Hardwood floor vs Laminate floor |
Categories
|
Hardwood floors have been used for many years and only recently homeowners start considering more modern type of flooring which called laminate floor. Unlike natural wood floor, laminate was originally handmade specifically as alternative to hardwood. Both hardwood floor and laminate floor are very good floor option. They have some similarities, such as they are both long lasting and durable flooring options with reasonable care and usage. Laminate flooring is made out of plastic with a photographic image of wood or even stone sandwiched in between different layers. Laminate flooring material has various thicknesses from 6 mm to 12 mm. Usually, the thicker product is, the higher quality and longer it should last. Major differences are shown below in the chart. However, grades of wood floor may vary from different types of hardwood as well as there are different grades of durability for laminate floor.
*It depends not only on flooring materials but on installation quality as well. Laminate floors are typically made to look like natural hardwood flooring but are meant to be able to resist many things that a natural hardwood floor cannot. The choice between hardwood floor and laminate floor normally depends on customers’ concern how "real" it looks, how durable and/or resistant to wear and other happenings it is. In addition, the price factor or the "green" environmental factor can influence their decision also. Some people are bothered by the issue about whether to choose natural wood and make more expensive look in their homes or an eco-friendly manmade flooring material which is less expensive. Why to choose laminate? Laminate flooring is very resistant to dents and scratches because it has what's called in the industry a "wear layer" that protects the photographic layer underneath. Laminate flooring can be installed in hallways, kitchens, and even bathrooms where you encounter "topical moisture". However, laminate floor will not tolerate standing pools of water; the excessive moisture can damage the laminate. For such areas it is better to choose tile or vinyl floor. Originally laminate flooring had a very slippery surface which made it uncomfortable and less desirable for many homeowners. It was a big disadvantage of laminate flooring compare to hardwood floor. Now laminate manufacturers have developed slip-resistant wear layers that make it more comfortable under foot and bring bigger attractiveness to laminate floor in recent years. Another advantage of laminate that boxes with laminate floor material do not contain any defective pieces which bring waist of this flooring to minimum. Unlike an organic hardwood floor material, which comes with many imperfect pieces that need to be thrown out. It is wise for homeowners who don’t plan to stay for a very long periods of time and have children and pets in their homes to consider laminate flooring. Laminate flooring will give almost the same effect as hardwood floor but for lower cost. From the other hand, if homeowners are anticipating to stay many years in their homes and want to make a serious investment in their properties then they need to consider buying and installing hardwood instead. Hardwood floor will definitely bring to the homes along with some additional value a luxury and elegant look. |
|
Comments