Why Laminate?

Why spend over $3 a square foot for laminate flooring when you can find 3/4 inch hardwood for as little as $2 a square foot?

Hardwood is very pourous, it breathes the air in your home and seasonally, as the climate changes, the hardwood, under stress, expands and contracts. Think about what happens when you leave a 2x4 on your lawn for a few days. Eventually, that 2x4 will start to bend.

Hardwood flooring is the same, however nailing it down to a strong subfloor will keep it from warping and bowing. Glue, on the other hand, is not a strong enough bond and when that hardwood starts to bend your new floor is going to be a big disaster.

What about engineered wood? Yes, engineered wood was designed specifically to solve this problem and can be glued down over concrete. Engineered wood can be installed, on or above grade (on a concrete subfloor or on a plywood subfloor). Ok, what's the catch? The drawback to using engineered wood is that the wear layer is typically very thin.

Unlike solid 3/4 inch hardwood, engineered wood is made up of several thin layers of wood. These "layers" are the key to stabilizing the wood, preventing it from warping and bowing. The downside however, is that the top layer, the one you walk on, is usually too thin to sand and when the day comes that it wears through, you'll have to replace your floor. The two areas I see this the most in are foyers and kitchens, with a combination of high traffic and occassionally some dampness, engineered wood in these areas usually only last about 7 to 10 years.

Particle board "the plight of the homeowner." Pull up your carpet and you will usually find one of four types of subfloor.

What is particle board? Particle board, basically, is saw dust molded together with glue. The problem with it, is that it's not very strong. The second problem with it, is that it's not very moisture resistent. You should never install nail down hardwood over particle board because the particle board isn't strong enough to stabilize wood. Nor should you install engineered wood over particle board for the same reason.

You shouldn't install tile over particle board either because the first step to installing tile is spreading thin-set all over the subfloor and because particle board is like a big spounge, it will suck all the water out of the thin-set and eventually turn into mush.

Can I install a concrete backer board or ditra over particle board? You could, but you really shouldn't. When installing ditra, thin-set should be spread on both sides, the subfloor side and the tile side, again allowing the particle board to absorb the thin set. When installing concrete backer board, remember, it also needs to be fastened to the subfloor, usually with nails or with thin-set. Particle board just isn't solid enough for hardwood and tile.

Long story short..

If you want hardwood or tile, and you have a particle board subfloor, you will first need to "rebuild" your subfloor. Which means, pulling up the particle board and installing real plywood. If you have particle board and spending the extra money to rebuild you subfloor doesn't excite you, then laminate is a great solution, because, unlike hardwood and tile, laminate is not glued or nailed to the subfloor and because of that, it's perfectly fine installing it over particle board.

Click here to read about laminate durability.