If your home is ready for a new floor, you might be having a difficult time deciding between laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Below are some points to keep in mind. Learn what’s the difference between hardwood floors and laminate floors
Hardwood Floors: Traditional and Lasting Beauty
Hardwood flooring looks great in rustic homes, and it delights people who love nature. Plus, although maple and oak are the most popular hardwood flooring options, you can choose a wood to match just about any interior decorating style or color scheme.
There’s just something soothing about natural floors. They’re enduring, and their colors are especially pleasing to the eye. What’s more, they give us a direct link to our pioneer ancestors. On top of that, if a hardwood floor is properly maintained, it can last for decades. A laminate floor, which is made from synthetic materials, is unlikely to last nearly as long.
Laminate Floors: A More Daring Choice?
On the other hand, if you want to be a little more adventuresome with your flooring, a great many types of laminate floors are available. It’s certainly no longer the case that all of these floors resemble plastic. Rather, you can now obtain laminate flooring that looks like metal, stone, wood, and a range of other materials. In fact, these days, many people would have trouble distinguishing a hardwood floor from a laminate floor that’s designed to look like wood. With laminate flooring, you can also be more creative and experimental when it comes to the designs and colors of your floors.
The Flexibility of Laminate Floors
In some ways, laminate floors are a little more versatile than their hardwood counterparts. For example, laminate flooring tends to absorb noise slightly more efficiently, and it’s also less susceptible to stains and scratches. For these reasons, a person who has a dog, a cat, or young children might prefer to have laminate flooring in at least a few rooms.
In addition, you should keep hardwood flooring out of bathrooms and other places where moisture often collects. By contrast, laminate floors are rarely affected by moisture. Similarly, this kind of flooring rarely wears out or fades in the sun and laminate works in the kitchen as well.
Difference Between Hardwood and Laminate Flooring – Money Matters
Naturally, your budget is likely to factor into your flooring decision. Laminate flooring is almost always cheaper than the hardwood variety, and the differences in price are usually considerable. Not to mention, hardwood floors should have finishes so that they won’t warp over time, and finishing a floor is an extra expense. However, when you sell your home, you’re likely to more than recoup your investment in a finished hardwood floor.
It costs about the same amount of money over time to maintain a hardwood floor and a laminate floor. In fact, they’re both relatively easy to take care of. For the most part, routine sweepings and vacuumings should do the trick, but hardwood floors have to be polished and waxed on occasion. With either floor, be sure to wipe up spilled liquids as quickly as you can.
Installation
It’s somewhat more of a challenge to install hardwood floors than laminate floors. Obviously, if you have to saw your own hardwood planks, this process becomes significantly more difficult. Both of these projects can be tricky and messy, and your pieces must fit each room precisely.
Whether you’re putting in hardwood flooring or laminate flooring, the simplest solution is to hire a professional to handle the installation. Someone who really knows how to install laminate flooring and hardwood flooring will do the job quickly and efficiently. This pro will also save you the expense of additional flooring, which you’d need if you made installation mistakes.