How waterproof is pergo-type flooring?

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm looking at a bathroom remodel. The bathroom is going to get used by little kids. My first solution would be sheet vinyl flooring. It is seamless and waterproof. The homeowner says that it is generally ugly (and I agree). She's seen those snap-together floors (like Pergo), and wonders about them. I figure that anything with seams in it can't be waterproof enough for a kids' bathroom, but I don't have any experience with this kind of flooring. Does anybody know if the seams seal well enough to keep water out of the flooring, and out of the subfloor?

[Andy Hoyt]

I would think that it's a bad idea.

Those products rely on stability to stay flat and together; and even a microscopic hole in the seam would ultimately lead to deterioration of the finish floor and sub floor. Water is powerful stuff.

[Lee DeRaud]

You can use Pergo in bathrooms, but you can't just snap it together: you have to glue it together to seal the seams and then use silicone around the perimeter. The glue they sell for it is seriously waterproof...don't try to substitute normal wood glue.

All three of mine are at the 6-year mark (from before they had the snap-together stuff), no problems.

[Keith Hall]

Why dont you suggest using ceramic tile. It's kid proof and is about the same price or cheaper to install. The color and style choices are greater and it will last a lifetime.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Regardless of what type of flooring you choose..........Do yourself a favor. Take a sample of it..........get your bare feet wet and step on the sample of the flooring. I put sheet vinyl down in our downstairs bathroom. When you step out onto it from the shower it's like stepping onto greased glass! We put throw rugs down over the vinyl outside the shower so people won't fall down stepping out of the shower.

[Ben Grunow]

I have installed vinyl flooring in a bathroom that comes in 4" by 6' strips and has real wood veneer under a thick clear vinyl top layer. Just peel and stick over well primed underlayment grade plywood (screwed and glued over subfloor). Manufacturer says its waterproof, but the quality of the installation (how tight you are able to keep the joints-not hard for me but I did a small square bath not a complicated space) would play a big part. Can't remember name of product- think it was manufactured by Formica Corp.. Also, I think it had a little bit of an eggshell texture so it wouldn't be too slippery. Good luck.

[Lee Schierer]

I don't think Pergo's warranty is any good if it is installed in a bathroom and they state that in the warranty. Wilsonart laminate flooring doesn't have the same exclusion on their warranty. We have it in our kitchen and it has had water spilled on it without any problems. The joints are pretty tight and the glue is water proof. We have it by our back door and we have tracked in snow from outside and it has stayed on the floor (melted) over night with no problems.

[rick fulton]

Jamie –

Say it ain’t so. A fine woodworker who builds first class furniture looking for info on Pergo? Your woodworking posts and portfolio of custom projects have inspired me since my first days of browsing SMC. I do hope this vinyl project is just a phase (like Picasso’s crayola period) and you get back to your woodworking roots soon. Then again, maybe bookmatched linoleum with exotic vinyl inlays could be the next big thing.

Rick

[Jim Becker]

Say it ain’t so. A fine woodworker who builds first class furniture looking for info on Pergo?

It happens, Rick. I have the Armstrong equivalent in our powder room...and we'll likely use something like it, although preferably engineered real wood surface, in the guest room of our future home addition.
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Jamie, some of the laminates will work ok in wetter areas and some don't. I'm actually mildly disappointed in the Armstrong product in our powder room as mentioned above. It was not glued (snap-together) and I do have one joint that has swelled a little. Interestingly enough, one area under the sink pedestal that actually did get some "real water" due to a minor leak is pristine. My advise is to choose a product that the manufacturer has no issue with installing in such areas for piece of mind. There are a lot of choices available.

[Jim DeLaney]

Since Pergo needs expansion space all around the perimeter, how will you handle where it needs to butt against the tub/shower? Also, what about under the toilet, where it's bolted firmly down? You can't tolerate any movement there.

Granted, most bathrooms are small enough that movement will be minimal, but you'll still have to provide for it.

[Lee DeRaud]

Since Pergo needs expansion space all around the perimeter, how will you handle where it needs to butt against the tub/shower? Also, what about under the toilet, where it's bolted firmly down? You can't tolerate any movement there.The usual clear or white silicone stuff is fine for sealing the perimeter. What I did was use a smaller gap (about 2-3mm) on the edges by the tub/shower where it would show and a little more under the cabinet toekicks etc.

As far as the toilet goes, for mine, I pulled the toilet and laid the Pergo up to about 1" from the flange. Applied the silicone at that perimeter and also on the bottom rim of the toilet (where it touches the Pergo) when I reinstalled it.

I seriously doubt there's enough movement of the Pergo to measure in a room that size: it's much more stable dimensionally than hardwood flooring.

[Jamie Buxton]

Thank you all for the education.

Rick, I'm not going to install the floor. I happened to wander into the conversation about it, and I realized I didn't know much about the pergo-type stuff. You'll notice I put this thread in the "Off Topic" forum. :) My part of the project is likely to be a sink base, medicine cabinet, and a baby-changing table. I've never built one of those; the homeowner says "Just like McDonalds, but nicer!" I've never received a spec quite like that.

[Lopaka Garcia]

Hmmm in my opinion, which doesn't mean much, mixing wood and water/steam isn't a very good idea. Yes you could probably take all the preventive measures "water proofing" the Pergo, but the "what if's" is enough to steer me away.

How about wood pattern tiles? :D

[Jim Becker]

Lopaka...the laminates are pretty much "pictures" of wood... ;) ...kinda like wood pattern tiles... :D

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

My daughter wanted it in her bathroom when we redid her house. One thing I did was to apply a sealer to the sub. I used Drylok.

If there is going to be lots of water spashing be sure to seal the snap joints with silicone. Have lots of clean wipes handy for the squeeze out.

[Lopaka Garcia]

Yup Jim you're so right. Sometimes you wonder now days if anything has real wood in it or as you say, just pictures of wood glued to it. If fact, I've seen some veneer things that are so thin, it's even thinner than pictures.:eek: