Laminate floors can rival wood floors at a fraction of the cost
When you think laminate you probably picture the mustard yellow/puke green octagon flooring in your grandmother’s house that is fading and peeling. What you might not think about is how far laminate has come in the last 50 years.
First, let’s talk about style. Instead of the dreaded vomit savoir-faire, you can now choose from thousands of different colors, patterns, and designs. Styles vary from mock marble to imitation hardwoods. They look pretty realistic too. But what makes it really great is just how easy it is to care for.
samples of fake wood laminate
This is not your parent’s laminate floors
BENEFITS OF LAMINATE
Unlike real hardwoods, laminate flooring is long lasting and durable. The wear layer is thick and tough; gone are the days of cringing everytime your darling little one drops a toy or tries to play with his race cars. Laminate isn’t just scratch resistant, it is also not susceptible to staining, fading by sunlight or the effects of extreme weather conditions.
The ease of laminate over hardwood is obvious, but why choose laminate over tile? The answer is simple.
Installation.
The installation of laminate is a breeze in comparison to laying a tile floor. The prep time, tools and skills needed to lay tile are significantly more than what is required to install laminate. Here’s an overview of how to lay laminate flooring ; compare this to what goes into installing real wood.
So if you’re going it alone, laminate is a time and money saver, or if you’re paying a professional it will save you hundreds in labor costs.
It’s Always About the Money
After all, you likely wouldn’t be reading this if real wood and laminate floors costed the exact same. And speaking of cost, you can’t get more bang for your buck. Laminate is cheaper than carpet and at least half the price of real hardwoods and a tiny fraction of the cost of marble. The saving continues over the course of years and decades, as laminate will not need to be resanded, replaced, or repaired.
Since installation and price are such easy considerations you can do the whole house in one go or one room at a time as your finances allow.
To Recap
- Laminate floors can look just like real wood floors
- Laminate floors are easier and cheaper to install
- Laminate flooring is among the cheapest of all types of natural and natural-“like” flooring
- Laminate flooring can stand up to foot traffic, therefore increasing its lifetime; as a result you’re saving year after year after install
DRAWBACKS / CONS OF LAMINATE
It’s not all roses and ice cream, though. Here are 3 disadvantages of laminate floors:
- It can be pretty loud, especially if it is installed on a second or third story. The sound from above can echo through the rest of the house.
- It’s not a good idea to use laminate in the bathroom since water or even too much humidity can seep underneath the laminate creating mildew and awful sewage smell.
- In the unlikely event that your laminate does get damaged, the only solution for repair is replacement. That means tearing up what’s there and laying down something new.
water damaged floor
Laminate floors have many advantages over other types of flooring; however, they don’t do well when it comes to excessive amounts of water.
FINAL TAKE
When all factors are considered, including prices, installation, and durability, laminate is the only logical choice. It’s beautiful, easy to install, easy to maintain and its beauty will last for decades. If hardwood floors are Kim Kardashian then laminate floors are the way cooler and easy going Isla Fisher. Both gorgeous but one will surely outlast the other.
