Are you considering installing laminate flooring in your home or business but feeling unsure of what to expect? Well, then you’ve come to the right place!
In this article we’ll tell you everything you need to know about laminate flooring, including how it’s different from hardwood flooring and what benefits you can expect from it.
What Is Laminate Flooring?
Laminate flooring is made from thin pieces of wood board pressed together and fused onto fiberboard cores. The top layer is called the “wear layer” and imitates the look of hardwood. Many types of laminate flooring are pleasing to the eye, but they rarely pass for true hardwood.
The tops of laminate flooring are made with a repeated wood-like patterning of grains. They look nice, but the patterns are usually too uniform to pass for natural grain patterns. So, while many laminate floors look very nice, they never truly look like actual hardwood.
Laminate flooring is used for residential and business spaces alike. It comes in many varieties of design to fit whatever use you’re looking for.
Aesthetics of Laminate Flooring
Some people mistakenly believe that laminate flooring looks like plastic or some other artificial material, but that isn’t the case. Laminate flooring looks like hardwood flooring.
Laminate isn’t a singular design but rather a variety of flooring. You can pick a different colour and design for each of the floors in your room.
Contact a flooring distributor near you to get laminate samples. You can usually take the samples home to actually place on your floor and get a feel for how they’ll look in your room.
The Difference Between Hardwood and Laminate Flooring in Canada
The primary difference between hardwood and laminate flooring is that hardwood is a single plank of solid wood while laminate is made from melamine resin plus fiberboard. It can be said that laminate flooring is imitation hardwood flooring, and that is technically correct, but it shouldn’t be taken to mean that laminate is an inferior product.
There are benefits to each choice. In the next section, we’ll discuss some benefits of laminate flooring.
What are some Benefits of Laminate Flooring?
The benefits of laminate flooring often surprise people.
Durability: Laminate flooring is often harder than natural hardwood. Because the material is made by using extreme heat and pressure to bond melamine resins and aluminum oxide, the resulting material often outperforms hardwood in the durability area. Keep in mind, though, that laminate flooring may be more durable, but it can’t be refinished like hardwood can. So, whereas your laminate flooring might be more durable within the range of its lifetime, it won’t last as long as hardwood will.
Easy maintenance: One of the benefits of laminate flooring that people often underestimate is how much easier it is to clean. Hardwood floors are a little more sensitive and need a wider variety of materials to keep clean. Laminate needs nothing more than a sweep, a dry mop, and a wipe-down with wet cloth. This isn’t meant to exaggerate the difficulty of caring for hardwood, which isn’t a great deal harder than laminate. But, if we’re looking for who has the edge, laminate wins by a nose.
Resistance to humidity: Laminate flooring is more resistant to heat and moisture than hardwood flooring is.
Ease of installation: Laminate flooring makes floor installation significantly easier. The boards are easy to cut for fit and attach in a simple manner side-to-side.
Cost: There’s no competition here. Laminate flooring costs significantly less than hardwood flooring.
While hardwood flooring will always have its place, laminate flooring does have advantages over it. In debating between the two, it’s better to think of them as two options with strengths and weaknesses rather than as one being superior over the other in all circumstances and for all people.
Where You Can Use Laminate Flooring in Canada?
The durability and ease-of-installation of laminate flooring mean that it can be used just about anywhere. No matter the design of the floors in your room, laminate can be the perfect option. Laminate flooring is found in kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, and even bedrooms.
Laminate flooring is also popular in businesses. Flooring installation professionals love to work with laminate flooring because it’s so much easier to install than hardwood.
Summary
Laminate flooring has a lot to offer. It has advantages over solid hardwood floors, and all of those advantages should be taken into consideration while choosing the right option for your own home.
We hope this article was useful in helping you make that decision.