At Kenly Construction, we get asked this question often:
What are the differences between Hardwood Flooring and Laminate Flooring ?
Hardwood flooring
What is hardwood flooring used for?
Hardwood flooring is considered a premium product. Hardwood flooring is associated with and used in high end homes, where durability, resale value and ambiance are the goals.
What is hardwood flooring made of?
Hardwood flooring is just that. It's made from natural wood materials obtained from harvested trees, usually oak or maple. More expensive hardwoods are hickory, walnut, ash and mahogany. Softer pine flooring is often found in older homes. Bamboo, which is actually a type of grass, is a modern option that's on the market. Standard hardwood flooring is about 3/4 inch thick.
How is hardwood flooring installed?
Hardwood flooring is not a typical DIY project. Installation of a hardwood floor requires an experienced craftsperson. Hardwood flooring is installed methodically. Each piece is individually cut, installed, and stapled to the subfloor. Then the next piece is cut installed, and stapled. Hardwood flooring material is expensive and an experienced installer will know how to mitigate waste.
Hardwood floor characteristics and maintenance
The sensory experience of hardwood flooring is different than the sensory experience of laminate flooring. Hardwood flooring is pleasant to live with on a daily basis.
Walking on a hardwood floor feels solid and opulent in comparison to walking on a laminate floor. Laminate has a foam underlayment that makes the floor feel squishy as you walk. It feels like you're walking on plastic.
The sound of walking on a hardwood floor, is the sound of walking on a natural material. It is a deep sound rather than the tinny sound of walking on laminate flooring. Hardwood floors can be slippery, but laminate floors are very slippery, especially in high heels, as they are covered in a plastic material.
With refinishing, hardwood floors can last 100 years, well past the life of the home owner. Softer woods, such as pine, may need more maintenance to last that long. Hardwood floors, if damaged or scratched, can be polished and refinished.
Should laminate be used in most areas, such as a basement or a bathroom?
Neither wood flooring, nor laminate flooring should be used in high moisture areas, such as in a basement or bathroom. Hardwood flooring will warp when exposed to regular moisture. Mold grows beneath laminate flooring due to trapped moisture below the foam underlayment.
Ceramic tile flooring is best for a basement or a bathroom.
Hardwood floor resale value
Hardwood flooring is a a high value material. It's pleasant to live with. Hardwood flooring increases the perception of quality and the resale value of the home.
According to the Remodeling Impact Report a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home owners experience a 10 out of 10 on the JOY scale when installing new wood flooring. In addition, potential home buyers perceive a home with hardwood flooring as high quality and high value. This same study also found significant resale dollar value in hardwood floors.
The NAR study found that installing new hardwood floors yielded a 118% return in cost recovery and refinishing existing hardwood floors yielded a 147% cost recovery, when considered in terms of the total resale value of the home.
Laminate Flooring
What is laminate flooring used for?
Laminate flooring is not considered a premium product. This material is used in mid-to lower end housing where DIY and budget are considerations.
What is laminate flooring made of?
It's synthetic fiberboard that's covered, or laminated, with a printed image that is supposed to look like real wood. Laminate flooring is usually 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick.
How is laminate flooring installed?
Installing laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is a snap-in-place product that makes installation a more DIY friendly project, when compared to installing hardwood flooring. Laminate flooring is not attached by nailing or stapling to the subfloor, it floats on top of the foam underlayment that is stapled down to the subfloor.
Laminate floor characteristics and maintenance
Walking on laminate flooring feels squishier than walking on hardwood floorings because of the foam underlayment. This"give" or squishiness increases with wear.
Because of the plastic coating on laminate, when waking on laminate flooring, there's a tinny sound. Laminate flooring tends to be slippery, especially in high heels.
Laminate flooring is estimated to have a lifespan of about 15 -20 years. If a part of a laminate floor is damaged, it can't be repaired, that part needs to be replaced.
Should laminate be used in most areas, such as a basement or a bathroom?
Neither wood flooring, nor laminate flooring should be used in high moisture areas, such as in a basement or bathroom. Hardwood flooring will warp when exposed to regular moisture. Mold grows beneath laminate flooring due to trapped moisture below the foam underlayment.
Ceramic tile flooring is best for a basement or a bathroom.
Laminate floor resale value
Laminate flooring is generally considered to have a lower resale value than hardwood flooring.
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