Look for wear and tear.
Locking hardwood vs laminate.
Twenty years is the time it usually takes for a family to wear down the floor finish.
How will you be caring for your flooring.
Engineered wood contains a slice of natural wood on top while laminate uses a photographic layer that is coated with a protective layer.
Some different types of hardwood flooring like oak maple and ash cost from 4 to 5 per square foot.
The boards usually 3 4 inch thick are generally milled with a smooth top surface and tongue and groove edges that interlock to hold the boards together.
The normal range for solid hardwood flooring is between 4 to 12 per square foot and its standard cost is 8 per square foot.
Laminate is far easier to maintain than engineered wood flooring.
Laminate is also much thinner than engineered wood averaging around 12mm whereas engineered wood tends to be thicker like hardwoods.
Discover whether wood or wood look is the right pick for your place with this side by side comparison of laminate vs hardwood flooring.
Caring and maintenance of your flooring is a big consideration especially if you don t want to put a lot of effort into caring for it.
Laminate floors have a relatively short life span as compared to hardwood flooring.
Engineered hardwood debate right there.
In a very general sense laminate can cost around 3 5 square foot which is 2x 5x cheaper than hardwood flooring.
Cheaper versions have 1 4 inch cores and the photo reproductions may not be as realistic as more expensive versions.
Similarly hardwood is more prone to staining and fading.
For many folks that ends the laminate vs.
Laminate will the cheapest option for you.
Major differences solid hardwood flooring as the name suggests is comprised of flooring boards that are solid hardwood material through and through.
Hardwood flooring cost hardwood flooring is comparatively expensive than laminate flooring.
Laminate flooring generally is less expensive than engineered hardwood.
Laminates do offer a bonus for handy homeowners.
Laminate runs 1 to 7 per square foot depending on the quality.
Natural wood is more prone to dings and scratches so if there are a lot of dents the floor is more likely to be natural hardwood than laminate.