Laminate or Hardwood?

Refinish vs Paint?

Re-Use vs Rip Out?

I think I've wrestled with these questions many times over the course of the last few years but it never really gets clear. I have no idea which is better or which is right. 

We went with laminate in the new house because we needed to cover a lot of square feet with a cleanable floor ASAP. It needed to be something that would endure us. Endure our renovations, our dog, our cat, our kids and whatever else walked through that door. It couldn't be too precious, not in this house. 

Still, I wasn't sure about the laminate. It made sense but it is just not the same, you know? It feels too slippery and it's cold. It looks fake and I'm the kind of person who really cares about that sort of thing so I knew it would bother me. 

In the former house we opted to refinish the hardwood about 2 months before we put the place on the market. For 6 years I lived with old ratty worn-out floors that always looked dirty and were just plain old ugly. 

Within about a week of having the floors all shiny and nice again I started noticing the wear. It was not bad, but it was happening and there was nothing I could do to stop it. We felt panic when the kids threw a toy. We held our breath when some one walked across the floor in shoes. It stressed us out! The dog? Yeah the dog was a walking click-clack of stress. I loved the way they looked, the way the felt and the way they warmed up the house but I did not like the stress. 

When we had them refinished we considered doing it ourself but decided ultimately to get a professional to do it. Part of the thing is taking the time to sand everything evenly and we just didn't have that kind of time. We had a deadline. 

                                        

Here are some before and after shots of the floor as it is being sanded and then varnished. This is an old Oak floor that was completely wore out and grey so it really looks amazing. I'm really a fan of the pre-varnish floor but it still looks nice after it's all done.

The end result was a warm floor that was comfortable to walk on and easy to clean after the varnish had cured. It was easy to scratch the surface and the process cost us about 2000 or 2.00 a square foot + we had to live elsewhere. We were lucky because we have a fully developed basement with a kitchen in this house so we ended up being fine, however that would have cost a lot of money otherwise.

Our laminate floor on the other hand was a DIY project that cost us 1.65 in floor and .40 for the underlay. So almost 2.00 a square foot. It was done within minutes of laying it down and so far has not a scratch.

The floor itself isn't that fun to walk on. I find it too slippery and I find the little bevel edges sharp on my barefeet. It's not painful I just notice them. I might on a hardwood floor too. I also find it cold underfoot. That might be nice in summer time! 

The kids are not able to damage the floor at all so far and the dog has had 0 impact. There is something nice about not having to worry about that. I do worry about water though. 

I'm not sure you can ever get everything you need but if I had it to do over again, and more money to do it with. I would use real wood with a worn out finish that would patina with my children's love. Maybe next time?