I need to replace the carpet in my living room and I'm planning on selling my house early next year so I'm not too concerned with throwing something in too nice. Sadly the carpet is not salvageable and I know it needs to be replaced. So yeah, where can I get the best price on some stuff...I know big lots and that ollies place have then for around $.69/sq. ft

6/10/2011 11:48:10 AM

Quality of the flooring <<< quality of instillation workmanship

6/10/2011 12:15:57 PM

did you price Lowe's and Home Depot

6/10/2011 12:27:12 PM

Lowe's had some Pergo, red oak, on sale for less then a dollar/sqft. I plan on installing myself so I want something that is decent and not a bitch to install.

6/10/2011 1:41:21 PM

They have Pergo at Ollie's now.

6/10/2011 1:49:08 PM

Quote :

"Quality of the flooring <<< quality of instillation workmanship"

A good installer makes a huge difference, but some laminates look terrible and aren't going to look good no matter who puts them in. Also, some just don't install well due to poor build quality. If it damages the edges when you try to lock them in place you're going to end up with bad looking seams.

I got mine from Sam's Club. Ollies in Cary does have some Pergo right now...I'd check them out.

[Edited on June 10, 2011 at 1:55 PM. Reason : l]

6/10/2011 1:53:46 PM

On it!

So are you all recommending I DONT try to install this myself?

6/17/2011 8:08:28 AM

You will need a crowbar and some scrapers to take off the carpet. You will then need a table saw to cut the flooring to make starter pieces and end pieces for each row. You will need to cut around door ways, fireplace. If you feel comfortable doing that, you can do it yourself. I personally had a friend who I paid to help me install it. He had all the tools and experience using them.

6/17/2011 8:17:41 AM

i plan on installing my own laminate flooring. i've got some experience with carpentry work so I don't think it will be that hard. plus I can buy the tools cheaper then it would cost to hire someone to install it and after its done I have new tools so bonus!!

on a side note, does anyone have any experience with a hardwood flooring saw?

http://www.lowes.com/pd_320303-46922-3600-01_0__?productId=3179071&Ntt=flooring+saw&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dflooring%2Bsaw&facetInfo=

its supposed to do the job of both a miter saw and table saw. it seems like a good tool to install flooring. however i don't think you can make compound miter cuts like you can with a miter saw.

6/17/2011 8:27:48 AM

1. you don't need compound miters on flooring
2. you don't need a specialized saw to do flooring

Bare minimum you need to do the job is:
Circular saw for ripping length wise and cross cutting for starts/ends.
Jig saw for cutting out shapes around corners and doors
Japanese pull saw for undercutting door jams

Extras to make the job easier, but if you are only doing this once, they are mainly just extra cost:
Table saw to make straighter rip cuts
Miter saw to make faster/straighter cross cuts
Oscillating multitool to under cut door jams faster.

6/17/2011 8:39:35 AM

i know i don't need a compound miter saw for flooring, but it would be nice to have a tool that could make compound miter cuts for future projects.

also, if all you have is a circular saw for ripping, you would need saw horses too. i think for $150 that flooring saw is a pretty nifty tool since you can make clean miter cuts and clean rips.

6/17/2011 9:11:00 AM

Quote :

"Oscillating multitool to under cut door jams faster."

man, I did two hw flooring installs without this, and then borrowed my father-in-law's multimax when I did beadboard in my bar. Holy shit that made life easier!

6/17/2011 10:24:02 AM

^ yeah, they are pretty awesome. Even the cheap $40 ones from harbor freight, though those are a bit on the loud side.

^^ laminate flooring typically comes in 3-4 foot lengths. saw horses would probably be easiest, but you could also use a single saw horse, or the edge of a porch or deck. it only has to be semi straight and clean because there should be a 1/4" gap around the edge that will then be covered with shoe molding. IE: it doesn't have to be perfect like you were making cabinets.

6/18/2011 9:54:50 PM

DCT

Damn cheap tile

6/18/2011 10:23:45 PM

Costco has some decent snap together laminate flooring for a ok price.

6/18/2011 10:43:32 PM

I did my kitchen a year ago and i shudder thinking about having to make all those cuts with a circular saw. Get a chop or miter saw, way faster than dealing with the circular.

If you're doing a square room I suppose you'll be doing fewer cuts than I had to do in my kitchen.

6/18/2011 10:53:26 PM

Lumber Liquidators had some for .39/sf recently.

6/18/2011 11:28:52 PM