At the beginning of summer, we arrived home from vacation to a busted pipe. After dealing with the plumbing portion of the problem, and replacing the plumbing in our entire house, we then had to deal with the aftermath of water damage. The pipe burst on the second floor in my office closet so the flooring (carpet) in 50% of the second floor was affected. We originally had Berber carpet in two bedrooms (office and guest room) and the hallway. The guest bathroom had ceramic tile and our master bedroom had laminate flooring.
We had to remove the carpet in the office and hallway immediately and so we decided to replace all of the flooring on the entire level. With our awareness heightened, we wanted to choose flooring that was resistant to any water damage in the future, but we also have and like real wood flooring on the first floor. We chose Aquaguard flooring (in Coco) from Floor & Decor. Aquaguard is water resistant and really does have a great look of hardwood. The finish is durable and promises a lifetime warranty. The product is thick, it seems to be double the thickness of regular laminate. It would be a good choice for laundry rooms and bathrooms too.
Laminate flooring is a bit easier to install than real wood as it is a floating floor and the pieces click together over a noise reducing underlayment. Although we have done flooring installs in our house ourselves in the past, this time we chose to hire someone to install it. It took about five days to install in three rooms (including closets) and the hallway, about 700 square feet.
We really like the way it turned out! Take a look.
Master bedroom before and after:
Office before and after
-J
Great choices.
The floors are gorgeous! The rich mocha color really makes your decor pop!!! Hate a broken pipe cause such a headache but you guys made a great recovery.
I love the look. How does it feel under your feet? Like Pergo? I just love the dark, richness of it.
We have wood floors on the first floor and it feels just like them!
That last picture of the marble against the dark wood tones…love it! That’s what I want in my bathrooms. Did you change out your balusters/stair railings too with the flooring? If so, was it hard to change out? Love them too!
Thanks! We changed out the balusters several years ago, and it yes, it wasn’t too hard.
How has your Aquaguard flooring been holding up? Have you had any difficulties with it “clicking” underfoot. Are you happy with it?
No clicking, no noise at all underfoot. Feels good, easy to maintain. Really glad we have it.
We are strongly considering the aquaguard flooring in our new home. I have read few reviews, both positive and negative. Our concern is the shifting of pieces which can create gaps between planks. Have you experienced shifting of the floor? Gaps between planks?
Also, with hard shoes, does it sound clicky or cheap underfoot? We aren’t sure if we should go with real wood. I’d like something more durable and the lifetime warranty is pretty attractive. Do you like the sound underfoot? Sound like real wood?
Thank you for any feedback!!!
Our Aquaguard flooring has been installed for a year. It’s upstairs in all our bedrooms and hallway. We have hardwood flooring on the first floor. There has not been any noticeable shifting with the Aquaguard, so there are no gaps yet.
It sounds solid underfoot but I attribute that to the underlayment we chose. Also, we are a ‘shoes off’ house and don’t typically wear shoes upstairs and walk barefoot on both types of flooring. It sounds like the wood flooring downstairs to me. The feel is a little more slick/smooth than my oak flooring, but that may be related to the sanding job done on the oak floors. We had cheap laminate in our master bedroom before this and the Aquaguard is definitely a step up in sound and feel.
I hope that helps!
Thank you! 🙂
We are having the same flooring install at the moment. Coco color as well. Does the flooring have any flex to it. Ours is installed downstairs on our foundation we picked the middle grade under lining. There seems to be a flex in the flooring when we walk across it. The installers are working on the kitchen now and just wondering if it is them or the lining or the flooring. Thanks
There is a bit of flex in one of my rooms but I attributed that to that area not being level.
I am considering putting the AquaGuard throughout my entire 1,000 square foot condo. I have part hardwood and carpet now (18 years old). The real hardwood has dented and stained. I have a little OCD so the real hardwoods aren’t for me. I have cats so the AquaGuard would be a great option. I am looking at the Coco color. Does it show dirt/dust easily? I would have to paint my kitchen cabinets and replace some furniture because it is oak. I don’t think that color furniture would coordinate with the Coco. I am also considering the Salemo color which is more of an oak. Your thoughts?
I overthink and overanalyze everything. Your comments have really helped!
It does show dust bunnies, but no it doesn’t look dirty easily. My preference is Cocoa vs Salemo. I understand over analysis – I do it too! Hope it works out well!
How is the floor still holding up?
Did you glue the floor down?
What is your advise now that you have put this floor in for someone else?
Floor is still great, no problems whatsoever. We did not use glue, it’s a floating floor.
How do you clean it sonit doesn’t streak or look smudged?
Hi -does not streak or look smudge. I clean it with laminate floor cleaner.
How is your floors holding up still? Building and looking into this brand. Thanks
Hi Emmy – the floors still look brand new. Love them.
It’s great to see the periodic updates; you appear to be happy with it. I am looking to use the Aquaguard in Coco as well and came across your post. I had a contractor mention that this may squeak more than others, especially on my stairs. Have you had any issues with squeaking? Has anyone used this on stairs? Also thought I’d double check to see if you are still just as happy with this laminate, years after installation.
I haven’t experienced squeaking. Still happy with the floor after quite some time. We have it installed in 3 bedrooms and a hallway but not on stairs.
Hi J. I am in love with this floor but have read mixed reviews on aquaguard’s durability. Hownisniy holding up in 2020?
Hi Jessica, floor looks and feels great. There honestly is not much difference from the time it was installed, so it’s worn really well.
I ended up going with AquaGuard and am very pleased with it. I went with Coco; looks great, no squeaks, and durability is phenomenal.
did you end up going with the Aquaguard?
Did you use a separate underlayment? We are putting it over concrete sis 6 mil barrier will be laid on the concrete but is an underlayment necessary or required ? What we’re looking at in Aquaguard has an attached underlayment.
Yes we used a separate underlayment
Does the cocoa aqua guard scratch easy I have dogs?
No, doesn’t scratch easily
I had a leftover piece and I tried everything I could to scratch it and it was pretty much impossible. This stuff is tough.