Anybody here do laminate flooring?

[mako my day]

I want to have my downstairs all done up with nice laminate flooring. Probably 2100 sq feet or so.
Let me know.

 

[karstic]

Do it yourself. It's not that difficult. I did ~600 sq.ft at my house and ~500 sq ft at my MIL.

 

[Better_than_Tom]

Mako,

If you wanna do it yourself Ill help you....Ive done it before its not hard just kinda tedious.

 

[saki669]

FYI it took me the better part of 2 days to do 650sf. Lots of weird angle cuts at edges.
Pony up for the extra quiet padding and some kneepads.

Good luck.

 

[karstic]

What is there now? You may need to consider new base boards also.

 

[Boss Cherokee]

Floating or glue down?? Won't need base boards unless your upgrading to taller base boards but you will need 1/4 round trim for the base boards which you can get in a paintable state, natural or pre finished. Done over 5000 square feet over the last couple of years for myself and friends. Both Laminate and hardwood. I have 3000' of family room, rec room, kitchen, foyer, living room, and some hall way to the bedrooms to do for my own house. Just waiting for the right deal! Your 2100 sq ft will take a couple days provided there's not a lot of small niches and rooms = mucho cuts. I have 2 compound saws which 1 i'm willing to lend out just replace the blade!

 

[88trailcrawler]

Before you put laminate down, I strongly suggest you visit a GOOD flooring supply/showroom and consider your options. The home centers sell some really cheap stuff and tend to market it up a level or so.

Cheap laminate looks nice and clean when new, but looks cheap pretty fast. It's basically a photograph of wood grain in plastic. It can wear and chip. We tore out ALOT of fairly new laminate floors back in the day.

There are some reasonable real wood choices out there that have a more natural look and some say just gain character as they wear. There are also some good tile and stone options.

There are some good applications for laminate, and yours might be one, just check your options.

 

[mako my day]

Thanks for all the suggestions and offers to help!!!!!
This covered by insurance. I get to drink beer and watch the laborers do their thing.

175 sq feet water damaged. 2100 being replaced.

 

[saki669]

Thanks for all the suggestions and offers to help!!!!!
This covered by insurance. I get to drink beer and watch the laborers do their thing.

175 sq feet water damaged. 2100 being replaced.

Just an FYI.. if you report and get a claim paid for water damage your house is going to get tagged in the insurance companies (all of them) databases as a prior water claim. They may indeed pay the claim and then drop your coverage soon after. They are spooked by the possibility of a mold claim later on. Sometimes its cheaper in the long run to pay for small repairs yourself. Happened to a family member.

Good luck.

 

[mako my day]

We must have good coverage then. 3 major water leaks in 9 years . 41k already paid out to fix them and the damage.
Premiums have not gone up.
This recent repair is around19k.

 

[jeeperjohn]

Jump This is a flooring guy, check with him.

 

[Vanimal]

Before you put laminate down, I strongly suggest you visit a GOOD flooring supply/showroom and consider your options. The home centers sell some really cheap stuff and tend to market it up a level or so.

Cheap laminate looks nice and clean when new, but looks cheap pretty fast. It's basically a photograph of wood grain in plastic. It can wear and chip. We tore out ALOT of fairly new laminate floors back in the day.

There are some reasonable real wood choices out there that have a more natural look and some say just gain character as they wear. There are also some good tile and stone options.

There are some good applications for laminate, and yours might be one, just check your options.

x2, i went with a wood floor and it gets the crap beat out of it by my dogs (think Family Guy when Peter fights the chicken, they do that all day). i think the wear adds character. It's about 5 years old now, cost $2.99/ft and i installed it in a day. get good padding and KNEE PADS if you do it yourself.