Choosing flooring involves many different possible considerations and it is right to investigate your options and consider them carefully before you invest in a new floor, as whatever you choose will be there for years. If you are left regretting your new choice, you will either do so for a long time or have to spend again on a replacement.
Of course, unless you choose something very unsuitable – like a carpet for a bathroom – the consequences are unlikely to be terrible. Still, if you want to maximise the benefits of a good floor it is important to understand the pros and cons of each choice.
Choosing between laminate and hardwood flooring is an example of a decision that weighs up the advantages and disadvantages of two similar materials. Both can offer the visual effect of wood. Both are hard but durable surfaces that do not bring the challenges of carpet. However, because they are not the same thing, some differences are worth considering.
Laminate is not truly wood at all, but has a wood-effect top layer laid on a high-density fibreboard and several other layers. These are bound together to provide the flooring with lots of strength, with a transparent wear layer often placed on top to help protect against damage such as scratches.
These transparent layers are ranked by abrasion criteria (AC) ranks, with AC3 being the toughest and the best option for very busy areas. More expensive laminates also have waterproof backing layers.
Laminate flooring can also be assembled quite easily in easy click kit form, while it is also quite easy to keep clean with devices like mops, soft brooms and vacuum cleaners. Abrasive cleaners should not be used as they will dull the surface.
The floor should last up to 25 years although this will depend both on the quality of the laminate and how much footfall it gets on it.
Engineered wood is something a bit different. It has an advantage over hardwood in that it cannot suffer warping or buckling when encountering moisture, which makes it more suitable for wetter environments like bathrooms or kitchens.
Like laminate, it consists of a top layer placed above several other layers of material and comes with the same sort of ‘easy click’ assembly.
The difference between engineered wood and laminate is that in the former case, it is real wood. As such, it can be maintained in the same way as a wooden floor, which can include sanding and refinishing if they are damaged.
Overall, the advantages of laminate are that it costs less and is easier to clean, both worth considering if you have a budget and your chief consideration is not exceptional aesthetics.
Engineered wood has the advantage that, by actually having a layer of real wood, it looks like a solid hardwood floor, an authenticity that laminate can never quite capture. It is also more suitable than laminate for areas prone to a lot of moisture; while laminate has some water resistance, it is not as well suited to a wet room.
Your final choice may depend on which of these factors matter most to you and make the flooring most suitable for your particular needs.
