First love suggestion of a laminate brand that does well with kitchen moisture since there are so many options now bevel or flat, textured or not? We want to put in laminate flooring through a condo and are being told to purchase the thickest we can, 10-12mm with a great warranty, and that backing attached is best.The kitchen e issues are important too.Do you agree with basic advice given? Any to add. And please any DIY installation experiences - Which brands did you find good to DIY and how has it held up? Their are so many professional reviewers that disagree I am so confused and want to hear from real people who have done it!You pros are welcome to comment too, its just the other have me confused. Can anybody count the number of ?s in this post? HELP!

Ask yourself this question, do I want to add to the value of the home of decrease it.
If you want to add value then skip the laminite and go with engineered flooring instead.
Reasons being, looks like real wood not shinny plastic because the top layer is real wood.
Far more stable, can be refinished, installed almost the same.
Ever seen an ad in a realitor magazine, saying laminite floors through out?
But I bet you've seen lots of then saying hardwood floors through out.
Engineered flooring is even approved for basements. So it sure is safe in a kitchen.

Thanks for input!Tell me more. Is it DIY friendly too? Some of it looks like it could be, but you never hear about it being DIY some did look like it clicked together. But this is a rental unit and we were putting top of line laminate with 25 or lifetime warranty. After managing 2 apartment complexes I learned that some really nice people can trash floors. I would love to hear more about DIY engineered flooring for if I find a deal. We are really putting the rental unit at the top of the heap for the complex with new cabinets, laminates, tile, carpet.

I've put in thousands of SF of engineered (and laminate) floating floors. By far the best I've ever worked with is made by Schon - sold through Lumber Liquidators. It's single planks so that it installs without having multiple seam lines in the same place - so it looks real. Clicks together easily. Many different colors to choose from.

I had two rooms to do in my house last fall and decided to use this in my own home. 400 SF took myself and sons about 2 hours to install (But factor in more since we've done lots of it) but even so, it's quick and easy and makes a great looking floor.

Plan to spend about $4 per SF with another 50 cents per SF for a good pad.

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