Dear Sue,
I love reading your articles in Gold Country Homes in the Journal.
I’d like your opinion on flooring for our 2,700-square-foot home located here in Auburn.
We would love to put hardwood floors in our home but have been strongly discouraged against it since we have three dogs and three cats.
We have been advised to use laminate flooring instead.
Is it acceptable to put laminate floors in a home in the $500,000 price range or should we try to do real wood?
~ Cheryl Kay
Dear Cheryl,
While some laminates may look like hardwood they “sound” like laminate. Some people describe the sound as click clack while others describe it as hollow.
Hardwood can be refinished and/or stained and will last for a hundred years or more.
Laminate cannot be refinished because it is merely a photographed image over an engineered backing. Its life expectancy is said to be around 20 years.
Floor contractors say that wood is a lot easier to repair than laminate because finding a piece of laminate to match the existing floor is nearly impossible.
They suggest that if you choose laminate that you buy extra flooring material from the same lot because future repairs will be much easier to match.
Laminate flooring can be placed on top of existing flooring. The glue-free option of tongue and groove “floating” systems is common and makes installation easy and less expensive than hardwood.
Hardwood flooring must be nailed to a wooden sub-floor.
Unlike laminate, solid wood floors can be refinished, thereby extending their life and they will add value to your home.
Installing hardwood can be a matter of good Home $$$s and Sense.
Sue Thompson is the owner of HomeTown Realtors in Auburn.
