Laminate vs. tile

I've always lived in rentals with no choice, but have experienced both. Tile feels colder under your feet if you are barefoot. I have cold feet so I prefer laminate. Someone who tends to feel hot would probably prefer tile. Things break more easily if you drop them on tile. Tile lasts longer if you take good care of it and it doesn't break (and of course you can get replacements for breakage). In fact it lasts waaaay longer-- archaeologists find ancient tiles on sites that are still theoretically usable. Laminate is easier to clean. Grout especially is a pain to clean. Tile shows dirt a little more, depending on the color of course. Glazed tile is easier to clean than unglazed tile, and IMO feels nicer. If you get unglazed tile in the color of clay, when people track in clay it won't show much at all because it is more or less the same thing as the tile. As I said I prefer the feel and easy care of laminate. If you do get tile, get big ones so there is less grout to deal with. Tile is more slippery and can be very dangerous when wet, so if you get tile, make allowances for that by putting rugs or something near the bathroom.

I personally would pick laminate, with tile on the kitchen backsplashes maybe.

My personal favorite for non-carpet flooring is bamboo.

We installed Pergo over a yucky old tile kitchen floor in our last house, and were very happy with it. The new laminates really don't look "fakey", and it's easy on the back when you are standing in the kitchen a lot. We picked it mainly because it was easier to install ourselves than ceramic tile, but ended up being happier with it anyway. We had just removed and replaced a bathroom floor with ceramic, and we nearly lost our minds. If you do ever want to replace the floor, it's very easy to take up the laminate. Busting tile can be fun, but it's kind of a nightmare to get all of it up.

Obviously you can wet laminate enough to mop it, it's just long-term soaking that is a problem. So part of your decision would depend on how damp the house will be.

Sounds like it's easier to pull up laminate than tile, so you could start with laminate, then replace it with tile if you decide to later.

In our current house, we have bright white ceramic tile in the kitchen, which has to mopped EVERYDAY or it looks filthy. Boiling in Spic n'Span sounds good to me too Lenora!!!

tile is very cold and echoey unless your rooms are well furnished with lots of stuff. Even so I can tell the difference in my kids' room when I pulled up their rug recently - it sounded like I was walking into a totally empty house.

our tiles are kind of pale grey and white with an inner square of mottled grey and a slightly lighter border - they don't really show the dirt that much, and I rarely bother mopping. I have noticed that they're beginning to get some pretty bad chips now though, but they are about 10yrs old.

for me personally I'd choose Pergo any day, but I haven't had direct experience of it. I'd stick wtih tiles for the kitchen floor though and make sure they're glazed and non-stick. I'd also have to keep tiles in bathrooms because my lots are extremely messy with a variety of nasty liquids and solids. Having tile rather than carpet has made a huge difference to how I respond to kids peeing on the floor or dropping toothpaste, or DH doing the washing up! I'd probably be slightly less relaxed wih Pergo, and downright freaky if we had carpet!

I'm thinking of carpet tiles for the kids' room though...

Kerri.

A girlfriend of mine recently got Pergo floors...they waffled for a long time between hardwood and Pergo. The laminate won out because they plan on getting a couple of dogs in the next few years (and on having some kids) so they wanted something indestructable. A mom I know through my local club breeds Burnese Mountain Dogs (or something like that)--they are huge St. Bernard-looking things--anyway...she also has a grooming business on the side and allso occasionally boards. Those floors get a ton of use, sometimes by dogs with poorly trimmed nails. She also has a couple of teenage stepsons, not to mention her bio-brood. The floor is about 2-3 years old and looks beautiful. And no more maintainance than no-wax linoleum.

Maybe I am scarred from hardwood floors though--we had some in one of the houses I lived in growing up and my dad went completely bugnuts over their care. I can't look at one without seeing him wiping and polishing on his hands and knees every week. (He has some issues with cleanliness though, so I dunno if this is 'normal' hardwood care or not)

I don't like tile floors or countertops at all. They're pretty...but a pain in the rear to take care of. We have tile in our foyer, and it's fortunate we have extra tiles because already some are cracked from moving furniture in--and it's been less than 2 years.

I guess it depends on lifestyle, wear and tear, ect. I tend to go for the prettiest low-maintanace stuff...but you know, if you've got the time and inclination to care for it properly you should get whatever makes you the happiest!
-Kitty, mama to Fiona, Thomas, and Dylan.

I'm on the fence with this one, too. We are turning our garage into a living area (it was too small for my pickups anyway). I would like the Pergo because of the less-echo effect (and since DH will be playing music in this room). BUT, this room is going to get dirty. And I mean, the brunt of dust storms since it is on the west side of the house. This will also end up being our main entrance for ourselves (closest to where we park out back), so that door will be opened and closed in the middle of dust storms alot. We are going with ceramic tile for the durability factor. I'll just have to put a couch and quilts to help with the echo.

HOW DO YOU ADDRESS STEPS WITH A LAMINATE?
I WANT TO PUT DOWN LAMINATE FLOORS AND HAVE 17 STEPS, CAN THIS BE DONE?????

We finally decided to go with tile in our garage remodel. Easy to clean, cost, and durability were the main factors. It's a beige (Texas beige at Lowe's, to be exact). Cost was .78 per square foot (1 foot tiles, so .78 each). Also, since it is a main entry area and on the southwest side of my home, I knew it was going to get a lot of dirt (especially during dust storms. Doesn't matter how new and good your windows and doors are, you are going to get dirt during a New Mexico dust storm. It's those 55MPH winds that just drives it in.) I'm afraid the dirt would have scratched up the surface of any kind of hardwood laminate.

We also just redid the kitchen (finished last night). And we put vinyl in there. Cheap and looks nice and clean (a white/gray tile pattern).

Okay, We are replaceing our bathroom in the next month or so and yesterday I say this Laminate Tile. We do have tile in our kitchen but it is cold. So in the bathroom I was wondering if we can put the laminate tile in there. Most of the people in our house are 21 and older. Can we do it and will it last? What does everone think on this? It is not a large bathroom anyway so I was thinking if it does not last then it shouldn't take much to replace it later.. Please give me your feed back.

We are getting ready to close on our Condo. I think I am wanting laminate flooring for most of the house. My husband & I cant decide that to do with the kitchen. I would like a nice tile pattern. He agrees but he thinks we should go into the dinning room with it. I don't think that I would care for it. So taking resale in to account what would be the better selling point? We are going to be putting in a island that will divide the 2 rooms. The kitchen in in the middle of the livingroom & dinng area.

i just laid pergo throughout my house and if i had to do it all over agian i would have went with my first choice procilean tile throughout. 6 mos after we laid the laminate floor it has begun to snap crackle and pop every where u step. so no i don't recommend laminate unless u have a professional to install it and will back it up with a guarntee.