Floors : Solid hardwood, Engineered hardwood or Laminate

Floors : Solid hardwood floors, Engineered Hardwood or Laminate floors.

When deciding what type of wood floors to install during a renovation or a new build, there are few facts to pay attention to.  

Most wood floors manufactures do not recommend installing their product in bathrooms or kitchens – areas, where temperature and humidity can fluctuate significantly, but in many cases due to design and layout we are left with no option but continuing the hardwood or engineered hardwood into the kitchen area and around the kitchen island to avoid transitions into a different floor type material and there is nothing terribly wrong with that, but our concern with falling objects or the effects of the high circulation in the kitchen area, that could result in a premature wear to engineered or specially to solid hardwood flooring.

Bathrooms are a whole different scenario, where wood hardwood floors should be always avoid.

As an admirer of inlay works on floors, I have being a big supporter of solid hardwood floors, best material to custom design and put together these floors designs, but during the last few years I also learnt to appreciate the benefits of laminate floors according to the demands and details of every specific project.

For example I consider a medium quality, no gluing, laminate flooring a good choice for living areas in basements.

In recent years laminate has come a long way in design, durability and in a more effective and trouble free installations procedures. I prefer glue free floors, I like the possibility of disassembling the floor planks to get to a damage spot but I pay good attention to the strength of the snapping design of every floor I choose as some are better that others, making possible a successful second installation in this type of situation.

Laminate is a pressurize synthetic product with a harder surface than any natural wood, that is also highly resistant to damage with finishing warranties between 10 and 20 years from manufactures.

In the other hand laminate flooring does not repair easily and it cannot be sanded or refinished and replacing pieces after time could show differences in wear and age among new an old pieces.

Engineered hardwood flooring is a type of wood floor built from several layers of wood or plywood, while Solid hardwood floors are made from single pieces of wood. Natural wood is softer than the pressurized composite surface of laminate floors and it can dent more easily.

Solid or engineered hardwood floors can be refinished or repair easily without the need to replace planks as it is in the case of laminate flooring. They also can be sanded and refinished several times, up to 6 times with solid hardwood floors and 3 with engineered hardwood lasting a lifetime when well maintained.

The life-spam of a laminate floor is about  20 years, as it cannot be sanded or refinished in most cases will accumulate all scratches and damages through its life time till it is finally replace.

In my opinion the wood floor selection is always a decision base in the particular circumstances surrounding the uses and expectancy of the people who will pay for it and ultimate care for the floor of their choice, on my side I am just left with a few well known recommendations and the responsibility of making sure of a proper and successful installation, but that makes a very important topic for another post in this blog