We didn’t do everything right when we built The Little House, but I love the things we did do right.
One of those things was to skip the carpeting and instead, we installed laminate flooring that looks like wood.
I put a lot of thought into the flooring because I hate carpet – and here’s why – we have dogs.
Dogs and carpet don’t mix. I would like to say I was the genius who came up with the plan to forego the carpet, but my aunt moved here before we did and was actually the brains behind the plan.
She’s been here since 1999 and her high-quality, laminate flooring still looks almost as good today as it did then, and she has several big dogs running around with their nails.
As well, carpet is just not good here in the country, where the clay is red and seed ticks dwell (seed ticks are tiny little baby ticks that are worse than their grown counterparts and can burrow in carpet).
When we pulled the carpet up to replace it so we could sell our house in the city, I was doubly glad I would never have to deal with carpet again. Even when you keep it clean, the dirt and dust (and I suppose mites) that congregates under the carpet and padding is one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen!
As with most people I know, our primary consideration had to be with cost when building The Little House. Our next consideration was the convenience of cleaning/maintaining a floor with the dogs.
When taking both cost and convenience into consideration, hardwood was automatically ruled out.
While I would have liked to have gone with bamboo, as it is the most environmentally friendly flooring, cost also eliminated that choice as well.
We were left with laminate and I’m very happy with it. In The Little House, we went with a light oak, as the décor is more cabin-based. In The Belle Writer’s Studio, I went with a darker wide wood plank, as the décor there is what I like to consider more “19th century country law office.”
If you’re going to choose a laminate flooring, here’s some tips that made things easy for us:
- In The Little House, we went online and chose a high-quality laminate as the prices were cheaper then the stores, even with shipping. We had the company ship us samples first to make sure it was what we were looking for.
- For both buildings, we chose an easy snap together flooring that uses no glue.
- We haven’t found it to be true that you can’t use laminate in the bathroom due to the risk of water. I suppose it might not be a good idea if it were to get wet all of the time (if you have kids, for example), but we’ve even had an incident where my husband left the shower curtain out and the floor didn’t buckle. Of course, we soaked up as much as we could and put fans on the floor to dry it as quickly as possible.
- We weren’t here for much of the building process on The Little House, so we hired a flooring company to install it for us. BIG waste of money. The snap together flooring is easy and can be done in a small house in a matter of hours. Just make sure you follow the directions. If you have a helper, my husband says it’s easier!
- The one thing I would have done differently was to go with the next higher grade. We went with a medium priced, medium quality floor and we’ve found when things hit it just right, it will dent and even chip.
Guest Post by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell for the Tiny House Blog
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We chose laminate flooring, too. For the cost (a friend had some left over, sold it to us on the cheap), the ease of installation, and the ease of maintenance (two dogs). We have rugs, but they attract so much dog hair and dirt, carpet just seems disgusting to me.
I too find carpeting very disusting, especially when it needs to be removed. Knowing that all of that stuff is under my feet is aweful, even in the best of houses.
When we put laminate in our house, we got the cheapest thing we could get, and it was nothing but a nightmare. The pieces didn’t fit together well at all, with almost every one needing to be trimmed or sanded before it would go in. Now, after only three years, they are chipping at nearly every joint.
Let that be a lession to you, get the good stuff.
Great idea. Truthfully, I think carpet would make the house feel samller anyway. Plus most of the stuff is toxic. There are “greener” options (although one green seal only tests for four of the 200+ chemicals that can be found in carpet), but your average carpet contains carcinogens and neurotoxins. I have multiple chemical alergies and can’t actually go into a house with carpet the first two years after it is installed. And you’re right. We have 2 cats a dog and three preschoolers and nothing beats hard flooring (laminate, tile, hardwood) for keeping hte house clean! Sometimes we see the pet hair etc on our hardfloors and I remind my dh that if we had carpet it would still be there, we just wouldn’t see it and be able to clean it up so easily (vacuuming carpet only cleans the top 1/8″ or so)!
I would be concerned about chemicals in laminate flooring, especially in a tiny space.
Wikipedia says: “Laminate flooring is often made of melamine resin, a compound made with formaldehyde. There has been increasing concern about indoor air quality from releases of volatile organic compounds from building materials made with formaldehyde. However, resin materials are believed to have significantly lower emissions than particle board and other materials where formaldehyde is used as a binder.”
I’ll go with wood and take the scuff marks as signs of a cherished and used space.
@eg:
Damn straight. I wouldn’t touch laminate. I find if funny that people think laminate or pre-treated hardwood are healthier options. True, they don’t collect dust like carpet. However the amount of chemicals and aluminum that goes into the pre-finished flooring is crazy toxic.
Best option is to get an unfinished product and finish it with a safe, natural finish… of which there are plenty. This will most likely require more maintenance than the pre-finished, good-for-twenty-years baked on coatings, however the benefits are well, well worth it. Besides, maintenance/new coat of finish in a small space is simple since there’s less floor space.
There are quite a few valid points here. Cost of materials is always a factor and laminate is your best bet for the money. The durability of a high grade laminate also makes it an excellent choice for a small area that will see a lot of wear and tear. There is also the consideration that any material used as flooring in a small space will need to be replaced over time.
I agree that laminate flooring is (quite possibly) toxic, but let’s be realistic about this issue. A great deal of building materials are now being produced in China and are made with chemicals that could be dangerous to the heath of the home’s inhabitants. Unless you are willing to spend great sums of money or know of a secret stash of reclaimed wood, you are going to have to make compromises. Is your health worth such a compromise? Only you can be the judge, but I will tell you that I’ve never met a person who lived forever.
My wife and I chose laminate for our kitchen floor and have found it to be an excellent choice. We have decided that the stress of worrying over a material in our home isn’t worth it. We like what we chose and don’t bother worrying about it. I urge everybody to relax and enjoy the ride. If you can’t, the stress will kill you before any toxic or pollutant gets the chance!
I took a course in Health and the Built Environment as part of my Master’s degree. Although there are chemicals in laminate (and yes, buying untreated wood and finishing it with something non-toxic would certainly be the best option), there is no comparison between the toxicity of laminate and carpet (which also contains formaldehyde). Yes, untreated hardwood would be the best option, but for hte price, laminate is a better bet than carpet by a long shot.
Wow. I had no idea flooring would spark such a lively discussion! Thank you all for your thoughts. I touched a little on the environmental aspect of our choice, but price and durability played such an important part of our decision, I didn’t write this article with that thought in mind.
However, I will note that the literature I’ve read suggests that many natural pre-treated hardwood floors do release some formaldehyde or VOCs, especially in the first few weeks after installation. On the other hand, most laminates certified by NALFA for sale in the U.S. comes well under the acceptable level for VOCs. I suppose there could be the argument as to whether ANY level of VOCs is acceptable. But I’m with Mark on this one, can we really sidestep all of the chemicals that is put into our world on a daily basis? I could well be equally as scared of my cell phone, my well water or I suppose the radiation released by my computer monitor for that matter. I do know for a fact that although I’m in the woods closer to nature, my allergies do not rule my life now as they did when I lived in a house with carpet (and after what we saw was under that carpet and pad, it was no wonder).
I’m also very sure, eg, that the damage my dogs (or any large dogs -we have 2 large, 2 small) would create on hardwood in our tiny house would be more than I could keep up with and definitely not look like “cherished used space.” 🙂
It’s a good thing you did NOT go with bamboo. We looked into it, and (thankfully) were warned that it is too soft for a home with dogs.
@Mark
“Unless you are willing to spend great sums of money or know of a secret stash of reclaimed wood, you are going to have to make compromises.”
Pretty much every single town in North America has access to a local lumber yard. That’s the actual reality. There is no secret stash and it doesn’t need to be reclaimed (though there’s lots of that too if you look). Trees still grow and are harvested right here! People are just choosing boxed products. The thing is… it’s not even that much cheaper than buying local, natural when you’re talking about a small space. (note: of course calculated by percentage it would be the same escalation in small space as it is in large, but overall cost isn’t that much in a small space… ie: yes, large sums of money on a big house… but we are talking about small spaces here ).
Anyway, you are right about it being personal choice. Laminate boxed products are not only cheaper, but also convenient. And we are surrounded by chemical laden products and won’t escape it. As for people being stressed about the topic… there’s a difference about being stressed and just stating opinions. Bills and too much work, now that’s stressful. I fully respect everyones personal choices, even though I may disagree with them.
For me it just seems like a decision of waving a white flag and giving up. For others it’s not even something they consider. There are so many things that we’re surrounded with that are full of toxic substances, that even when we have the choice to have something that isn’t, a large percentage of the argument is “well, everything else is full of chemicals, so what does it matter if this is too?”.
Anyway… I should be doing work while at work :). I didn’t mean to preach. To each their own.
I wonder about the ecological credentials of bamboo. If it’s expensive then presumably the money is being spent somewhere along the supply chain. It might be on labour but I suspect it’s on processes which would be better avoided.
I’m quite keen on cork tiles, particularly for bathrooms and low traffic areas (e.g., bedrooms). Here in the UK cork comes mostly from Portugal so it’s not travelled too far and the source will be reasonably well managed.
The previous times I’ve used them I used polyurethane sealant. I have some more to do in the next few days (completing a bathroom replacement) and would have liked to use something a bit more breathable. However, the tiles I bought in rather a hurry already had one coat of polyurethane so I’ll finish off with that.
My thinking with preferring a breathable sealant, particularly for bathrooms, would be that any water that gets in at the edges could evaporate back out again. On the other hand, the 10 year old previous set of cork tiles in this bathroom where in fine condition when I had to rip them up for other reasons.
Anybody got any ideas for a suitable breathable sealant for future reference?
XsTatiC,
I think it is all about what we can do reasonably to minimize harm. For us, it didn’t seem quite the worry when there was conflicting data on laminate and the amount of VOC’s to go any further. As well, we have the durability issue with the dogs. However, we do spend more money to buy organic, free range meat, dairy and eggs, as well as premium food for the dogs.
This discussion makes me think of the time a friend of mine was spouting the chemical dangers of my using Coffee Mate each morning – all while she sucked on a cigarette! 🙂
Timely discussion as we are debating the viability and affordability of flooring we will put in our little place. Thanks for posting.
Laminate flooring is the best to choose for a new house. The reason behind the rapid laminate wood flooring growth is the ease of installing laminate flooring. Its durable too.
I’ve had the same experience with two rambunctious dogs and laminate flooring – no scratches, and it’s beautiful and easy to install. I recommend this.
PS – a rug can be rolled up and sent off for cleaning without any disruption to the living space (ie. no waiting for wet carpet to dry). VERY important in a tiny house!
For laminate flooring in “wet” areas, use underlayment that is made specifically for this purpose.
I also love the idea of cork flooring. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity to try it out sometime in our future home improvements.
Agree with “Nick Electric radiant floor heat” thought. It is very easy to install Laminate flooring in your new home. And it gives a traditional touch to your floors. It has a huge variety of styles which can make your home attractive and pleasant.
I put radiant floor heat under my laminate in my bathroom and loved it!
Hey there, what company did you use?… If you don’t mind sharing. I’m interested in doing laminate floors for our tiny, I always just get uneasy buying online. Thanks!