Ok here is my story . First off when you buy a house the is priced at $300,000 and they say top notch Laminate floors/
Come on people If you are spending that much money you better be giving me Hardwood.
YES I HAVE Kids 10yrs old Girl and 6 yr old BOy that love to race car around and the floors do hold up and yes with kids lots of stuff gets spilled and i mean spilled. I have it in the kitchen and thurout the house. I love it wipe it up and your done. swifter, and wipe down...
Laminate is great for a fast fix, if you are selling a house and want that nice look great go for it. Laminate if you get a scratch you can't take it out its done.
They say that certain types of laminates are back with a 25-30 year guarantte. ya what is going to happen on yr 15 when that company is not there. and its does scratch and it does warp. and most of the time depending on your floors you will need a sub floor to make sure that the floors are even across. Lots of people are doing laminate and are putting in a sub floor reasons that house is older and the floors are uneven.
Now Hard wood there is lots to choose from. its natural, easy to clean, if you do get a scratch you can get it bluffed out or refinished , if you have a piece that is cracked , and yes if can happen I called the place that did it. They came over and cut if out and placed a new piece in there. you can't even notice it. and you can buy colors to match the floor to color in any light scatches. And with a older home you dont need a sub floor the hard wood acts as one. have done lots of hardwood floors. SO dont let them tell you that you need them.......
Price laminate is going from 1.00 -5.99 PER Sq ft. Hardwood can go from 3-22dollars per ft depending on that wood and color. with Hardwood you can sand that floor and refinish them 3 times and it takes a long time to wear out hardwood. Look at some of the older houses that have Natural wood in them and they are over 100 yrs old.
HTH
P.S if you do go with hard wood don't get a dark color it shows dirt, scratches alot easier.... We do have a dog and its really easy to clean up after him .......