laminate flooring questions

[Kmac15]

HELP

we are reflooring the guest bedroom with oak laminate (great sale at lowes)
we were able to get enough to continue on to the small hall and planned on continuing on into the guest bathroom, but the sales person said the laminate is not suitable for the bathroom.
My questions is, since this bathroom is rarely used, (empty nesting is great) would you still try it (the flooring is already paid for) or would any moisture mess it up?
How sensitive to moisture is this? will just having a toilet and litter box that is used daily mess with it? The tub is used about 10 days out of the year.

[Country Lady]

Any water standing on the laminate flooring for any length of time will damage the floor.

[DAVID In Wisconsin]

The flooring must remain dry. I live alone and had laminate in a bathroom in the past. It held up for my purposes but I was very careful about not letting any water stay on the floor. Good luck!

[Sawmill Jim]

Well i think a lot of the watter scare is just for warranty purposes

I tossed a piece of it out in the rain to see how it would do not that bad .
Try a small scrap If they didn't tell you not to use in a bathroom some one would use it in a wet bath or swimming pool then fuss it was no good .

[Kmac15]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Well i think a lot of the watter scare is just for warranty purposes

I tossed a piece of it out in the rain to see how it would do not that bad .
Try a small scrap If they didn't tell you not to use in a bathroom some one would use it in a wet bath or swimming pool then fuss it was no good .

that is a good idea, the first scrape piece I am going to get wet and see how it does. I should have a decant idea of the wet response by the time he gets done with the first room.

[travlnusa]

I would consider the problems to look at would be condinsation (sp?) from summer humidy and water that always seems to leak out of the shower/bath. I am sure you would clean up any spills or standing water, but the slow exposure to water as mentioned could be an issue.

[Walt K. in SW PA]

We have had the IKEA version of laminate floor in one of our bathrooms since 1996 and have not had a problem at all. As of 2 years ago we did our main bath's floor with laminate as well, some other brand of which I cannot recall as we got the stuff on clearance. No problems there either. I think as long as there are no regular "floods" you'll be OK.

[Big Dave]

Three years back put Pergo Laminate in the bath. This year it is being replaced with tile. Moisture is absorbed by this product and puckers at the seams.

[The Paw]

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Well i think a lot of the watter scare is just for warranty purposes

I tossed a piece of it out in the rain to see how it would do not that bad .
Try a small scrap If they didn't tell you not to use in a bathroom some one would use it in a wet bath or swimming pool then fuss it was no good .

the problem isn't what water does to one piece on its own, it's how they fit together (or don't) when the moisture gets them to swell.

It sounds like others have managed to do okay trying it, but I wouldn't generally put it in a bathroom.

Since you already have the flooring, you might as well give it a try, I would create a transition strip at the bathroom door though, so if it goes bad, you can easily remove it back to the door and replace with something else.

[stirfamily]

Please Do Not put down laminate flooring. It was the biggest mistake we ever made! We have it in 3 rooms plus hallway and it was a total waste of time and money. And it wasn't cheap either. If you can afford something else, get it.
karen in NE Indiana

[Kmac15]

Originally Posted by stirfamily

Please Do Not put down laminate flooring. It was the biggest mistake we ever made! We have it in 3 rooms plus hallway and it was a total waste of time and money. And it wasn't cheap either. If you can afford something else, get it.
karen in NE Indiana

More details please

[Sawmill Jim]

Well i got a whole pallet of seconds with the vapor barrier for 250 bucks so

[Carolyn]

When we bought our mobile home almost 2 yrs ago, the mobile home was brand new, but when transporting it, they had an accident and there was a hole in the kitchen floor. We got a really good deal on it--I'm sure they got to write it off and then sold it at a discount, made good money on it. Anyway--I was supposed to be able to "make choices about the kitchen floor, but they changed their minds and bought cheap laminate flooring. I was very upset, but I do have to admit it has held up well. It will be 2 yrs and we make soap in the kitchen, I have 4 grandchildren that get ice and it never fails, someone loses an ice cube and it isn't discovered until someone steps on it, sometimes we have a goat kid in the corner, my younger daughter wasn't careful while doing dishes while she lived here, so they was usually a water mess between the sink and the diswasher. We have constant traffic. There are a couple of places that have little chips in it, but I am surprised, it has held up very very well. The only major complaint I have about it is that it is sooo cold in the winter. I mean COLD. Granted I live in ND and we just had -24 F with breezes to make wind chill -42. Even in a little warmer weather, it is cold. My brother has laminate in his daughers bedroom even over a basement, they to put throw rugs in the room because they couldn't walk in the room without shoes and socks. But other then that, I have been surprised. The man that installed them said the key is the glue and how they are installed. I put lots of rugs in my kitchen.

[wintrrwolf]

Have Laminate flooring in my kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room. Love it!! My son gets water everywhere when he takes a shower but I make him clean it up...no biggy. I now want to rip out all the gross Berber carpet (Berber is the worst carpet in the world) and put in all laminate flooring, just trying to match what is already in the house.

[o&itw]

Originally Posted by wintrrwolf

I now want to rip out all the gross Berber carpet (Berber is the worst carpet in the world).

Nope, cheap shag is the worst carpet in the world!

[Walt K. in SW PA]

[. The man that installed them said the key is the glue and how they are installed. ]


I believe that is probably the case-glue your seams well to keep the water out of 'em.

[jross]

The Pergo installation video says Pergo can be installed in a bathroom or kitchen. It stresses that all edges be sealed with silicone just like the edges on outside doorways, under windows or any other place where water can get to the substrate.

[Ohiogal]

Your best bet is tile. More work to install, but permanent and you don't have to worry about water damage. I've got laminate down, would NOT put it in the bathroom or kitchen.

[haypoint]

There is such a wide range of quality it is hard to reccommend anything with laminate.
When I hear "we got a good deal", I shutter. Since most of us can't tell the good from the bad, I question any good deal.
I know of a house built 10 years ago that has good quality laminate. I know of another floor that had laminate that acted more like varnished hardboard.

Lowes sells real hardwood flooring, 3/4 inch thick, pre-finished, oak for under $3.00 a square foot. Harder finish than laminate and can be refinished in the future.

I like tile for a bathroom, however a good vinyl flooring can't be beat for long lasting no maintanece, ease of clean up.

[shakeytails in KY]

I love my laminate! I've had it installed for about 5 years now. We have dogs in the house and aren't careful with the floor at all. When I first got the stuff, I experimented with putting pieces of it in water. Twelve hours didn't bother it at all. Twenty-four hours immersed in water made the edges swell just a bit, but it was fine after it dried out. This wasn't expensive laminate, either. I paid $1.29/sq.ft for it, the brand is Shaw- at the time I bought it you couldn't get much cheaper.

While I probably wouldn't put laminate in a children's bathroom, I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a master bath, powder room, or little used bathroom.