Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Which Laminate is best?

Help. I have a three year old son, a one month old daughter, a cat, and an extremely hyperactive dog. I am looking to install laminate flooring in the den and living room of my home. Both of which could be considered high traffic areas. Which laminate floor offers the best combination of durability, comfort, and apperance? I am expecting to pay about $3/sf and do the install myself. Should I order off the internet? Any help would be appreciated but is there anybody out there who has had a floor for greater than 5 years and can comment on laminate's durability. Any help you guys / gals can offer is greatly appreciated.

For a very active household with kids and pets running all over the place, you are probably better off with a plastic laminate floor. I don't know how good of a product you will find these days at $3.00/SF. Visit all local laminate dealers in your area and take notes. The usual recommendation is to go with a major manufacturer (well-known brand) because they offer good, better, best levels of quality, warranty, and price.

Do your research and learn what's available before you make any decisions. Remember, this is an investment & you want it to hold up. Also, if you plan to DIY the installation, read the installation instructions before making the purchase. Each manufacturer has different instructions. Too, make sure you understand the subfloor prep requirements. You need a very flat subfloor. You need to allow the product to set in the house a few days in the rooms where it is to be installed so it can adjust to temp & humidity. Expansion gap around perimeter of room is important. Transition pieces to rooms with different types of floor covering are important. Make note that moisture is a big issue with laminates. Laminates are a picture of real wood on a piece of paper with a protective wear layer. This is adhered to a substrate material that could be anything from paper to plastic. Moisture is a major enemy of laminate flooring. Mannington makes a laminate adhered to a solid plastic core. Most DIYers go with a floating floor where pieces are interlocked and the product is installed over a cushion underlayment or product has underlayment attached. If installing over concrete you will need to install plastic vapor retarder.

This is a big step for a DIYer and the budget. Do your research and shop wisely. Buy the best that your budget will allow. Take into account the potential for moisture issues, pet messes and kool aid spills you don't discover until two days later. Read all the fine print on warranties before making a purchase.

For high traffic areas, look for laminate with a AC rating of #3. The rating means it is very well suitable for high traffic residential settings. Anything higher then AC3 is overkill.

Pergo, Witex, and Stepco are good products but there are many more, like DuPont, etc.

People have had good experiences ordering laminate over the internet. Purchase it from a reputable company and you shouldn't have any problems.

Good luck!

Hi. We put Quick Step Select Cherry in our first house and loved it. We had 4 dogs and 3 kids (all very active boys). Even with balls, hockey sticks, matchbox cars, bats, etc... the floor held up beautifully. After 5 1/2 years, it was still going strong when we moved. It was in our family room and the boys playroom, so it had to be a durable floor. We price shopped online and found a local store that would match the price, so we got a great deal on it. Since then, a bunch of our family and friends have installed Quick Step as well and all love it. It's so easy to install and holds up beautifully. The only reason we're not doing it in our new house is because we can't find a color that goes with the house. Good luck!

I have heard good things about wilsonart flooring. Any thoughts? Also, I will be installing over a pier and beam foundation. Any considerations?