New Laminate Flooring

Good morning! I hope you all had a great Christmas. We have been super busy around here. We decided to spend the break putting in new floors in our home. It has turned out to be a bigger project than I had thought.

Before

We had the standard builder beige carpet all through out our house. It was build in 2001 and hadn't been changed since. With two dogs in the house, it was a nightmare!

After much deliberation and research, we decided to install laminate flooring instead of hardwood. Laminate holds up to scratching better and with our two dogs, that's pretty important to us. Also, this is our first house, not our forever house so I couldn't see us investing in nice real hardwoods in our starter house just for them to get all scratched up.

We went with a 10mm laminate. If you choose to use laminate, I would suggest getting a 10 or 12mm because of the increased durability. There are some great options out there that really look like real wood. Ours had the pad attached. We got a 10mm Spring Mountain Oak from Lumber Liquidators for about $1.80 per sq. ft. Do some price shopping before you start, but we found LL to have
the best prices in our area.

 I was surprised at how easy it was to pull up our carpet. Once I found a place to start, it was only attached along the wall and I could just pull it up with no trouble. I would suggest wearing a dust mask. I couldn't believe the filth we had been living in!! GROSS!

Installing the laminate wasn't extremely hard, just time consuming. Once we got into a rhythm, it became easier. One of the hardest parts is deciding how you want to lay your pattern and making sure all those measurements work out. Our pattern alternates starting with a full board, 2/3 board, 1/3 board, repeat.

Here is the finish product. It really makes the room look bigger. While it does show dirt, at least it is easier to clean than the carpet. I love the color too, it really makes the yellow walls pop. I will post a better picture when it is 100% compete!  I am currently in the process of replacing the living room floor so I'll do another post when it's finished!

 

Thanks for stopping by!