Laminate Wood Flooring

[Michael Moikeha]

I'm looking for the best cost to value for laminate wood flooring based on 2 different needs. Flip to Sell Laminate wood flooring that has an amazing initial feel and appearance. Ease of cleaning and care is not as important. Durability, at least 5 years. Flip to Rent Laminate wood flooring that is amazingly durable, easy to maintain, and has a great look. And product and vendor advice?

[Jassem A.]

Home Legend brand from Home Depot has a 50 yr warranty and sometimes sells for 0.89/sqft online.  Their wood shoe molding is also inexpensive--under $2 for 8 feet.  Did my last floor job for 1600 in materials using this stuff for 1428 sqft house.

Lumber Liquidators has a lot of choices between 0.39-0.89/sqft that vary in warranty from 5 years to 25 years.  I've had good and bad experiences with their products.  The .39 and .49 stuff is difficult to put together and some contractors are not skilled enough to do a good job.  I would go with a 7mm-8mm or better with their products, their 6mm is crap.  They also have false warranty information on their website (the number of warranty years listed on the website doesn't always match the number on the box!).

Floor and decor has/had a 0.59 laminate product that I haven't tried yet.  They also usually have .49 tile and sub $2 granite tile. You can set tile on plywood to save money.  It's quicker to do all laminate though and may outlast tile.

Ollies bargain outlet has laminate but it's not any better or of any better value than box stores.

You can buy a shipping container of laminate from China on alibaba which may have some added savings if you have a lot of flooring to do.

I typically don't bother with an underlayment because it is added cost and provides little value IMHO.