Laminate engineered wood solid hardwood and vinyl.
Manufactured hardwood vs laminate.
Normally manufactured hardwood flooring will have a longer lifespan than laminate.
The same cannot be said for laminate.
You could potentially replace the board if you were wise enough to keep extra boards on hand but it may not match the other boards years later.
Solid hardwood floors are 100 organic as solid flooring planks are produced from single pieces of wood.
If you are having trouble deciding be sure to read our laminate flooring project guide or any of our flooring cost estimators.
Engineered and laminate flooring.
Which one will you go with.
If you have your heart set on having a wood or faux wood floor you have four choices.
The motivation for creating manufactured flooring arose from the rising cost and dwindling availability of hardwood supplies particularly exotic species.
While solid hardwood floors are ideal for the diehard wood lovers engineered hardwood is a greener option and laminate is a cheaper one.
Made of synthetic layers bonded together through a lamination process.
If you re set on having a real hardwood look an engineered hardwood is an easier installation and more affordable price point than a solid hardwood.
The boards usually 3 4 inch thick are generally milled with a smooth top surface and tongue and groove edges that interlock to hold the boards together.
Laminate flooring is a fully man made material that consists of several layers.
Then a transparent wear layer is applied to protect the surface.
The base is fiberboard with a photographic image layer bonded over the top.
Laminate and engineered versus hardwood or vinyl.
Engineered hardwood is manufactured from several layers of solid wood or plywood material also mostly organic.
Engineered wood flooring.
Solid hardwood flooring as the name suggests is comprised of flooring boards that are solid hardwood material through and through.