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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Laminate Flooring
countrymom 11:01 AM 07-16-2012
if you have it in your daycare room, what do you like about it, or hate about it. I have rug so I already know the ugly of it. But I'm thinking of switching to laminent. Do the kids scratch it easily. I'm looking at darker wood from costco.
DCBlessings27 11:33 AM 07-16-2012
We had installed laminate flooring in our dining room before I turned it into the daycare area. When I converted it, I placed rugs down since the floor was too hard otherwise. The kids have not scratched it since the rugs are covering it. The only space I left free of rugs was the eating area.
kitkat 12:07 PM 07-16-2012
We tore out a wall that divided our kitchen and family room area. Kitchen had vinyl, family room had carpet, and we replaced all of it with a laminent (in Dec 2011). We replaced with a dark laminent and I wish I would have gone lighter. You can easily see any and all crumbs or dust on the floor. The kind we have is cleaned with only water, no solution of any kind. If I use a microfiber mop, you can see the water marks/spots, but if I scrub on my hands and knees, it doesn't seem as visible. It is louder than carpet or vinyl, even with a rug. Make sure the rug has a no slip backing 
I think it keeps the room cooler in the summer compared to the living room that has carpet, which is nice.
We do have some scratches and dents already. The scratches were from a tiny stone being dragged under a bin and from the Little Tikes picnic table DS (16 months) kept pushing around the room. I can't remember what caused one dent, but the other was from a chair that tipped over and landed on a metal part of the chair.
I like the flooring, but I think if I could do it over again, I'd do a floating vinyl tile instead. My sister has a floating vinyl tile floor and she loves it. It has held up well with her son and large dog. She got hers at Home Depot and installed it herself with VERY limited help.
I think it keeps the room cooler in the summer compared to the living room that has carpet, which is nice. We do have some scratches and dents already. The scratches were from a tiny stone being dragged under a bin and from the Little Tikes picnic table DS (16 months) kept pushing around the room. I can't remember what caused one dent, but the other was from a chair that tipped over and landed on a metal part of the chair.
I like the flooring, but I think if I could do it over again, I'd do a floating vinyl tile instead. My sister has a floating vinyl tile floor and she loves it. It has held up well with her son and large dog. She got hers at Home Depot and installed it herself with VERY limited help.
Blackcat31 12:28 PM 07-16-2012
Originally Posted by kitkat:
We tore out a wall that divided our kitchen and family room area. Kitchen had vinyl, family room had carpet, and we replaced all of it with a laminent (in Dec 2011). We replaced with a dark laminent and I wish I would have gone lighter. You can easily see any and all crumbs or dust on the floor. The kind we have is cleaned with only water, no solution of any kind. If I use a microfiber mop, you can see the water marks/spots, but if I scrub on my hands and knees, it doesn't seem as visible. It is louder than carpet or vinyl, even with a rug. Make sure the rug has a no slip backing I think it keeps the room cooler in the summer compared to the living room that has carpet, which is nice.
We do have some scratches and dents already. The scratches were from a tiny stone being dragged under a bin and from the Little Tikes picnic table DS (16 months) kept pushing around the room. I can't remember what caused one dent, but the other was from a chair that tipped over and landed on a metal part of the chair.
I like the flooring, but I think if I could do it over again, I'd do a floating vinyl tile instead. My sister has a floating vinyl tile floor and she loves it. It has held up well with her son and large dog. She got hers at Home Depot and installed it herself with VERY limited help.
LOL! We have Birch and I wish we would have gone darker for the same reason....you can see EVERYTHING! dust, hair, spots, tiny little particles etc.... We tore out a wall that divided our kitchen and family room area. Kitchen had vinyl, family room had carpet, and we replaced all of it with a laminent (in Dec 2011). We replaced with a dark laminent and I wish I would have gone lighter. You can easily see any and all crumbs or dust on the floor. The kind we have is cleaned with only water, no solution of any kind. If I use a microfiber mop, you can see the water marks/spots, but if I scrub on my hands and knees, it doesn't seem as visible. It is louder than carpet or vinyl, even with a rug. Make sure the rug has a no slip backing
I think it keeps the room cooler in the summer compared to the living room that has carpet, which is nice. We do have some scratches and dents already. The scratches were from a tiny stone being dragged under a bin and from the Little Tikes picnic table DS (16 months) kept pushing around the room. I can't remember what caused one dent, but the other was from a chair that tipped over and landed on a metal part of the chair.
I like the flooring, but I think if I could do it over again, I'd do a floating vinyl tile instead. My sister has a floating vinyl tile floor and she loves it. It has held up well with her son and large dog. She got hers at Home Depot and installed it herself with VERY limited help.
Ours has a few minor (but not really visible) scratches on it but over all the floor has held up well and doesn't seem to scratch or chip very easily. The scratches we have are from moving furniture and a few high speed cat vs kitten chases but otherwise, no major scratches or dents.
If I had to do it all over again, which we will be soon, we are going with engineered hardwood (the floating kind) as I think it appears more natural and isn't as loud.
The biggest thing I hate about our floor is that if there is any water or any areas that are damp, the water or moisture can get in between the seams and will raise or bulge up. We have had ours for 6 years now and bought it from Sam's Club. We went with the most expensive, thinking that meant better quality but I am not so sure.
Country Kids 01:37 PM 07-16-2012
In our entry way we have a vinyl that looks like bamboo and is gorgous. It came in strips I believe and looks so nice and mops very easily.
My friend put in laminete and isn't that excited about it. The kids are cold, the floor is always cold and you have to mop with just water. Never feels quite clean.
My friend put in laminete and isn't that excited about it. The kids are cold, the floor is always cold and you have to mop with just water. Never feels quite clean.
Willow 01:51 PM 07-16-2012
We have it throughout the kitchen, dining room, entry way and hallways and love it!
It's super easy to clean, doesn't scratch and was pretty inexpensive to boot.
Ours is a bit darker than our warmer honey oak colored cabinetry, the only thing I don't love is how well dust shows on it, but I have to sweep a couple of times a day as it is so it rarely has a chance to actually accumulate to the point of visibility except on weekends :P
It's super easy to clean, doesn't scratch and was pretty inexpensive to boot.
Ours is a bit darker than our warmer honey oak colored cabinetry, the only thing I don't love is how well dust shows on it, but I have to sweep a couple of times a day as it is so it rarely has a chance to actually accumulate to the point of visibility except on weekends :P
mac60 05:05 PM 07-16-2012
We just put it down in the fall, and if I had to do it over again, I would put down carpet. We did dining room and family room/daycare area. It shows everything. It is medium to dark oak looking laminate. We bought it at Menards and it came with a 30 year warranty. Yea right, that is a big joke. I already have bad spots. I have 3 large (8 x 10) area rugs down. It scratches. The dog peed on the area rug during the night and we didn't find it till the morning, and it soaked thru and made a bad spot on the laminate. I know have 3 bad spots due to dogs peeing on the floor and it being there till morning. I was so excited about putting down laminate, and I am so so sorry that I did. I wish I would have purchased the Stainmaster carpet from Lowes that has a lifetime warranty for urine and stains. It would have been much easier to keep clean too. I know everybody seemed to rave over how great laminate is/was, but in my opinion it is not good at all. Shows dirt, and gets ruined very easily with a pet accident. ***.
dave4him 05:35 PM 07-16-2012
Ours is great except its hard to keep clean. Any tips on cleaning???????
Willow 06:36 PM 07-16-2012
dave4him - I just sweep a time or two each day and use a Swiffer WetJet to mop a time or two a week. I've never had any trouble with water spots or warping, even with giant spills.
We've got four dogs, a cat, two kids, countless regular guests and the daycare and that keeps it far cleaner than I can ever keep the carpet
We've got four dogs, a cat, two kids, countless regular guests and the daycare and that keeps it far cleaner than I can ever keep the carpet
countrymom 06:48 PM 07-16-2012
I LOVE MENARDS!!! I need to go over this weekend (to ohio) because I need a toilet paper holder and other stuff. To all canadians, this store is amazing, most of the stuff is fraction of the price compared to lowes or home depot.
Crazy8 04:30 AM 07-17-2012
we have it and while I would prefer a darker color for looks I know that the color we have is great for the clean up. It hasn't scratched, and is easy to sweep and mop. I usually have an area rug in there but haven't had anything for the last year and the floor still looks fine.
countrymom 07:02 AM 07-17-2012
I don't want to put area rugs everywhere. Just a note, my sister had nice expensive laminent put in her house (she's high maintance) well when she went to remove it (after 1.5 yrs ) the rug left a mark on her floor
AmyLeigh 01:12 PM 07-17-2012
I have laminate in the playroom. Dh and I installed it last year. We love it so much, we are putting it in the kitchen/dining room this winter. It almost perfectly matches the hardwood throughout the rest of the house, kind of a warm honey oak color. Not one problem with it yet.
Bella99 04:59 PM 07-17-2012
Laminate is the devil. It raises when it gets humid or liquid is dropped and not noticed right away. Bleh. It also peels.. like a sun burn! 
Michael 05:20 PM 07-17-2012
I have bamboo in my Laguna Beach place. Unlike other woods, the tree is not cut down and it grows back. The color is through in through. Like a carrot, if you cut/scratch it, the color is connsistant.
More info: http://www.slate.com/articles/health...o_and_you.html
More info: http://www.slate.com/articles/health...o_and_you.html
daycarediva 05:26 PM 07-17-2012
I have laminate on my entire first floor (aside from ceramic tile in the bathroom) and love it! It is in my daycare room with area rugs over it. I find it really easy to clean using just a shark steam mop, no streaks, no chemicals.
mac60 01:22 PM 07-18-2012
Originally Posted by Bella99:
Laminate is the devil. It raises when it gets humid or liquid is dropped and not noticed right away. Bleh. It also peels.. like a sun burn!
Yes, and it doesn't take long for it to happen. Mine had a 30 yr warranty on it, warranted for what I don't know as in less than 6 months there are several scratches and bad spots on it already. I am very dissatisfied with it. I can't imagine what it will look like in a few years. Laminate is the devil. It raises when it gets humid or liquid is dropped and not noticed right away. Bleh. It also peels.. like a sun burn!
Blackcat31 01:29 PM 07-18-2012
Originally Posted by Michael:
I have bamboo in my Laguna Beach place. Unlike other woods, the tree is not cut down and it grows back. The color is through in through. Like a carrot, if you cut/scratch it, the color is connsistant.
One of my friends is a contractor and recently put top of the line EXPENSIVE bamboo flooring in his entryway.....he put a rug down for any dirt tracked in.I have bamboo in my Laguna Beach place. Unlike other woods, the tree is not cut down and it grows back. The color is through in through. Like a carrot, if you cut/scratch it, the color is connsistant.
Imagine his surprise when he decided to have his rug laundered and when he removed it from the floor, there was a perfect imprint of the rug on his brand new flooring. Only took 4 weeks and the flooring around the rug faded at least three shades lighter than the flooring under the rug
So yes, I agree the flooring is tough, eco-friendly and really cool looking but it does fade. ...and I bet the sun isn't nearly as harsh way up north here compared to in sunny California!
Michael 01:39 PM 07-18-2012
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
One of my friends is a contractor and recently put top of the line EXPENSIVE bamboo flooring in his entryway.....he put a rug down for any dirt tracked in.
Imagine his surprise when he decided to have his rug laundered and when he removed it from the floor, there was a perfect imprint of the rug on his brand new flooring. Only took 4 weeks and the flooring around the rug faded at least three shades lighter than the flooring under the rug
So yes, I agree the flooring is tough, eco-friendly and really cool looking but it does fade. ...and I bet the sun isn't nearly as harsh way up north here compared to in sunny California!
Good point. We had UVA coating put on all the windows so the sun would not not fade the fabrics or wood. We have not had any problems with our flooring and it has been 4 years now.One of my friends is a contractor and recently put top of the line EXPENSIVE bamboo flooring in his entryway.....he put a rug down for any dirt tracked in.
Imagine his surprise when he decided to have his rug laundered and when he removed it from the floor, there was a perfect imprint of the rug on his brand new flooring. Only took 4 weeks and the flooring around the rug faded at least three shades lighter than the flooring under the rug
So yes, I agree the flooring is tough, eco-friendly and really cool looking but it does fade. ...and I bet the sun isn't nearly as harsh way up north here compared to in sunny California!
DCBlessings27 02:05 PM 07-18-2012
Originally Posted by mac60:
Yes, and it doesn't take long for it to happen. Mine had a 30 yr warranty on it, warranted for what I don't know as in less than 6 months there are several scratches and bad spots on it already. I am very dissatisfied with it. I can't imagine what it will look like in a few years.
I've got a couple spots but not really any scratches. We installed our laminate 6 years ago. Mine is a light oak color and easy to clean with a Swiffer mop. I haven't had any troubles with raising or peeling. We have a lot of humidity here too. Ours wasn't super expensive. We got it at a closeout price. Yes, and it doesn't take long for it to happen. Mine had a 30 yr warranty on it, warranted for what I don't know as in less than 6 months there are several scratches and bad spots on it already. I am very dissatisfied with it. I can't imagine what it will look like in a few years.
The rugs in my daycare area are super lightweight, and they've never left imprints on my laminate. I have a large area rug in my bedroom (because we installed laminate in the dining room, kitchen, and master bedroom) that I've had for 6 years. It's never left an imprint there either.