Selecting flooring material is always a major part of home building and renovations. Choosing where to install carpet vs. tile vs. wood can be an easy decision, selecting what to use within those subgenres can be real tricky. Let’s look at the different types of wood floors being offered today and the pros and cons of each one. Hopefully you can use this as a guide to help select the right flooring for you.
The three major selections you have to choose from with wood flooring are laminate hardwood flooring, engineered hardwood flooring, and solid hardwood flooring.

Laminate Hardwood Flooring

Laminate flooring is a manufactured product that essentially a picture printed on to a composite flooring. There are endless options to choose from with different colours and grain styles and there are even laminate floors that mimic stone and tile. Most laminate can be purchased between $1-$6 a square foot with installation around $2 per foot. Laminate is extremely durable and is nearly impossible to scratch and dent. This provides an excellent surface if you have animals in the house or looking for a cost effective product to install in your high traffic areas. Most manufacturers have a 10 year warranty on their product ensuring you’ll have a good looking floor for many years.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Engineered hardwood has a thin layer of finished premium wood attached to plywood. This allows for much less of the desired wood to be used while giving yourself the same look and feel as solid hardwood. Generally the finished wood material is about 1/8” to ¼” allowing for multiple resurfacing of the product. The plywood underneath prevents the product from warping and twisting as well. It is said that engineered hardwood withstands moisture much better than solid hardwood as well. Be mindful that scratches and dents can occur on this floor and high traffic areas will begin to wear with time. Quality engineered hardwood starts at $4 sq. / foot all the way to $20 sq. /ft. if you go with an exotic wood plus install.

Solid Hardwood

Solid hardwood is just that. A solid piece of wood sanded, stained and milled. Many of the old homes being torn down today have solid hardwood floors that could be resanded and finished to look nearly new. That is the major pro with using hardwood, it can be refinished many times therefore increasing the life span of your floor. Due to such high demand of hardwoods, solid hardwood is becoming less popular as the cost continually has increased. There is also the problem with expansion and contraction of the wood with the seasons that can cause the floor to buckle or create gaps. Most people are using engineered hardwood over solid as the technology has created a better product but there is something to be said about having an organic solid floor that can last a lifetime. Solid hardwood starts at $4 sq. /ft. with no limit in price depending on how exotic the wood is.
The choice is yours as to what product you install into your home. All products have their pros and cons and hopefully this helps you to weigh your options to find the product that will make you happiest.

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By Jason Zavitz, Alair Homes Vancouver Project Manager