Flooring is the lower surface of the space within the building and is a permanent covering that is laid over the floor. Various types of flooring are available in the market such as laminate flooring, vinyl flooring, hardwood flooring, bamboo flooring, etc. But the most popular type of flooring is laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Let’s see the difference between Laminates Vs Hardwood flooring.
Both these types of flooring have certain advantages and pitfalls but in the last few years, laminate flooring has become very popular. Hence in this post, we will discuss both laminate floorings as well as hardwood flooring. So that you can decide which one will suit you the best.
Why Prefer Laminate Flooring Over Hardwood Flooring?
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Hardwood flooring is made up of flooring boards that are usually ¾ inches thick. We can install this type of flooring board with blind nails. It comes up with beautiful and natural texture and is made up of different types of woods.
This type of flooring looks very classy when installed in the building. But the biggest problem with this type of flooring is that we cannot maintain it properly. Apart from that, this type of flooring can be discolored when it is exposed to the sun for a longer time. Due to this disadvantage of hardwood flooring, many people prefer to choose laminate flooring.
Things To Know
Laminate flooring is a kind of compressed fiberboard plank that is also made up of wood byproducts. The good quality laminate flooring is highly durable and many manufacturers come up with a 20-year warranty. The best thing about this type of flooring is that it requires minimal maintenance and its installation process is quite easy.
We can install this type of flooring with underfloor heating. The good thing about laminate flooring is that it offers good resistance to scratching and stains. A quality laminate flooring looks like real wood and nowadays you will also get top-quality laminate flooring that has more random patterns and looks more realistic.
Laminate Vs. Hardwood Flooring
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When you need to compare any kind of industrial style flooring it is very essential to judge the major things such as its appearance, water, and heat resistance capacity, installation process as well as its maintenance and durability factors. The following is the comparison between laminate vs hardwood flooring:
Appearance:
The hardwood flooring that is made up of costly woods like red or white oak wood looks attractive but those are very costly. The cheaper hardwood does not look good. But all types of laminate flooring, no matter whether it is cheap or costly, look very attractive and realistic. We can customize Laminate flooring to any extent but hardwood has certain restrictions. However, the top-quality hood is visually appealing and looks gorgeous.
Water and heat resistance:
Hardwood flooring is not beneficial in the wet area as it can damage by standing water or flood. Apart from that, it is also not advisable to install hardwood flooring over a radiant heating system since in such a system the board can shrink and the joints may open up. But the laminate flooring highly water as well as stain-resistant. Moreover, the laminate flooring also has enough heat resistance and can be installed over any type of radiant heating system. Although neither laminate nor hardwood lamination is ideal for a truly wet location laminate flooring is somewhat better in humid or wet conditions when we compare them to that of hardwood flooring.
Installation:
It is highly difficult to install hardwood flooring for non-professionals and you also require certain tools like floor nails, stapler, etc. But laminate flooring is quite easier and you can do it yourself even if you do not have any prior experience.
Maintenance and durability:
Hardwood flooring is durable and may last for a lifetime but the board should be of better quality. But in the case of hardwood flooring, you need to do resealing periodically. Laminate flooring is moderately good resistant and most laminate flooring comes up with a 10 to 20 years warranty.
Cost:
Cost is a great factor that you must look into while choosing the type of flooring. Generally, the cost of hardwood flooring ranges from $4 to $12 per square foot. But as compared to that laminate flooring is much cheaper and you will get high-quality laminate flooring at $1 to $3 per square foot. However, check and compare the prices at the time of installation as the prices may vary.
This is all about Laminate vs Hardwood flooring. Both types have certain pros and cons. Both types are available in the market in abundance and various qualities. However, laminated flooring has some advantages over hardwood.
