Compare Wood And Laminate Flooring

They are two very different floor coverings.

Compare wood and laminate flooring.

Most wood floors cost between 12 to 20 a square foot installed. Laminate flooring and luxury vinyl flooring are roughly comparable in price although sheet vinyl does hold a slight edge. In 1977 the swedish company pergo invented laminate flooring. The main difference between hardwood flooring and laminate flooring is that hardwood flooring is made from real wood and laminate flooring has a picture of wood on the surface.

Laminate is essentially a rigid synthetic floor that s also known as composite pergo or floating wood tile. Laminate is also much thinner than engineered wood averaging around 12mm whereas engineered wood tends to be thicker like hardwoods. It s made of several layers of compressed materials. The cost of installing laminate flooring can vary wildly but generally speaking laminate flooring is cheaper than natural wood or stone floors which it mimics.

Luxury vinyl if you re seeking an alternative to hardwood but laminate doesn t sound like the material for you consider engineered wood or luxury vinyl. Laminate flooring also has come advantage when it comes to heat resistance. They re also durable and install pretty easily compared to other floor types. To start with laminate floors are generally cheaper while achieving a look similar to wood.

Laminates cost between 1 and 5 a square foot depending on the quality of the laminate and its 2. Laminate is much less susceptible to a basement s underfloor moisture and temperature changes than solid wood is. Wood floors for your basement it would be a no brainer. What makes this a hard decision.

Neither laminate nor solid hardwood flooring is ideal flooring materials for truly wet locations but laminate is somewhat better for humid locations such as installation against concrete slabs. Not all laminate floors are created. Installation would run between 2 400 and 4 000. Today a multitude of manufacturers create laminates to resemble wood stone tile and more.

Both resemble true hardwood but each. Both laminate flooring and vinyl flooring are usually less expensive than natural hardwood engineered wood.