Does anyone have hardwood laminate flooring?

**MyMelody** · 02-23-2009, 09:32 PM

DH and I have an opportunity to buy Shaw laminate flooring for 0.99/sq. ft, which is a big deal to me considering we need to replace almost 1,000 sq. ft. of carpeting. My questions are:

(a) For those of you who may have hardwood laminate flooring, do you like it? Does it seem durable?

(b) Does anyone specifically have Shaw brand laminate, and would you recommend it?

**Missy** · 02-23-2009, 09:44 PM

I am a wife of a flooring installer...If you want I could ask his opinion of it. I know he doesn't have a good opinion of some of the distributors of it, but Shaw products in general he likes.

**MyMelody** · 02-23-2009, 09:52 PM

^ Missy, I'd love to know your hubby's opinion! Thanks!

**Grayce** · 02-23-2009, 10:01 PM

I don't have Shaw brand laminate flooring but I do have laminate flooring through a lot of my house. I have it in my powder room, hallways, kitchen and 2 bedrooms. I have plans to put it in my other 2 bedrooms as I have the money. I chose laminate because I have kids and a dog and I did not want to have hardwood and have them damaging it. My laminate has been down for at least 5 years and it has held up very well. I like the way it looks. It is very easy to clean and take care off.

**Michelle68** · 02-23-2009, 11:06 PM

We have had our laminate flooring for the past 7 years or so and I can say that I've never regretted installing it. I have regretted installing it ourselves because I think we did a pretty crummy job of it, but other than that I love having laminate. In the not too distant future, we are planning to have it redone professionally. Our laminate has really held up well over the years and it has been really easy to take care of. There are so many different styles nowadays (some even look like tile) and, if you are handy (which we are not), I don't think it would be particularly hard to install yourself. Hope this helps.

**madhen** · 02-23-2009, 11:11 PM

I had laminate flooring put in last year, and I LOVE it!!! I just wish I could replace the rest of my carpet with it!! SO easy to keep clean! And the stuff they have now looks so much like real wood, you'd never know it wasn't. My mother has a laminate bamboo floor, and it is beautiful. Mine is a darker, red oak kind of colour.

**MrsAJS** · 02-23-2009, 11:30 PM

We have had our laminate for 7 years or so (sorry, don't remember the brand). We have it in our dining room and our family room that is just off the deck and gets lots of traffic. It has held up great with 2 large dogs, 3 kids running in and out dripping from pool water, melting snow or running their toys all over it. Very easy maintenance. If we had carpet or wood in the family room it would be trashed by now. If we didn't have the kind of traffic in the house that we do I would have gotten real wood, but I am very happy with our purchase for our circumstances.

**Thevail** · 02-23-2009, 11:52 PM

My friend is a foster parent and sometimes has several..um... destructive...little kids at her house, as well as 3 rabbits, 4 cats, and a dog. After the carpet was ruined, repeatedly, she got laminate and says she wouldn't have anything else even if they paid her.

**phoeny_moonstar** · 02-24-2009, 01:45 AM

I would agree that laminate hardwood flooring is an excellent purchase. My parents had it installed in their home and I have it in my apartment and it is really easy to clean and holds up well to lots of traffic and animals!!

**NewLeaf** · 02-24-2009, 06:48 AM

My mother paid to have Quick Step laminate flooring installed in my entire house (1100 square ft.). My youngest had asthama and reactive airway disease. He has not had asthma since we installed the laminate. No kidding. Since I can keep it much cleaner than carpet we have all been healthier. I love the way it looks and it cleans easily. The carpets we pulled up were NASTY. I use vinegar & water w/my swiffer wet jet to clean it. My boys are rough and we have alot of preteen visitors. It has never scarred or scratched. The dog peed on it and I didn't find the pee for at least 24 hrs. and it did not warp, bubbble or peel. You won't regret installing it. Try to get a piece of the Shaw (a little piece) and put it in water for 24 hrs and see what happens. That's how I tested my Quick Step. I also left a piece outside in the weather to see what would happen.....

**Grainlady** · 02-24-2009, 07:31 AM

In a home we lived in for 23-years and raised two kids (and most of their friends) we had both wood and laminate and LOVED it.

Moved to a 9-month old townhouse with cheap builder-beige carpet that was just AWFUL. As soon as we could save the money we replaced the carpet with laminate on the first floor (2 bd rm, hall, living, dining). LOVED it.

Moved into this house (new build) almost 3 years ago. At least the carpet was better quality, but it's STILL carpet. I told hubby I'd live with the carpet for 3 years (which will be in May) and we'll start looking for for either wood or laminate to replace all the carpet. I've got the $$$, now we need the time.

I absolutely hate carpet. I have an old-fashioned cotton dust mop I got from a professional cleaning supply store. It's nice and wide. I could clean the whole house in a fraction of the time it took to vacuum.

**Buc-O-Mama** · 02-24-2009, 08:31 AM

What is "hardwood laminate"? Is it laminate that looks like wood, or is it made from wood? It would be awesome if they made a real hardwood application that was as easy to install as laminate.

**VanVivCam** · 02-24-2009, 08:39 AM

I agree with the above posters about LOVING their flooring. We only have carpet in the bedrooms and I am wanting to replace with laminate as soon as possible.

I really thought the idea of getting a small piece and testing it was a brilliant one!

**Momto2Boyz** · 02-24-2009, 08:40 AM

We have shaw laminate and I really like it. My only complaint about it is that it show the dog hair much worse than carpet would...but that it true for anytype of hard floor, right?

We put ours in ourselves when we moved into our house about 6 or years ago. It has held up really, really well. We have 2 crazy kids and 2 crazy dogs and there are only 2 spots where I have had problems. We had a window air conditioner that leaked water, and there is one spot at a "seam" in the floor where the water faded it just a bit. You wouldn't see it though, if I didn't point it out. Then, there is another spot in the kitchen where someone dropped something, and there is a tiny dent (literally, the size of a piece of rice). But all in all, it looks just as good as the day we put it in!

Dh and I put it in ourselves with no experience. It is in our living dining room, kitchen area, that has a half dividing wall in the middle. The only problem we ran into, is that we started in the wrong corner of the room. So when we got to the dividing wall, we had to match up the two rooms. If we had started in the opposite corner, it would have been much easier! But we just didn't know! But all in all, it was super easy to install.

My advice, though, is to buy extra boxes, just in case. We bought ours cheap becuase it was discontinued. Now, we are thinking about redoing the kitchen (moving cabinets, etc.) and we'll be uncovering floor that we can't replace, becuase we don't have anymore! So more than likely, we'll have to redo the entire floor because of a 2 foot section...which kinda stinks!

**mombottoo** · 02-24-2009, 08:43 AM

(a) For those of you who may have hardwood laminate flooring, do you like it? Does it seem durable? Laminate flooring is very durable. Our friend has it installed throughout his house, his only complaint is that he finds it to be slippery. I wanted to have it installed in my kitchen & dining area, but our son's doctors recommended against it since our son has balance issues and tends to lose his footing. Having that type of flooring could cause him to slip and fall.