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Original poster

Is laminate vile? Your thoughts please.

79 replies

Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 07:23

oh we are talking IKEA crappola laminate btw cos thats all I can afford

I have the most manky, vile carpets in the whole world and am now prepared to remortgage my firstborn to get rid of them.

Right I think its hideous but less so than cream coloured carpets which have hosted drunken parties and 2 toilet training toddlers.

But it has that b&q chic feel

aaargh.

Help.

OP posts:
ssd · 18/01/2007 07:29

we have some laminate

not gorgeous, but it does the job

you have to get whats in your price range don't you and ours was very narrow!

you can always change it in a few years if money improves )though I'm still waiting for this to happen!!)

NewMoonOnMonday · 18/01/2007 07:34

I've got laminate in the hall and living-room. It's not that pretty (it was mega cheap) but it's practical and not that ugly. Could have got some nicer laminate flooring if I'd have been able to pay more.

drosophila · 18/01/2007 07:38

I have laminate in DS's room and it look's ok but it is the wide board type rather than the 3 little board type. I got oak flooring in the hall and it was very cheap as we were sent to a place that sells to the trade. Funnily enough I am sure people think it is laminate cos they call it laminate.

cuppa · 18/01/2007 07:45

I'd say go for it. bloody hell, cream carpets and young kids, no thanks.

we have only tiles and laminaTE, cannot imagine surviving the infant years with carpet. In 1 2 week holiday before we moved into our new tile-and-laminate house, we have that much illness & accidents, the amount of food, wee, puke etc on the holiday appartment carpets was bleurrggghhhh and I was go grateful I could just wipe. go for it. can't be worse than wee poo and puke

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 07:50

this is all good

actually I'd rather have the laminate than the carpet..dp otoh...ooh he does like a nice pelmet....

OP posts:
MellowNoMates · 18/01/2007 07:53

The crappola Ikea stuff is fine.

I have good quality wood in living room and hall and crappola stuff in boys room. Its great, espescially as we are potty training and ds poos and pees everywhere.

We had a cream carpet before and it was YUCK!!

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 07:55

thank you

this is all good

am going to print this out for dp

anyone got anything on hygeine? carpets vs laminate?

oh and how easy is it to install?

OP posts:
drosophila · 18/01/2007 07:56

I also have a cream carpet and I just get it cleaned regularly. It is due to be replace with Wood flooring but then I read soemwhere that a huge % of accident at A&E are from slipping on wood floors.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 07:58

oh

now that is not what I needed to hear.

ah it'll be fine.

I am considering the injury to me of looking at a cream and not-so-cream carpet all day also...

OP posts:
MellowNoMates · 18/01/2007 08:03

You have to be careful when it is wet, it can become very slippy (obviously) I keep a spare towel to throw on spills.

noddyholder · 18/01/2007 08:04

Get them cleaned rather than laminate.I have never understood the attraction of something that doesn't look anything like wood and really does look cheap.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 08:11

omg these carpets are beyond cleaning.

we got them cleaned about a month ago.

and then we looked at them in despair for quite a long time.

oh they are super cheap vilo carpets also, btw

put in by the last occupant, who, by all accounts, was a bit of a diy whizz

(will be coming on soon to ask for advice about huge great concrete bar in middle of living room floor...)

OP posts:
ItsMeMellowma · 18/01/2007 08:27

Obviously we all have different opinions

But I think laminate looks nice, clean and it is very easy to keep clean.

I have a carpet in my bedroom but laminate and floor tiles everywhere else which is a godsend when you have dc and pets.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 10:37

i do think it would be nice to have laminate which isn't meant to mimic wood. i find that a bit aspirational tbh, but whats the alternative?

OP posts:
tinkerbellie · 18/01/2007 10:44

we have laminate in kitchen that mimics tiles, laminate in the living (well half of it near the table), and laminate in the kids bedroom

i personally think it looks nice , we used to have a carpet throughout the room and it got sooo disgusting (now only half of it had been down for a year and it's already gross)

also i have found that ds's eczema has been better sincetheyhave had laminate in the bedroom!!

TooTicky · 18/01/2007 10:46

A cleanable floor is infinitely pref to vommo carpets. I HATE carpets. Watch out for vinyl though, similar problems to PVC healthwise, not sure how long the effects last.

expatinscotland · 18/01/2007 10:47

I agree w/Ticky on this one.

Carpets are just vile.

drosophila · 18/01/2007 10:49

Lino but a tad expensive.

Marina · 18/01/2007 10:50

Fillyjonk, consider lino.
It can be cleaned like laminate but is an entirely natural product, which will ultimately biodegrade at the end of its lifespan (long if well laid).
for me the big question mark over laminates is the chemicals used to manufacture them.

Original poster
Fillyjonk · 18/01/2007 10:50

good good good

oh no hang on I didn't mean vinyl I meant lino

Surely you could do lovely things with lino. All those strong, bright colours

god I HATE carpet.

I mean, ffs, why take a piece of fabric, coat it in chemicals to retard dirt, then walk on it, and then fecking tack it in place so you can't even wash it.

its disgusting.

eeew.

OP posts:
Marina · 18/01/2007 10:50

Snap dros. But cheaper than carpet and much nicer than laminate!

3rdTriMossTer · 18/01/2007 10:53

Our last house was carpet and it was impossible to keep clean (three hairy pets) but the landlord wouldn't let us put laminate down.

As soon as we bought our own place we went laminate crazy. Now only our bedroom is left sans laminate and as soon as we can afford it (the other bedroom's being converted into a nursery which is taking all our cash atm) we'll probably change that as well.

I think laminate looks far less "cheap" than dirty, hairy carpets. And maybe I'm paranoid but it does seem that smells get "stuck" in carpets and it's harder to keep the house smelling nice.

Actually I think laminate can look really good! But there's a slight possibility that I'm a bit of a chav, so take that with a pinch of salt!

charliecat · 18/01/2007 10:55

Yes, but in comparison to dirty carpets its a godsend.
Cheap B and Q value laminate owner society

Pablothelittleredfox · 18/01/2007 10:57

I don't like laminate much - it does the job but it is a bit cheap looking. Wood flooring much nicer but obviously lots of £££!!

We've got a beige carpet in the morning room where the boys it and it has to be cleaned every few months. I hate it but am not replacing it until I can afford to do oak flooring through the whole of the hall and morning room and that's going to cost me mucho ££££

leahsmum · 18/01/2007 11:01

I have real wood in the living room and hall, lino in the kitchen and carpets on the stairs and bedrooms.

We had cheap laminate in our old house and its much better than carpet. I honestly dont know how I would have seen through the toilet training with carpets. Real wood looks much nicer - but is also more expensive. I'd go with the Ikea laminate - much better and more hygienic than dirty carpets - think of all the dirt that gets trodden in and all the little accidents that children have on them, then think that children do tend to pick things up off the floor and eat them. At least with laminate you can actually see and clean the dirt much easier. Dont get me wrong its v easy to run the hoover over a carpet but how much of the dirt are you actually picking up?

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