Laminate Vs Engineered Wood

Laminate runs 1 to 7 per square foot depending on the quality.

Laminate vs engineered wood. You can obtain beautiful exotic wood species at a much lower price when compared to solid hardwood because engineered wood only uses a thin veneer layer. So let s start at the beginning a good place to start. Both materials mimic a natural wood floor beautifully but if you re all about natural beauty you might prefer the solid wood top of an engineered hardwood floor. For many folks that ends the laminate vs.

Engineered wood contains a slice of natural wood on top while laminate uses a photographic layer that is coated with a protective layer. However engineered wood has much greater longevity because a thick wood wear layer allows the floor to be refinished or recoated. This is because the top layer is actual real hardwood. Even if the surface is kept well sealed cracks between engineered wood or laminate boards can allow moisture to penetrate to the organic substrate plywood or fiberboard causing it to swell or develop mold.

The winner of engineered hardwood vs. Laminate flooring really depends. Neither laminate or engineered wood is a great choice for humid damp locations although both are better than solid hardwood in these situations. On the whole a good laminate floor will be more durable than its engineered wood counterpart.

Laminates tend to be more scratch and impact resistant remember that engineered wood durability will depend on the hardness of the species of the wood wear layer so maple is more dent resistant than pine and the number of protective finishes. Laminate flooring generally is less expensive than engineered hardwood. Both are strong durable floors that are less expensive than natural wood but laminate flooring typically costs less. The main difference between the two floors is that engineered hardwood floors have an actual hardwood surface but structurally they are very similar to a laminate.

Engineered hardwood debate right there. Laminate is also much thinner than engineered wood averaging around 12mm whereas engineered wood tends to be thicker like hardwoods. Laminate flooring and engineered hardwood floors are very similar and often get confused but there are some key differences to take into consideration when comparing the two floors. The primary advantage engineered wood has over laminate is that it is a much more convincing replica of real hardwood flooring.