Laminate Flooring by Krono-Experience?

[donnamatrix]

We are looking to finish basement, which is thankfully dry as a bone, with laminate flooring. Have used Pergo in the past from Home Beautiful and it was great, although a bit pricey. We have seen similar product at Wickes manufactured from Krono ... does anyone have any experience with this product, either pro or con? THANKS!

[dmjr]

Give Don @ Donnybrook Home Services (603-284-7343) a call. He knows a good contractor that will be able to help you out.

[boat_guy64]

I finished an office in my basement a few years ago. I was also planning on using Pergo, but purchased Shaw brand laminate flooring at Home Depot. It worked out great and for less than 1/2 the price of Pergo. Only downside is that laminate flooring on concrete is pretty cold in the winter.

[SteveA]

I'm considering laminate flooring for one or more smaller rooms in the house. The total job would be maybe 200-300 Square feet.

My question is "do it yourself" vs. "professional. On the surface many of the DIY videos make it look like an easy job. But if you don't have all of the table saws and other tools when is the professional install a better deal?

Any advice, including from any of the professionals out here, welcome.

Thanks!

[brk-lnt]

Most laminate floor products are a very easy DIY job. You shouldn't need a table saw, but a power miter saw (rentable from Home Depot) will come in handy and make the job go smoother. Other than that you should only need basic hand tools. A flush-cut handsaw may also be good to have on hand if you need to trim any door mouldings to clear the new flooring.

300sqft of flooring sounds like an afternoon job.

[BroadHopper]

Make sure you check out the moisture content of the base. Whether it is concrete or wood. I had my wood floor installed by one our advertisers and he failed to check the moisture. The flooring is curling up all over the place. The installer told me to call the mfg. The mfg told me about the moisture check. I call the installer if he had checked the moisture and he never returned my calls. A call to the NH AG office and was told there is a NH law that contractors and subcontractors are responsible for their work up to a year after installation.

Actually, what happened pointed out another problem. I had my crawlspace checked. The builder purposely did not install an access panel. A building inspector says there was suppose to be one. There were no moisture barrier on the ground and the beams and sills were rotted out. No wonder I am sanding down the doors to make them fit!

The contractor the insurance company hired to replace the frames told me I was lucky the building did not cave in! Make sure you have a reliable contractor/subcontractor for building and or remodeling.

I DIY the flooring the second time around. It was fun!

[Drummer Girl]

Look into the two types of TrafficMaster Allure. Home Depot product. Score w/ a utility knipe and snap. Thick enough to go over concrete, ceramic tile, and other surfaces and subfloors. Flexible enough to go over imperfect floors. Extremely DIY friendly. Floating floor, one type adheres to itself w/ a strong adhesive strip, the other type is click lock (Ultra) like laminates. Moisture, not a problem as they are resilient vinyl. Google.

[sky's]

We are looking to finish basement, which is thankfully dry as a bone, with laminate flooring. Have used Pergo in the past from Home Beautiful and it was great, although a bit pricey. We have seen similar product at Wickes manufactured from Krono ... does anyone have any experience with this product, either pro or con? THANKS!

as long as the area you are trying to cover is not to large in size you'll be ok. for example small bathrooms 5x8 ok larger rooms you will see the seams in short amount of time trust me. these floating floors are ok for small rooms larger rooms seek other methods. floating floors do move and the seams or joints will show if your ok with that fine if not try other methods. good luck :) if you want, give us a call and perhaps we can help. www.skyscarpentry.com

[chipj29]

I'm considering laminate flooring for one or more smaller rooms in the house. The total job would be maybe 200-300 Square feet.

My question is "do it yourself" vs. "professional. On the surface many of the DIY videos make it look like an easy job. But if you don't have all of the table saws and other tools when is the professional install a better deal?

Any advice, including from any of the professionals out here, welcome.

Thanks!

Steve, if you are even the slightest bit handy, it is a pretty easy job. I did my entire first floor (roughly 800 square feet) myself. It took 2 full days, only because I split the project up. You would need a table saw to rip the width of boards, and a power miter saw to cut the length.
If you don't have the tools, it might be easier to hire it out. Just make sure you get a few bids. I would guess that you would pay $2-3 per square foot for a professional to install.