Choosing the right flooring for a home or an office is a difficult task. You can find flooring materials ranging from hardwood to laminate. The four most favorable choices to floor your home are SPC, laminate, engineered, and solid wood floorings. Each of these materials offers unique features and benefits. This article shows the functions, advantages, and disadvantages of SPC, laminate, engineered, and solid wood flooring, as well as reviews them.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a favored manufactured flooring that mimics the look of other flooring materials at an inexpensive cost compared to the same materials. Ranging from white and grey to earthy colors, it can mimic herringbone or any different flooring design. Laminate flooring consists of multiple layers, including a wear layer, a design layer with an image of wood or stone, a core layer, and a support layer for strength and water resistance.
Laminate flooring is available in various designs and styles, making it suitable for different interior design styles. Unlike hardwood flooring, laminate is resistant to sun fade and discoloration, making it ideal for south-facing rooms with sunlight exposure. Although it needs regular sweeping and mopping, laminate is easy to clean. It is typically more budget-friendly than hardwood and stone flooring, too.
One of the advantages of laminate flooring is that it can be installed over many types of flooring, including concrete, plywood, and vinyl flooring. This hypoallergenic material has an easy installation process. These features make laminate flooring a good choice for living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and offices.
On the other hand, it is not appropriate for areas with high moisture levels, such as bathrooms and basements, laundry rooms, and kitchens. It is also usable for high-traffic areas in homes and commercial spaces. While laminate is durable, it can be challenging to repair if damaged because each single plank cannot be replaced without disrupting the surrounding flooring. It is worth mentioning that laminate flooring can sound hollow, especially if not correctly installed.
Laminate flooring typically has a shorter lifespan than hardwood or engineered wood flooring.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring
Engineered hardwood flooring’s construction provides strength and resistance to moisture and temperature changes. Engineered hardwood flooring has the same natural hardwood but is optimized for more durability. One of the most noteworthy benefits of engineered hardwood is that it can be refinished many times. The thickness of the hardwood wear layer determines the times an engineered hardwood can be refinished.
It is good to know that Engineered hardwood is suitable for places in a humid climate but is less prone to warping than solid hardwood. You can install engineered hardwood, like laminate floorings, on various subfloors. If you care for the environment, the good news is that engineered hardwood often uses less hardwood material than solid hardwood.
As flooring has a significant role in home design, homeowners must access a wide range of finishes and plank sizes. Engineered hardwood flooring offers various kinds of hardwood flooring species, including oak, maple, and cherry.
Most of these features elaborated on in this article depend on the quality of the flooring material. Remember, the more trustworthy your flooring contributor, the more qualified your flooring will be. Engineered hardwood is more expensive than laminate, SPC, and vinyl floorings but is usually more affordable than solid hardwood.
The most important question is whether engineered hardwood flooring is best for what places? You can use engineered hardwood in the living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, and kitchens. But you should be careful that the kitchen flooring material’s quality is paramount. Kitchen flooring needs a highly-qualified flooring material. Bathrooms need a flooring material more prone to moisture than engineered hardwood flooring. So, consider using SPC flooring for your bathroom.
Solid Hardwood Flooring
Solid hardwood flooring is a single piece of timber with timeless beauty and the ability to increase home value. With proper care, it can last for generations and be refinished multiple times. It increases your house value if you plan to sell or rent your home. Solid hardwood flooring can raise the value of a home and is often seen as a desirable feature by homebuyers.
Solid hardwood can be discolored over time, but don’t worry because it can be refinished multiple times for a refreshed look.
Solid hardwood flooring can last for generations and enjoys longevity with proper care. It has the most extended lifespan among other flooring materials because it can be sanded down and refinished multiple times, extending its lifespan. You should notice that although this flooring material can last for generations, it needs regular refinishing.
Solid hardwood presents a natural, authentic look, sweetening the warmth and feeling of any space by creating a warm and inviting living room and giving the room a rich luxury look.
Let’s talk about the disadvantages of solid hardwood flooring. Solid hardwood flooring is unsuitable for moisture-prone areas, such as bathrooms and laundry rooms. Solid hardwood has only two installation options: nailed or stapled down. Solid hardwood flooring is typically the most expensive flooring material.
So, where do you use this luxury flooring material? Solid hardwood flooring is excellent for living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, home offices, and hallways.
Solid hardwood flooring Vs. Engineered Hardwood Flooring
All in all, engineered hardwood flooring is more adaptable than solid hardwood. At the same time, luxurious, timeless, solid hardwood flooring requires more maintenance and refinishing and may not be ideal for places with high dampness levels. Both options provide beautiful, long-lasting flooring with unique care.
SPC Flooring
SPC (Stone Plastic Composite), a leveled-up traditional luxury vinyl flooring, is a popular rigid core flooring. It is a waterproof flooring that is easy to keep. Meanwhile it is admiringly durable and resistant to scratches, stains, and wear and tear.
Its waterproof rigid core and variety in design make it perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, and basements. SPC flooring installation system is typically a click-lock installation system.
SPC flooring can feel harder and colder underfoot than carpet or cork. Like laminate, SPC flooring produces a hollow sound when walked on. While SPC flooring is generally considered more eco-friendly than traditional vinyl flooring, it is still made from synthetic materials and may not be biodegradable.
For all these reasons, SPC flooring suits high-traffic residential and commercial areas. Besides, it is ideal for kitchens, bathrooms, basements, entryways, and spaces with high foot traffic because of its durability and water resistance.
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