Some laminate flooring questions

[TwoHands]

I've been getting different info from different professionals so I wanted to check in here and talk to people with first hand experience with laminate flooring.

I'm going to redo my entire house, about 1600 sf, leaving out the bathrooms. The current flooring is 25 year old contractor installed ceramic tile, except for two rooms which have carpeting that will be taken up.

I live in South Florida, which means the air conditioning is on 12 days a week, 28 hours a day. I'm aware of letting new laminate planks acclimate and that won't be a problem.

I'm single with small pets so not a lot of traffic thru the house.

The questions...

I've been told both that brand names are important and that they don't matter. The laminate I'm looking at is a brand name called Duravel {I'm not allowed to post a link but it will come up on a Google search} that doesn't seem to have a large national presence but is sold by a local flooring chain. The limited warranty is 25 years.

My biggest question has to do with thickness. At various times I've been told to stick with flooring that's 10mm or thicker. Other people have told me 8mm is fine and one even said 7mm is OK altho everyone else I've spoken with says avoid 7mm. The Duravel tile is 8.3mm.

Can anyone help get me started in the right direction? Thanks.

[buycountertop]

Re: Some laminate flooring questions

Duravel I haven't use this but one of my friends have this and he is very much satisfied with this...

[BucknDaOdds]

One brand is as good as another pretty much. The thickness of the wear coat is more important if you have a lot of traffic. From the sounds of your life style, I would say the 7 mil would be fine. But you have to take into consideration the cost difference. Material costs can fluxuate, labor remains the same. So on any project, you should consider the better materials if you are talking penny's. Your biggest concern should be moisture. All of the laminate floors are built upon a base of fiber board. It gets damp, it will swell and buckle. If you install it in your kitchen, you should use the recommended sealer (joint caulk) in front of the sink area. I would never install a laminate floor in a bathroom, although I have seen it done. It was also coming up and looked like hell. Be sure to mix the materials, you can get some box's that are a different shade (look for dye lot or run numbers on the box's and make sure they are the same) and once installed you can see a "patch" in the middle of the room. Also, pay attention when you are installing it. You can get a bad piece, and you don't want to notice it after you have laid another 10 feet of it.

Other than that, be sure to leave a minimum of 3/8" gap at all walls and door jambs (casings) so the floor can breath. It will expand and contract, and if tight to a wall, buckle. Finish it off with new base or at least shoe moldings and you will need to have some matching caulk for around the door jambs and casings. I prefer the brand "Polyseamseal" as it is water soluble until it dries, so you can put in on and wipe off the excess with a damp sponge to make it look good.

I hope this helpful, and good luck !!

Buck

[buycountertop]

Re:

Thanks BucknDaOdds for sharing your views....

One brand is as good as another pretty much. The thickness of the wear coat is more important if you have a lot of traffic. From the sounds of your life style, I would say the 7 mil would be fine. But you have to take into consideration the cost difference. Material costs can fluxuate, labor remains the same. So on any project, you should consider the better materials if you are talking penny's. Your biggest concern should be moisture. All of the laminate floors are built upon a base of fiber board. It gets damp, it will swell and buckle. If you install it in your kitchen, you should use the recommended sealer (joint caulk) in front of the sink area. I would never install a laminate floor in a bathroom, although I have seen it done. It was also coming up and looked like hell. Be sure to mix the materials, you can get some box's that are a different shade (look for dye lot or run numbers on the box's and make sure they are the same) and once installed you can see a "patch" in the middle of the room. Also, pay attention when you are installing it. You can get a bad piece, and you don't want to notice it after you have laid another 10 feet of it.

Other than that, be sure to leave a minimum of 3/8" gap at all walls and door jambs (casings) so the floor can breath. It will expand and contract, and if tight to a wall, buckle. Finish it off with new base or at least shoe moldings and you will need to have some matching caulk for around the door jambs and casings. I prefer the brand "Polyseamseal" as it is water soluble until it dries, so you can put in on and wipe off the excess with a damp sponge to make it look good.

I hope this helpful, and good luck !!

Buck