Hardwood And Laminate Wood Flooring – What You Should Know!

I can’t deny that wood floors are lovely to look at, warm and inviting, but the same effect can be obtained with laminate wood for a lot less money and headaches! And in many cases, laminate wood may be the better choice. Not only does it look like “wood”, under most situations it will out-perform real hardwoods…

Since the very beginning of laminate wood floors, improvements have already been a constant endeavor with manufacturers, like Alloc, Mannington, and Dupont, to produce this flooring material a “perfect” product. The “wear” (prime) layer is made of aluminum oxide, a shield about as robust as steel and penetrating it is near not possible.

With hardwood flooring not much has changed since the 70s to improve its tolerance of normal living conditions. Other than developing a new type of finish to give it more protection, there’s not much that can be done to change its profile. This is a beautiful natural product.

But let us be honest, there are some areas where any kind of wood flooring products is not the best choice. There is risk involved if you use wood in a kitchen or bathroom. If the flooring is porous, like hardwoods, it is a fort for harboring bacteria and germs.

Waterproof or Not?

When I hear the word “waterproof” I think “unaffected by moisture”, do not you? Effectively, that’s not the case with either hardwoods or laminate wood. Flooring suppliers marketing and advertising their wood flooring supplies as “waterproof” is really a …