Economical flooring suggestions

July 1, 2009 10:53 AM

Looking for suggestions/recommendations on economical home flooring solutions after a carpet de-install in a 70s era home.

Looking at hardwood, laminate, bamboo, pergo. probably wont be in the home more than 5 or 6 years - neighborhood calls for an nice economical solution. modern, cool, dark are intial thoughts. Any suggestsions? recommendations?

posted by specialk420 to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

I had good luck with the laminate you can get at Costco. The price is reasonable per sq. foot, and it cuts down on delivery fees if you have a pickup. Plus, if there's a Costco near you it's no hassle to pick up an extra box if you run out.

You may want to consider your climate in your decision. I live in the desert and considered bamboo until I researched it and found that some people have had problems with the bamboo drying out due to complete lack of humidity.
posted by krisak at 10:57 AM on July 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

what rooms are we talking about here?
posted by jerseygirl at 10:59 AM on July 1, 2009

I don't know what your price point is, but I did my home office in Bamboo and the price was really good compared to hardwoods. It's a tiny bit scratch prone, as I found out when they installed my safe, but it looks great.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 11:01 AM on July 1, 2009

Economical + modern = IKEA. They have dark finishes and it is supposed to be pretty durable. No personal experience with it, though.
posted by lakeroon at 11:33 AM on July 1, 2009

We've got IKEA laminate in our new apartment. It looks great and it stands up to anything.
posted by mendel at 11:45 AM on July 1, 2009

I used Surface Source Darlington Oak Laminate Flooring from Lowe's when I built my house. It was a paltry 73 cents a square foot when I bought it a couple of years ago, the price now is ~99 cents per square foot. It's ridiculously easy to install, wears quite well and looks great when finished with an appropriate cleaning solution.
posted by torquemaniac at 11:52 AM on July 1, 2009

I also had a good experience with the Costco laminate -- it was on sale at the time for $1 per sq. ft. It's nice looking and durable, and easy to install.

Good enough for 2 rooms in my house, until I get around to putting in real wood.
posted by coolguymichael at 12:05 PM on July 1, 2009

Response by poster: hmm i am doing my living room dining room possibly kitchen and main hallway (about 700 square feet) I think Kahrs is the closest I want to get to laminate. The costco stuff sounds interesting though. Thanks for all the suggestions so far.
posted by specialk420 at 1:02 PM on July 1, 2009

I used cork tiles during a remodel about 7 years ago. It was very easy to install and seemed to wear pretty well. I used 2 colors to create a pattern, one very dark and one lighter. Price varies, but I've seen it at Lumber Liquidators for 1.50 sq ft.
posted by Noon Under the Trees at 8:39 PM on July 1, 2009

Not going to recommend Pergo or a laminate for a kitchen. If you keep pet bowls in the kitchen, or a dishwasher hose goes or a ice maker line starts leaking, water is going to warp laminate.

A lot of these newer hardwoods can be installed on your own. You just have to rent the appropriate tools. If you do hardwood, go to Lumber Liquidators (storefront or online site). Ask questions and do the research. We found them extremely helpful when we had floors done last year.

Bamboo is supposedly great. But check into the durability of the product versus high traffic areas.
posted by jerseygirl at 6:22 AM on July 2, 2009

Response by poster: I ended up going with Kahrs engineered flooring from fastfloors - learned alot in the process... If anyone should have a question about flooring especially the range of possibilities please ask. Its a bit complex and easy to get led astray.
posted by specialk420 at 11:17 AM on August 7, 2009