Cheap Laminate Flooring - 5 Important Things to Know

Cheap laminate flooring is a common choice for consumers looking to have a great looking floor with a skinny budget. It’s not uncommon to see floor covering dealers heavily advertising their lowest priced laminate floor in front of their other products such as Carpet, Hardwood and Vinyl goods. Laminate can really look great and wear very well in the right application. It’s also a great Do-It-Yourself project. However, you need to keep in mind that there are five very important tips to remember when shopping for your next cheap laminate flooring project.

• Be cautious when shopping at salvage centers or liquidators. Usually these closeout stores have a limited supply of the products they are selling and may not be able to provide you more material later if you need some. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. There may be issues as well with a warranty claim if the manufacturer only warrants products sold through an actual distributor.

• Ask where the laminate flooring is manufactured. Typically, laminate products made in the USA or Europe seem to have fewer defects than those in Asia, resulting in less headaches during installation and later down the road. This isn't intended to be a blanket statement. Unfortunately, having first hand experience with products from these areas, it seems to be the norm.

• Double check that the product you are considering is a first quality laminate floor. If you are willing to take off-goods or seconds, that’s your choice.However, when evaluating prices for flooring it helps to compare similar products to keep things nice and simple.

• If ordering and shopping online, request a sample. If it's a product that a laminate dealer keeps in stock, they should be willing to send or give you a free sample. If they want to charge you for it, you might want to keep looking. Most flooring outlets will gladly send one out to you USPS or UPS ground. Occasionally you may need to pay a small sample fee for a non stock or non typical product. Don’t pay for a sample of their hottest product though! (big home improvement centers are notorious for this, don't pay for samples!)

• Make sure there are no hidden fees or fine print. Some retailers or flooring dealers will charge a less than pallet surcharge or adder around $50 or more if you take a less than full pallet quantity. If you see a charge quoted like this, continue your search for your floor. You will find that many established stores and dealers that will not add these types of fees. The only standard amount that you need to be concerned with is the standard carton quantity (laminate, hardwood, tile etc are all sold by standard carton quantity for many reasons and this is a standard, acceptable industry practice).

Buying cheap laminate flooring can be an easy process. Don’t let your next floorcovering project with Laminate stress you out. Whether you plan to shop online, with a local independent, or a big home improvement store keep these 5 tips in mind to help you make the right decision.