[RedFury]

My opinion on laminate in small areas is so that the "effect" of the flooring being "fake" isn't lost by the viewing angle...the further you get away from a laminate floor, the "faker" it looks, because it becomes a flat surface that is only reflecting light.

Imagine a piece of plexiglass laid over a piece of wood. When you look straight down on it, it looks like a nice piece of wood, but when you start tilting the wood at an angle, you start seeing less of the wood and more of the Plexiglass ( this is a reason why many people choose Satin over Gloss finishes for their natural wood floors.

As far as the particle board story goes, we won't warranty work done over particle or OSB subflooring as it is too unstable compared to plywood floors. It's simply because OSB and Particle board suck up moisture at a faster rate and the board movement is much more pronounced.

No matter how you cut it, compress it, glue it, nail it or bond it, it's still a tree. An inch and a half wide strip floor that's 3/4th an inch thick over a 10 foot wide span, will move 1 3/4 in from the wettest the wood can get to the driest it can get.