Hardwood floors are a beautiful and timeless addition to your home, but they aren't always practical or affordable for everyone. Of all the types of flooring you could install, laminate is amongst one of the easiest and cheaper options to install. They require no glue or special tools and can usually be snapped together like hardwood.
If you want the best of both worlds, affordability combined with modern aesthetics made from real wood then there's no better alternative than laminate flooring! Laminate has many benefits which make it an excellent choice over traditional hardwoods, one of them being the ability to be used in more rooms because it is so durable.
Because laminate is made from leftover scraps of wood and recycled plastics, it is much more affordable than hardwood due to its high level of production. Instead, composite wood is pressed together at high temperatures to create laminate floors and then an image of your desired finish color or design is overlaid for that great hardwood floor look.
Laminate floors normally cost just $3/square foot! Quality laminate can be found in about any size, design, and colour. Be sure to factor in additional costs, such as the subflooring and the cost of contractors if you decide to have your flooring professionally installed.
Laminate is suitable for many environments
Laminate flooring can be installed in rooms that can become moist, such as bathrooms and kitchens. Hardwood floors cannot handle moisture the same.
Pets, kids, and small rocks or pebbles have a hard time damaging laminate
Laminate flooring that can withstand the wear and tear of pets. It is an ideal material for your house with a furry friend as it provides great scratch resistance. This is because the material that laminate flooring is put together with is much harder than traditional wood flooring.
When you walk inside with shoes on, it’s common to get small pebbles or rocks stuck in the grooves of the rubber tread. When you walk, these little pebbles could easily scratch hardwood flooring. This same scenario has little to no effect on laminate flooring, showing you its level of durability.
Laminate is great for so many things. Did you know that laminate is awesome for heating and keeping things cool? If you are thinking of installing radiant heating under your floors, laminate is definitely the way to go! You can't use hardwood for this type of heating system.
Hopefully, we've helped guide you about which flooring will work best in a home with all the different types and styles from our comparisons and examples.