Laminate in Wilsonville, OR

Almost always, yes. An empty house means no furniture moving, no working around a family, and a faster, cleaner install. If you are between closing and moving day, tell us the date and we will work to it.

Usually luxury vinyl plank through the main living areas with carpet kept to bedrooms. It is warm underfoot, it handles spills and pet traffic, and running one continuous floor with flush transitions removes the small height changes that become trip hazards. If wall-to-wall carpet is preferred, we would spec a dense low-pile rather than a plush.

Neither, they are good at different things. Laminate has a harder wear surface and usually looks better for the money, so it wins in living rooms, bedrooms and hallways. LVP handles water, so it wins in kitchens, bathrooms, entries and laundries. Running both in one house, with a planned transition, is a common and sensible answer.

We would rather it did not. Kitchens have dishwashers, fridges with water lines and sinks, and the failure mode for a wood-cored floor is a leak that runs for a week behind a cabinet. Water-resistant laminates have improved a lot, but the honest recommendation for a kitchen is LVP or tile.

Almost always because it is floating over a subfloor that was not flattened, or over a missing or unsuitable underlayment. The plank is bridging a dip and drumming against the void underneath. Fix the subfloor and the sound goes away. It is a preparation issue rather than something inherent to the product.

Yes, with the right preparation. Concrete releases moisture, so the slab is tested first and a suitable vapour barrier goes down before the underlayment. Skipping that step is how a floating floor over a slab ends up cupping a year later, so it is not something we treat as optional.