Just a fellow consumer here, but just went through this same evaluation a couple of months ago. Two kids (13 and 11) and a dog (1 year old lab). We have laminate in the family room and it's pretty bullet proof. But we were replacing everything else down stairs and went through the wood/laminate/tile evaluation. We eventually decided on Adura tile from Mannington for the kitchen and powder room (tile look not wood) and Mirage engineered wood in the foyer, living and dining rooms. Actually swayed back and forth between laminate and wood where we eventually installed the wood. In the end it came down to wanting real wood in those rooms and we'll just have to see how it goes. My wife and I were just talking about this and had a laugh that we should have gone laminate because when the wood was just installed I had what you would call "new car" syndrome. Don't skip on the floor, don't place that on the floor, and donÂt even breathe on the floor. The anxiety issue is passing with time and we're happy with the decision and the look and feel of wood. When we get scratches (not if) we'll deal with them. Unfortunately you can't run this through an analysis and come up with an exact answer. In the end if you really wanted wood the laminate will probably be a disappointment. But, if you can't deal with the anxiety (at least initially) of wood not wearing as well then laminate may be the better choice. Our dog romps more in the kitchen and family room so that won't be seeing wood floors. We're not the most indecisive people but this took a while to finally come to a decision. A rather long post without any real direction but your not alone. Dom

My husband and I currently have a wooden deck. Like the last comment said, it has a short life span and we don't feel too safe on it anymore. We're looking to get it replaced with a vinyl deck as soon as possible. We hear that vinyl tends to be the more inexpensive option, but is still more sturdy than wood. A lot just depends on your situation, though. Good luck to you! http://www.victoriadeck.com/about-victoria-deck/

1. The Bainbridge is the narrowest of their windows and the Soft-Lite Pro is also narrow. 2. Not necessarily. Soft-Lite is a well engineered window so it, with the optional meeting rail reinforcement, should be fine but some other narrow windows will not fare as well. 3. Typically, replacement windows, as a result of their thicker glass and more airtight insulation, will perform better. There are applications where the existing combination (usually with a storm window) might out perform the new double pane IGU window but not if you have single pane window without a storm. a. and b. Impossible to say without knowing exactly what type of window you have now. If you have single pane, both will outperform your existing windows. If you have double pane, it is very likely that your new windows will still outperform and be more sound resistant than your existing windows. 4. 0.09 is not drafty by any means and will probably be a huge improvement over your existing.

I agree it won't look dated. Everyone I've ever talked to that went the wood look tile route is very happy with their choice. It's partly what convinced me to choose the tile over wood. Every day I love this tile more and more. It cleans up so nicely, always looks perfect, and I have zero stress about it. We installed it in our entire first level as I wanted one flooring throughout. It was an agonizing decision (wood vs tile) and I made the right choice with the tile. My cousin ( a plastic surgeon in the San Francisco Bay Area) just bought a new multi million dollar home and also used wood look tile throughout. I think a floor as gorgeous and functional as this is here to stay.