I might go with tile for kitchen flooring, but before I choose tile I want to make sure I understand all the pros and cons about laminate flooring before I eliminate it as an option.

The problem is I've gone to a couple of floor stores, and I've been getting conflicting advice that hopefully can get straightened out on this forum.

1) First of all, should I stay away from laminate in the kitchen- some floor people said it was fine and others said to stay away.

I know that laminate can't withstand a lot of water, but that's true for particleboard cabinets too which I'm also thinking about getting. In fact, I think particleboard cabinets and laminate flooring are both made with density fiberboard.

I plan on trying to minimize any major water damage beforehand by getting copper tubing for ice maker for the fridge and floodstop for the dishwasher.

2) What about gluing the laminate joints together? Does that help against water seeping in between them and damaging them?

3) Comparing vinyl vs laminate, is it accurate to say that its a trade-off where vinyl is better against water but laminate is more durable against scratches and wear?

4)) Is there a difference among laminate brands or are they basically all the same? If the latter, what are the 'best' laminate brands?

When I went to the flooring stores, I was surprised at the range of prices for laminate flooring- between a dollar soImething to six something per square feet.

5) f I have a choice between a 10mm AC-4 laminate vs a 12 mm AC-3 laminate, is the 10mm a better choice because its more durable against wear and scratches even though its thinner?

It seems that the advantage greater thickness offers you is that it sounds more like wood flooring when you walk on it instead of that hollow sound. But, could you accomplish that acoustic trick with a premium underlayment floor muffler?

I'm just wondering if I could get the best of both worlds by getting a 10mm AC-4 laminate and coupling it with a premium underlayment floor muffler?

6) Some laminates already have padding glued/attached to it.

Does that matter acoustically if the padding is already glued/attached to the laminate, or if you buy the laminate and padding separately?

Its the acoustic sound that seems to separate laminate from wood flooring, even though some of the laminates look strikingly like real wood floors.

7) When the padding is already attached to the laminate, would it sound even better if you put a premium underlayment floor muffler underneath that padding or is that just a waster of money?

8) If I buy laminate from a major laminate manufacturer, can I expect that I get the same laminate years later if I ever need to replace some of the flooring? Or, should extra laminate now?

9) The embossements make the laminate look more like wood, but I was wondering if there were any potential problems with that? Is dirt going to get trapped in there?