laminate vs hardwood in a bedroom

[ephillipsme]

All, i am looking to remove the carpet in a bed room and put down new flooring.  Our house is late 70's and most of the rooms were built with carpet. there is a 5/8" particle board underlayment.  Where on the first floor I removed this and put down 3/4" plywood and placed hardwood. I am thinking in a bed room get less traffic so entertaining the idea of not replacing the particle board and putting down laminate like a Pergo.  thoughts?  the cost difference is not that great but not replaceing the particle board will save time and extra expense. 

[Cassie]

WE have put pergo down in 5 different houses and it has held up great even with 4 dogs. The Pergo brand is superior to some of the other brands we have used.

[meghan88]

I'd go for the hardwood as it will add more value than the laminate, IMO, especially if the price differential is minimal, and I'd do it throughout the bedrooms and hall if possible, while you're at it, since trying to match it later can be next to impossible.  Can you do a foam pad underlay on top of the particleboard and then do a click (i.e., not nailed) hardwood floor?  Haven't done that myself so you should ask a pro if that's an option.

[ender]

We have a laminate that looks nearly as nice as a hardwood.

[Spork]

I would always side with hard wood.  It looks better.  It feels better.  It wears naturally (and the wear actually looks nice).  You can refinish it some day if you decide you don't like it.

That said:
My previous house was almost 100% Pergo.  If you do go that route please note: Not all Pergo is the same.  They have varying thicknesses and different core materials. DO NOT under any circumstances put in the cheap stuff (Pergo or other brands) that has a compressed paper core.  You're wasting your time.  The core should be wood or chipped wood or entirely man-made acrylic/epoxy type material.  The compressed paper will absorb spills and moisture and will not wear well over time.   I also have found that the old style glue-up laminate works much better than the newer "easy to install" snap together stuff.

[Fishindude]

We replaced our Pergo with real wood.
Real wood looks and feels better, plus I always hated how the dog's toenails click-clicked on the Pergo.

[paddedhat]

We are deep into a search for a new detached, single family home. I would really caution the whole laminate choice, iIF resale is a factor. We have found that the majority of older homes that have newer laminate flooring typically are a result of one of two scenarios. Either, it was done by a DIYer who did a piss poor job of the install, and spent $ 0.79 a sq. ft. for formaldehyde infused crap, or it was done by a "flipper" who was trying to cut any corner they could, an used the same toxic shit, to save a buck.

That said, I am well aware that there are durable, high quality choices available, and many are impressed and satisfied with how well it performs in their home. Unfortunately, once the market was flooded with Chinese shit, and every chucklenut who watches HGTV and has a bit of a credit line thinks he is a "flipper",  and thinks that the key to a quick profit is slopping cheap laminate everywhere, the stuff has gained a real reputation as a red flag for a lot of resale buyers.

Finally, Spork is correct.  Anything with a paper core is not worth wasting the time to drag home from the store, much less pay for,  and waste the time to install.  If you have any friends in the flooring, or remodeling business, as how many times they have spent a few hours on their knees with a circular saw and flat shovels, removing a ruined paper core floor. Typically because of everything from incompetent installs, to a slight plumbing leak, that would of been a minor mop up job, for the homeowner, if the flooring wasn't shit to begin with.

[Spork]

Finally, Spork is correct.  Anything with a paper core is not worth wasting the time to drag home from the store, much less pay for,  and waste the time to install.  If you have any friends in the flooring, or remodeling business, as how many times they have spent a few hours on their knees with a circular saw and flat shovels, removing a ruined paper core floor. Typically because of everything from incompetent installs, to a slight plumbing leak, that would of been a minor mop up job, for the homeowner, if the flooring wasn't shit to begin with.

I can say our experience with the paper core was with an aging dog that lost his bladder control.  It cupped horribly ... and everywhere.  The decades old Pergo that was the original wood-and-epoxy core that you glued together held up beautifully. 

For comparison: Both rooms were Pergo branded laminate.  There are many product lines under the Pergo name.  Don't skimp.

[meghan88]

Finally, Spork is correct.  Anything with a paper core is not worth wasting the time to drag home from the store, much less pay for,  and waste the time to install.  If you have any friends in the flooring, or remodeling business, as how many times they have spent a few hours on their knees with a circular saw and flat shovels, removing a ruined paper core floor. Typically because of everything from incompetent installs, to a slight plumbing leak, that would of been a minor mop up job, for the homeowner, if the flooring wasn't shit to begin with.

I can say our experience with the paper core was with an aging dog that lost his bladder control.  It cupped horribly ... and everywhere.  The decades old Pergo that was the original wood-and-epoxy core that you glued together held up beautifully. 

For comparison: Both rooms were Pergo branded laminate.  There are many product lines under the Pergo name.  Don't skimp.

+ what paddedhat was saying about formaldehyde ... it's amazing what awful stuff will outgas from cheap building materials.  Stay away from bamboo for all of these reasons and then some.  We chose bamboo for the new condo we now live in - thought it was a good environmental choice - what a joke.  I had weird health issues the first year including really inflamed/painful knee and hip joints despite the fact that I am in otherwise excellent shape, and in retrospect I think it was because of the outgassing from the bamboo floors.  The paint was low-VOC so it wasn't that.  And the floors swell in the summer with the humidity and shrink in the winter once the heat goes on - we have 1/2 inch gaps between boards in some places.  Two humidifiers running full-tilt doesn't help.

[clarkfan1979]

Would you be able to install the hardwood yourself? I think laminate is way better today than 10 years ago. However, if the price is the same and you can install yourself, maybe the hardwood?

[Blatant]

We installed good quality laminate in the secondary area of our house (two guest bedrooms and hallway) and it's been good. No real issues and it looks nice. Our dogs' nails do make an annoying noise and for the week or so we slept in one of the rooms (while the master bath was being done), it bothered me.

All in all, if hardwood isn't much more expensive I'd go that route.