When investing in a fresh floor, many home owners are faced with an option between laminate and conventional. The difference these 2 kinds of floors can be confusing at first, which is why we put together an easy guide that matches hardwood against laminate flooring, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages each floor kind in terms of durability, appearance, ease of repair and maintenance, longevity and eco-friendliness.
Aesthetics and Appearance
In terms of aesthetics, the difference between conventional and laminate floors is glaringly clear. Read wood is featured by wonderful texture variation of the wood grain, which is why no 2 planks of hardwood flooring, whether engineered or solid, appear actually alike. In laminate flooring, pre-shaped patterns that imitate the appearance of wood texture are imprinted onto the floor area. For this factor, identical designs are repeated on average every five boards.
Although in appearance some top standard laminate floors may look like true wood, repetition is unavoidable, as individuality of an authentic wood is not possible to replicate.
Moisture
Wood is a breathing, organic material that feedbacks to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. For this factor, engineered and solid conventional floors should be fixed in interiors where moisture levels are checked and kept at 45-50 percent for strong and 45-60 percent for engineered floors. Even though engineered conventional hardwood floors have higher stability and dimensional, most wood floors producers do not advise installing them in kitchens or bathrooms, where humidity and temperature can change significantly. In humid and hot climate, such as Singapore, Conventional laminate flooring that is engineered or multilayer is favorable over solid hardwood floors.
Laminate floors have top resistance to moisture and are often used for bathrooms, kitchens and basements. Nevertheless, it is vital to perfectly read the producer warranty and advises in order to reject costly mistakes.
Durability
Durability of any flooring surface mainly depends on amount of foot traffic, as well as adherence to producer advises in regards to maintenance and care of the floor.
Outer layer of most laminate floors is produced by bounding aluminum oxide and melamine resins at high pressure and top heat. The resulting floor surface is generally harder that of natural wood.
Durability of an authentic conventional floor varies depending on producer, finish and maintenance practices. Engineered or solid hardwood floors can be renewed, refinished and repaired quite easily, often without the need to change planks or even the full floor, as is the case with destroyed laminate flooring.
Ease of Repair
Quality laminate flooring does not repair simply. In floating laminate flooring – one that is fixed by snapping individual parts combine and laying them without glue – destroyed planks can be replaced and removed. If laminate flooring was fixed using glue-down technique, floor repairs become very hard. Laminate cannot be refinished or sanded.
Whether engineered or conventional, hardwood flooring is significantly simple to repair than laminate. If surface destroy is extensive, the full floor can be refinished and sanded. If problem is localized, then it can be repaired by deleting and changing individual planks, or even by manually, staining, sanding and refinishing the place in question, depending on style of finish.
Both hardwood and laminate flooring clearly have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to the home owners to decide what they really want for their home, before making a decision on their home floor.