Seems like I never see any of these shows "crash" us here in beautiful Tennessee!! I live just east of Memphis and I am desperate for some wood or high quality laminate floors!! My husband travels so much that he's not much help. My brother and sister kitty cats have torn up the carpet (somehow!) coming in to the house from the garage. Is this something I should try and tackle by myself (because it looks like that's the only way its going to get done)? I need help! HELP!

Why not just pay someone to install it for you? It's not really that expencive.
If your going to wait for some show to do it for you I would not hold my breath waiting.

tens of thousands of applications for the home shows, and maybe a dozen are chosen for a "season" of productions. it helps to be perky, eager to try things, and not a disaster in torn pants.

laying laminate is not hard at all, it's the measuring and cutting that is work. the material is a snap-and-lock, and you use a wood "knock block" to get the ends together after you snap in the next running piece.

as in all flooring, what is critical is laying the first edge piece. everything else keys off that. Google a few "installing laminate floor" pages and watch a few videos to see if you can do this yourself.

warning, danger, fattening department: with cats in the house (any pets,) you do NOT want to lay on pee-spotted subfloor, or they will keep going there forever to mark it with THEIR scent. you might have to cut some out and screw in new MDF or plywood, then lay down some primer to boot if you have pee spots.

laminate has "clicks" more than engineered hardwood, but you can get water-resistant versions of laminate that will hold up under, ahhh, bladder abuse. underlayment should also be water resistant. in this case, I'd think about heavy tar paper.