Q. We are moving into our first home and we are replacing the carpet in the living room with laminate wood flooring. The floor in the dining room is already laminate wood and joins up with the living room floor. We are trying to pick out new floors and are wondering if we can get a different color wood floor for the living room or if we need to match it perfectly with the dining room. Would mismatching the wood look tacky?? Calling all interior designers! I need your help!

A. What you are asking is a question of personal taste. I (being a wood lover) think it's kinda cool to bounce to contrasting wood off one another, But thats just me.

Q. I can't take up the laminate because the underneath would have to be completely redone. On a website I read that it is possible to lay flooring over laminate. Anyone with experience in doing this????????????? THANK YOU!

A. Not directly over the laminate. The laminate seams will show through in no time. If a luan(1/4" plywood) is layed over it and nails driven all the way to the sub floor, then yes you can do it. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar.GL

Q. My husband and I were comparing the costs of putting down laminate hardwood flooring ourselves. We would like to save some money in doing so but have never attempted in such a task. How hard is it in putting the flooring down? What company offers the best prices per square footage?

A. Good Day Yes , Go a head a do it together. It will be a experience that you both will enjoy. You will have to make sure your floor has the proper under cushion for where you are laying it. In the basement you will need a vapour barrier under cushion.Just ask a few questions where you buy your laminate flooring. Shop around , if you know how many square feet you will need you can ask if the have any laminate that they will mark down to get rid of . It sometimes works and you will save a lot of money.Also when you buy tell the clerk where you plan to lay it. You may want to buy a thicker laminate. You can use a thinner laminate in bedrooms but should be thicker in living rooms and hallways. Go for it,

Q. I have this horrible laminate flooring in my house but it's hard to take off the sub-floor because the laminate is glued to the floor. I have been taking it out with a screw driver and hammer and it kinda damages the sub-floor. Is there a way to take out the laminate with little damage to the sub-floor?

A. That is a very tedious job. You will be sitting there forever with a pry bar though. You can also buy a floor scraper for about $20 at any hardware store. Generally found in the flooring dept. Take my experience though, all depending on what you re-cover with (ie. tile, carpet, etc) if you are going with tile, you need to have a glue free surface. Plywood is inexpensive and easier to remove that your laminate, Not to mention the time and aggravation you will save.

Q. So I was wondering if any one had laminate flooring ( mine is by company called Quick Step) and have tried to clean it with vineger? Does it work well? What is the recipe... I think I would much rather use a mixture of water and vinegar on my floors instead of chemicals because I have an 11 month old, and I am pregnant again! I am sorry but I don't buy the idea of cleaning with just water! Water is not a disinfectant! So please if anyone has tried the vinegar and water way of cleaning and it worked please let me know, and also how many parts water to the vinegar, and also what type of vinegar should I buy? Thanks soooooo much! -Concerned owner of new laminate flooring! :)

A. Here is a link on how to take care of laminate. http://fortmyers.abbeycarpet.com/Products/Laminate/LaminateCare.aspx Quick step is one of the best laminates, so you did a good job of selecting.

Q. I am replacing carpet in my den as my dogs have peed everywhere and ruined the carpet. I am considering laminate flooring (armstrong), but need to know if the dogs pee if the urine will go through the "cracks"?? One installer told me no, another told me yes. I was going to install tile, but that ended up being to $$$. Thanks in advance.

A. The dogs will continue to pee on your laminate flooring and it will go through the joints causing your floor to swell up.Train your dogs to pee outside before you change the flooring.

Q. My living room is has laminate flooring but i would like to change it to white flooring permenantly. what is the best way to do this? i saw this item in ikea called floor lining would that work?

A. The lining actually goes under the laminate - so it wouldn't work. You would need to either paint the laminate with a primer then white floor paint - which is actually not a bad look - but you can't really use the floor until the paint cures - which is a few weeks, plus you will need to repaint every few years.

Q. We are putting down the board like laminate wood flooring that snaps together & have been told it is easy to do . Does anyone know how to do it? We could use your help.

A. Hello, Just follow instructions that are on every pack, Tools needed , Fine tooth saw, square, ammer, stanley knife for scribing the line to be cut,rule and pencil, and common sense. Some you just snap together by hand, others have a driving tool to knock the laminate joints into one another. Just take your time, make sure before jointing up as to take apart again will damage laminate. Go for it.