Looking to refloor our whole upstairs

Title says it, we are looking to refloor our whole upstairs. This inlcudes kitchen, dining, living, hallway, bathroom, and mudroom. There are two bedrooms that won't be getting done simply because of cost. We will end up doing those as well at a later time. I was planning on going with the laminate wood paneling since we have a dog and it's durable, plus much cheaped then real wood. All I have heard about it how easy it is to install, and have looked into that part already. What I need to know is what should I be looking for in terms of thickness? They have a lot to choose from, ranging from $0.99 sq/ft and up. We have gotten several samples in the past, and I was going to pick up some today or tomorrow. I have no idea what thickness I should be aiming for, and what I should be laying down before the paneling. Our subfloor is wood and its all carpet and laminate now, so it should be fairly flat and easy on that end. Also, I assume I will have to lift up the toilet?

I am sure the guys down at home depot will be able to answer these questions, but I was hoping to go in their with a general idea first so I don't get tricked into spending way more then I need. I did the math and the square footage came out to around 550sq/ft. They offer installation for $497 but only if you spend at least $1.50 sq/ft, and with hearing how easy everyone says it is I figured a buddy and I could knock it out in a day or two. I'm on spring break from the college for the next few weeks so now is the perfect time to get this knocked out.

Edit: Also, plank width. Does this matter? Or just preference on looks?

 

Hmm... I didn't know you could do that with the laminate. I also just noticed that I'm gonna have to install trim throughout the whole upstairs as well...

 

You can get engineered click together flooring with a natural , sandable surface layer

 

It is very easy to do your self. Start in the least used room . . . for the learning curve. Thickness? I did a lot of reading online and just went with the wood pattern I wanted. Putting the trim back down was the harder part.

 

Look at engineered flooring..... its kinda like hard wood & laminate together.

YES - you'll need to REMOVE the toilet and you'll need to buy a new wax ring that's thick enough to accommodate the adjustment in floor height (if any).

My husband and I were going to redo our entire kitchen but ended up buying a new house instead.... but this is what we were going to go with.

We were looking at the engineered wood - thicker the better (pending cost). The type with the 'foam cushioning' already attached to the planks. If they don't come with that - I'm pretty certain you have to buy some sort of 'cushioning' material and/or vapor barriors on the subfloor. Depending on what brand/type of flooring you go with will depend on what or how you prep the subfloor.

Don't always stick with Home Depot. Shop around.... some of the other flooring shops /liquidators may have sales too and compare nicely to Home Depot.

 

I'm actually running into town right now, so I was going to grab some samples from both lowes and home depot. I'm pretty sure there is a flooring store in town but I have never been.

Looking around I am going to have to use two doorway transitions from the wood to carpet, and I'm not sure how I will do this, but the wood will be stopping at the top of a carpeted staircase. So the top will be wood, and the steps will be carpet. Is there some special piece I can buy to go on the edge?

And I have heard a bit about the planks with the foam already attached, but didn't see it online (or at least it didn't specify it). I saw a roll of the stuff online for like $0.12 sq/ft, which isn't bad.

I have also seen some stuff that has super smooth transition between planks where they lock together, and other have pretty significant ridges. Am I able to choose stuff the clicks together smoothly or do I just have to get lucky?

 

I've installed 3/8" laminate tongue and groove, floating vinyl interlock, and hard wood. I have to say after my experiences with them I will stick with hardwood. Laminate is a cake walk to install. Downside is typical laminate damages very easily and can't be fixed like hardwood. The cost of laminate that is fixable is comparable to hardwood. Laminate is much more susceptible to water damage. You really get what you pay for with flooring.

 

I heard that hard wood will expand & contract with the seasons & humidity. I had talked with someone who has a hardwood floor and they'll get 1/8" (or more) gaps in the floor on/off thru the seasons. Hearing about that - had steered us away from hardwood (the thought of dirt getting into the gaps).

How true is that? Or have you experienced gaps?

 

all wood products expand and contract , including engineered flooring , which is why you have to leave a 3/8" gap around the perimiter of engineered floors , additionally , engineered floors usually have a micro bevel along the long axis and a chamfer at the butt joints that can trap dirt wheras a sand in place floor does not

 

This is true, but it's true for all flooring with organic material. When you buy flooring you should let it acclimate to the inside conditions of your house for about a week before installing.

The gaps that I have experienced are so small that you don't really notice it. Now, if you install when it's really humid and the flooring isn't acclimated, then you're going to have problems. Again, this goes for all 'woody' flooring.

 

Also...
Not only do you have a gazillion types of flooring to choose from.....but you have a gazillion types of wood to choose from.

Some woods - the stain will fade over time with exposure to the sun. For example - if you have an rug on the floor for years - the flooring underneath that rug will be darker than the rest of the flooring that was exposed to the sun.

Make sure you understand the characteristics of the wood and whether or not its prone to fading with exposure to the sun. Some woods will naturally darken over time - like cherry - that won't be the same as when you bought it.

 

I actually have this problem in my 'new' house. Where the sun comes in through the windows the oak flooring is faded. Newer homes with better uv blocking windows help to prevent this. I'll have to sand and refinish the room at some point.

A lot of the new finishes on the good hardwoods and engineered have aluminum oxide in the urethane that makes it quite sturdy and resilient.

 

Should have a moisture / vapour barrier in the crawlspace

 

The only thing i can suggest is avoid traffic master brand laminate wood. It was a pain in the ass to put down. The tongue and grove system never "snapped" into place, every piece needed hammered to lock into place. After i did a few rows i thought i was doing it wrong, my friends who have experience with it had the same trouble.

 

I wouldn't use laminate flooring in bathroom or kitchen. That stuff and water do not get along well at all.

 

I thought the point of laminate was to be better resiliant to water then real wood? Isn't the stuff supposed to be more durable and pet friendly? I figured water wouldn't effect it much.

I picked up about 8 samples today and they all seem a little too dark to me. I'm gonna go back tomorrow and see if I can get some lighter ones.

 

The top layer on the better flooring is relatively durable . With a lot of makes, the bottom layer is like a thick cardboard and will swell up like a sponge when water gets to it.

 

I have a 90 pound husky and his claws havnt done any damge.
I have it in my kitchen for about a year and a half with no problem. If it gets wet just wipe it up like normal and it wont damage it.
When we were sampling we took the samples and completely submerged them in water for a few hours and when we took them out they were still good.
I would avoid the bathroom because i think the steam from a shower could mess it up.

 

For the bathroom, kitchen and potentially the mudroom, I'd give some serious consideration to tile. It will stand up to water much better than wood or laminate. I just redid my kitchen and mudroom and went with tile in the kitchen and sheet vinyl in the mudroom. I wanted surfaces that could stand up to water and were easy to clean.

For the rest of my downstairs which consists of a living room, sitting room and dining room, I'll go hardwood. I have looked into laminates and engineered wood but decided against them. The laminates don't look great in my opinion and the engineered wood is right at the same price point as hardwood so I don't see the benefit of using it (I get that it's supposedly more stable, yada, yada, yada but it's tough to beat hardwood for durability).

 

Right now in our upstairs we have roll out laminate in our mudroom, bathroom, and kitchen. The two bedrooms, living room, dining room, and hallway are all carpet. I wanted to do the wood in as many rooms as possible mostly because it would match better, and look better. But I think it has been settled to leave the bathroom as is. We still want to do the kitchen, and as long as any water gets wiped up I think it will be fine. I know my bathroom floor always get wet, but I forgot all about shower steam, and that is a really good point. As far as mudroom, that should probably stay how it is as well, but I'm not positive yet.