Considering Laminate Wood Flooring and Engineered Wooden Floors
Although they both have “wood Acid Stained Concrete Designs” in the name, these two products are not at all alike. Unfortunately, this does not keep the two products from being confused. Let’s take a look at laminate flooring and engineered wood flooring, see what the differences are, and decide which will be better for you and your home. Be careful, because it’s not uncommon for people to call both of these products a laminate floor.
What Laminated Flooring Is And What It’s Not
There’s no solid wood at all in wood laminate flooring. It’s actually an extremely high def picture which is covered in rock hard resin, then laid on a wood-chip mixture. Although the end result looks quite realistic, the only wood involved is the composite base. Regardless, there are many people who truly cannot tell the difference unless they physically get down on hands and knees to look.
Defining Engineered Wood Flooring
Engineered flooring is actually wood, of a sort. It is definitely not to be confused with what is traditionally referred to as hard wood flooring. The top layer of engineered flooring is real wood. However, this top layer is very thin, and therefore cannot be sanded like a hard wood floor. Unfortunately, this means that deep scratches and scuffs often require replacement of planks, making engineered flooring a bit more fragile than true hardwood flooring.
Laminate Floors Are Better For Some People
Since there’s not any real, solid wood used, laminated floors are always a lot cheaper than either engineered or hard wood floors. If you’re considering engineered, though, you should take high traffic areas into consideration as most engineered wood floors don’t stand up to it very well. There are some engineered floors which are specifically designed to handle high traffic, but they are quite a bit more expensive, and may not be within your grasp, even if you’d save money in the end. If you want to avoid scratches and scuffs, but still go cheap, then a laminated floor is your only real choice. Engineered flooring can be a real headache for those with pets or kids. Laminate flooring installation is among the easiest of all flooring, and maintenance is exceptionally simple as well.
When An Engineered Wood Floor Is Better Than A Laminate Floor?
Laminate floors don’t feel as solid under foot as engineered floors. The hollow sound that a laminate floor makes is an irritation to some. An engineered floor can also be sanded, even if only a few times. So, although laminate is better at resisting surface scratches, and cheaper to replace in the event of really deep scratches, an engineered floor is easier to repair if it gets only slightly deeply scratched or dented. Engineered wood floors also last longer than a laminate floor, as long as they are treated gently.