Hardwood vs Laminate Flooring – A Feature Comparison
Hardwood flooring has a long history and offers the luxury of choice and easy integration into a home’s interior design. Laminate flooring can be made to mimic the look of wood and is a more affordable option. Here is a feature and benefit comparison to help you decide whether you should purchase hardwood flooring or laminate flooring for your home:
Durability: Laminate flooring is more durable than hardwood as it consists of anywhere from three to seven layers of materials.
Design: The decor layer of laminate flooring is made by using photographic images which make the flooring resemble hardwoods with grain, color and even knots. The use of photographic images makes many more designs available. On the flip side, photographic images allow the patterns in laminates to be repeated over and over, which make replacement of damaged planks much easier.
Installation: Laminate flooring is made with a tongue and groove design which allows the planks to snap together. This glueless method makes installation much easier than for hardwood flooring and can save you the expense of professional installation. It is an easy do-it-yourself project which you can finish quickly.
Maintenance: Because of its durability, laminate flooring tolerates high foot traffic and is more damage- and fading-resistant than hardwood. Cleaning is easy as laminate flooring just requires a daily run-over with a dust mop or brush along with a sponge or paper towel to wipe up spills.
Environmental Impact: According to the North American Laminate Flooring Association, since laminates are made from paper, their manufacturing does not involve the harvesting of hardwoods, and laminates do not contain significant quantities of elements that can affect indoor air quality.
Acoustics: Since laminates are floating and not solid wood, they will sound different and feel different underfoot than wood. Laminate flooring is probably the wrong choice for you is you want the acoustics of hardwood under your bare feet.
Location: Neither hardwood or laminate is suitable for areas such as bathrooms and kitchens which are subject to excessive moisture.
