LESLIE: Flooring’s a big topic with our callers here at The Money Pit and Debbie from New Mexico’s got a question about that. What can we do for you?
DEBBIE: Yes, my husband and I are considering laying laminate in our dining room and down the hallway.
TOM: OK.
DEBBIE: And I have a large dining room table. Our children are grown but our children and grandchildren often come home to visit. Is it really scratchable?
TOM: Oh listen, it’s …
LESLIE: Oh, the opposite of scratchable.
TOM: It is tough stuff. Debbie, I’ve got laminate floor that’s been in my house since just after I had my first child. And so, we’ve brought up three kids on the same laminate floor and it looks as good today as the day we put it down. It is incredibly durable stuff. It doesn’t …
DEBBIE: Great.
TOM: … scratch. You know, if you drop something heavy on it, like a hammer, you’ll get a little chip. Don’t ask me why I know that. (laughter) But it’s – really, it’s not so bad. You can touch it up, actually, with touchup paint that kind of looks like auto touchup paint. But it really is tough stuff. So I think it’s – if you’re concerned about durability, that’s fine.
You know, another thing that you could think about is engineered wood floor.
LESLIE: Yeah, engineered hardwood, though, the prices are a little bit different than it would be for laminate. But the beauty of engineered hardwood is that it’s much less than the actual solid hardwood. And what it is it’s layers, almost like a plywood, and then the topmost layer is the actual veneer of the hardwood that you would select. But also very durable, great in any sort of environment whether it’s a below-grade room or a kitchen or a bath.
But laminate’s a great choice. You can really put it in any room of the house. It’s a good project to do on your own. And of course, it can look from anything like a hardwood floor to tile to brick to whatever you choose.
DEBBIE: And is it easy to maintain? I mean is it hard to clean?
TOM: Absolutely.
LESLIE: Oh gosh, it’s so easy to clean.
TOM: Yep. It’s even easy to install. Debbie, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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