NE,

In previous post, you mentioned that you were still installing .59 /sf laminate. Do you put this in rental houses or just Flip houses?

Right now, I am considering installing .59 cent laminate in a living room that measures 375 sq. feet. Do you use a pad underneath Laminate? Also, most important, how long does Laminate last with Class C tenants who have dogs and undisciplined children?

Any installation tips would be helpful.

Roy, I'm not NE...but I do have a house I put $.79/sf, 7 mm thick laminate in back in 2005. Can't recall if my installer used pad or not. It is a living room area, rectangle 18 x 13. It still looks okay, but there are areas where dog claws have torn thru the top layer in a few small areas and revealed the cardboard "fluffy stuff" this pressed wood concoction is made of. I'm impressed, actually, by the durability. 12 years for laminate is pretty good! It still looks acceptable for a Class C unit. The "distressed" look is in, and this one isn't too badly distressed.

Note: haven't had any families with kids here for any length of time. One gal was there for about a month or two before she moved her daughter and grand-kid in without my permission. I filed eviction the first time her rent was late. Otherwise, it's been mostly singles/couples with dogs.

My son's house has CostCo laminate that was installed in 2002. Looks brand new. The pad is pre-attached to each piece.

We have laminate in a rental installed in 2004 or thereabouts (before Allure) and it totally flooded (toilet through ceiling) and the laminate is amazingly FINE years later! It is again the Costco laminate. Not $.79 square foot though.

OH our studios all were all laminate until recently. One totally flooded (burst pipe) to the point water was running out the sides of the building. This was in 2008, maybe?

Laminate was fine, remained in place until this year in fact!

Rentals. Usually carpet in flips. I use underlayment. I don't take too many dogs and don't have any units with kids other than real small kids. Holds up good. I still have $0.30 laminate I got at an auction in a living room of my first rental. Just has one bad spot from water from a roof leak, but still rentable.

NE,

What do you use to cut laminate? Circular or Chop Saw? Does laminate cut better with a fine tooth blade (60 teeth) or with a cheap blade with only 24 teeth?

Lets say after a rough tenant, one piece in the middle needs replacement. Can you cut it out or does the entire floor have to be taken apart piece by piece?

How much space (gap) do you leave between the laminate edge and each wall? Does laminate expand much during the summer seasons?

I have walked across a new laminate floor and it seems to squeak a little,...is this normal? Will padding underneath eliminate this?

Gap around the wall is the 1/4" spacing I talked about. No, you can't change a middle piece if it's damaged( at least the stuff I use) . It's a click lock type system. But, if after 1 tenant, it's damaged, then that's an SD issue. I don't have much issue with squeaks, but I always use the padding. Padding is a moisture barrier and also helps the laminate to slide around. I dont have any issues with summer or winter. Most of your issues will come if say you have the head of a nail not pounded down and it catches the laminate and holds one piece, then the next piece can pull away. Most of your expansion issues will come if your edges don't have that spacing. That can cause hills when it expands.

Vee,

Hi Roy,

I have a friend that has used the Tranquility 2mm Mount Craig Cherry LVP from Lumber Liquidators. He has used it in the kitchen of a rental and says that it still looks nice after almost ten years. I also see that it is on sale for $.59 sq/ft. There isn't an AC rating and it is only 2mm. thick. I might try it in a area that I don't want to use some more expensive stuff for the time being.

Good luck.

Did 4 small rooms with HD cheap (Traffic Master) laminate .... bubbled up when water hit it. So don't think about mopping it.

Quick tip: you can change out a middle piece even with the click lock kind and not have to pull up any other pieces. Use a circular saw set real shallow. Cut an X in the damaged board from corner to corner. So now you can pull the damaged piece out because it is in 4 triangles.