Hardwood floor vs Laminate – Which one is the winner?

Hardwood floor

There is no better way to ensure your love for a home than through the adjustment according to your taste. If you are in the process of building or renovating your home, then you must explore the best options for kitchens, appliances, bathroom and lighting that need to decorate your new residence. However, what you should not forget, is floors.

One of the best ways to create a visual impact of the room is to choose a right floor covering. Regardless of the aesthetic preferences you have, you can find a lot of durable, inspirational flooring that can contribute to the overall sense of beauty in your home.You should consider several factors before you decide on the type of flooring that will beautify your home.

Consider the primary use of the room and whether it will be a high traffic place. Some types of flooring, as well as pine, are more suited to areas with less traffic because they are softer and can’t always oppose the constant friction of the foot, and they can be damaged if the furniture moves over them.

Hardwood floor

Hardwood floor

Hardwood floor

Massive parquet

Massive parquet is made of solid wood and is set with bonding. Once you pick this type of floor most probably, it will be te part of your home for a long time, so take your time before you make a desition. Thanks to its thickness it can be sanded several times during life.

The dimensions of the boards can be different, as well as the type of wood, usually oak, walnut, ash, and in recent times and bamboo.

According to surface appearance, a parquet is classified into four classes:

• Extra class
• Standard class
• The rustic class
• Non-standard class

This classification does not apply to the quality, but only the appearance of the floor.

Extra class massive parquet

The color of the Lines on the extra class parquet don’t have a big difference from the color of the wood. Here are allowed nodules colored wood up to 0.4 inches.

Extra class parquet

Standard class massive parquet

Standard class parquet possesses bright facilities without limitation in a number of frontal cracks maximum width of 0.04 inches. Small errors are allowed in the structure, so that doesn’t affect the strength of wood as well as small differences in color.

Standard class parquet

Rustic class massive parquet

The rustic class has roughly a distinctive structure, there are no restrictions in the nodes that are in sizes from 0.6 inches on a piece of parquet.

The rustic class parquet

The non-standard class

The non-standard class is not subject to the standards and restrictions in knots or cracks.

Advantages:

• It’s made of solid wood.
• It’s long lasting, and the best proof of this is the fact that in old houses you can find parquets from 50 years ago.
• After a period of use, it can be renewed.
• It can be sanded and painted over, as many times as you want.
• Comfortable and warm when walking bare feet.
• It can be painted even when changing the interior design. When sand it returns the old paint, and you can paint it over again.

Disadvantages: 

• It is more expensive than laminate.
• The installation takes a few days.
• Walking in heels can leave imprints.
• If it is not properly sanded, gaps can occur.
• In humidity, the dimensions can changes.

Laminate

Laminate is a floor that represents the ideal combination of functionality and style, high-strength, modern looks and long life. Simple installation and easy maintenance.

Laminate floor coverings are a mixture of different materials, but generally, 80 to 90% of the total composition makes the wood. A variety of patterns with a specific surface contribute to making the best laminate fit in your interior, while anti-static treatment of laminate flooring provides comfort and reduces the risk of electricity. The hardness of the surface of the laminate prevents dispersal of dust and bacteria. The unique technology of resistance to moisture makes it suitable for installation in wet rooms. All these features make the laminate a very frequent choice for the furnishing the hotels, restaurants, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Advantages:

• Easy to install.
• It has a lower price than the parquet.
• The manufacturers claim that it is more resistant to scratches and physical damage due to the protective layer which has.
• They have a large selection of different designs, not only classical motifs of wood but also some exotic patterns and imitation of tile, stone floors, etc..

Disadvantages:

• Essentially it has wood fibers, but also has adhesives and additives content wich makes it unnatural.
• You can not renew it when it ‘wears out,’ it must be changed completely
• In places where most frequency is quick, it deteriorate significantly
• The stain of water and other liquids stays
• When you walk in shoes, mostly high heels, steps makes an echo.
• It’s cold when walking barefoot.

laminate

laminate

laminate

For each of these floors, there are special means for maintaining. Vacuuming and wiping with a damp cloth may be enough, with an occasional coating. After the experiences of some users, the laminate stains from water and other liquids are more visible and difficult to delete.

In the end, I think that each of the floors has its own advantages that are significant in relation to the other. Because of the composition of flooring, parquet flooring is better for the house and apartments, rooms in which you sleep, learn, relax. While the laminate is suitable for offices, sports halls, rented apartments that you want to rearrange, because the investment is much smaller, and you can set it up on the existing one and remove it later.