Wood vs. Laminate Flooring?
We need to redo the floor for a v. large bedroom in our brownstone duplex which will be a rental for at least a few years, maybe permanently. Huge price difference between pergo and wood flooring, not sure it’s worth it to do the wood for a rental — what think? Do renters hate wood…
We need to redo the floor for a v. large bedroom in our brownstone duplex which will be a rental for at least a few years, maybe permanently. Huge price difference between pergo and wood flooring, not sure it’s worth it to do the wood for a rental — what think? Do renters hate wood laminate, too? How much would it hurt if we decide to sell?
Laminate Flooring is the most clever inventions for mimicking a hardwood floor. So what if it doesn’t last forever! Most things get old and need to be changed. The great thing about laminate floors is that exact fact. That they are easy and cheap to replace. Renters love any apartment that has wood, even laminate wood. Believe it or not. Laminate floors have many different quality ratings. If you go with one of the good quality laminate floors you wont regret it.
As jbaglio writes, hardwood can always be refinished.
Pergo is sort of like wood wallpaper meets cardboard.
As a property owner, i find that tenants really appreciate wood flooring. It has come down a bit in price and lasts forever. For a few bucks it can always be sanded or buffed back to new after a tenant leaves.
as a former long time renter, i would say that laminate floors only turned me off in as much as they are less durable. The last time I want as a renter is to be a responsible tenant but still be charged for wear/tear because cheap materials wore out.
So I generally tried to avoid renting in apts with laminate floors. Just like LL’s never know how crazy a tenant will turn out, tenants never know how crazy or unreasonble LLs will be either. I’ve seen unscrupulous LLs try to withhold all sorts of $ from the security deposit for totally unreasonble things.
I would keep in mind that pulling up old laminate flooring and putting down something new is expensive and time-consuming… so over the lifetime of the house cheap flooring is not so cheap. It’s also sending material to a landfill, which is not ideal.
I would choose something that you can live with for as close to forever as you can, within a budget of course, but remembering that part of what you are paying for is knowing that you are only going to have to do it once.
Whatever you do, don’t apply several layers of paint over the wood floor as an alternative to refinishing it.
I agree with dave — unless it is a high end rental, I don’t think laminate will turn off too many renters.
Note to self: buy some big area rugs soon…
When I rented, I would definately avoid laminate flooring and it would turn me off as a buyer too. Wood floors hold up better. After a few years of using it as a rental, there’s a chance the laminate will look terrible and you’ll have to start all over again, instead of just refinishing them. It’s an investment, but sometimes the cheapest option costs more over the long run.
Wood will wear better for a much longer period of time, so it is an investment. That being said, we installed IKEA’s Tundra laminate flooring in part of our house and love it. This flooring will probably only be used for a 10 year stretch, so cost was a big factor for us. We did not like the look or expense of Pergo…..
I wouldn’t worry about it in a rental unles you’re expecting $5,000 or so in rent. It can always be taken up and thrown away at some point.