Good brand of laminate

[keitht]

Are some brands of laminate considerably better than others. I'm looking for something nice. What brands / types should I be looking at?

 

[Amari8100]

Pergo,good one in this regard.It being thicker and stronger.There are several levels of quality in it.

 

[Ernesto]

Quickstep........

 

[garysamuel]

Following are some laminate brands:
1. Berry Floor Laminate
2. Bruce Laminate Flooring
3. Faus Laminate Flooring
4. Mannington Laminate Floors
5. Quick Step Laminate Flooring

I would personally suggest Mannington as they have many choices. You can also check out Ikea they have good collection of kitchen cabinet design and flooring.

 

[Nick]

Quickstep.

 

[rugaddict]

quickstep-----

 

[Isola96]

Higher the mm grade the better off you will be on any brand.

 

[Ernesto]

Higher the mm grade the better off you will be on any brand.

Personally I think the 12 mm stuff is just a gimmick unless you need the additional height. After all, all your getting is more pressed paper.

 

[Isola96]

Personally I think the 12 mm stuff is just a gimmick unless you need the additional height. After all, all your getting is more pressed paper.

I don't know Ernesto some of the 12mm looks looks like real hardwood. Big price difference between 7 & 12mm you got to get what you pay for?....

 

[Ernesto]

I don't know Ernesto some of the 12mm looks looks like real hardwood. Big price difference between 7 & 12mm you got to get what you pay for?....

The core has nothing to do with the deco layer material and how real it looks.

http://nalfa.com/what_is_laminate.php

 

[FloorMaven]

Higher the mm grade the better off you will be on any brand.

I think if you're making comparisons within a brand, not brand to brand, this statement is probably more correct than not.

 

[Incognito]

I don't know Ernesto some of the 12mm looks looks like real hardwood. Big price difference between 7 & 12mm you got to get what you pay for?....

******************************
Here's the version of that saying I've always heard:

You DONT always get what you pay for......but you NEVER get any more.

Laminates, and flooring in general give us probably one of the ideal examples of this truism with regard to product, underlayment, adhesive and labor. People are getting totally screwed in our industry partially through their own effort to nickel and dime the LAST thing that goes into their home or business. I hear it all the time. By the time they get to the flooring they've overspent the budget and THEREFORE are hellbent on making a dollar out of fifty cents. Cheaping out on anything; product, underlayment, adhesive or labor can and does have disastrous consequences. We see this every day when we walk through the mall, through Main Street businesses or people's home------and we want to PUKE because we can usually fairly quickly analyze what went wrong.

A thicker laminate would in theory provide a stronger structure for the surface layer. But if they used a higher grade material and/or a better construction process there shouldn't be a need for 12MM. I don't handle enough laminates to know all the better ones. What I see mostly at the big box stores line Home Depot, Lowes, Costco and such is the lowest end products usually out in the aisle on sale for .79 a foot or some other ridiculous price. I pick them up and look at the side view and backing. It's kind of scary. I did help my neighbor put in about 500' of some crap he thinks he got a great deal on. It HAD to be the cheapest crap on earth. I could cut it with a utility knife. Looks like it will only get cheaper going forward.

 

[bigdaddy2308]

Quickstep all the way never have any problems