Hardwood or Laminate: Which is Right for You?

Tackling a new flooring project can feel intimidating, especially when it comes time to decide between hardwood or laminate flooring. Both materials provide a similar look, but they each offer different benefits. The first step in choosing the right material for your project is understanding the differences between each option. For fuller information, contact our expert team at Preferred Flooring, your local full service flooring professionals, so they can talk you through the fullest list of pros and cons!

Hardwood

Hardwood floors have been around for centuries, dating all the way back to the 1600s. Still a coveted flooring option today, hardwood floors boast numerous benefits, including:

Pros

• Made from genuine wood: This makes hardwood floors incredibly durable, as only the strongest woods are used to construct the floors. Hardwood floors can also be refinished multiple times over their lifespan, adding to their usability.
• Increased property value: Because hardwood floors are such a desirable feature in a home, having them installed will immediately increase your property value and help your home sell when the time comes.
• Choice in design: Hardwood floors can be made from a multitude of different woods. Homeowners have the ability to choose a specific wood type to meet their functional and aesthetic needs.

Cons

• Cost: As hardwood floors are the most genuine, durable, and desired hard-surface flooring, they do come with a hefty price tag. Don’t let the price scare you off though, as you can be sure to get a return on your investment once you sell your home.
• Loudness: Laminate or vinyl flooring is made from softer materials like fiberwood or soft vinyl, so it can absorb sound. As hardwood floors are made solely from wood, they are not effective at dampening the sound of footsteps. Many hardwood floor homeowners decide to partially cover their new flooring with rugs in order to help reduce noise.

Laminate

Laminate floors are often considered the best thing next to genuine hardwood floors. They are made of a high-resolution photo printed on top of layers of fiberwood, resulting in a flooring option that closely resembles hardwood.

Pros

• Cost: As laminate floors do not use genuine wood, they are significantly more budget-friendly than genuine hardwood floors.
• Easy maintenance: Laminate floors do not require any special cleaning solutions or considerations, making them incredible easy to care for. They are popular with businesses and busy households for this reason.
• Simple installation: Installing laminate floors is much quicker than installing hardwood floors, meaning you can enjoy the end result faster! If you are not wanting to tackle a major or time-consuming project, definitely consider opting for laminate.

Cons

• Not waterproof: Although laminate floors are water resistant, they are not completely waterproof. This means that they are not an ideal option for rooms with a lot of water action, such as the bathroom. Excessive water exposure could leave to warping or lifting, reducing the longevity of your floor.
• Can’t be refinished: Laminate floors get their look from a high-quality image printed on fiberboard, which means that they can’t be sanded down and re-stained like hardwood floors. In order to change the look of laminate floors, you would need to remove them and install an entire new floor.

Preferred Flooring Will Help You Love Your Floors!

It can be difficult to decide which type of flooring is best for your home and your lifestyle, so contact us or visit our showroom to discuss your options with our full service flooring professionals. We are proud to serve Breese, IL and the surrounding areas including Breese, Troy, Highland, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Freeburg, Nashville, St. Rose, Trenton, New Baden, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea, Belleville, and Collinsville, IL. We can’t wait to help make your dream home a reality!