When purchasing flooring for your home, you may be weighing up whether to purchase solid hardwood or laminate flooring. Both have extremely valuable features and last a pretty long time. But, which one should you go for? Let’s discuss the benefits of both to help you decide on what flooring will be best for you!
What’s the Difference Between Solid Hardwood vs Laminate Flooring?
Solid hardwood is real, thick flooring boards that are blind-nailed to the floor through tongue-and-groove edges. Of course, it’s made from pieces of real wood that are around an inch thick. They interlock with each other (as does laminate flooring), but it’s recommended that a professional fit the flooring.
Laminate flooring is made to resemble the appearance of real wood but is made from fibreboard materials. The flooring boards are relatively thinner than solid hardwood, as they’re usually around 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. Cheap laminate flooring is common, as it’s known for being great quality for a better price.
Appearance
Solid Hardwood
With solid hardwood being made from real pieces of wood, it has a timeless, authentic look. Its rich colours are no doubt a flawless feature to add to your home. There’s no comparison to real wood, as it’s the real deal.
Over time, solid hardwood can fade in sunlight, as does any tree. This only adds to its authenticity and beauty! However, you can re-sand the flooring to create a new, finished. This enhances its durability too, as it lasts a lifetime if you treat it well. Real hardwood flooring needs re-sanding every 10 years or so, which can be time-consuming.
Laminate Flooring
The brilliant appearance of laminate flooring is that it looks like real wood for a fraction of the price. Up close and personal, you would be able to notice it lacks the glamour of traditional hardwood flooring. Although, nobody would notice unless you chose a design that has an artificial appearance, as it’s printed to look like wood.
Unlike solid hardwood flooring, you won’t be required to sand it every 10 years. It has a UV resistance built into the boards, so it won’t fade in sunlight.
Durability
Solid Hardwood
Solid hardwood is quite scratch-resistant, but it’s prone to suffer from scratching caused by furniture legs, shoes and other objects. This could be an issue with families who’s children love to be playful on the floor. Overall, it isn’t too much of a problem, as you can re-sand it to make it look brand new. Also, solid hardwood is famous for its ability to last a lifetime. Once you install it, you’ll be set for years to come.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is known for being more scratch-resistant than solid hardwood. It has built-in bottom layers to resist moisture, unlike wood which soaks in drops of water. This is ideal for children and pets! Your laminate flooring won’t become warped or out of shape over time. But, when it begins to look old and worn out, it would need replacing. You can’t sand it down like hardwood.
Resale Value
If you’re aiming to sell your house one day and make a profit, solid hardwood has a higher resale value than laminate flooring. With this being said, people are drawn to laminate flooring as it’s easy to take up and place it in different rooms. The ability to repurpose the floorboards can be a selling point for buyers!
Which is Better?
Purchasing solid hardwood or laminate flooring comes down to your priorities and the features you’re most interested in. If you want lifetime-lasting real wood for an expensive starting price, solid hardwood is for you. On the other hand, laminate flooring would be the better choice for a home that embraces being busy, reinvention and the cheaper option.
