[frank b]

Will laminate flooring increase or decrease the value of a home? My wife wants me to install it in our home, but it looks so cheap. I want tile. Any thoughts?

[RickJ]

In my opinion the higher end laminates are better than tile for many reasons. I strongly suggest you call the real estate broker who has the most signs in yards in your neighborhood and ask him or her. I'll gamble that he/she will agree.

[WeAreLost]

I just spent 6 months getting wood laminate flooring installed in my apartment. I had HD installation and had nothing but problems, the installers are not HD and they were inexperienced and now I'm getting a full refund for their incompetence. Anyway, back to your question, in my opinion if you look around you can get real hard wood flooring for the same price as a national brand name of laminate flooring. Because there are hundreds or thousands of different quality wood and laminate flooring to me it was confusing and if I had to do it over I'd be confident in choosing a quality all wood floor installed. Futhermore; I think whoever buys this condo will not want laminate flooring. The condos go for 300 to 400 thousand and to me its cheap looking now because for the same $% get real wood. If you already checked out prices you can see what I'm saying. Make sure if you use a contractor for installation check him out. My installation would have satisfied maybe someone else in a condo or home in a lower priced area.

[Squiffy]

I have got laminate and I am not a fan of it. To be honest I don't think it would devalue your house, or add value, as it is as easy to replace as carpet. Mine was very badly fitted, and just isn't very nice. I would definitely go for real wood flooring. I have tiles in parts of the house too, and though they are great, they again are not without their problems. My upstairs bathroom has ceramic tiles and they have cracked because of the uneven floor they were laid on! The downstairs ones have discoloured over time.

[Nosnosna]

It shouldn't change the value noticeably unless it's poorly done. I would base the decision on the area it's being put into.

For a kitchen or bathroom, I would go with tile. Easy to clean, handles water well, and won't stain.

For a small area, such as a hall or entryway, I'd go with laminate. The higher quality ones can look fine, and in those smaller areas any flaws are going to be less noticeable.

Larger areas, I would go with hardwood. Use it for everything but the kitchen and bathrooms, as you'll still want tile for those.

[beingteri]

I agree with both RickJ and Nosnosna. I've installed the cheapy laminates as well as the higher end versions. I've also laid tile. Tile is much more time consuming. We laid tile in the kitchen, and waited for the mastic to dry... then the weekend was over and we were back at work... the grout never got laid and we ended up tearing it back out a year later (Fairly easy with no grout) I was much more invested in getting the rooms painted and carpeted before my unexpected baby was born. Not a lot gets done with a new baby in the house. But the 2nd unexpected one had me insisting that our kitchen get done (we actually only had a cupboard holding the sink, frig, stove and a table for the micro. I wasn't permitted to do any construction while pregnant, boo hoo. So we laid laminate in the kitchen... way bad idea... and had all the cabinets delivered on the front porch. I assembled the cupboards while the baby napped, and hubby was at work... 8 1/2 months pregnant... but the baby would not be born until I had a kitchen.

Lam floors are bad in a kitchen why? Because after all cabinets were installed, hubby was connecting the ice maker and dishwasher... turns on the H2O and can't figure out why he hears water but it's not coming out the frig door... DUH. He had already flooded all over the new lam floors. If I wasn't so pregnant and needed a ride to the hospital, I would have killed him!

Luckily the damage is under the cabinets. But they will be replaced with tile later this year, because my hubby can rinse dishes without getting the entire counter and floor soaked! BTW, butcher block counter tops look nice in the display... not so much in reality... same problem as the lam floors!

If you get a quality lam floor, like the 1/4 inch thick types and maybe even an exotic type like bamboo... it will look very nice. If you do it yourself, as you lay each piece, wipe it with your hands as you go feeling for consistency in the connection where they meet. As well, you will chip a corner or two. Take it out. Correct it as you go, so you don't kick yourself later. Use a jigsaw around the door jams. Skill saws and chop saws don't leave a pretty cut, jigs can cut the exact shape of the jam.

In areas you put tile... entryway, kitchen and baths, mudroom... Take on this project over a four day holiday. Check the levelness of the floor before you want to begin and make any corrections well before you "plan" on beginning the tile laying. Don't lay tile square across a room, choose a diamond or other pattern... more pleasing to the eye, and more forgiving with flaws. I'd use a smaller grout line. We did 1/4 inch on or first project... the bathroom and it's squared... hate it. We did the same size bathroom at my mom's house, with a diamond pattern, and 1/8 grout line... looks much cleaner and professional.

If you have a larger room, I think it looks better in lami floor... and is much faster to install. Plus, if you have several spots the floor is not completely level... lami is much more forgiving than tile. Tile will crack. Lami won't... and you can put a rug on it.

[glavine]

Like Anything Else You Have Different Grades, It Want Add Money To The Sale Of Your House, But It Will Appeal To Buyers That Don't Preffer Carpent,
If You Buy The Laminate Stay With Something Around $2 An Up A . The Cheaper Stuff Doesn't Hold Together As Well Nor Does It Install As Easy,