The Mohawk flooring you are considering is amazing: I actually have it installed in my own house. My husband installed laminate in our last house and it did not affect the value, we actually got above asking! This laminate is holding up great to five adults and two dogs living in the house. Hope this helps with your choice.

Not only would it not turn me off from buying, I would be looking for a house with laminate or having it installed myself. I like your choice. People who say 'wood only' probably don't have big dogs or kids and certainly have not investigated new flooring products thoroughly. High end laminate costs the same as engineered wood and is far more durable.

I have wood look laminate flooring in the bedrooms of my 500K house and it is beautiful. Everyone who sees it cannot believe it's not the real thing. It's durable, easy to clean and I don't believe it devalued my house in the least.

As said multiple times above, it depends on your market. We personally figured the cost to replace the laminate with real hardwood when we made an offer to buy our house.. Our current home had Pergo flooring. carpet and vinyl in the kitchen. Hardwood is beautiful (the real thing, finished on site) and it makes us happy every time we look at it. It has survived children and cats just fine with occasional dogs. Buy what makes you happy! Our philosophy was that all flooring would be expensive, so why save a few dollars and live with something we did not like?

I emphasize the point made before about the the market. If 400 k in your area buys a small starter home, it would be great. If it buys a good size home in a good area, then it would put me off. Where I live, it would put me off, because it would tell me that the previous owners were more interested in looks than quality.

We put laminate floors in the basement of our previous home. I loved them until my dog peed on them. I noticed the corners curling up due to the water damage. We tore them out and replaced them when we sold the house 2 years later.

400000 will not buy a garden shed here, a house at that price would be gutted/torn down. I can say that we looked at one house where laminate was put down so poorly that you could feel it bubbling as you walked on it which was distressing. I would still have considered the property due to yard size and location but yes, all the new "fixes" only seemed like liabilities.

Thank you all. It's a small entry level property in the area, four bed. 2200 sq foot.

i think we are going for the laminate after all. My toddler likes to run around with his toys and I want to be relaxed. We have water damage in our current hardwood and though I like it, I can get the wide plank, rustic look, I want for less.

@ pjay123 I think Mohawk own pergo!

If I missed this, sorry, but you are sure the hardwood is irreparable?

There's no such thing as a $400k house, let alone even a small lot, where I live ... :) .... I don't really care what kind of flooring is in houses that I consider since I always replace them anyway, unless they happened to be something I like.

@judyg designs

it wa as small area but it all runs concurrently covering 1100 sq feet

insurabce paid out to replace it all

so says we have to or it'd be fraud./ and or if anything happened in future then they might not cover us if we hadn't replaced it all.

I am still marveling at PJ123's picture of that 14 year old laminate. I usually can spot a fake but that stuff looks really good!

As far as laminate, I have taken home some samples for our flooring project and have been amazed how realistic it looks. Especially the hand scraped stuff.

Maybe you should be asking local realtors about the laminate vs real wood question and see what they say.

I'm in a market where it doesn't matter that much. Everything that is somewhat decent is starting at 400K and the SF bay area...starts at 620K!

gil4191, it looks like Mohawk owns quite a bit, they acquired Unilin in 2007, the Belgium company that owned Quick-step. That's actually why I'm interested in Mohawk, I assume between acquiring Pergo and Unilin that they should be producing a good laminate product. I haven't been able to find any bad reviews online which is encouraging.

Gillian, what did you end up installing the Mohawk laminate?

I have a near $500,000 house and put laminate in, a wide plank in a lighter warm blonde tone, looks very nice and clean. Laminate has come along way over the years. I just like how it is very resistant to scratching and such.

It is pretty normal here to see laminate or LVP in homes even in the $500,000-$700,000 area. I have lived in several omes with hardwood (both prefinished and site finished) and have no interest in it ever again. I would not turn a great house down if it had it, but it’s not something I would search for or select as flooring myself

@keshacagle

yes I ended up installing the Mohawk laminate. https://www.mohawkflooring.com/laminate-wood/detail/593-3625/Rare-Vintage-Driftwood-Oak 

The planks are 7.5 inches wide and really long. I absolutely love, love it! It’s taken a severe beating from my son and his toys and has never shown any scratches or wear.

A $400K house in Los Angeles and a $400K house in Milwaukee or Topeka may be entirely different. Consider the construction quality and values of the rest of your neighborhood or city when making the choice between engineered hardwood (it's not basic laminate) and true hardwood flooring or basic laminate. We, too, are going through the water-damage ruined floor issue, and are having real hardwood floors installed again because it would be expected in the area where we live. We could probably use engineered hardwood, but basic laminate would be out of the question. Your insurance company will usually pay for you to replace your ruined flooring with the same quality you had before. An upgrade would be partially out of your pocket.

It's so interesting. I've been looking at high-end model homes in the Seattle area. I'm remodeling a house for sale up here. And in every 700k+ house I toured this week had laminate floors! I was surprised. The new laminates are less "clicky" and don't have that floating feeling. I was expecting engineered hardwood. Hardwood floors are not as popular anymore, at most price ranges, because of the wear and tear.

My flooring suppliers tell me that they can't keep the "vinyl luxury plank" floors in stock this year. In fact, they've replaced most of their hardwood and engineered hardwood on the showroom floor because of demand. Granted, living in the PNW, people deal with 50 inches of rain, 1/2" at a time over 8 months of the year. It's wet and damp, and your floors suffer. The appeal of a waterproof floor is huge. Curious if other designers and homeowners are seeing this trend?

I'm still deciding on the flooring for my remodel. I've put in mostly engineered hardwood in the past year for clients, but they're starting to ask about vinyl -- not laminate.

So interesting! Thanks for commenting.

I did go with the higher end laminate, and it’s taking a severe beating from my son and his toys, scooter and cars...not a dent or a scrape anywhere! And when people come in they have no idea it’s laminate, I always get loads of compliments!

Gillian, can you share which one you used?

Absolutely!! I’m trying to post a picture but it won’t let me?!

https://www.mohawkflooring.com/laminate-wood/detail/593-3625/Rare-Vintage-Driftwood-Oak%C2%A0

Gillian, Thank you! those do like nice. and they're wide planks too.

is this the one you got? the driftwood?

you can try posting the photo here in the comment. just make sure it loads completely before hitting 'submit'.

There is no such thing as a $400K house where I live; that would get you a garage.

Gillian, Mohawk RevWood Plus has been on my flooring list. I'm comparing against a couple good brands of LVP. I'm trying to narrow down a color. That's the deciding factor. We currently have 3 year old engineered hardwoods that have been great but we had a water leak and need to replace them. So sad. I have two wild kids and a small dog so I think I want something that I don't have to get nervous about.

Before and after!

Hi Gillian, can you post a few more pictures of your new floor? I agree with you, laminate is the way to go. The new laminates are amazing and home designers are putting them in expensive homes. Are you still happy with the color you chose ? (Driftwood)

Yes! I still love it! It goes with greys and beiges! And whites! It’s perfect! And the quality is outstanding!!

Trying to upload pics now.

I'm just happy you're so happy. :)

i would not buy it .its not a real thing at the end

Dang. That looks really good. No grout makes it a very tempting choice vs. the wood look porcelain tiles.

Regarding the initial post, it would depend on what $400,000 buys in that location.

I'm in Los Angeles and $400,000 would barely buy a starter home that needed a lot of work so laminate wouldn't be a turn off.

In many other locales, $400,000 buys quite a nice home and therefore wood floors would be expected at that price point.

Laminate, no thanks. Removed all of it and worked on the subfloor and did this...or you can purchase a 4x8 plywood, finished on one side and install over subfloor, paint, polyurethane seal coat and so easy to maintain.....low cost, some time..

I want a house with your new wide plank driftwood laminate floor, not your old orange shiny wood floor if that's the question.

Good on you for following your own instincts. Beautiful floor!

Hi Gillian. Looking at putting the Mohawk Rev Wood Select (More water resistant - New) probably in your color or Knotted Chestnut. How has your floor stood up to traffic and mainly any moisture from shoes, drips, dropped ice cubes, etc? Also how has it cleaned up and do you only use the recommended laminate cleaner? I see some people talk about a ugly film on the floor.

Thanks much! Mark

I have large dogs...yay to laminate! I wouldn’t buy a house with the following or would need an allowance for:
Carpet!!!
Tile that does not have precise grout lines
Dirty or dingy grout

Where I live, 500k gets you a manufactured home on a foundation that hasn’t been remodeled since 1982.

It looks great and makes you happy. Good choice. I agree that a local realtor would be the best person to advise you but it’s your house and is not currently for sale so doing what you wanted was smart. It looks wonderful!

Maybe check with a realtor in your area though.

Hey Mark! I still love it!!

Takes heavy traffic, great. My two boys treat it like an outdoor park, we have scooters, ride ons, cars, etc whizzing about on it all day long.

i use bono, but I’m not heavy handed to leave a smear, and i occasionally I rock out a bissel steamed mop but on the lowest setting, and really Fast!

three or four times a day I use clorox wipes too under and all around the kids high chairs.

With regards to wayer , we do have the tiniest hint of water damage, lesd than the size of a quarte, barely visible unless you are studying the floor. My son left a puddle

of water and it was in my head to clean it up but I forgot. we have spare planks but it’s not visible enough for me to bother replacing them. I’d do it again for sure, maybe even lighter than the driftwood as I’m all about the Scandinavian style right now. Hahahah!

The water friendly one sounds intriguing!

also we don’t wear shoes in my house, although some guests do, but that’s not because of the floor, it’s I don’t like shoes in any house ! if you put it down, be sure to show us!

Hi Gillian. I will post pics. What underlayment did you use? Thanks!

Hey Mark,

not sure the exact underlay? Not the cheapest and not the the most expensive?!

Cover the bedroom floors as well. Use bed-side rugs. By doing that, you’ll be giving sleepers much cleaner air to breath.

I had a water mishap affect our solid maple hardwood floor that waranted an insurance claim. The hardwood had some wear issues and a few months earlier we had actually got a sobering quote to refinish it. At the flooring store, we placed an engineered hardwood plank next to Mohawk laminate flooring and visually, could hardly determine the difference. Rather than experience similar wear issues to the hardwood, we went with the laminate. Price was not a determinate in choosing the laminate. In fact, I opted for 1/4 inch cork underlay which increased the cost significantly. I'm very pleased with that choice. It took away that plastic sound you get walking on laminate. It also reduced sound transmission to the floor below verses the hardwood.I had considered vinyl but a neighbour who had recently installed vinyl had experienced a problem with the seams crowning and had to tear it all out. He replaced it with engineered hardwood. Hardwood and engineered hardwood are said to have superior resale appeal verses laminate.

, I would remove the immediately If I purchased. Laminate can look really good, but no thanks...do not want more plastic, acrylic,formaldehyde, glue, or anything remotely like this. Yes, I know there are fillers and glue in the manufacture of non laminate products, but no thanks to laminate, it is like margarine, butter Is the real deal.

Nope. I love my laminate. I have had it for about 15 years and it has held up great. Looking forward to some Mohawk Revwood Plus in my new home.

I absolutely scroll past houses with laminate "faux hardwood" flooring. It is immediately detectable, and takes away from the look of the house. I would have to have the floors ripped out and replaced first thing.

We have had two different types in a beach house, to avoid possible water damage. The Pergo was hideous. The very high end plank flooring was much better, but still not the same look as hardwoods.

The answer is, yes, it not only would put me off...it has several times.

Ugly vinyl plank is just that: UGLY. Any other options are preferable--bamboo, tile, patterned concrete. Vinyl plank is hideous. Whenever I see it in the photos for a house for sale, I page back. It's sickening.