Has anyone installed Select Surfaces laminate flooring?
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We're looking at this product for our kitchen/dining room and frankly, the reviews are making me crazy! For every five-star review, saying it's wonderful stuff that's easy to install and doesn't chip or dent if you drop a hammer on it, there's a one-star review, saying it's a nightmare to install and that it chips and scratches if your poodle walks across it.
Has anyone actually installed this stuff and, if so, how long ago, and how is it holding up?
Thanks so much!
Has anyone actually installed this stuff and, if so, how long ago, and how is it holding up?
Thanks so much!
5 answers
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I'm not familiar with that brand, however, when we bought this house there was wood laminate in the hall and hall bathroom. The wax ring recently started leaking and the flooring around the toilet was ruined. It discolored and would have eventually buckled according to our current flooring guy. Basically, he said it should have never been installed in a room with water, such as kitchens or bathrooms. This flooring had been installed more than 7 years ago. It was Tarkett brand.
R.V.R. Farris
on Aug 02, 2015
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I don't have this brand laminate you are considering but for what it is worth I HATE my laminate! It was a big, expensive mistake that I have regretted every single day since it was installed 5 1/2 years ago. I do not understand why laminate is so popular. Do you have pets? In my opinion, laminate is not a good option for households with pets since moisture is Enemy #1 of laminate. Urine, vomit, wet feet, sloppy water bowl drinkers etc., can leave enough moisture on the floor to make the laminate seams bubble, buckle and peel if not cleaned up immediately. Our cat, who has a very sensitive stomach, threw up in the foyer and I didn't find it right away so I have bubbled seams there. I had a leak under the threshold of the back door so before I knew it, it started to badly bubble there and the top layer has started to peel too. I also have it in my kitchen (biggest mistake ever!) and there are plenty of bubbled seams from little spills around the sink, drips from wet hands or dishes, rogue ice cubes that have dropped out of the refrigerator door dispenser after we've walked away and weren't picked up right away etc. Once water gets down past that top laminated layer or between the seams, it's just like a cancer that eats away at the pressboard-like layers underneath. Laminate is also slippery and noisy to walk on. I recount this story often here on HomeTalk when people bring up the subject of laminate. We had 3 big German Shepherds (which have now all passed). The sound of those 48 toenails constantly clicking across our laminate floors was enough to about make me and my husband crazy. It was also slippery and hard for the dogs to walk on as they got older and less agile. I had to put down throw rugs in all the pathways just so they could get the traction to move from room to room. I would recommend you get at least 2 sample pieces of this laminate you are considering. Connect them together like they would be on your floor. Then, let an ice cube melt on it and see if you have any bubbling or water damage 24 hours later. Drop a hammer (or a heavy pot) on it several times. Scratch it with a key or drag a chair leg over it a few times. Abuse the heck out of it and see how it holds up. (Unfortunately, I didn't know to do this before I spent a bundle of money on my laminate.) If it fails any of the tests you put it through, I urge you to spend your hard-earned money on something else besides laminate.
Shari
on Aug 03, 2015
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I am on the other side...We have had our laminate for about 10 years and I would do it again. We have Wilsonart brand, looks like oak wood. We have it in our kitchen/dining room and laundry room. You DO have to be careful that water does not stand on it but I have no complaints. Our DSS has the laminate that looks like tile in his kitchen/dining room and also likes it.
Pat
on Aug 03, 2015
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After the unknown slow leak under the dishwasher, my laminate floor is one huge bubble. I have to live with it until I can afford to change it. Dropped my keys--left a dent and took off the top layer. Etc. Etc. DON'T DO IT!
Marie Caruana
on Aug 03, 2015
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My husband and I just went to a couple big-box stores and looked at their lower-end floating vinyl flooring, the kind that goes in just like laminate. I'm thinking that may actually be the way we go after looking it over. It's actually a bit more expensive than the laminate, but I was shocked to see it looks just like it! We actually laid some samples on the hardwood and laminate and it's almost impossible to tell the difference.
Alice Shockley
on Aug 03, 2015
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