Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Flooring installation over concrete for beginners

I have a little studio apartment that is connected to my garage that I rent out- It's really needs some rehabbing when it comes to flooring. The entire thing was carpeted, I hired someone to re-carpet most of it, but I'd like to install some kind of flooring under and in front of the kitchen appliances (all portable, incl. sink, nothing to have to go around or deal with) and rip up the old entry way carpeting and bathroom vinyl to replace with something. The floor underneath is concrete and appears to be in good shape.

I don't have a lot of time and have zero experience... What I'm looking for is something that will hold up so I won't have to deal with it again for a few years at least, and if it's sub-quality (vinyl tile or something) that it will be easy to remove if I want to replace it later with something better when I have more time/money/experience down the road.

I've considered glueless laminate flooring but don't know if I ought to chalk up a few more home improvement credits before I attempt it alone. Also have considered ceramic tile, and am considering vinyl tile as it's so cheap and apparently easy- I don't want to put that down though if I'm going to face a nightmare getting it back up to put down something nicer before the next tenant.

Originally I went to Home Depot to have them just install Pergo for me, but for the 105 square feet that needs to be covered in this little (let's not forget-funky, NO Taj Mahal) place, they quoted approx. $1000 after measuring! That's crazy, especially for this little studio. I want to spend half that at most. (The studio is basically your college kid 'pad'. I don't need the floor to be fit for a queen, but I do want it to look okay.)

The sheet vinyl that is down in the bathroom right now is peeling up at the edges and appears to be easy to take out. Could looks be deceiving? I imagine that it was put in about 10 years ago. (I bought the house in July of 03.) Also, do I just start hacking away at the strip of carpet in the entry way, or does anyone have carpet removal 'secrets'?

Any help, suggestions, or ideas would be much appreciated. I'm new at this obviously, but anxious to learn!

Thanks in advance!!!

Anna,

Having installed small quantites (3 jobs) of ceramic and glueless laminate (2 bedrooms and hall) I can only say that I think from a durability perspective the ceramic tile will hold up much better, especially on a concrete subfloor.

In my opinion the downside of ceramic is that it takes about 3 days to do the tile project since you will have to prep the floor / lay the tile / grout / seal / finish out the trim. Those are just the big steps. You can usually find tile for pretty cheap and renting a wet saw for the cuts isn't too expensive most places.

Laminate is my latest project and I will say that it isn't complex work, but it is hard work and you have pretty much the same steps prep the floor-baseboard removal / lay the vapor barrier (not ceramic) / lay the pad / lay the planks / finish out the trim.

Finally, vinyl tiles might be a nice cheap option for you to go with before you decide on something a little more expensive. They go down pretty easy and a utility knife can make any special cuts you need.

As far as pulling up the old flooring, the old vinyl may come up tough depending upon the amount of glue they used as far as the carpet is concerned you should be able to pull it up (depending upon if it is glued or not) and pop the carpet tack strips out with a hammer and pry bar.

Good luck.

buy a good quality lam and install it yourself for 400 bucks tops!