We had laminate installed a year ago. Kitchen, dining room, family room. foyer and hallway and upstairs hallway. We first chose engineered. Two individuals talked us out of it - a good friend that has it (and told us how much it scratched) and the man we were using to install (he is the head carpenter for the school district I work for and does every type of flooring on the side) he said it scratches and digs very easily and depending on the wood can usually only be refinished one time. There was a very small difference in the cost between the two. We went with the laminate - have 3 dogs that run all over our house and it still looks as good today as it did a year ago. We did buy from a flooring store and not a big box company.

Could you tell me the brand of laminate you purchased and also how is the noise level with the dogs claws running on it. Thanks.

I started a reply but not sure what happened to it - hmmm...try again... We purchased Columbia laminate from a flooring store. As with anything else, there are different grades and we did go with a better grade. We keep our floors open (not a lot of rugs/runners), I find it easier to keep up on the dog hair. As far as the noise level from the dogs, I don't really notice it. Our kitchen was ceramic tile before we changed it out and they are always walking in there so I think maybe we were use to the tapping.

Once I found that laminate hurts resale value in higher end homes, and crumbles under the weight of grand piano legs, we removed it from consideration.

... "and crumbles under the weight of grand piano legs,"...

Don't assume that any other 'floating' product will be immune from damage by the Grand Piano.

Karyn - I think what you really need to be looking into is solid hardwood - in "higher end homes" the buyer is going to expect solid hardwood.

Thank for your reply wolfpackmom.

Thanks all -

Yes, we are going with hardwood now, but in our humid climate (FL) solid hardwood is a big no-no due to humidity and moisture, so engineered hardwood is the way to go.

Additionally, the PSI ratings of all the engineered floors we've seen are well within the parameters to be able to handle a grand piano on the proper floor cups. We haven't even decided if the piano will go on the wood floor - or in a carpeted area, but allowing us the option to choose is great.

Float vs glue down - there seem to be positives and negatives for both - but either one can be done in our place.