We have a quote for the entire ground floor with glued-down vinyl flooring featuring a 0.55mm (0.02 inch) wear layer. At first, this seems a bit thick, but since we do a lot of home office work (office chair) and will also have vinyl in the entrance and kitchen area (to avoid constantly changing and thus mismatched flooring in the fairly open ground floor, and because we are not fans of tiles).
1. Does it make sense to additionally seal the vinyl floor for extra protection with such a high wear layer?
For the upper floor, we plan to install laminate that looks similar ourselves for budget reasons. We also have a not particularly cheap quote for the laminate material.
2. What is the difference between cheap DIY-store laminate and laminate from a specialist retailer? We could save almost 10€ per m² (10.4 USD per sq ft), but the saying “you get what you pay for” applies... what is really different? Is it softer? The salesperson mentioned that the “tongue and groove” joints are not as well made. However, paying the extra for that seems too much to me, especially since it’s a one-time installation.
1. Does it make sense to additionally seal the vinyl floor for extra protection with such a high wear layer?
For the upper floor, we plan to install laminate that looks similar ourselves for budget reasons. We also have a not particularly cheap quote for the laminate material.
2. What is the difference between cheap DIY-store laminate and laminate from a specialist retailer? We could save almost 10€ per m² (10.4 USD per sq ft), but the saying “you get what you pay for” applies... what is really different? Is it softer? The salesperson mentioned that the “tongue and groove” joints are not as well made. However, paying the extra for that seems too much to me, especially since it’s a one-time installation.
Back when we were students, we installed laminate flooring in our apartment for 5€ per square meter (about $5.50 per square yard). Even after 8 years, it still looked good.
Now, in the bedrooms of our house, I installed click-lock vinyl flooring for 25€ per square meter (about $27 per square yard), and to be completely honest with myself... it doesn’t look any different.
Now, in the bedrooms of our house, I installed click-lock vinyl flooring for 25€ per square meter (about $27 per square yard), and to be completely honest with myself... it doesn’t look any different.
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Changeling8 Mar 2018 07:15bluminger schrieb:
I have no experience with laminate at all. Just out of interest: What does .55 mean? Is the floor 0.55cm thick? For vinyl, that refers to the wear layer thickness (in mm, not cm). The classification is as described by @Baumfachmann:
Baumfachmann schrieb:
0.55 for heavy use, 0.3 is normal for living areas You can also search for "wear classes of vinyl and laminate" to find a nice overview. Our chosen vinyl has wear class 23/33, making it suitable for residential and commercial use with heavy traffic, which is probably more than we actually need.
Nordlys schrieb:
0.3 vinyl really suffices for residential areas, even entrances and offices with rolling chairs. 0.55 is for restaurants and shops. In my opinion, the Renovo laminate quality from Hagebau is reasonably priced in a good way. Karsten For us, it’s really important that we can keep the vinyl on the ground floor for the next 40 years without having to put annoying plastic mats under the heavily used office chairs.
However, we would definitely decide against any additional sealant (extra protection).
Probably a wear class one level lower (23/32 or even 23/31) would be more than enough, but we haven’t found our favorite flooring in that range yet. Also, when searching online in laminate specialty stores, I didn’t find suitable options quickly.
The nearest Hagebau is unfortunately about 70km (43 miles) away… but I will definitely save that option. Online, the selection is quite limited.
Mycraft schrieb:
Good laminate is easy to install and the joints remain stable even after years. With cheaper ones, tongue and groove can break during installation. So after 3, 4, or 5 years, a replacement is due. Good laminate still looks good after many years. Ease of installation was also mentioned to us. But I’d rather struggle for half a day once in my life and curse my decision than spend 1000€ more.
The argument that the joints remain stable even after years is more convincing to me because I definitely don’t want to install flooring twice.
On the other hand, the last sentence seems too general to me.
Lumpi_LE schrieb:
During my student days, we laid laminate for 5€ per square meter. It still looked good after 8 years.
Now in the house, I installed click vinyl in the bedrooms for 25€ per square meter, and honestly, it doesn’t look any different. Thanks! That’s already very helpful. Although I am planning at least twice that time frame…
We have had both types: good and cheap laminate flooring.
In our apartment, relatively inexpensive laminate was installed (probably under €10 per square meter). As soon as my child rode their balance bike over it, scratches became visible. Apparently, it had a poor abrasion rating.
In our house, we installed laminate with a higher abrasion class throughout the entire living area. It is 8 cm (3 inches) thick and—very importantly—has a properly thick underlay. My son rides his sandy balance bike over it, and the cats scratch on it as well. No visible damage. It holds up well and was fairly easy to install. The feel underfoot is good, too.
My advice: choose a good abrasion rating, avoid the thinnest laminate, use a quality underlay, and opt for laminate with a textured surface.
We purchased our laminate from Laminatdepot. We paid €2300 for 100 square meters (1,076 square feet), including everything.
In our apartment, relatively inexpensive laminate was installed (probably under €10 per square meter). As soon as my child rode their balance bike over it, scratches became visible. Apparently, it had a poor abrasion rating.
In our house, we installed laminate with a higher abrasion class throughout the entire living area. It is 8 cm (3 inches) thick and—very importantly—has a properly thick underlay. My son rides his sandy balance bike over it, and the cats scratch on it as well. No visible damage. It holds up well and was fairly easy to install. The feel underfoot is good, too.
My advice: choose a good abrasion rating, avoid the thinnest laminate, use a quality underlay, and opt for laminate with a textured surface.
We purchased our laminate from Laminatdepot. We paid €2300 for 100 square meters (1,076 square feet), including everything.
We bought laminate flooring covering 10.95 m² (118 sq ft), it was on sale, regular price was €17.49 per m² (€ per sq ft). It is from Parador’s Eco Balance series. The joint type is M4V, which looks really nice. The usage class is 23/32, so more than sufficient for bedrooms. The thickness is 7 mm (0.28 inches) plus 2 mm (0.08 inches) of impact sound insulation. So far, no complaints at all.
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