Pergo Hardwood Laminate Floors - Mailbag

Question- We had Pergo hardwood installed last summer and it doesn't stand up to traffic like our Pergo laminate floor we had in our old house. It scratches too easily. What can be the cause?

Reply- Sorry for your problems but Pergo hardwood is entirely different than the laminate product they have sold in the past. The newer product is an engineered hardwood floor that has an actual real veneer on the surface. More attention to care should be considered. I am very surprised nobody informed you about the differences.

Question- I don't like the look of my dark Espresso Pergo hardwood I bought from a Lowes store. Can it be changed to a lighter color or refinished and stained lighter?

Reply- It is possible but should only be considered by a professional. Pergo hardwood is much like many other marginal engineered products being sold today. It contains a veneer (also called wear layer) on the surface that has it's limitations on refinishing. Changing from a very dark to light color is much harder to do because the stains have penetrated along the beveled edges. In order to remove the color they have to be meticulously scraped by hand. This in itself would incur a lot of extra labor.

Question- I saw the Pergo hardwood at my local retailer and wondered if it can be used as a click together  floating floor? I have old ugly tile that I don't want to remove. Any help?

Reply- According to Pergo it can be floated, but it is not a click or snap together type installation. The installation requires applying glue into the grooves and tapping each piece into place. Be careful when it comes to ceramic tile. The floor has to be well secured and flat for any installation to be successful.

Question- I'm really disappointed in my new Pergo wood floor. Everything looked great until the installers used those cheap plastic laminate looking trim pieces. Do you think I can ask them back to put real ones in there? It just spoils the whole look.

Reply- We too were surprised the company doesn't make actual hardwood moldings except for the quarter round trim pieces. Considering the stain colors are standard you may have some luck looking at some Bruce or Hartco product lines of similar color. Their trim pieces may actually work for you.

Question- I want to create a random plank look in my home with the Pergo floors, but I don't think the salesperson is looking at this right. They say I need 10 boxes of the 3 inch and ten of the 5 inch wide plank.

Reply- There's a formula for figuring square footage in random width plank installations. It goes like this: Add the two board widths together or 3 + 5 which equals eight. Then divide the 3 by eight and the 5 by eight. Let's assume you have a 300 square foot (SF) room. The coverage on the three inch would be 3 divided by 8 or .375. Take 300 and multiply by .375 which leaves you with 112.5. You will need more five inch material by calculating 300 x .625 equaling 187.5 square feet. Don't cut it short. If you have just a tad over on one box calculation take the extra box. Otherwise you may find yourself with two more boards to finish and you don't have any left.

Question- Hi! I am trying to research engineered wood, real wood laminate, and plastic laminate to determine which will be best for us. I was totally set on Pergo American Cottage Boathouse Pine but I'm a little scared of fake laminate after reading some horror stories on some message boards (i.e. gapping and chipping). Is this a common problem? Will I encounter the same problems with a real wood laminate? Is a glue down the safest bet? We are on a concrete slab, we have a two year old, and we're not rich. I think $6/ft is about our range--total. I'm tired of the stores...I feel like I can't get a true honest opinion. I thank you in advance!!!!!

Reply- It can be a confusing situation when trying to decide what to buy. You won't get chipping per se with engineered hardwoods, or at least I haven't seen any complaints regarding that issue. I would think you could get chipping with a wood laminate. Of the chipping I've seen with laminates it seems the damage is seen more at the joint area between boards. If you drop something heavy enough in that area it seems to crush the tongue and groove area as there isn't as much support in that area.

In looking at a quality engineered hardwood there is more material above the t&g to cushion the blow and the damage

Question- We are replacing the carpeting in our FL home with wood flooring as part of huge remodeling job. When our contractor bid the job, he bid it to install Pergo. We are interested in engineered wood -- and we're finding there's a big cost difference. What are your thoughts on one versus the other? Why go with Pergo? Thanks for your input!!

Reply- I've seen many Pergo type laminate floors priced as high as genuine hardwood floors. Understandably so, we're on the biased side when it comes to hardwood floors. We do however see laminate floors as having their place in the home. Today there are so many products on the market that fool even us into thinking they are real hardwood.