Laminate In The Living Room?

[kelsey's kids]

Since dcg put a hole in my catpet it just keeps fraying and getting worse it started about the size of a half dollar and now it is fraying in about a 2 foot radius from the original floor we are putting some laminate through the kitchen and laundry room next weekend and am wondering if I should also just put it in the living room. What are the pros and cons? It is not a huge area 20 ft by 11ft. Is it going to be really loud? Will it make my house look better or worse?

[llpa]

Loooove

My laminate is amazing!! We took out our carpet and installed it in the entire first floor! It's been in for a year, held up to lots of traffic, grandkids, dogs and adult kids! It isn't as loud as I thought it would be but I do have an area rug in the living room and one under the dining table. I think it improved our house a thousand percent. So easy to take care of. We used Pergo because we love the thickness and quality. Looks like hardwood w none if the upkeep! happyface

[jenboo]

Laminate is great! I had it in an old house. The only cons that I can think of is that its slippery if it gets wet and even with gripper things, our couch would move from people sitting on it (it wasnt against a wall).

Also, you can get an area rug to help with noise but I never noticed a difference.

[craftymissbeth]

We have laminate floors in our dining room. I hate them, but the previous owners put them in and used cheap materials. They apparently used cleaning products that have left a haze on the floors and the look terrible. There are also several sections where they have warped from spills not getting cleaned up properly.

I say if you use good quality materials and take care of them properly they'll be great. I've seen some that are gorgeous and last a long time.

It stinks I've had such a bad experience with them because it has made choosing new flooring so difficult.

[Blackcat31]

We have laminate floors in our dining room. I hate them, but the previous owners put them in and used cheap materials. They apparently used cleaning products that have left a haze on the floors and the look terrible. There are also several sections where they have warped from spills not getting cleaned up properly.

I say if you use good quality materials and take care of them properly they'll be great. I've seen some that are gorgeous and last a long time.

It stinks I've had such a bad experience with them because it has made choosing new flooring so difficult.

When we built our house 6 years ago, we put laminate flooring in. We bought the high end stuff and I HATE it!

We are currently in the process of switching out a lot of our flooring to either real wood flooring or making the move to tile that resembles wood.

I don't have daycare in my home and don't have a ton of traffic on ours so I know it isn't that but I am just really disappointed in the appearance, sound and quality it. Each of our rooms ahs a different style flooring and none have lived up to my expectations.

I have friends/family that have laminate and love it but that's my experience anyways.

[LadyPearl]

We initially planned to install laminate in our living room but after installing it in a different area, we changed our minds. It doesn't hold up well. The area that it is in is barely used and there are marks on it. Real hardwood is a better investment. Laminate can't be sanded down and refinished either.