Hi.

I'm thinking of taking up the old crappy cheap laminate in my living room. It's about 240 sf I believe. I'm wondering though how much more expensive hardwood is over laminate? I see some laminate going for $2.50 or $3.00 sf, isn't that about the cost of some hardwood or bamboo?

Is there much difference in cost install wise? I'm thinking of having either HD, Lowe's or someone install it.

Also, I'll most likely go with laminate if hardwood's too expensive. I'd like to stay under or around $1500 installed and I would suppose that may rule out hardwood and maybe even laminate?

Finally, what are some good brands of laminate. Is .99 sf laminate good? I also don't want any of that cheap Chinese bad stuff either with the offgas stuff by Lumbar Liquidators.

 

Somehow these two statements seem to go together.

First, you're going to get what you pay for, second, there is really no comparison between laminate and hardwood flooring other than you walk on both.

Laminate is nothing more than a picture of wood printed on substrate.

You really need to decide what you want, and just get out there and look and talk.

 

Just from experience 5" hand scraped bamboo in click lock engineered flooring can't be beat for installation ease and longevity of the finish. We laid a 12x16 bedroom starting with moving furniture, removing carpet, etc. and had it done in 5 or 6 hours, including trim.

Laminate?? I'll just say it's cheap for a reason.

 

Decided on wall to wall carpet for livingroom.

The rest of the house is tile and then the bedrooms are hardwood. Plus, HD says the carpet install is free.

 

Yeah, you just keep believing that it's free. And hide your wallet.

Brian, I just have to ask, why do you come here and ask opinions on 2 specific items, and then just go off on some tangent for something completely different.

Not a mention of the possibility of carpet in your earlier posts and then...bam!

Why do you take up others time with these things?

Use neighbors, relatives, and friends as sounding boards, then come here to ask for specific recommendations or advice...pleeeease?

I don't mean to sound harsh, really...but it can be a bit annoying when people realize they wasted their time.

 

Yeah, you're right. I just hadn't thought of the carpet and now it seems like a good option.

Sorry, for the inconvenience. No one has to respond to my posts, it's there choice.

 

Trust me, you are paying for installation in the cost of the carpet and the REQUIRED installation of new padding which is at the higher end of padding cost. You are saving nothing.

As a Moderator, it is my duty to respond to questions asked in my forums. So, yeah, you are wasting mine and other peoples time. If you have no conscience, then fine. Turn the tables and see how you would feel if you invested research and other time to answer a question only to be blown off.

And, how the heck does one not consider carpet when looking at flooring choices. I think this was a fishing operation from the start.

 

I honestly was not considering carpet. Again, sorry about the trouble.

 

I've heard more bad then good when it comes to the people that the big boxes hire to do product installation.