did use a higher quality mat underneath.

We're going with hardwood in the new build, but to be totally honest - I'm nervous it won't hold up to kids/dogs. Laminates have come a long way, and I see more high-end homes with it now. I think you could find something you'll be happy with.

We won't do a sheet vinyl (or plank) due to the plasticizers in them. Even the phthalate free flooring has other plasticizers. GreenGuard does not measure these things. Our daughters health is already compromised and we don't want to compromise it any more. I have considered a finished concrete in the basement, but am very comfortable with laminate based on the recommendation of all of the contractors that have looked at it. Just trying to find some experiences with a high quality laminate bonus points if it is also water resistant. Thank you to everyone that has shared!

My thought was then you could do concrete in basement and wood on main floor

We did laminate on slab, all of the living areas. sold the house 7 years, 4 kids later and it still looked like new, and had no problems due to water, etc (we always cleaned up pronto). Dining was laminate as well, so we did have spills, but it never bubbled/peeled/warped one bit. We did make it a point to put towels down if it was wet outside and people were walking in (or kids were muddy/water from sprinklers etc), and do not wear shoes in the home. Ours was a very good experience. I found it best to dry mop (dog hair, yarn mop), then use a steam-mop (shark). We did put a soundproofing layer under, which I was very appreciative of.

digitally moisture tested twice...drain tiles
installed and under slab vapor retarder....below grade walls
also have waterproofing/vapor retarder XPS board. Concrete has cured for
6 months and will cure another 1-2 months before flooring is installed.

All good moves--assuming the under slab retarder is XPS or similar insulating suitable materials.

However, bulk water from leaks or moisture coming up through the slab as inevitable moisture drive is not the only source of moisture in a basement.

Air under the flooring or in the foam contains water that at 65% humidity will condense into water and feed mould growth in the laminate. (See here about the problem in carpets on concrete basement flooring.)

Let alone that all kinds of inadvertent leaks tend to end up in the basement.

If your hot water tank or laundry is in the basement it would be useful to provide catch dams and drains for both and a single throw valve for the washer. Mechanical de-humidification is advisable, too, to keep humidity levels below 50%.

Concrete as a finished floor--- properly done--- is more costly than most laminates. Definitely more than vinyl.

Vinyl flooring isn't any worse inside a home than plastic coated particle board. It's confirmation bias to want to think otherwise. "Waterproof'' anything but tile just means more plastic. Either plastic anywhere is evil, or it's not. You can't say that plastic flooring is bad but plastic coated bits of wood encased in bits of plastic isn't bad.

Laundry is on the main level and we have tankless water heaters that are over a drain. We will do mechanical dehumidification (for allergy reasons). In pricing out finished concrete, we have found that it is almost $4-5 a square foot in our area which wouldn't save much (and would be more than laminate), so I am not sure if that is an option and it definitely wouldn't allow a budget for wood upstairs. Anyone know how to do finished concrete cheaper?

Sophie - most waterproof laminates (at least "green" brands) have a melamine core which is not plastic. Laminates do not contain PVC or phthlates which is what the concern with Vinyl is. These things have been proven to be potentially damaging to our health. Some laminates do have formaldehyde in the resins they use, hence why we are looking for a GreenGuard Gold certified product that is CARB II compliant as well.

Melamine IS plastic. Melamine formaldehyde resin is what waterproofs the particleboard.

Melamine is not plastic. It is a chemical used to produced plastic. There is no PVC or phthalates in laminate. Most kids eat of our MF dishes (MF is more stable than UF) - not mine, but about 90% of kids I see eat of out them. Kids don't eat out of PVC. The nature of the MF resin is quite stable and is something we are comfortable with provided we aren't microwaving our floors and then eating food off of them.

The news that melamine resins aren't plastic will boggle the minds of the manufacturing industry.

Dreamhouse, Have you posted on the Flooring board? You might get some helpful comments there.

positive looked as good the day we moved out as the day we had it installed

easy care.....

A relative has laminate and linoleum in her house. Floor gets a lot of abuse from two small kids with lots of die-cast toy cars, etc. Laminate and linoleum both still look good. Personally I like the linoleum but I know some do not. No idea about price. Good luck!

Laminate is a noisy installation unless you choose an upgraded padding. The good ones range from 80c to $1.20 a square foot. And they are not optional. It is the only real way to make laminate truly long term livable above grade.

It is NOT suitable for below grade installation. That is an area for tile. That could be a DIY job over time for your basement, and put the added funds into an engineered wood for above grade.

I don't understand your reluctance for vinyl. It is no worse than laminate for a home from any health standpoint. It is also a much cheaper choice for private rooms like bedrooms and bathrooms. Again, allowing you to put your funds into the public rooms and better quality materials for them.

Sophie - I don't appreciate your snarky comment. You should probably re-read my comment. Melamine isn't a plastic. Melamine is a chemical compound. It can be combined with things to produce plastics, but Melamine itself is not a plastic. Feel free to consult a chemist about this rather than the manufacturing industry.

Vinyl absolutely is worse for health than a responsibly produced CARB II compliant laminate for your health. It is concerning that so many people have not done their research on PVC and phthalates, and are just putting them in their home because they are cheap and look good.

Has anyone had wood plank look tile installed on a slab? I am curious of the labor cost. I found some tile for a great deal today. Our contractor quoted us $5 per square foot for labor to install but that seemed high to me. Maybe not. Anyone have experience?

I have friends who did tile on slab. It looks nice, they had a few pop up but we're able to be fixed. I think 5 a sqf sound about right. I am looking at tIle for bathrooms in our new build and wood look was anywhere from 2.89 to 9 a sqf for materials only.

Actually what about marmoleum or linoleum?

$5 a square is not nearly enough for large format tile and someone who knows what they are doing. There needs to be the proper prep first. It needs an excruciatingly flat substrate. It is 2x as difficult to lay, and uses much more expensive setting materials. If prep is skipped, or the correct install procedure isn't followed, you will get lippage everywhere.

$5 a ft labor is cheap if they are doing it right.

If you plan to install laminate flooring on a basement slab I recommend placing insulation below it to reduce the chance of condensation.

For what its worth, there are a few lines of PVC free sheet vinyl and LVT. My own personal recommendation would be to splurge on the main floor, watch some youtube videos and wing a do it yourself concrete staining in the basement. Worst case scenario, it drives you nuts and in a couple years you can cover over it, best case - you'll realize it's not half bad and next thing you know it will still be there in 10 years.

Going back to your original question... Laminate has held up very well in my current house and we do not baby it one bit: 2 kids + (2) 100 lb dogs + living on a farm (no foyer, mudroom or attached garage means EVERYTHING comes inside.) Quite honestly from a wear and tear perspective, our laminate looks much better than my inlaws 3/4" hickory they put in 8 years ago.

I agree with stephja007, recently sold my farm and house that had laminate in it that is still going strong almost 20 years later. Also didn't have a mud room, so muddy boots and paws came right into the house. The laminate floors and the Marmoleum floors held up much better then the hardwood floors. Having LVT installed in the new house tomorrow.

stephja007 - what kind of laminate do you have? Also, do you know what the brand names of the PVC free LVT are? I have found Phthalate free (but they still use other plasticizers) but not PVC free. Thank you!

Melamine is a plastic -- it's just that there are many types of plastic. The outgassing of formaldehyde (now this isn't a plastic) is far reduced than that outgassed from, say, presswood.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Melamine resin

Melamine resin or urea formaldehyde (also shortened to melamine) is a hard, thermosetting plastic material made from melamine and formaldehyde by polymerization. In its butylated form, it is dissolved in n-butanol and xylene. It is then used to cross-link with alkyd, epoxy, acrylic, and polyester resins, used in surface coatings. There are many types, varying from very slow to very fast curing. It was initially discovered by William F. Talbot,[1] who applied to patent it on December 12, 1936.[2]

Construction material

The principle use of melamine resin is the main constituent of high-pressure laminates, such as Formica and Arborite, and of laminate flooring. Melamine-resin tile wall panels can also be used as whiteboards.[3] Melamine formaldehyde is used in plastic laminate and overlay materials. Formaldehyde is more tightly bound in Melamine Formaldehyde than it is in urea-formaldehyde, reducing emissions.

***

I commend you in doing the best you can in going green and helping your little 2-year old. I assume you are also looking into the best products for floor adhesives.

You say the concrete in the basement is already poured? I'm wondering if just leaving that floor as is - except for a few area rugs -- could work for you? You could still use the laminate upstairs and save money for other purposes down the road. Laminate, if the right pattern is chosen, can look good, and will stand up to many years of use and abuse.

I think you meant to say that "melamine" is not a plastic but "melamine resin" is. However, in common usage "melamine" is used to describe laminate products made with "melamine resin".

JDS - Yes, melamine itself is not a plastic. Melamine resin is a plastic, but MF is much more stable than UF in terms of formaldehyde off gassing. Melamine resin is not a concern unless you microwaving it and eating of it. PVC and phthalates are a concern in house dust, off gassing, and dermal exposure.

We finally made a flooring decision and decided to go with a german made 12 mm matte finish laminate (that I soaked in water for a week with very minimal if any warping) throughout both levels. We plan to use oak stair treads and have them stained to match the laminate. Thank you everyone for your advice!

So glad you found something that will work for you and your child. :)

We've had our floating laminate floor for 18 years. It has held up very well. We installed it when laminate was a very new product. The products that are sold now are much, much, better aesthetically than what I have (and much less expensive). At the time we couldn't afford real wood, but I wanted something that looked like wood instead of the builder's grade white carpet that was installed throughout the house. The floor has held up through kids and pets and except for a few spots that are dinged from dropping something, still looks the same as the day we installed it.

Happy you found something! Sorry it's a little late but to answer your previous question - my laminate was in when we purchased the house so I have no clue (we didn't bother to replace it during our reno!) However if anyone else stumbles across this and is looking for options, I know for sure AmericanBiltrite and Upofloor have PVC-free lines, I'm sure there are others I'm not thinking of too.

Housebuilding126 - Just wanted to check on your progress with your child's health and the laminate that you chose. My son has health issues because we had mold and he has chemical sensitivities. What laminates from Germany did you choose? Were they Greenguard and Carb II approved? All of this is overwhelming and just do not want to use something that will not be healthy or will not hold up to our dogs.

Well...I remember, once, in the rest room in the train station in Paris...