SFGate

swede54 I agree with your contractor. We used laminate on a custom build several years ago and ended up covering it with granite. It would have been better (and cheaper) to have used a better material in the first place. We are building again and I am definitely considering quartz.

kimdee24 Agreed also. Go with tile or hardwood, it's worth it in the long run.

Cancork Floor Inc. If you really want a continuous look, you can go with vinyl planks. Same concept as laminate, but water proof. The planks are click-together and can be purchased from better flooring stores. We are now seeing solid vinyl "stiff" planks that can go in place of laminate. But be prepared to pay a premium for the proper type of planks. Some of the thinner vinyl is very flexible; which sounds like a good idea, but my sources in Germany are saying that the "flexible" vinyl planks are now coming undone at the seams...too expansion during summer. Over a few years they are now "unzipping". Cancork is about to bring in a 6mm, solid core "stiff" vinyl plank that is popular in Switzerland, Germany and Austria (3 countries that DEMAND high quality products and WANT to pay higher prices...so they can say how well-off they are!).

Just a thought.

Of course, if you are looking for an easy to care for, click together floor that is water resistant to all but the biggest "blow-ups", a cork floating floor can be laid in every room (excluding the bathroom). And considering that $3.49/sf is the average price of our floors...not a bad option!

Norm Walters Construction Inc. There are porcelain tiles out now that look like wood. Attached is a photo of a kitchen I did with this type of product by Panaria. Even my subcontractors thought it was real wood

smitty1159 I had laminate in my old house,but it looked like ceramic tile...lived there for 10 years and it held up pretty good. It was good quality, top of the line stuff though from Armstrong.

Lewis Renovation & Repair LLC I think tile is the only way to go in a kitchen or bathroom. Any wood or laminate product is going to be affected by water. Many of the laminate flooring products have a core made of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) which can double in size when exposed to water. For tile, the worst thing that can happen is you drop a heavy skillet on it and one breaks, but replacing a tile is fairly simple. As long as you keep the grout a darker color to resist discoloration, tile is the way to go.

lessalt We had tile in our kitchen for 20 years. I cook and bake a lot and the tile is very hard on the legs. We installed top of the line Armstrong laminate 5 years ago and love it. We wipe up any spills immediately. A serious dishwasher leak might make us regret it but we have extra cartons put away just in case.

smitty1159 I agree tile is hard on your legs and if you drop something it is less forgiving than tile. It is worth looking into.

atrice I have used laminate in several houses and I think it is really best for one small area. I have done entire house in laminate and my current house entire wood. I really like the feel and look of real hw. You can get great deals on wood and for wet areas you could use engineered. you should also consider resale or if you plan to stay awhile. In some markets laminate is a negative and hw is a plus