With so many flooring options on the market today and the home-decor trends passing, choosing what to put on your floor could be a difficult and confusing task. There is no such a thing as the “best floor type”, rather you choice should be based on your long-term plans for your accommodation, reflect your personal taste as well as to take into account some practical aspects of your home. We are here to help!
First of all you should have the clear answers to some common questions: do you have kids and pets? how are you going to look after your future floors? what is preferable for you: functional setting or unrepeatable and exceptional patterns?
Although the finished product may have a similar look, hardwood, vinyl and laminate structurally are very different. The following table lists features and benefits that can help you determine your choice between the 3 most popular types of flooring:
| Features and benefits |
Solid and Engineered Hardwood (H) |
Laminate (L) | Vinyl (V) | Recommended Flooring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price and affordability | Moderate to High. Expect to pay nearly as much for engineered wood as for solid hardwood. The prices vary between $4 -$12 per sq ft | Low to Moderate. Laminate flooring ranges from very cheap (about $1.00 for 6-7 mm thickness laminate) to moderately pricey (about $3.00 wide-plank, 3D surface, AC4 Laminate with HDF core) | The prices vary between $3 -$7 per sq ft | 1. L 2. V 3. H |
| Scratch and Dent Resistance | Better | Variable – depends on wood species and quality of varnish coatings | Best | 1. V 2. L 3. H |
| Durability | Good | Better | Best | 1. V 2. L 3. H |
| Easy install | Requires expert experience, although click engineered wood is easy as laminate install | Easy to install because of click together locks | Most of vinyl planks require glue-down install on perfectly leveled subfloor, click ones are easy to install | 1. L 2. V 3. H |
| Can be floated over any subfloor | Yes for engineered floor, Not for solid hardwood | Yes | Possible to be floated without foam underlay, most of types should be glued | 1. L 2. V 3. H |
| Easy replacement | Not for glue-down and stapled-down wood, Yes for click together ones | Yes | Yes for click together | 1. L 2. V 3. H |
| Moisture Resistant | Variable – better than laminate for bathrooms.Due to its multilayer structure, engineered wood flooring stands up to moisture better than solid hardwood. | Variable -some laminate with waxed lock and proper AC class and moisture barrier backing stands moisture very well | Yes, it is highly recommended for kitchen, bathrooms and basements | 1. V 2. H 3. L |
| Silent floor | Better | Good if case of having the proper underlayment | Best | 1. V 2. H 3. L |
| Design and texture variation | Unrepeatable natural grains and patens determine the beauty of hardwood | It is hard distinguish laminate and hardwood thanks to high quality reproduction of natural wood photograph on laminate surface | Many vinyl planks exactly resembles real hardwood textures | 1. H 2. L 3. V |
| Repeatable grains or patterns | Natural hardwood doesn’t repeat any single grain or patterns on each single board | Yes | Yes | 1. H 2. L 3. V |
| Resistant to Stain | Variable – depend on surface quoting | Best | Better | 1. L 2. H 3. V |
| Resale value of home | Hardwood is best investment to increase your property prices | Laminate is preferable to keep always a fresh appearance | Good quality 3D embossed 6-8 mm Vinyl is also good investment | 1. H 2. V 3. L |
| Refinishing | Yes for Solid Hardwood | No | No | 1. H 2. L 3. V |
| Comfort | Real wood feeling, warm will accompany you all the time | Good quality foam installed under laminate makes this floor slightly softer to walk on | It will be colder than other flooring, but you will get least noisy floor | 1. H 2. L 3. V |
