Rental - 12mm Laminate vs Porcelain Tile

[Ace A.]

Hey guys,

I have a rental property that I'm getting ready to rehab and was wondering your thoughts on 12mm Laminate vs Porcelain Tile for flooring.

It is a single story 1200sqft single family home in Las Vegas. The cost is pretty about the same with tile being slightly more because of the installation materials like thinset, grout and sealer. Both the tile and laminate I could get for around $0.99sqft to $1.20sqft. That does not include the pad for the laminate, the thin set or grout for the tile. Labor is about the same for both.

I like the durability of tile, but I don't like the dirty grout look over time and I'm not sure how easy it is to clean or re-grout. My grout line is pretty small too at 1/8. I'm not concern with the tile cracking from the house settling as it is over 20+ years old.

Laminate I think would look better everywhere, but I would not install in the wet area and bedroom, but I am concerned about how long it will last. I think the laminate would attract more renter and buyers than tile.

Which one have you guys used and what would you recommend?

[George Paiva]

WOW sorry guys, learned something new everyday here. My dad was a tile installer years ago and I always thought porcelain for walls and ceramic for floors. I'll have to take a better look next time I am looking for tile.

Back to the thread. I have done both tile and laminates. I think it depends on the timeline and how nice you want to make the place. I most likely would do the tile but if I had to be in and out in one day I will do laminate. Laminates today are so much better than 10 years ago. But with tile, I still have tile looking great from when my dad installed 30years ago. Can't argue with that!!!