Pergo Floating Floor Review

When the carpet in the lower level family room of my home began to look worn and dated, I went in search of a hardwood floor system I could install over a cement slab.

After much online research I choose a Pergo floating floor system. Pergo's hardwood floor system looks very natural and is much more durable than real hardwood flooring. Pergo also offers installation kits and transition pieces that give the installation a professional appearance.

It has been a year since I installed my Pergo floating floor system in my home and I have developed some likes and dislikes about floating floors since that time.

Floating Floor Pros

Do-it-yourself installation
Reasonable cost
Elegant appearance
Less dust, easier to clean

DO-IT-YOURSELF INSTALLATION
I wouldn't say installation of floating floors is easy, but it is a job the average person can complete themselves using a minimal number of tools.

REASONABLE COST
Installing a floating floor ourselves cost hundreds of dollars less than having carpet reinstalled in the room by a professional carpet installer. However, if you choose to have the floating floor professionally installed, the total cost of the floor and installation would likely exceed that of installed carpet.

ELEGANT APPEARANCE
Though not real hardwood I doubt most visitors to your home will know the difference. The Pergo flooring I installed is much more durable than real hardwood (I wore out 2 saw blades cutting the stuff).

LESS DUST
Since replacing the carpet with the Pergo floor there is noticeably less dust in the room. Using a Swifter pad, I can clean the floor in fraction of the time it would take to vacuum. It's also much easier to clean behind and underneath furniture.

NOISES (updated 12/08)
Last summer my floating floor developed some cracking noises when walked on. I previously wrote that I thought dirt or sand had gotten into the seams and was making noise. However, now that winter has come again, the cracking noises have disappeared. It is my new assumption that the noise problem is related to expansion of the floor during summer months. Either I didn't leave enough room for expansion of the floor, or seasonal noises may be a common issue with floating floors.

UNIQUE SOUND AND FEEL WHEN WALKING ON FLOOR
Whenever I walk on my floating floor, I am reminded by the sound and feel that I am walking on boards loosely laid over a foam underlayment, not a standard hardwood floor rigidly nailed to a subfloor. I believe a perfectly level subfloor will lessen this effect as will the use of rugs in key areas of the floor.

CONCLUSION
The floating floor I installed isn't perfect, but is still a huge improvement over the carpet it replaced. I do recommend a floating floor if you're installing over a concrete slab, but recommend that you thouroughly research them before you buy. Many flooring stores have sample sections of flooring that you can walk on and view to help you determine whether a floating floor will be the right choice for you.