Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - What's the catch with cheap laminate flooring?

The local closeout warehouse here (they specialize in "contractor specials") is occassionally stocking laminate flooring CHEAP. Like 1/4th the cost of Pergo, and literally half as cheap as anything else I've yet seen. It's unbranded, but appears to by HDF based and look pretty darned good for the price; the only difference I can see between it and the other HDF-based laminates is that it's thinner; probably 6mm vice 8mm. What would the drawbacks be with a thinner laminate plank? We would be putting this in our kitchen; with the price savings going with the inexpensive stuff, we'd probably redo the entire hall and living room too though!

Well you get what you pay for. That old adage goes a long way. But in truth laminate flooring is not made by just anybody. It does take some know how to build the stuff. Forums like this are great for getting the info on other people's experience. There are some brands out of xxxxxxxxxx I heard to stay away from. I suggest finding the manufactures name on the package and go to their website. There will usually be a overview of the product. It should also have wear ratings as well. If not you can always try to ask. A friend of mine owns a facility selling discontinued, special buys, and close outs. This is where I bought my flooring. Many times the only thing wrong with the product is the manufacture decided to change the packaging or rename the product for marketing reasons. I was able to buy almost 1500sq' and she was able to buy more if I needed. This was the most cost effective way to go. I have not experience any problems with the product, other than what you would normally expect. 75% of the floor is done and I found 4 pieces that had slight marks on them. I was unable to wipe them off and they were all in the same spot. As if the processing made them. I set them aside and kept on flooring. The flooring looks great, and (in my opinion) more realistic than the name brand xxxxxxx. Well good luck.

POST EDITED: Derogative remarks, comments, claims and or statements, etc. in reference to and or about specifically named products, parts and or services rendered by specifically named countries, manufacturers, companies, dealers, agents, service personal and or representatives will not be tolerated nor allowed.

Just thought I would clarify. I did not make any derogative remarks about anyone's product. I gave my opinion on what I thought looked more realistic. I prefaced by saying my opinion. Other's opinion may be different. As far as a reference to any "country" I unfortunately was repeating comments I read from a previous moderator or member in the forum. No first hand knowledge. The flooring I bought was from "another" country (not named) and I was pleased with the results. But please do your homework. You are the one stuck with the product. Sorry if anyone thought I was putting down any product/country. Please know that was not my intention.

Thanks, Bob. You've got me curious now, I'll have to ask exactly *which* underdeveloped country these are made in. Who knows- they might be high-% endangered exotic hardwood, just because that's what they clearcut from the pristine jungle near the factory! Then I could advertise "exotic hardwood floors" when we sell the house :p

The outward appearance of the generic (?) laminate we're looking at is just as good as the name brands I see at Lowes and Home Depot, and construction appears similar- HDF with locking channels, just a little bit thinner; 1/4" as opposed to 3/8". What problems would the thinner planks have- would they feel "fake" to walk on because of extra flex, or is it a durability thing? Anyone have experience with 1/4" laminate? It's really hard to pass up an 88-cent/sqf laminate ;)

I bought the bottom of the line brand-name laminate. Looked great; 15-year warranty; AC3 rating. Big mistake. I swear it scratches just by sweeping it with a broom. I had Claims out to look at it over 2 months ago and I have heard nothing. As the others have said, you certainly get what you pay for.

Maybe we'll buy a box and use it as a doormat for a while? Will give a good idea of how it's going to hold up, and would be nice to have a larger sample to compare with the cabinets and counter anyhow.

The kitchen is one of the most high traveled rooms in your house. You do not want to skimp on the flooring. I used Pergo Preferred in the kitchen of my other house. My dogs would run through the room and drop heavy bones on the floor and they never left a scratch.

How are you comparing HDF laminates( only 3 manufactures make it that I know of ) to cheap MDF core???

It might look the same, but it isn't the same!!!!!

before we committed to our laminate, we did just what you mentioned: bought one box and snapped it together and made a big "mat" out of it & left it on our kitchen floor for a while. it was a great way to really see if that was the right color and to get a better idea of how it would look. you can't really tell much from a 2x6" sample.

definitely buy a box first! :thumbup:

I'd bought a box right before reading your post, Annette! The box is labeled too- this is "Fast-loc" brand, and upon closer inspection, NOT HDF, Perry. In fact, I have no idea how I could possibly have mistaken this fiberboard for HDF and am mildly embarressed I could possibly have thought so... Anyone have any experiences with Fast-Loc?

Oh well, if I don't like it, I can always use it under my computer desk to replace my destroyed rolly mat, right?

I must say, we're very happy with the way this Fast-Loc sample looks and walks :) We've dropped hammers on it, and it dents just about the same as Pergo, and about what we'd expect from solid wood, so no problem there. Cleans well, too, and doesn't sound completely unlike wood to walk on. What I was mostly worried about was water damage, since this will be in a kitchen, and, well, I don't trust particle boards around water. But the tolerences seem high gaps are very tight, and after about a day's worth of trying to keep the tongue wet to see expansion and getting no results, I finally just did an immesion test- dunked a corner of a sample underwater for 12 hours and I was pleasantly surprised with the results! No delamination, no sponging to 10x the size, just a slight almost linear swelling that would still have maintained a decent floor had this been real- yeah, we'd start getting ripples between the boards in front of our sink, but this should hopefully be simulating about 10 years worth of life.

Anyhow, here's a photo of the results. It's 7mm thick, and swelled about 1mm at the max.
http://img165.echo.cx/my.php?image=fastlot12hrsubmersioncropped9u.jpg

If it's "CHEAP. Like 1/4th the cost of Pergo, and literally half as cheap as anything else", and you don't mind replacing it someday, then it's perfectly viable as *disposable* flooring. How many of us have slate roof tiles?

If it's "CHEAP. Like 1/4th the cost of Pergo, and literally half as cheap as anything else", and you don't mind replacing it someday, then it's perfectly viable as *disposable* flooring. How many of us have slate roof tiles?True, dat! Nice way of looking at it :) And replacement doesn't get much easier than floating laminates :D

Its possible that the same mfg that makes X also makes Y product. Take a knife, a penny and anything else you can think of and try scratching and denting it. Drop things on it. This is the best way I can think to test it out before hand. Also laminates are not warranted for chipping -- atleast the main brand companies I have contacted. They are warranted if they delaminate generally or wear through.

Its possible that the same mfg that makes X also makes Y product. Take a knife, a penny and anything else you can think of and try scratching and denting it. Drop things on it. This is the best way I can think to test it out before hand. Also laminates are not warranted for chipping -- atleast the main brand companies I have contacted. They are warranted if they delaminate generally or wear through.It's been 2 weeks and is holding up better than I expected! The hammer dimples have popped out and all but disappeared, and the floor hasn't been noticibly scratched up at all in 2 weeks of high-traffic. The sample that I'd soaked in water has contracted as it dried and is now not noticible thicker than the other pieces. There are some very fine scratches on the surface that are only visible up-close with bright light from a certain angle, and it does scratch when I use a hard metal blade on it, but really, I don't think a hardwood floor would be faring any better, and it's way easier to replace a laminate than to refinish a hardwood floor. And at this price, cheaper as well ;)

And, importantly, Roomba has no problem cleaning it! Not that I expected otherwise, but at this point, I'll never again buy a flooring that can't be easily cleaned by a cheap robot vacuum cleaner :D

As to the noise: with sneakers (as my wife and I wear), it sounds exactly like wood. In bare feet and with hard-soled shoes, it does sound a little off, but not enough to change our minds at all.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

keep in mind that sometimes you can just find good prices on certain laminates. i've seen quickstep basic laminate (i think it's only 6mm) for ~1.75 a sq/ft when the local flooring store had it for $4. So check your discount furniture/flooring store. just because it's cheap does not necc. mean it's bad but you do have to do your homework...