Tile or Pergo

[softailgarage]

So, I've been informed that the cat-pissed carpet in the spare bedroom is coming out and new flooring going in...and I'm the labor Its up to me what to put in, tile or Pergo. Now since I'm the labor, cost is not an issue. The biggest issue is I've never done either, dont know the first thing about tile or pergo. So, the big question is which is easier ? I've done about 15 min. of research and kinda leaning toward Pergo. I need opinions, suggestions, and some good knee pads

 

[Thirsty]

Pergo is easier IMO, I did our whole house minus kitchen about ten yrs ago and it still looks good and I had a large dog for about 5 yrs and two kids. Easy to rip up too if you should change your mind down the road.

 

[930dreamer]

X2 on Pergo, I did our family room 5 years ago.

 

[DGOZ06]

Make sure you get the smell out of the subfloor, or better yet replace it - at least the area where the cat frequented. At the very least, scrub with bleach then wait a few days to see what you still smell. Last thing you want is to put down the new floor and still smell what Fluffy left.

 

[SuperSocket]

Tile will have more value IF done right and proper tiles are used (ie, not cheap as dirt tiles). Pergo will be a dozen times easier on the install.

 

[PDACPA]

+3 on the Pergo. Install is pretty straight forward and easy. Pull the baseboards as the floor is floating and then you can easily go under and the baseboard set on top. Hardest area I had was around the door jam with the cuts.

 

[Bojans]

There is no comparison in the labor, Pergo is 10 times easier and you probably have all the tools to do it. If you want to got a step up in the world and you are not putting this over concrete you could move up to pre-finished hardwood.

Tile will give you a reason to buy some new tools...

 

[rlitman]

Pergo is much easier to install, and much easier on the feet.
Just read the books, and remember to leave the gap at the edges for expansion.

Oh, and don't use bleach on the subfloor. Go to a pet store and get "Nature's Miracle". It's an enzyme cleaner that is much better at cleaning up biological "output" (cat pee, baby vomit, many things like this), without causing damage (like bleach).

 

[softailgarage]

"Tile will give you a reason to buy some new tools... "
Yeah, I know, that was the hardest part

 

[softailgarage]

Make sure you get the smell out of the subfloor, or better yet replace it - at least the area where the cat frequented. At the very least, scrub with bleach then wait a few days to see what you still smell. Last thing you want is to put down the new floor and still smell what Fluffy left.

It's concrete slab and i was thinking about using a concrete etch solution

 

[cafyrman]

I've never done tile, but I've laid a thousand or so sq ft of laminate through a lot of complicated rooms. As with anything else, it's all about layout. A simple bedroom should be pretty easy. Figure out the width and length of the room and divide those by the width and length of the laminate you choose. The goal is to not end up with a little sliver of flooring that's a huge pain to slide into place. For example, if your laminate is 6" wide and you get a number of 6.1 pieces across, getting that .1 piece in is going to ****. You might want to start with a less than full width piece in the beginning. Make sense?

 

[cafyrman]

Oh... and I've found that laminate does not hold up as well as tile. Not by a long shot. And I have no kids. I find that no matter what I do, laminate looks hazy and crappy.

 

[softailgarage]

I've never done tile, but I've laid a thousand or so sq ft of laminate through a lot of complicated rooms. As with anything else, it's all about layout. A simple bedroom should be pretty easy. Figure out the width and length of the room and divide those by the width and length of the laminate you choose. The goal is to not end up with a little sliver of flooring that's a huge pain to slide into place. For example, if your laminate is 6" wide and you get a number of 6.1 pieces across, getting that .1 piece in is going to ****. You might want to start with a less than full width piece in the beginning. Make sense?

Poway huh?,wanna lay some Pergo? LOL. thanks, i really haven't thought about that. Will have to do some math before starting.

 

[rwhite692]

Not a huge fan of Pergo, or laminate flooring in general.

It looks really nice and it is great, until you walk on it, and then the "hollow" sound underfoot immediately tells you, "oh...a floating laminate floor!"

Also, if you have pets and the associated occasional accidents, that pee (or any other little puddle of liquid that is allowed to sit on it) is going to seep into and swell the material at the joints, resulting in some real ugliness...

And...unlike a real hardwood floor, laminate flooring can never be simply sanded and refinished.

I'm a big fan of porcelain tile. Did the majority of our house with it.

Was a lot of work, but it was worth it, IMHO.

 

[tcianci]

You will probably enjoy installing the laminate flooring as opposed to the tile. We sell a lot of it simply because the install allows us to move the contents of the room to one end of the area, install the flooring, shift the contents onto the finished part and finish the job. Regardless of how you treat the kitty presents (and you should) Be sure to follow the manufacturers recs on the install including the underlayment and vapor barrier. Some products have an underlayment pre-applied to the plank, those typically require a separate vapor barrier over concrete. Some of the underlayment products seal to itself forming a vapor barrier and underlayment in one product.

Get a multifunction cutting tool like a Fein multiMaster, Rockwell Sonicrafter, Dremel Multi max or my all time favorite (drum roll) the HF el cheapo 29 dollar tool. Do a little web work on laminate install, read the manufacturers instructions, you won't screw up and if you do, it's only that piece, not the whole floor.

 

[softailgarage]

"Also, if you have pets and the associated occasional accidents, that pee (or any other little puddle of liquid that is allowed to sit on it) is going to seep into and swell the material at the joints, resulting in some real ugliness..."
" Regardless of how you treat the kitty presents (and you should)"
The cats (2 male & 2 female) were bannished to the Outside world a month ago, so no more "accidents"

 

[cafyrman]

Poway huh?,wanna lay some Pergo? LOL. thanks, i really haven't thought about that. Will have to do some math before starting.

Figured that "invite" was coming when I saw where you were from. I'm pretty damn busy these days with my own projects but might be able to stop by for a little bit depending on what part of North County you're in.

Here's a little example of what I was talking about. (And partly to show off) This was a ~500 sq ft laminate project in my living room. As you go through the room there are 5 different lengths (plus the closet) and 5 different widths, so I had to figure out all of those so that I didn't get screwed on one. And yes, a buddy who's a contractor helped me with it. Oh yeah... and I lived with just the slab for around 6 months after we moved in, thus the finished walls, etc.

Also remember to take off all the trim and re-do it. I tried to work around the casing in my office and it came out crappy.

Lastly, how level is the floor? I rented a floor grinder from the HD in Escondido and spent around 8-10 hours trying to get my slab as level as possible, which in this case was around a 1/4". I can still feel where the low and high spots are when I'm walking around. Grrrrrr.

 

[softailgarage]

"Figured that "invite" was coming when I saw where you were from. I'm pretty damn busy these days with my own projects but might be able to stop by for a little bit depending on what part of North County you're in."
No worries friend, just kiddin around.
And Holy **** ! thank god it's a simple square bedroom. Nice work by the way, room looks great !

 

[cafyrman]

Bet it's not "square". And I was mostly the labor on that one. My buddy (former partner at work) has been a carpenter for around 40 years. He does a ton of side work and doesn't charge me too much! I'm getting better though.

 

[softailgarage]

Bet it's not "square". And I was mostly the labor on that one. My buddy (former partner at work) has been a carpenter for around 40 years. He does a ton of side work and doesn't charge me too much! I'm getting better though.

Ha, with my luck I bet you're right
Thank's to everyone who commented, However due to a family emergency (mom may be staying with us for a couple of weeks) plans have been delayed I will be posting pictures of the project once the job gets started. Thanks again

 

[TWX]

Some friends had a pergo-type floor put in, and their existing concrete floor was so uneven that the contractor had to bring bags and bags worth of concrete (presumably some kind of thinset) in to level out the floor.

I would go for tile if there's any real chance that liquids would spill on the floor again. Tile will clean up with that, but some of the engineered wooden-ish floors can absorb the spill and can swell up.

I have one room in my house that will probably have to be pergo or real hardwood if changed because it straddles the basement outer wall- only about half of the house is built over the basement. Because of that joint, tile would crack at that point. A wooden-ish floor might handle the unevenness and flexing better.

it's likely that much of the rest will go tile.

 

[cafyrman]

(mom may be staying with us for a couple of weeks)

Can she run a saw?

 

[softailgarage]

Can she run a saw?

she probably could , but with dementia, i wouldn't even want to be around. So, plan is back on (no mom), I will be tearing out the carpet next weekend and hopefully starting the floor sunday. I read somewhere if Pergo is going down on a concrete slab that plywood should go down first..any comments ?

 

[cafyrman]

Haven't heard that. Of course, you do need a vapor barrier and underlayment.

 

[Kevin54]

You don't HAVE to remove the baseboards. The Pergo can go up to it (leave the required gap) and then you can put on a piece of shoe moulding or quarter round on the baseboard to cover the gap.

 

[softailgarage]

So, after a slight delay (had to move mom into a new "home"), the project is on.It's Wednesday evening, temp is still in the upper 80's, sweatin like a Democrat in church,prybar in hand, and ready to rock.The room is 12'x10' with a 12'x2' closet....
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Carpet came up pretty easy. Sliced into 5 rolls, tied & out to the trash. Man does this stuff STINKView attachment 141641

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Next is the tackboard. This is nailed into the concrete & looks like it's gonna take some time. It's almost 9:00, time to stop. Tomorrow I'll hit Home Depot, pick up the Pergo & accessories & continue with the tackboard

 

[softailgarage]

UPDATE: Went to Home Depot the following day and had to order the Pergo. Was told it would be in the following Monday. Next day HD called... backorder, won't see it till the first week of November! In the meantime I got the tackboard up pretty easy and as I pulled the nails, it created divits. Next job was filling in the divits with "DAP Ready Mix Concrete Patch". Pretty easy stuff to work with, had it all done in about 3 hours. Now it's sit and wait time, be back in November

 

[ZRX61]

UPDATE: Went to Home Depot the following day and had to order the Pergo. Was told it would be in the following Monday. Next day HD called... backorder, won't see it till the first week of November!

Perfect! Now you have time to change your mind. I have pergo in a hallway, it looks like cheap ****.

 

[Cryo Gal]

I put that snap together tile from menards in our bathroom and it was easy as can be....would have been even easier if I had actually read the directions first. It floats over whatever you have down, I put it right over the top of the vinyl! I was skeptical, thats why I put it in a small room. It's been in there for 3+ years now and it looks great. My only regret is that I didn't put heat under it.
http://www.snapstone.com/

 

[softailgarage]

Perfect! Now you have time to change your mind. I have pergo in a hallway, it looks like cheap ****.

Personally, I like the way it looks. We have it in the hallway as well. What I dont like is the sound of walking on it.

 

[softailgarage]

I put that snap together tile from menards in our bathroom and it was easy as can be....would have been even easier if I had actually read the directions first. It floats over whatever you have down, I put it right over the top of the vinyl! I was skeptical, thats why I put it in a small room. It's been in there for 3+ years now and it looks great. My only regret is that I didn't put heat under it.
http://www.snapstone.com/

O.K. you got my curiosity going. I checked out the Snapstone and .... I like it ! The room is going to be a "hangout" room for my 11 year old (going on 18) niece. The house used to be my folks, now my sister & I share it. Anyway, she didn't want the Pergo from the start. Now , they both like the snapstone. A couple of problems though... 1. gonna cost about $400.00 more. 2. Nearest Lowes that has it is 75 miles away and 3. Watching a video on it shows that the tile will have to be cut at some point. Dont own or have access to a tile saw, not really wanting to buy one. On top of all that, the pergo is paid for. I guess I'll think about it for a couple of days Thanks (I think)

 

[mtne]

Anyone who wants to learn about tile from a bunch of pros who are really DIY friendly check out JohnBridge.com and yes, laying laminate is much easier.

 

[Cryo Gal]

O.K. you got my curiosity going. I checked out the Snapstone and .... I like it ! The room is going to be a "hangout" room for my 11 year old (going on 18) niece. The house used to be my folks, now my sister & I share it. Anyway, she didn't want the Pergo from the start. Now , they both like the snapstone. A couple of problems though... 1. gonna cost about $400.00 more. 2. Nearest Lowes that has it is 75 miles away and 3. Watching a video on it shows that the tile will have to be cut at some point. Dont own or have access to a tile saw, not really wanting to buy one. On top of all that, the pergo is paid for. I guess I'll think about it for a couple of days Thanks (I think)

Iwas going to rent a tile saw and found that buying a cheap one was cheaper than renting, wish you were close...Id let you use it! You will have to make cuts for sure. Pergo is paid for but just as easy to cancel the order...I know because I did it twice with my wood floor. LOL It is kind of pricey but no sub floor prep, man is it easy! I'll post a pic

 

[Cryo Gal]

First Installed

today

 

[Dragster Racer]

It certainly depends on the kind of house you have. Our old house got the Pergo type treatment almost stem to stern.
Pros:
-It wore like iron. The dogs nails didn't even phase it!
-Looked nice, and clean, and was also easy to clean
Con
-It feels and sounds like Pergo when you walk on it. But not in bare feet. Just when you have hard shoes on.
I liked it.

The new house has a hand scraped wood flooring in most of it. Looks and feels great, but the dogs nails do scratch it for sure. That can irritate you to no end when you have $9,000 of flooring materials down and it is getting scratched up! The hand scraping does hide the scratches a bit though. We did a bambo product in my son's room, and I have to say I like it a lot. Tough stuff, and doesn't scratch as easy as the other wood floors. Easier to install because all the pieces are engineered to full lenth pieces.

 

[buildmyown]

Make sure you get the smell out of the subfloor, or better yet replace it - at least the area where the cat frequented. At the very least, scrub with bleach then wait a few days to see what you still smell. Last thing you want is to put down the new floor and still smell what Fluffy left.

DO NOT USE BLEACH I REPEAT DO NOT USE BLEACH. Urine contains ammonia even when dry and what happens when you mix bleach and ammonia you get chlorine gas. The reason I know this is I ended up in the ER while trying to clean up my grandfathers house after he died. Lets just say he wasnt the neatest person and had several cats and dogs. One of the rooms was real hard wood i wasnt real worried about hurting the floor just trying to kill the smell. Well by doing that I almost killed myself. I poured about a 1/2 gallon of bleach on the floor and started moving it around with a mop and within minutes my eyes were watering and buring my nose was running and on fire then my lungs got real heavy and I was having trouble breathing. Left the room and had my mother drive me to the ER.

Pergo is much easier to install, and much easier on the feet.
Just read the books, and remember to leave the gap at the edges for expansion.

Oh, and don't use bleach on the subfloor. Go to a pet store and get "Nature's Miracle". It's an enzyme cleaner that is much better at cleaning up biological "output" (cat pee, baby vomit, many things like this), without causing damage (like bleach).

Yes this is a good product I use it my carpet cleaning machine when my dog has an accident.

If you have never done either then they are both going to have a learning curve. Personally I wouldnt want tile in a bed room but then again im from the cold north east and your in sunny cali so thigs are different.

I think you said your on a slab I would start by checking to see how level it is both tile and pergo need a level base. Instead of grinding they seall a liqued floor leveler for just this reason.

 

[buildmyown]

And im an idiot i didnt see the dates of this thread and the 2nd page before my other post. Back on point if you do go the tile route you dont "need" a big tile saw sure its faster and easier but one of those score and snap ones and a pair of tile nibblers work just fine just a little slower and a bit of a learning curve.

 

[softailgarage]

Iwas going to rent a tile saw and found that buying a cheap one was cheaper than renting, wish you were close...Id let you use it! You will have to make cuts for sure. Pergo is paid for but just as easy to cancel the order...I know because I did it twice with my wood floor. LOL It is kind of pricey but no sub floor prep, man is it easy! I'll post a pic

Man, your not making this any easier one thing I know for sure, I like the way it looks in your bathroom! Definitely gonna do it to the Master bathroom, same color too.

And im an idiot i didnt see the dates of this thread and the 2nd page before my other post. Back on point if you do go the tile route you dont "need" a big tile saw sure its faster and easier but one of those score and snap ones and a pair of tile nibblers work just fine just a little slower and a bit of a learning curve.

No worries my friend. I wouldn't even think about using bleach, however, I'm glad you mentioned that because I was not aware of the reaction. I'll be keeping that info in my head. As for the smell, not as bad as i thought it would be. Matter of fact, really none at all. The floor is level, I checked it at every corner and the center with a level (i hope thats the proper way). some of the divit fill in's are a little high for my comfort ( I tend to be a perfectionist sometimes) and will be grinding them down. My biggest problem right now is the decision... Pergo or tile?

 

[crash1222]

I would go with tile. I am a little biased as I am a tile setter, but I know you will have a better floor. Over concrete it will be almost indestructable unless the slab cracks. Then your tile will almost always crack along with it. Snap stone may be an easier install, but the stuff is expensive and I'm not sure of it's durability. A good ceramic or porcelain will be around longer than you. You shouldn't need a wet saw as all your cuts should be hidden under the base. For most tile a cutting board and an angle grinder with a diamond wheel should be all you need. Snap some chaulk lines and go for it.

 

[softailgarage]

Pergo came in last week. I decided to stick with the Pergo out of convenience and cost. I will be doing the bathrooms with the Snapstone, that's for sure (thanks Cryo Gal). I was going to leave the baseboard on as Kevin suggested but we decided to replace it as well.
With the baseboards removed, I laid down a 6mm moisture barrier and then foam underlayment on top of that. Now, according to the instructions on the foam, I needed to go up the walls about 3-4 inches and then trim after the floor is done. Sounded good until I tried using the 1/4 inch spacers against the wall. Maybe if I had a helper to hold the spacers up while installing it could work, however, doing this myself wasn't going to happen.



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Today, after letting the Pergo sit in the room for 48 hours, I started installing the floor. I got the first 3 rows done with no problems until being interrupted with a problem I spent the rest of the day dealing with. Tomorrow after work I'll be at it again. One more thing, A customer of mine who does wood floors professionally brought me a tool to use. He knew I was doing this at night and would be better than a saw, no noise, no sawdust.













If you are doing any kind of wood flooring I highly recommend this little beauty, snaps it clean & quietly.....it's friggin AWESOME