Hi Linda,
Here is a dissertation on flooring for you.
Shameless Confession Time: I absolutely love to talk about floors. In fact, in an old thread on here, I called myself the Cliff Clavin of talking about floors. (before somebody else called me Cliff -- but at least I am not talking about potatoes)
And then I went on to say that actually, I start to sound a little like Forrest Gump when it comes to floors. You know. Ya got your engineered wood. Ya got your sanded and finished on the job hardwood. Ya got your pre-finished hardwood. Ya got your laminate hardwood-look hardwood. Ya got your ceramic tile. Ya got your porcelain tile. Ya even got your ceramic tile-ish looking laminate
My Ohio house is all hardwood. (except for the ceramic tile parts) 5-inch wide planks, 3/4" thick, tongue and groove, pre-finished hardwood. Mr. Boomer did the install after the purchase of many, many, many expensive power tools. A pneumatic nailer. Some kind of laser level. Some saws. A saw stand. A screw gun with a handle so you can stand up and use it. And a bunch of other stuff. It was quite a project.....But I digress......
Anyway, about laminate, I don't have any, but Mr. B. has installed it in our daughter's house. It is a lot less expensive than hardwood. It is really easy to install and to take care of and it is practically indestructible. Regular hardwood does get scratched, even the prefinished stuff can. Not easily. But it can. (We have it in the kitchen, too.) A few scratches do not bother me. I think it kind of goes with the territory of real wood.
I saw that you said rental and that might be another reason to keep laminate under consideration. Laminate saves aggravation.
There are some nice looks to be found with laminate, too. It can be a good choice.
But no matter what kind of floor you choose, the underlayment is crucial.
And now, for Part II. I must go on and on about ceramic tile. Our bathrooms are ceramic, and so is the 4-season room that we built last fall.......and winter. (4 months -- aaaaugh!) But I digress.....once more... back to floors.....
I think the key to ceramic tile is picking a color that does not show dirt and keeping the grout line as skinny as you can. In the new room, we did 1/8 inch. We also used some hideously expensive can of quartz grout that I talked about on here somewhere before. It is supposed to resist dirt and stains like nothing else. I have a big fear of red wine. (This from a woman who has a yellow couch....go figure) So anyway, we sprung for the more expensive grout, but we have not tested it yet so who knows.
If you end up choosing tile, it is very important to choose tile that is the color of dirt. Preferably a mix of several dirt colors.
Now, I know I already showed the following picture of my dog Annie in a different thread. But I am using the picture again because in this thread Annie is being the spokesmodel for the ceramic tile floor with the skinny grout lines.
Please notice that the floor is not only the many shades of dirt, but it also matches the dog’s hair. (Boomer is no fool.) That floor is in Ohio, of course, and it is heated underneath so that my feet do not freeze on winter mornings and the dear old dog loves it, too, as you can see.
And here is a picture that shows why we need the heated floor.
Well, enough from me about floors – again. I just cannot resist going on and on about floors, even if I am repeating myself. (been around here too long -- stuff comes up again) But hey, at least I know I am repeating myself.....I think.
But one more thing, whatever kind of material you choose, buy a little extra and stash it. You might need to replace a spot for some reason, somewhere down the road.
Boomer
PS: I apologize for making the pictures the size of a billboard again. I do not know how to get them smaller.