You should have no problem with laminate if it gets wet. Any type of flooring, short of epoxy on concrete, that stays wet will become damaged. The installation cost of real wood, as opposed to laminate is easily twice as much. Also, all doors should be reset or cut, as real wood will be 1 1/2 inch tall if there is a concrete base.Â
@DanStanton: On our huge project in OH ( 2 rooms fingered into a central hall it wasn't a problem- we pulled up all the baseboards and laid it up to 1/16" from the wall and installed new baseboards and quarter round. And we cut out around the door jams and slid board under- had to do the same with laminate and tile- not hard if you're handy- but I'm sure you know that
.I wish I had real oak on the first floor bedroom but the laminate has held up well. It's been in for 8-9 years- never curled up when wet and the dogs have not damaged it. Still I love the look of my oak upstairs- it has personality 4951