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Laminate or hardwood

So I want to get rid of our nasty carpet in the living room and the vinyl floors in the kitchen. Obviously laminate would be less expensive than hardwood but we probably will be selling soon so I'm not sure if I should pay a bunch for hardwood. On the other hand, lumber liquidators have some great sales. Which one would you pick? I also have a dog and cat so I'm worried about scratches.
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Re: Laminate or hardwood

  • Our real estate agent said to do hardwood or carpet. Buyers don't like laminate. We're selling next summer and we're also looking at flooring. I don't know why people hate laminate. I think it looks nice and resists scratching better than hardwood.

    I think if you can afford it and find a better deal, do hardwood. It will make your house more sellable. Is sellable a word?
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  • MaebbMaebb member
    I guess I'm one of the people who prefers hardwood. Laminate just seems cheap and fake to me. We just bought a house, and I know floors and finishes are easy to change, but I kind of turned my nose up at anything that wasn't real hardwood. I also prefer site finished to pre finished, but it's harder to do because you have to leave the house for a week.
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  • We have wood laminate and I love it. We also just bought the house six months ago, and it is our second house that we intend to stay in for many many years, so obviously not all buyers turn their nose up at it, starter home or not.

    Hardwood seems so much harder to install and so much more expensive, so if I were you and not planning on staying long, I'd do laminate. 




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  • we bought our starter home 7 years ago and decided on wood laminate due to cost, durability and the fact that we werent staying forever. we have a crazy 54 lb dog that tears through the house and the floor is still in perfect condition. we just sold our house and there was no negative feedback from anyone on the flooring. laminate has come along way and i have converted to prefering it if you have kids and/or pets.
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  • Is pergo flooring the same as laminate?
  • This is our pergo floor and I think it's pretty decent and a lot of people opt for this rather than hardwood.

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  • smerkasmerka member

    We put in laminate a couple of years ago.  It is taking a beating with a cat and two boys.  We used to also have a dog.  There are a number of nicks in the floor now, but if we had wood, they'd be there along with scratches from the pets.

    the house we almost bought had beautiful Brazilian Cherry floors.  They would have been completely ruined at this point.  If your target market is a family with young kids, go laminate.  If your target is a more discerning family maybe with older kids, go hardwood.

  • Put in whatever is the norm for your neighborhood, take a look at other listings. Going with something that is more of an upgrade won't give you as much of a return. We did a better laminate in our previous house, it was hard to tell it from hardwood except it is near impossible to scratch. We have hardwood now, but a finish that doesn't show scratches so it still looks nice. 

  • We chose laminate because of our dog and toddler.  Our 100lb lab  runs circles around our house sometimes.  THere's no way I would pay the extra money for the hardwood just so my animals can tear it up.  Plus having a toddler bash his toys into the floor doesn't help!
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  • imageGhostMonkey:

    imageMrsCodeMonkey:
    Our real estate agent said to do hardwood or carpet. Buyers don't like laminate. We're selling next summer and we're also looking at flooring. I don't know why people hate laminate. I think it looks nice and resists scratching better than hardwood.

    I think if you can afford it and find a better deal, do hardwood. It will make your house more sellable. Is sellable a word?

    Not to someone with children or pets. I would never do hardwood with either of those in my home.


    Me neither, not again. We currently have hardwood on the main floor. Next time it's tile or laminate all the way.
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  • MsLsMsLs member
    imagejorkz821:
    imageGhostMonkey:

    imageMrsCodeMonkey:
    Our real estate agent said to do hardwood or carpet. Buyers don't like laminate. We're selling next summer and we're also looking at flooring. I don't know why people hate laminate. I think it looks nice and resists scratching better than hardwood. I think if you can afford it and find a better deal, do hardwood. It will make your house more sellable. Is sellable a word?

    Not to someone with children or pets. I would never do hardwood with either of those in my home.


    Me neither, not again. We currently have hardwood on the main floor. Next time it's tile or laminate all the way.

     

    This! We have real hardwood and I cannot tell you how many scratches and dents and gashes are in from our two dogs and just life. It looks horrible now.  

  • My parents have laminate in their kitchen. High traffic area and 2 large dogs and it looks amazing still. They put it in 5 years ago. They have been there for 30 years and aren't moving, though. Laminate is more cost effective and you could use the extra money on your new place. The laminate will still stage the house nicely when you start doing open houses. 



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  • I used to have laminate and hated it. So, hardwood.
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  • Hardwood is beautiful, but as PP have said its not very practical. My mom has it throughout her entire house. It is horribly scarred and beat up from our dogs. Hardwood also needs to be refinished periodically...which is an added cost. Most people who "prefer" hardwood have never lived with it. I admit I have always coveted it in an old house. However, laminate is a lot more friendly to kids and pets.
  • We just got engineered hardwood in our house. It's nice and has not scratched yet. IMO it's sort of a good middle ground choice. Nicer than laminate but cheaper than solid wood.
    victoria5month samantha5
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