Hardwood Flooring or Laminate Flooring?

hardwood

While these two flooring options offer the same look, there are plenty of factors to consider when choosing between the two.

Homeowners love the look and feel hardwood gives to their home. Hardwood can warm any room and add value to your home, but laminate flooring is competing with hardwood more than ever. In recent years, laminate floor manufacturers have produced laminate floors that mimic the look of hardwood for a fraction of the price.

So which is better? Hardwood flooring or laminate flooring? While these two flooring options offer the same look, there are plenty of factors to consider when choosing between the two.

Cost.

Due to the variety of hardwood floors available, from the type of wood—maple, bamboo, or engineered wood, for example—to the finish, stain, and special effects like distressing, hardwood flooring comes in a range of pricing options. Laminate flooring, on the other hand, is generally made of plastic and is thought of as a picture printed onto fiberboards. For this reason, laminate floor can imitate almost any hardwood floor, and its material is more budget-friendly. This is not to say laminate cannot be expensive. In fact, laminate also comes in a range of prices from inexpensive to high-end laminate. In general, however, laminate tends to be much more cost effective. The downside? Laminate does not add value to your home like hardwood does.

Resilience.

Laminate floors are durable and soft so they do not warp and crack when the floor comes into repeated contact with moisture like hardwood does. Laminate floors also fair better in humid environments. Laminate floors, unlike hardwood, are resilient to stains and their finish does not require polishing or treatment. They also make clean up a breeze and do not have cracks where dirt and crumbs can escape into.

Feel and Appearance.

Hardwood is often preferred to laminate because hardwood is known to not only deaden sounds like foot steps and echoes, but hardwood is known to feel warmer than other flooring options. Hardwood is also designed to have many layout options, including diagonal, straight lines, and artistic styles. Laminate, on the other hand, is not as versatile, and because it is essentially pictures printed onto a tile, laminate repeats itself rather than varying strip to strip.

Installation.

Laminate floors can be an easy DIY project if you are up to the task and require little work to prepare the subfloor, while hardwoods may require a professional. Hardwood flooring can be nailed or glued, but may require a special subfloor depending on the moisture levels of the subfloor. This moisture factor also affects where hardwood can be installed. Laminate floors are much more versatile and can be installed in many areas of your home where hardwood may not hold up so well.

So how do you decide between the two? The option is really up to you. Consider the amount of maintenance and longevity you’d like to get out of your floor, as well as the area you will install the flooring. If you are still on the fence, take a look at both options. Either way, you’ll be sure to find flooring that fits your home.

This post was written by Thais Sousa. Follow Thais on Google.