The Debate Between Hardwood Vs Laminate
Choosing the flooring that you will have in your home for a long time can be hard. That is why we are here, we want you to have pleasant memories when it comes to shopping for flooring. The article below will tell you everything that should know about hardwood vs laminate.
You may want that classic look of wood floors in your home. Given that laminates are now looking very much like hardwood, how do you choose which flooring to put into your home? First, you need to research the advantages and disadvantages of both laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. Both can be beautiful additions to your home, but you need to match your tastes, needs, and budget to the flooring that best suites you.
Hardwood
Hardwood flooring has the advantage of lasting longer than any other type of flooring. If it is a solid hardwood floor, it can be refinished a limitless amount of times or restained to change its looks. With the polyurethane finishes that are available today, the hardwood flooring can be protected from water for use in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, which previously were off limits to wood that could be damaged from moisture.
Hardwood can be bought in planks, strips, or parquet squares with a number of other options.
Finishes
Unfinished-This option allows the customer to stain the wood any color that he/she chooses, which is an advantage to those who have a particular stain in mind that may not quite match a manufacturer's offerings. This disadvantage of unfinished hardwood flooring is the sanding and finishing that has to be done professionally after the flooring is installed. Even if you can do the finishing yourself, the finishing process could delay use of the floor for several days due to the mess of sawdust and the vapor of the finish used, not to mention the time it takes to sand, stain, and apply several coats of protective polyurethane.
Prefinished-This option comes with a finish that is applied by the manufacturer. This could be an advantage if you are remodeling and want a cleaner installation without sawdust from the sanding. It will also allow the use of the floor to be expedited since there will be no stain or finish to have to dry. One disadvantage is the colors are limited to those offered by the manufacturer. Another disadvantage is that most prefinished hardwood floors are engineered, which is discussed in a section below.
Construction
Solid-Hardwood flooring can be solid through and through. The advantage to solid hardwood is the ability to refinish it as many times as you like. Because there are no veneers, you will not damage the planks by sanding off an old finish and applying a new stain and protective coating of polyurethane. The disadvantage could be that most solid hardwood flooring is sold unfinished, so all the mess and time to finish it at the installation phase as discussed earlier could be a problem for you.
Engineered-The other option in construction of hardwood flooring is a piece of layered wood, much like plywood, called engineered hardwood. This layered piece of wood is topped with a hardwood veneer, although the bottom layers are most often a softwood.
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