Laminate flooring first came onto the flooring market for residential use years ago, offering an easy-to-install beautiful, stylish, and long-lasting alternative to hardwood flooring. Its technology has evolved exponentially since then, including higher-quality, sharper images, more embossing, more efficient seaming mechanisms and many other advances. But no flooring material is the perfect choice. In all of the major categories related to flooring–installation, cleaning, durability, and more–laminate flooring possesses both pros and cons.
Laminate flooring companies have been working to make improvements. Micro bevels, more texturing and better reproduction of graphics have led to laminate flooring gaining the appeal and luster of engineered and solid wood flooring, yet it is an affordable flooring option in terms of performance, appearance and repute. Since the quality of the product is different in terms of quality, life expectancy may also differ. Some laminate floorings may last for 25 years or longer in rooms with minimal use, while floors placed in areas with heavy traffic might require replacement within 10 years.
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Pros
Easy DIY installation
Cheap
Excellent stain resistance
Non-allergenic
Cons
Highly susceptible to damage from moisture
“Fake” appearance
Loud and hard underfoot
Certain chemicals are present
Cost of Laminate Flooring
Costs for materials for laminate flooring between $1 and $3 per square foot at big box home centers. However, you could pay as much as $12 or $10 per square foot for premium products. The majority of top laminates are available within the budget-friendly $2 to $3 price range. The prices are determined by how thick the layer of wear as well as its quality printing layer. When you consider how affordable it is and how easy it is to choose the most durable laminate flooring available.
Since it is an easy flooring to put in and install, professional installation isn’t costly. Nationally, the average price for a millennium oak laminate flooring installation–materials plus labor–is only about $5 per square foot. This makes laminate flooring one of the most inexpensive of all flooring materials–comparable to a mid-level carpet. Hardwood flooring, on the other hand it can cost anywhere from 15 to 20 dollars per square foot to put in.
Maintenance and Repair
Laminate floors are simple to clean using either a vacuum or the broom. Clean the floor with a slightly damp mop or, better still you can use flooring cleaner for laminate floors. Floor waxing is not required for laminate flooring. Avoid using too much water when cleaning as it can get into the joints between boards, leading to swelling. Laminate flooring is not able to handle standing water pools, that are often found in kitchens, bathrooms as well as laundry areas. For areas with a lot of humidity, you’ll need an impervious surface like vinyl or porcelain tile.
Laminate flooring is covered with an outer layer of wear which protects the photographic layer beneath and makes it resistant to dents and scratches, and extremely resistant to stains. Certain manufacturers also offer large 10-year warranties for the wear layer. If you do happen to get the stain, it’s typically easy to remove.
Inability to sand or finish is one of the major drawbacks for laminate floors. If laminate flooring is severely damaged, scratched deeply or grooved it will not be sanded, refinished, or polished like solid hardwood. It has to be replaced.
Design
Laminate flooring is able to faithfully replicate the appearance of stone, wood and other natural materials at least from some distance. In contrast to real hardwood, which is made up of a variety of imperfect pieces which need to be removed or cut and trimmed, there are no imperfections on laminate flooring. Each piece is uniform in quality and looks. The embossing in depth adds to appearance of wood grain and also.
The similarity of laminate flooring to natural stone or wood disappears when you carefully to the flooring planks. Laminate flooring is not by any not identical to wood, mainly due to patterns repeated. Most brands have up to 10 different pattern boards are produced, whereas smaller brands may have three distinct patterns. If the installation process is not executed in a planned manner, you may end having identical boards that are next to each other.
Laminate flooring isn’t an option that will bring the value of your real estate in the long run to your property, however it is a great option to swiftly and cheaply revamp a floor that is shabby. If you’re looking to achieve the highest value when selling your home, hardwood or engineered wood flooring offer more value.
Laminate Flooring Installation
Laminate flooring is fast and easy to set up and you can lay many square foot of flooring in just one weekend. The older types of laminate flooring required glue the pieces together however, the majority of the laminate flooring available today utilizes a modified tongue-and groove system that is best defined by the terms “click-and-lock” also known as “fold-lock,” in which the planks are joined in an interlocking fashion, both edge-to-edge and end-to-end. Because the planks are built with a core of particleboard, it’s simple to cut them down to size using miter saws.
Laminate flooring is generally installed as it is a “floating floor”–the planks join along the edges, creating an unbreakable mat that is laid on the underlayment there is no glue-down requirement. Installing is as simple of laying down a foam base and connecting rows of planks from edge to edge on the floor. A professional team can put down the floor in about an hour while a DIYer could complete the task in a day.
Convenience and Comfort
Although laminate flooring can be hard to walk on, the majority of installations have a resilient foam underlayment, which gives the flooring a springy feel. It also helps eliminate the hollow sensation and sound that is a problem when you have laminate flooring.
Historically laminate flooring was extremely slippery. Recently, however laminate flooring producers have developed slippery and slip-resistant wear layers. Laminate flooring also tends to produce static electricity but this issue can be minimized by cleaning the floor.
Laminate flooring is a great option for people suffering from allergies because it does not hold dust or allergens, and is simple to clean.1 However, a tiny percentage of people who are sensitive to chemicals may experience reactions to the glues and resins that are used in flooring.
Laminate Flooring vs. Luxury Vinyl Flooring
Laminate flooring is an excellent flooring option to quickly upgrade a flooring if you’re not concerned about the value of your property in the long run and don’t want the look of a luxury. It’s a ideal choice for those who want to complete the job yourself. This is among the most simple flooring options for DIYers. However, you may think about the luxury vinyl flooring (LVF) which is often marketed in the form of vinyl plank flooring.
Luxury vinyl comes with many of the benefits of laminate flooring, such as ease of installation and high performance however, it also comes with outstanding water-resistant properties. Contrary to laminate flooring with a particleboard core which is easily damaged by water leaking through the seams of the flooring, luxury vinyl flooring is constructed of water-proof materials throughout its thickness, which makes it almost indestructible from water-related damage. Because it is resilient that is quieter and more comfortable underneath as compared to laminate floors.
Luxury vinyl is now offered in almost as many designs and colors as laminate, including realistic reproductions of wood grain as well as natural stones. It is a little higher priced than laminate at around $7 to $2 per square foot, however its numerous advantages can make it an attractive option when you’re searching for a more flooring.
Are Laminate Flooring the right choice for you?
Laminate flooring could be the right option for you when you’re on a tight budget and wish to save money through DIY installation. There are few flooring options that are cheaper or simpler to set up than laminate. Although laminate flooring is extremely practical and stylish however, it doesn’t have the glamor and worth of genuine hardwood or stone tile flooring.