Laminate Flooring vs Engineered Wood Flooring

If you’re currently in the market for new flooring, laminate or engineered wood flooring might be two good options for you. Moreover, while there are some people who mistakenly believe that laminate and engineered wood flooring are one in the same, they are actually quite neither. They are similar in that either is 100 percent wood like hardwood flooring, but there are many differences between them. Let’s take a look at a few of those differences.

Engineered wood flooring looks more like hardwood flooring than laminate does.

From a distance, both engineered wood flooring and laminate might look like wood to you. Up close however, there’s no mistaking the fact that laminate is not hardwood. However, engineered wood flooring looks very similar to hardwood flooring since it has a top layer that is a hardwood veneer. The lower layers of engineered hardwood are made out of plywood, but you might not be able to tell the difference between real hardwood floors and engineered wood floors just by looking at them.

Engineered wood flooring can be refinished a few times while laminate flooring cannot.

If your engineered wood floors start to look old and dull after a few years, you usually have the option of refinishing them. While they can’t be refinished as many times as real hardwood floors since they only have a wood veneer, you can refinish them a few times before that layer wears down. Laminate flooring, on the other hand, cannot be refinished at all. You will need to replace laminate once it’s aesthetic appeal starts to fade.

Engineered wood flooring will often bring the value of a home up more than laminate.

There are some good reasons to install laminate. It’s easier to install than an engineered wood floor and it will also cost a lot less. Nevertheless, you won’t increase the value of your home much when you go with laminate over engineered wood flooring. Potential homebuyers tend to like the look of engineered wood flooring more than laminate, which will make your home more valuable overall.

There are pros and cons to both engineered wood flooring and laminate. If you would like to hear more about them so that you can pick the one that works best for you, call Carpet Closeouts at 602-493-7700 today.