*
I am pricing the installation of a prefinished laminate flooring product from WilsonArt (similar to Pergo), for a daycare location.
Has anyone had good and/or bad experiences with this type of product?
The warranty is impressive on first glance, but if anything should damage the surface, what happens then?
Jim L.
Toronto
Replies
*
Jim
There are many opinions out there for you to study. Search recent and past topics. I guarantee one thing. Those kids will certainly put it to the test. Let us know the results of whatever you choose.
If it hasn't been done yet, some one should offer a universal router bit that cuts the groove absolutely perfect for the tongue of the replacement pc. I've not had to repair lam fl. yet but I'm sure there will be a market for repair as the market gets saturated. Unlike wood,it's repair seems more difficult without special set up etc. And of course, should it need it, there is no refinishing for the lam. It's more like carpet. Wear it out and then yank it up in ? years.
Lam floors have their niche in the market. Some love em and some hate em. Best of luck.
*Jim,Check out the discussion forum at http://www.floorsearch.com. Lots of owner and installer feedback on various laminate, vinyl, hardwood and engineered floors.Don't get too excited about finding any 'slam-dunk' advice. Everyone has an opinion and installation done right or wrong can mean the difference between satisfaction and frustration.Good luck with what ever you choose.EB
*
I have installed many laminate floors and find them to be amazingly durable. I used some leftover pieces from a job and used them for an entrance area in my work shop. After months of mud,gravel,and general abuse they still clean up and look good with just a damp mop. The only negative I have found is that they are slick as glass if you have snow on your boots.
*
Ohio state University instlled commercial grade Pergo in the hospitals over a year ago & it is doing an impressive job of holding up. I've installed some & am planning to install anothe 568 ft in about 2 weeks. I have seen it seperate & mkae noises (so far not any that I have done). My personal feeling is it looks that much more like a real wood floor.
I know some one who is now the area repair contractor for wilsonart & is making very good m=oney on the repairs. We are finding that installation in the central Ohio area is STARTING at $4.00 a ft $ can easily go to $8.00 Ft.
As for the bit, The different manufacturers have made slight differences in the T&G assemblies so a universal bit is unlikely. I do suspect that some one like Grizzly will start offering the repair bits as the need grows.
*Rob:You mention $4.00 and easily going to $8.00 SF! WOW, I should move. And I'll bet the one you know will be making BIG BUCKS down the road doing laminate repairs. They aren't easy and require alot of patience and the proper tools. Hey I'd buy one of those universal router bits, but you can probably have your own made and just re-adjust spacers or thin cutting heads?I'd give it a thumbs up in a day care. I've done a few in beauty/hair salons over the past two years and the owner is amaized at the performance.
*A quick update on the pricing. Lowe's is charging $3.75 a ft but apparently can't find any one to do it for them. Lets see could it be because they don't pay the installers much or they just don't pay them?On that note, if you recive remodeling magazine, read the blurb in the top 100 about the big boxes. Walt Stoppelworth says the big retilers that offer tinstalled sales do alot of busiiness but don't do it well. No sh t.
*I just want to bring this up: What happens when the floor, or the whole house for that matter, wears out? The floor gets torn up, the house gets dismantled, and our heirs get to try to salvage the material we used. At least solid flooring can be burned or composted. Laminate flooring is full of glues and formeldehyde. Its not reuseable. we ought to think about the finishes we use for the same reasons. Remember, as builders, we are setting a precedent that far outlasts ourselves.
*
I have to agree with Thomas, we have to start looking past the end of a job, the time I am going to live in that house, and even our own lifetimes. Flooring is just one of may opportunities to make these decisions.
On laminate floors, Pergo makes a commercial line called Pergo Publiq. Of course it''l be more (I think it installs for $8 to $9 a sq.ft. in Cleveland) but it is very durable, used in malls and restaurants. But guess what, despite their claim, a mfr's rep. told me he still wouldn't use it where there's any chance of saturation. A glass spilled in a dining room is fine, but in a kitchen? andrew's caulking solution makes sense, but I have to agree with reinhard, if there's any chance for water to get in, it'll find it.
On 3/8" floors, a good efficient use of a natural product, Hartco makes 3/8" floors that have an acrylic inpregnated finsh, also quite durable and color through. And if it straches, (and all things will) at least its real wood! Get out the sand paper & steel wool and under that wood finsh you'll find what? more wood, plus the color's still there.
But if your considering 3/4" wood flooring, check out Marilyn's question on refinishing softwood floors. The responses were unanimus. If a softwood floor still has value after 100 years bet what a good hardwood floor will do for the value of your house both in appeal and $. ( by the way my yellow pine kitchen floor is 85 yrs. old, needs refininshing bad. But with some work and a good finsh I'll bet it'll be around another 85, wiil Pergo?)
Natural floors require maintainance, yes. (A wax finsh will show scratches less but dirty faster and reqire more, but simple maintainence. A polyurethane floor will be more durable but scratch repair is a little more difficult). But as everyone in my older neighborhood is discovering after tearing out their old carpeted, vinyl and linoleum floors, with a little work their original wood floors will last several more decades. If your not concerened about that far in the future, I can get you some vinyl siding!?
*
I am pricing the installation of a prefinished laminate flooring product from WilsonArt (similar to Pergo), for a daycare location.
Has anyone had good and/or bad experiences with this type of product?
The warranty is impressive on first glance, but if anything should damage the surface, what happens then?
Jim L.
Toronto