Overall, hardwood flooring is considered to be better than laminate flooring since it is a complete floor material, not simply a floor covering. Hardwood is a premium material. Using your home's equity is an easy way to fund your new floors!
Not moisture-proof
Being made of wood, laminate flooring is not impervious to the effects of moisture. Therefore, it's not suitable as a hard flooring for bathrooms and should be used with caution in kitchens or laundries. Light surface water for cleaning shouldn't cause issues, but saturation must be avoided.
Laminates last longer, install easier, are more eco-friendly are absolutely gorgeous and, with their embossed grain or hand scraped finishes, impossible to tell apart from hardwoods. And they're still usually much less expensive than hardwoods.
Hardwood floors typically last much longer than laminate, though they do need occasional refinishing. It's also usually easier to repair a hardwood floor, often with some sanding and staining, whereas damaged laminate might need to be replaced altogether.
Whether it's reclaimed from a building or comes straight from a tree, the truth is, you can't beat a real wood floor. Wood brings warmth to any room. It's timeless. And with proper care and maintenance, it can last you a lifetime.
Slow growth rate: Hardwood forests take longer to replenish due to the tree's slower growth rate. Workability: Due to its density, hardwood tends to be a lot harder to work with during construction. Cost: Hardwoods are generally more expensive, however in saying this, you get what you pay for.
When mopping hardwood floors, make sure to wring most of the water out of the mop so it's damp and not sopping wet. Rinse the mop when necessary. Avoid leaving any standing water on the floor, which can damage the wood. This is especially true for prefinished hardwood floors.
Laminate flooring will have a repeating pattern. It may not be obvious right away, but that's only because you're not looking for it. If you stare long enough, you will likely find boards with the same wood grain. Hardwood flooring is made from solid wood, so every board will be different.
Oak. Oak is by far the most popular type of wood flooring because it provides a good balance of durability, color range and reasonable costs. It comes in both red and white oak variations and can be used in high-traffic areas as the wood grain hides scratches well.
You should sweep and mop them regularly. Use a specialty mop to clean them without excess liquid. Though laminate floors are water resistant, if they are soaked in water, they can be damaged. The best way to clean laminate floors is to use products especially made for them.
Laminate floors can be installed over any wooden subfloor as long as it's in good repair. If the subfloor is uneven, you can add a layer of thin plywood over the subfloor. The laminate is laid down over a thin underpayment layer. The boards typically lock together.
While laminate flooring has many strong points, its most significant downside is its poor resistence to water. Laminate flooring can tolerate some water on top surface but it should not be allowed to pool and remain for long. Otherwise, the water may seep below and affect the sensitive core layer.
Flooring area and shape
For instance, it would cost an average of $600 to $1,400 to add laminate floors to a 100-square-foot room, $3,000 to $7,000 for a 500-square-foot room, and $6,000 to $14,000 for a 1,000-square-foot room.
Light Wood Laminate
For years, lighter floors were viewed as outdated or inexpensive. That is no longer the case, not by a long shot! As more homeowners embrace the light, airy feel in their homes, you will see a huge resurgence in light laminate wood floors.
Lighter colors help brighten up a room, making it feel bigger. The amount of natural light in the room: If you love natural light, and your home gets plenty of it, you may want to opt for a darker wood floor as it tends to fade less quickly than lighter flooring options.
Laminate flooring lasts between 15 to 25 years on average. The exact lifespan will vary depending on the product quality of your floor, how well you maintain and care for it and the overall wear-and-tear it receives. In some cases, laminate floors can last over 25 years. In many cases, it won't last ten.
Vinyl flooring clearly is a better choice in high-moisture environments than laminate flooring, making it an excellent choice in bathrooms. But for whole-house installations, laminate flooring often makes sense because it offers a wide range of choices.
New and improved Swiffer WetJet mopping pads have a new Absorb + Lock strip that helps trap dirt and grime deep in pad so it doesn't get pushed around and is safe on finished wood floors.
Unlike carpeting that collects allergens* and keeps them around, hardwood floors can be easily wiped clean of dust and allergens*. Keeping a Swiffer Sweeper handy can help remove pollen from your floors.
With wood floors, it's not enough to just sweep and vacuum. Even more important is to treat your floors using a proper cleaning product, such as Murphy® Oil Soap, which gently cleans finished wood without leaving any residue behind and keeps them looking like new with proper maintenance.
The best time of the year to install floors is during the fall. The humidity levels and temperatures become moderate as the heat of summer leaves and the coolness of winter moves in.
You may love the look of your hardwood flooring, but it's really not a good idea to put it in your laundry room. Foyer– All manner of things can be tracked in from outside, and the foyer of your home will bear the brunt of all of them. Sand, dirt, mud, water, snow, and more can all damage hardwood.
The best times of year are usually the shoulder seasons for installing custom wood floors. The spring and the fall are the most optimal seasons flooring projects. The main reason is the relative humidity levels are around 35%, which is as good as it gets for any project.