Laminate flooring is now the ultimate invention that gives stiff competition to timber or hardwood flooring. But both have their pros and cons, which are explored in the article below. The fact that there are two options to use as the flooring in your house is quite lovely. The prospect of being able to choose is exciting too. Laminate flooring has, nowadays, become a common choice of people to floor their houses to timber flooring. Laminate flooring looks elegant and doesn’t have the expense either. Innovations have also led the way for laminate flooring to be popular. Now, you can’t tell the difference between real and faux timber. But still, the choice to use laminate flooring or go with the traditional Quality Discount Timber Melbourne is baffling.
Laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is the newer and cheaper alternative to timber or hardwood flooring. Though it may look a bit dull besides the traditional timber flooring, it is pretty easy to install. You can even install it yourself. It may not have a great value in the real estate market, but it does hold up a decent amount of heavy traffic.
Pros
- Laminate flooring has diverse choices of styles and widths which mimic hardwood flooring well.
- Laminate flooring is not only an easy option to install, but it is also relatively inexpensive. Laminate flooring costs around 90 USD per square meter, while natural timber flooring costs 120 to 140 USD per square meter.
- This type of flooring is designed to resist scratches, stains, and household chemicals too. The look of this type of flooring does not fade with time. If you get quality laminate flooring, you will get a warranty of 25 years.
Cons
- You cannot sand back or refinish this type of flooring. When the flooring wears out, you must replace it.
- The flooring could be slippery unless you opt for slip-resistant layers to be built in the flooring.
- Walking on it would produce a hollow sound even if there is an acoustic underlay.
Timber flooring
Hardwood or timber flooring is the classic flooring option. As the name suggests, timber is used as the flooring of your home, a natural material. Thus, it holds up for decades and adds elegance to the look and feel of your home. But timber flooring is expensive and does not hold up too well in moist or humid conditions. Hardwood flooring can also be challenging to maintain.
Pros
- No kind of laminate flooring can beat the elegant look and feel of hardwood flooring
- Whenever you want a change or think that the flooring has worn out, you have to sand the floorboards and add a wax, wash, or stain.
- If you use engineered timber and opt for pre-finished floorboards, the cost of purchasing and installing the hardwood flooring would be much lesser.
Cons
- Hardwood flooring is not water-resistant. This flooring type will expand and contract when wet and dry, which could cause warps and cracks.
- You can’t sand back the floorboards forever as they would get thinner and start cracking.
- Hardwood flooring is not scratch or dent-resistant
Conclusion
As you must have made out from the article, both types of flooring- timber, and laminate, have both advantages and disadvantages. Where laminate flooring is inexpensive, hardwood is long-lasting. Where laminate flooring is scratch-proof and resistant to other damages, timber can be refinished and given a new look an ample number of times. Since you now know the pros and cons of both flooring types, it would help you choose which flooring would suit your needs better.
