Laminate Flooring: Pros and Cons

Is laminate flooring right for you?

What is a laminate flooring?

Laminate flooring is an easy-to-install, durable alternative to solid hardwood flooring. They are a hybrid floor covering consisting of a particleboard wood base topped by an image layer and a transparent wear layer with high-definition imaging and popular for areas that are not subject to excessive moisture, e.g. living room, kitchen, dining room to bedroom.

Who invented laminate flooring?

Laminate floors were first invented by a Swedish company,Perstorp, in 1977. The firm’s first idea was to use their waste wood. They came up with the idea of subjecting the waste to intensely high pressure, heat, with binding chemicals, turning them into a usable floor covering.

What about their pros and cons?

Pros of laminate floors

• Resists scratch
• Easy to clean
• Great for homes with children and pets
• Inexpensive compared to other floorings

Cons of laminate floors

• May chip easily
• Not suitable for use in bathrooms or laundry rooms

I have a vinyl flooring, how is it laminate better than this?

This laminate I found looks exactly like my solid wood flooring…

So let’s compare the differences and similarities of laminate flooring to different types of flooring

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Vinyl Floor
Difference to Laminate
Vinyl flooring contains only vinyl product (resin) and is 100% resistant to water. Vinyl flooring does not have to acclimate to a room before installation. Prices may differ, where vinyl can be more expensive compared to laminate.

Similar to Laminate
Vinyl is close to laminate. It has a similar look and competitively priced that are great for homes. They are equally easy to install.

Solid Hardwood
Difference to Laminate
Hardwood is 100% made of solid wood. Laminate does not contain any solid wood. Solid hardwood is thick and can be sanded and re-sanded many times to refinish. Laminate is thin and can never be sanded and needs to be replaced if spoiled. However, hardwood is way more expensive compared to laminate.

Similar to Laminate
With today’s technology, high-definition techniques make some to look remarkably alike! That says, solid hardwood will look exactly alike from a distance.

Natural Stone
Difference to Laminate
If you like texture, natural stone can be right for you. Laminate flooring does not contain any stone products and may not have texture. Compared to natural stone, laminate is flexible, thin and can be more breakable.

Similar to Laminate
Higher end may have the look of a stone. This can make installing easier for you compared to installing a natural stone.

Installing laminate flooring

Laminate floor needs a good, solid subfloor (floor that has been paved flat) before installation as they are installed as floating floors. Laminate floors install much like solid hardwood flooring as they are modified with a toung-and-groove joining boards. However, since they are light, they do not require professional installation and are easy to be installed if you do it yourself. Each unit does not require any difficult nail down installation, it can be either snapped or glued together.