Before man-made laminate wood, including "pergo", was created the only wood flooring available was solid hardwood. But that's no longer the case...Die-hard wood floor lovers can't imagine there is anything better, but have they really looked at laminate wood?

Hardwood floors have been around forever, well not quite, but a good, long while without any competition when it came to "wood" flooring. Now there is laminate wood to compete with and competition is very strong!

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

Laminate wood floors have been around for 25 years or so, and during this time improvements have been a constant endeavor with manufacturers, like Alloc, Mannington or Armstrong, to make this flooring material a "perfect" product. They are making progress but not there yet.

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 isn't much that can be done to change its profile. It is what it is, a lovely, natural product...

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

Waterproof or Not?

When I hear the word "waterproof" I think "unaffected by moisture", don't you? Well that isn't the case with either hardwoods or laminate wood. Flooring manufacturers market their wood flooring materials as "waterproof" as a selling point, and why not they are in the business to "sell", but the truth is wood and water/moisture does not mix well!

The thing with hardwoods or laminate wood is neither one is totally waterproof... Too much exposure to moisture and hardwoods will expand and as it dries contract. This type of action will cause all sorts of issues with finished hardwood floors.

Laminate wood tolerates moisture much better than hardwoods, providing you get the right kind... Many brands have HPL (high pressure laminate) that is constructed with sealed waxed edges and water resistant cores, in addition to the Aluminum Oxide surface coating, that increase its water resistance ability, but it too will buckle, or worse, if exposed to long to moisture/water.

But between the two, laminate wood tolerates moisture, mold and bacteria far better than hardwoods. Seriously, for wet areas I would avoid using wood flooring materials and look at other types of flooring options such as cork, vinyl, rubber, or stone... That is my suggestion.

The Effect From Impacts

As hard and durable as hardwood is, it can be easily dinged from impacts! Hard to believe, but true! Drop a sharp edged or heavy object on a hardwood floor and it will leave a mark...

Do the same thing with laminate wood and the impact will have less affect... The Aluminum Oxide surface coating on laminate is incredibly tough, hard as a rock, and offer superb protection on whatever material is coated with it !

Scratching The Wood

Hardwood floors scratch very easily. You have to be very careful when moving furniture, or anything of considerable weight or with a rough bottom, not to drag it but to lift it, unless you have floor guards on the bottom of whatever object you want to move. Outside grit will scratch the wood, too, so it is very important to keep it swept up and use area rugs to prevent bringing outside grit inside.

Laminate wood may scratch from for the same reasons as hardwoods, but the surface coating offers much more protection than any finish on hardwoods! My laminate wood kitchen floor is 7 years old and there's not one scratch on it. Once again the surface finish is what provides such good protection.

Staining

Hardwoods are porous and may absorb a stain like an ink blotter if not cleaned up quickly, even with a good finish on the wood you have to be very careful not to let something like wine or blueberries just sit, they need to be wiped up quickly to prevent staining, especially if the finish on the wood is in poor condition.

Laminate wood is not porous but will stain from materials like paints or ink, but not usually from food items. Stains can be easily removed with a small amount of acetone or denatured alcohol and a clean, preferable white cloth. If you use a colored cloth it may cause additional staining...

Maintenance

Hardwood floors are easy enough to sweep or dust, but mopping requires cleaning products made for hardwood floors. Eventually, hardwood floors need refinishing or even sanding and refinishing, and can be sanded may times over. Maintenance can be fairly costly. If it is necessary to replace any of the flooring it can be done board by board without replacing the whole floor..

Laminate wood floors require very little care and maintenance. Just sweep often and a light mopping when needed. No special products are necessary. Swiffer products are perfect for laminated floors. Another thing with laminate wood is you can replace single planks without replacing the whole floor, but it cannot be sanded...

Installation

Most laminate wood flooring materials have a snap/click "floating floor" system, no nails or gluing, which makes it easy to put the materials together and doesn't require any special tools.

However, it is getting the flooring area prepared for a new floor is where the difficulty may be a problem or if the area has a lot of details to go around. It's true that a do-it-yourselfer (DIY) would probably have no problems, but a beginner may run into problems and need some professional help.

Installing hardwood floors can be quite difficult and tedious... It also requires special tools (which you can rent if you need to) and skills. Unless you have some experience, like you've done this before, you are better off hiring a professional installer... Once the installer signs the contract (be sure to get a contract/bids) they are responsible for the materials during installation, as in if they make a mistake they pay for it... Hardwood floors are expensive, and if a mistake is made during installation it just increases the cost of the materials.