pergo or hardwood ?

[justbugged]

I have had to, and need to replace the laminate flooring more than once. Vinyl flooring lasted less than 6 months in this house.The biggest down fall to hardwood or laminate (Pergo is a brand name of laminate flooring) is water. Hardwood flooring has no warranty if you use water to wash the floor. Wood will not hold up to being cleaned with water, but then neither does laminate flooring. I still haven't got a clue as to how one is supposed to wash a floor with at least some water being involved.

I have a Komondor and multiple Yorkies in the house. With nasty little puppies learning about potty training, and all the toe nails, the next time is going to be concrete. I am going to go with the colored concrete, or stone, and then just use rugs in the different rooms.

 

[justbugged]

Quote:
Pergo or laminate flooring cannot be re-sanded and re-finished in a way that would have it look like new again.

 

[muddyhorse]

the sub floor is concrete. some of the pergo has much rougher texture than others , more traction for the dogs. there is even a rough sawn looking one that looks pre skittered across

 

[Royd]

The biggest problem I have with laminate over concrete is that it always sounds hollow, and thus, cheap. Pergo does have some really tight joints, though....I put a good quality lamimante, Bruce or Armstrong, in my sister's house, on old wood floors, and nailed it down. It looks good, and eliminated my main gripe.

 

[Dunkopf]

Laminated floor like Pergo is the best for dogs. We had 3/4" oak flooring. Looked beautiful but the dogs scratched the heck out of it. We had to have it refinished to sell the house. Not cheap. If you have a Sams nearby, they have a nice laminate that is just as good as Pergo, plus it comes with the padding already on it for 2.79sf.

 

[ptots]

I've been building custom house for a lot of years, Hardwood flooring, if have a lot of critters running through the house your finish wan't last as long, but the flooring itself will last longer than me!

 

[muddyhorse]

We have oak and tile in the rest on the house. the original house was built from 63 oak trees on the property. we added a 24x24 addition. the entry ways are tiled. the oak floors were under carpet and need to be refinished but the carpet in the addition has to go. ( I have an elderly dog with bowel issues you can only steam it so often) I suppose I could tile the rest of the living room.

 

[PineappleMama]

We went the Pergo route... I'll admit it's cheaper... plus we caught it on clearance... and it IS pretty... while it lasts. Unfortunately now and then our dog (not sure which one) will take a pee overnight while we're sleeping... we find it in the morning, clean it up... but by then it's already done damage... and since whichever dog it is has two spots they seem to prefer that little bit of damage adds up... so now those two spots are peeling and ugly... kids spilling something and not immediately cleaning it up has the same effect... as does mopping with anything but a dern near dry mop...

So, note to self... until we are animal, kid and all human error free... never buy pergo again.

Oh, and YES you very much DO need to glue every single board... the instructions say you can... but seemed to indicate that if you did you might get warping when the heat makes them expand/contract... so we didn't... so now you've got tiles basically that slide all over the place... you ever see those little puzzles, numbers or pictures, where there's like nine tiles and you have to shift them around to put the numbers/pic into order? It's kinda like that... any time a show with a pinch of grip steps on it it slides... so if you do go the pergo route make sure you use the glue...

 

[SillyChicken]

you're sub floor is concrete? Why not go with tile? More durable! Go with a nice stone or porcelin tile (avoid ceramic)!

With laminate or wood you could have a moisture issue with a slab floor. You'd have to be darn sure you won't have any seepage or condensation coming from the ground or what ever you put down would warp and buckle. Some laminates state they can be used in a basement so they may work. But if it were me, I'd put down tile or stain/seal it.

do a test strip. tape a 12 x 12 square of plastic down to the cement and let it sit 24 hrs. if there is any moisture or condensation, you'll have to rethink what you put down.

 

[SparksNV]

I have concrete subfloors & put down laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators. The series is called Nirvana. It has foam backing already attached. I pulled up the carpet, laid down the plastic sheeting & put in over 800 sq ft myself. This flooring comes in 3 different lengths of planks all 4 in wide. So I could stagger the planks and it doesn't look so manufactured. I have people telling me all the time that they were not aware it is laminate. I don't have the hollow sound when walked on. The biggest complaint I have is the amount of dog fur I see now. My flooring is a Red Oak and my dogs are a buff color - I can see fur 5 minutes after the floors are swept and cleaned. If I knew then I would have gone with a lighter color. Other than that I love the floors!

Carol