It's time for us to make a decision on new flooring. The only thing we know for sure is, the carpet has to go.

I love and want the look of wood, and Pergo has been highly recommended. Hubby is worried we'll have another water disaster or that simply spills left on the floor or a kid standing dripping from the shower will damage that. The insurance adjuster said a major overflow like we had before would ruin it - but since that has happened only once I don't see it as a really valid concern. He said minor things would not hurt it, but where is the line? Minor things often turn out to be more major in a large family like ours.

Our other choice is ceramic tile. I did find some that looks like wood, although I only saw pics of it online and no one in town has samples or has ever used it. I would also be happy with a spanish tile I found. We had ceramic in our old house and didn't have any complaints, though my parents are having trouble with furniture scratching theirs.

Bare slab is not a true option although we may go ahead and rip up the carpet and live with it for a bit (we won't actually replace until school starts). A friend had stained slab and it was gorgeous - but cost more to do than flooring would have!

Basically I'm wondering if anyone has Pergo and how you like it. We have 6 kids, a pool (kids come in wet no matter how much you yell at them), and an as-yet-unhousebroken dog.

Since you have such a busy and big family, pick what will be the easiest to maintain. The Pergo is the best option, other than just having the cement slab. But, as you said, that's not really an option to begin with! Ceramic tile is pretty, but if it gets cracked or messed up, it's more expensive to replace. Trust me, I had a friend who had to get that done and it cost a pretty penny. Go with the Pergo!

What we chose is a Linoleum that totally look like hard wood down to the texture but, being linoleum is soo easy to maintain, plus we don't have to worry about scratches.
We've got 2 goofy kids, I don't think pergo would stay looking nice very long with them and I'm sure the Boy would end up smashing himself silly on the hard tiles.

Pete's mom was totally fooled by the linoleum, we've had nothing but positive feedback from friends on it.
Also, it's very affordable!! In fact it was so affordable that we were able to get an extra room done for the price of pergo or tiles woul've cost just for the kitchen/dining room that we needed done.
Looooove it!

CC

I'm not worried about the durability of the tile, we've had that before and if they had the wood look stuff in stock I would just go for that in a minute. I was curious about that of the pergo. Hubby is totally against linoleum, and the floor guy says pergo is more durable anyway....see, this is why I need to ask opinions. I have always heard the pergo is more durable (apparently against anything but standing water) and now you're telling me the linoleum is? Have you ever had pergo, or who told you that? I'm so confuuused!

I've heard many a times that water is pergo's arch nemesis, I would imagine any liquid would be just as mean to it.
If the area you're thinking of doing has a history of wet traffic going through like pool soaked kids, it might not be worth the cost of pergo, it is probably going to warp or mold.
I would have preferred real hardwood flooring if only for the cool sound in makes when you walk on it but, I have to admit, IMO, the linoleum has overall the most advantages (it's not what it used to be like in the 70's/80's, like at my mom's house, oh that was yuck -and still is 27 years later!).
Have hubby check it out, if only for amusement purposes.

CC

Kari, I used to work for a carpet and tile distributor, the recommendation on wood floors when I worked there was no, not in the bathroom, or the kitchen. Since then, they have come out with the laminate wood floors, and they do hold up better than the real wood. My opinion would be for you to go with ceramic, especially in the bathroom, but make sure it's more of a textured ceramic. The ceramic we have in our kitchen has no texture to it, and it is so slippery!! Our bathroom ceramic is textured, and nicer looking, and we usually have no slips on it. Although the laminate wood looks great, if you're worried about the floor getting damaged by the water, go with what is recommended from the store. I'm sure they will recommend that you don't use the wood laminate in the bathroom where it will get wet.

We are currently looking at getting a new house, and are including the laminate hardwood flooring, but they will only use it in the kitchen, and in the foyer. I asked about the bathrooms, and laundry room, but they will only recommend it for the kitchen/nook, and the foyer.

Personally, I like the look of wood in the bathroom, and I actually have a Sister-In-Law that did it in her bathroom (not the kids bathroom) she's had no problems with it, but for durability, I'd go with the ceramic.

We used a Shaw laminate wood floor in our dining room, and it turned out great! The thing about it is, that it's right outside our bathroom, and when that stuff gets wet, it gets slippery!! So, when the boys get out of the tub, dripping wet, they walk into the dining room, and sometimes slip. And when they come in from the pool dripping wet, again....the floor gets wet, and slip!! Comparing the Shaw to Pergo, I'd say they are equal...to let you know, in the new homes were looking at, they are using Shaw.

Good luck with the bathroom...

I'd go with ceramic tile, hub says pergo doesnt hold up well, He is in peoples homes everday and he wouldnt get it for our house and we only have 2 kids no pool but we do have a not yet housebroken dog lol

I seen cement stain..on tv but it looked great! we are actually without flooring at the moment and are on a slab there is one room in the house( Zacherys bedroom) that didnt have any plywood or anything covering it we may get that stain for Zachery's room for that cement floor. I think it was advertised for about $35 a gallon.

The only room in our house right now with flooring is the kitchen and it has wood but I plan to get rid of it and put ceramic tile down our old fridge leaked water from the little dispenser thingy and warped the floor...

I have Pergo in my finished basement. For the most part I do like it. It's easy to keep clean. However, someone dropped a hammer on it and it did leave a permanent mark. I managed to find a crayon that matched it and it covered the mark pretty well although I can see it when the light hits it just right. I would not recommend it for a bathroom unless you are a cleaning nazi and can manage to to wipe up every drip with in a couple of minutes because the water could seep into the cracks. Are you planning on putting it in a bathroom? We painted our slab in the laundry room and work room with cement paint and put grit in it to keep it from being slippery. It looks great and it was a cheap alternative for us. Something to consider if money is tight or you are waiting for the kids to grow out of their messy ways (that takes years though). Good Luck!

Hey Lady Z -

About 3 years ago we redid our kitchen, family room and hall. We put in a Pergo type flooring. Pergo was too expensive so we went the knockoff route. The type of flooring installed was put down board by board. The boards are about 12 inches wide. Don't know what you would call it, but we are very happy with it. Got 3 kids and a pool and water on the floor is not a problem. The problem we did have was it was very, VERY slippery. Neither myself or hubby fell but the kids fell several times until the newness wore off! Good luck with your decision.

I would go with laminate as we have survived our NOW house broken dog. you can get diff qualities for use in bathrooms etc....
but anything you can wipe clean quickly and looks ok would work I guess. Anyway, good luck to all you puppy puddle wipers. It took Fudge a long while but we are finally there!!!!!! it`s fab now.

Rachxxx

My sister-in-law has the pergo floor in her den and she hates it. They are going to pull it up and put down ceramic tile. After 2 years of the boys going in and out it's started to warp and curl up in the entry way. They use that door the most and she figures wet from the pool in the summer and wet from the snow in winter, it just didn't stand up. She would even keep towels and rugs down to help cut down on it. My mother-in-law put down the vinyl tiles that look like hardwood and she loves it. It was easy to do and not that expensive. Until you walk on it you can't tell it's vinyl.

Wow! Thanks for all the opinions. I am surprised to hear Pergo is so disliked - guess that's out!

Now another question for calamity or anyone else - do you know what needs to be done to prep a slab for staining? I do want to consider that if it's not too bad. My friend's was gorgeous! You NEVER would have known it was the slab!

Edit: ME, a cleaning Nazi?? Um.....no.

lol when I seen it on HGTV (hee hee) there was no prep other than cleaning off the surface.

Hubby wanted me to pass this link along. He's been looking at doing this to our garage floor.
Staing Concrete

I failed to mention that what I saw was done outside on a patio. No sealer was used, inside a house though you would want it sealed with something and I have no clue about any of that business.

Consumer Reports' big focus this month is on kitchen improvement, including flooring. While the focus is the kitchen it's applicable to most rooms.

The engineered wood products scored the worst for water resistance--so stay away from those. Vinyl did quite well, with the solid wood and plastic laminate nearly as good. The Pergo floors came up among the worst among the plastic laminates, Armstrong "Nature's Gallery American Duet" was by a decent margin the best, with Kronotex "Swiftlock Plus" (from Lowe's) the 2nd best at a much lower price point. In solid wood, Bruce from Armstrong's "Dundee Plank" was easily the highest score, and also the cheapest Still well lower overall than either plastic laminate.

You might check the Mannington "Adura Essex Oak Plank" product, which gives you the look of wood with the practicality of vinyl.

Might be worthing checking it at the library.

I found an opportunity to sharpen some computer skills (I'm pathetic )
I love you guys, you're all making it so much fun that it I can't help but want to learn how to do this stuff (hubby is great at it but he can't teach).
Took some pictures of our flooring:
It's all from the same roll of linoleum, the color shows a little different because of the ambient light.
These two are in the dining room




These two are in the kitchen (the lighting is more yellow)




CC

I've had Pergo in my last house (my brother and I put it in...so easy enough) but it was in a dining area and a hall. We didn't live with it long as we sold the house shortly after so can't comment on the wear. I can however say that the dog hated it! LOL I had to put down many area rugs as everytime she tried to walk on it she slipped and slid all over the place. So much so she would sometimes stand at the doorway and whine until you came and got her.....so yeah......it's slippery stuff! This house all the bathrooms have SMOOTH tile in it. DUH dumb move on the builders part. Would not recommend that but the textured stuff from what I have seen looks great! Oh and the main floor of this house except baths and livingroom are all real hardwood. Kitchen included. So far so good although is showing some wear from previous owners who had many dogs from what I understand. (not to mention a little kid who rides her bike inside my house)! Good luck with your decision! Personally while the kids are little I'd put down the best (cheapest) wearing and waterproof stuff and once they are grown a bit then change it again??????

Why don't you try natural grass? It's not slippery, it's inexpensive, and it will last forever. Untrained dog? No problem, it's actually good for it! It won't stain, warp, peel, etc. and your kids won't hurt themselves if they fall. Yep, I'd definitely go that route.

~Paradox

Grass? LOL! I think LadyZ was looking for something to make her life easier! With those kiddos, don't you think grass stains, tracking dirt, bugs, having to MOW the grass, etc., would create more havoc? PHEW!