Why You Should Consider Hardwood Flooring Over Laminate

For years, the standard in wood flooring has been set by hardwood. Hardwood flooring is popular among homeowners because it offers a unique combination of beauty, resilience, and durability. Though hardwood flooring installation in Alpharetta may carry a higher price point than some other wood flooring types, it provides an excellent return because hardwood floor refinishing can renew and repair your flooring several times throughout the lifetime of the floor. Though there are other types of wood flooring that may look and feel like traditional hardwood, there’s nothing quite like the allure of real, authentic hardwood floors.

There are many benefits that come with hardwood flooring that go well beyond beauty and make it superior to other wood flooring products such as laminates. Not only is it more resilient, but hardwood is also easier to clean and can improve the value of your home. For those who want an eco-friendly, natural, and sustainable flooring material, hardwood offers an affordable way to meet the needs of almost every homeowner. Keep reading below to learn why you should consider installing hardwood flooring instead of laminate for your next renovation project.

Environmentally Sound

Hardwood represents one of the few eco-friendly, environmentally sound flooring materials because it is rendered from a natural, renewable source. With proper timber management, there will always be material available to craft hardwood flooring. When compared to other flooring materials such as laminates, the process of manufacturing hardwood flooring is much cleaner and uses less energy. Laminate flooring includes wood composition, but the wood used in laminates must be manufactured rather than harvested. Finally, unlike laminate flooring, hardwood flooring is fully recyclable once it is worn out, and it can even be upcycled.

Unique Character and Grain

Laminates can look less than natural since they typically feature a photo film application to the top layer that replicates a repetitive wood grain pattern. However, hardwood flooring features the natural qualities unique to the species of wood that is used. Every species used to craft hardwood flooring has its own distinctive appearance, and each plank has its own distinctive, one-of-a-kind appearance that is unlike any other plank. While hardwood flooring presents a uniform appearance overall, there is enough character in the diversity of planks to add intrigue and keep things interesting.

Great Variety

With laminate flooring, a consumer may see a lot of duplication, whether that applies to grain patterns or flooring colors. Natural hardwood flooring can offer a greater variety because the species that can be selected for hardwood flooring are diverse. Aside from the characteristics of the species used for wood flooring, there are also many finish options available to those who choose to install hardwood flooring. The flooring can be stained to meet your needs, and you can choose between high gloss, satin, or rough finishes to complement your décor. Also, if you have hardwood flooring, you can refinish it and change the look several times to adapt to your changing design aesthetic. Laminate flooring can’t be altered, however, so you may be forced to design around the flooring rather than amending the flooring to match your changing design.

Highly Durable

Another selling point for hardwood flooring is that it’s far more resilient than its laminate counterpart. Because of the process by which laminate flooring is made, it’s particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of moisture. Hardwood flooring can endure exposure to spills and other household accidents without lasting damage in many cases. Also, the photo film on the visible surface of laminate flooring can easily be scratched and wears quickly. Hardwood flooring can absorb a great deal of abuse without looking worse for wear, and it’s more resilient to scratches and gouges than laminate flooring.

Easily Repaired

One of the many advantages of hardwood flooring that makes it more desirable than laminate is the ability to refinish it when it does show signs of wear or significant damage. Hardwood, unlike laminate, can be refinished, as most hardwood flooring can be refinished to a like-new state several times before it must be replaced. Also, if a plank receives substantial damage, it can easily be replaced without having to replace large sections of the flooring, as may be the case with laminates.

There are many reasons that hardwood flooring in Alpharetta, GA, is the premium type of wood flooring preferred by many customers. To learn more reasons that you should consider hardwood over laminate flooring, contact Atlanta Floor One at (404) 578-0926.