I love Novalis peel and stick flooring. I used it in my previous home in the entire house and it sold quickly. My previous home was not a cheap starter home or a mobile home but a nice home in a desirable area. It is easy to install and durable. I have expensive tastes and this stuff looks great. It looks like real wood. It has a texture that feels like wood grain. I will post pictures on this page of my novlais floor that I installed myself in my master bedroom. I laid it directly onto the slab. No underlayment or professional leveling or a professional installer to come in and help me. I used heavy duty shears to cut the pieces to fit. To give it an even more upscale look I laid the planks in a herringbone style and it looks fabulous. It looks like designer flooring straight out of a magazine. I spent about 300 dollars on materials and nothing else. My room is about 15 by 18 almost 300 square feet. I don't have fancy tools either. That is awesome compared to the 1400 dollar quote for laminate to be installed. More people should use this. They are all hung up on real wood and spending thousands of dollars on their floors. You dont have to do that to get a great look. You can have the look of hardwood on a budget. You can do it. I am a 45 year old mother of two with a full time job ouside the home, if I can do it you can too. I could afford to purchase real wood if I wanted to but why spend more if you dont have to. Using novalis on my floor left more cash for me and my family. And for the naysayers--no problems with loose or peeling planks or shifting. As long as you fit them in tightly when installing that does not happen. If it does happen occassionally remember that also happens with distressed floors so whats the big deal it is so small no on would even notice it. I will upload photos of my room so you can see for yourself how great it is. P.S.--I do not work for Novalis but I should because I really believe in this product!!!

If you are looking to go with a laminate look to go with one with a mill of say 12. The higher the mill the denser the laminate, thus less likely to give you the "hollow" sound. Also take the time to upgrade your underlayment for it as well. Underlayment will be a the more expensive,but denser sound armour type of padding. The first question I would ask you though is how long do you plan on living in your current house (housing market aside, as by the end of the year we should begin to see it correct itself)? If you only plan on being in the house for 18-24 months then the wise investment would be a hardwood floor. If this is then the case look into a Engineered hardwood floor since you will be putting this in a "wet" area. Hope this helps!

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I have laminate in my kitchen and in my powder room--four years old. I have had similar experiences to monica pa's--I spilled hot coffee on the floor (though fortunately, I was not burned); took me a few minutes to get the coffee and the mat that absorbed most of it off the floor. All is well except for small squeak sound in the area. In the powder room, I had a toilet overflow. You would never know it--I just cleaned it up, had the toilet fixed, all is well. The product is a high-quality Pergo that allegedy can "take" some water on it -- though letting water sit for more than a few minutes would probably not be a good idea. I think it is Pergo Select and I got it at Expo (Home Depot's high-end store). I had a good contractor install and I think that may also have something to do with it. FYI, it was installed over extremely beat up and stained (though level with no bulges, etc.) vinyl. I believe vinyl is ultimately "best" for standing up to a wet environment, although as someone said above, too much water on any floor is going to be a bad outcome. Hope this helps--good luck to you.

Well, I have a cedar shake roof - I live in New England and they are EVERYWHERE, and all over the coast where they are exposed to harsh weather. (We are on the coast.) We inherited the roof, but were told by our contractor during our (ongoing) renovation that if kept properly sealed, it should last for 20+ years. We're not sure of the exact product used so that's a low end estimate. If it was a high end product it can last for 50+ years. I'm sure you'll get lots of responses from peeps who know the details but cedar in general resists rot. I totally believe the cedar saleswoman - they will last, especially if properly cared for. And yeah, I wouldn't trust the sales guy for the fake stuff because he's clearly trying to sell his product. We were told to seal our roof every few years. It's an easy job, we hired it out and they sprayed it for I think $500. There are vinyl products that look pretty good, but if they aren't in the colors you want, then that's that. Real cedar will of course be more maintenance than vinyl, since vinyl is virtually maintenance free. but that's a trade off - the real stuff is unmistakable and it's definitely a "look".