Speaking of which, Mike and I spent this afternoon shopping discount building supply stores and appliance outlets for the stuff we need to get our new house up to specs before we move in. We found some pretty good deals.
There is just a naked concrete slab in our living/dining area just as you walk in the front door, so flooring is a must. Because it is a (not formal, but everyday) dining/living combo, carpet is out. Tile is just not at all what I am looking for, and laminate is too easy for 8 kids to warp and destroy--oh, and Mike wants a dog. So hardwood it is. The ones we looked at are nothing like the hardwoods in my 1920's house. They make the wood so thin now, and half the time it's layered with plywood. The cheapest we found was $1.50/sq. ft. I didn't really like it. We fell in love with the Brazillian Koa at Lumber Liquidators, which is about $3.20/sq.ft.
It's purdy!
7 comments:
NO NO NO!! laminate like Pergo is sturdy like you would not believe and I can't stand my wood floors because they look terrible. Too much expensive maintenance. The floor in our family room has had a big dog and oodles of tracked in sand and dirt (Lee Joe brings home more than the kids) and it still looks great after several years. The trim pieces that are wood look worse than the laminate. We bought cheap stuff and has not warped or done anything funny like that. Of course we have minimal humidity. I only recommend padding(Higher end) on the laminate itself due to the loudness and clacking noises Very loud when stuff falls on it but I LOVE LOVE LOVE our laminate and how easy it is to clean (I use vinegar and water and a rag on a swiffer) and how it looks, how durable it is and how it installs. I want to do my whole main floor in it.
Like you needed to hear that much of my opinion on it. But if you still go with hardwood that picture you posted is pretty.
My dad has hardwood floors that were really new in his house and his big labs gouged it really bad by their doors. My dog is almost a horse (half great dane)and not gouge in sight.
We have laminate now. There was a laundry leak when we first moved in, and we got some slight raising at the joints where it was the worst. Not tragic, but not ideal. Then, just before I left the inside a/c unit started leaking. The hallway is riddled with warps and bubbles.
The one thing we liked most about the Koa was that it was solid wood throughout and the color you see goes all the way through. Scratches and gouges would not show like in a stained floor.
My parents had hardwood in the entry hall in Dayton, and they hated it; dull and scratched, and they ended up just covering it up with rugs, so what was the point?
We are going to go with Bamboo, and I think I can handle the scratches and dings the 3 kids and 3 dogs cause way better than the light tan carpet we have throughout now that shows every hair, spil, drip, stain, mark, etc. etc. We bought our house from an old couple with no kids or dogs, and you can tell them vs. us. It's gross. I can't wait until we can put in the bamboo and be done with it, but we have to finish with the walls and wiring first...oh, and we want pictures!
Yes pictures!
I would love bamboo myself. It is the color I am wanting as well.
The key if you went with laminate is to buy some extra and when you have a leak it is super easy to just replace the stuff that is wet because you don't have to glue it anymore and it is not nailed down like wood would have to be. A lot of the little higher end laminate comes with a 20 or 30 year warranty.
All of the flooring people I've talked to say that Bamboo is the worst for showing wear. It's not a hardwood (unlike Koa, Maple, Oak, ect.) so it will scratch and gouge easier.
That's one of the reasons we are almost willing to pay the extra for the solid Koa.
Screw it. Just get Tile.
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