Hardwood vs. Laminate Flooring - Which one is better for your household?

I’ve always loved the look & “feel” of hardwood much better than laminate flooring. It feels rich and warm over a colder, harder laminate. I wanted to install hardwood floors in the main living areas of my home, but have chosen not to as the cost is higher than laminate and I have 3 big dogs and a toddler boy running around my house so the concern of almost instant damage to the floors has kept me from doing it. Laminate flooring has come a long way since it first came out and many look just like hardwood. When the time comes (probably sooner than later) to rip up the carpet and pad in my home, I am sure a nice laminate wood floor will be the way I go. Below are some ways that hardwood and laminate differ and may help you choose what product is best for your next home flooring project.

Hardwood Flooring
The richness of natural hardwood flooring can add unmistakable charm to any room. Today's hardwood floors come in more species, widths and colors than ever before and are more durable. With proper care and maintenance hardwood flooring can last more than a lifetime and will add real value to your home.

Some hardwood floors are now offered with a click-lock, glueless tongue-and-groove locking system. No messy glues or nails needed. We will probably see even more in the near future.
-Wood floors are a natural, non-allergenic product
-Hardwood floors can add real value to a home
2 Basic types of hardwood floor construction:
Solid Wood Floors (prefinished & unfinished)
-Cut from tree as a solid piece of wood
-Plank widths vary from 2-1/4" to about 12"
-Plank thicknesses vary from 7/16" to about 3/4"
-Will react to changes in humidity
-Recommended for above grade installations
-Nail-down installation to a wood type sub floor
-Solid wood needs proper expansion allowances along vertical walls

Engineered Wood Floors (prefinished & some unfinished)
-3 to 9 wood plies glued &laminated together
-Plank thicknesses vary from 3/8" to about 9/16"
-Top finish veneer may be domestic or exotic wood specie
-Plank widths vary from 2-1/4" to about 7"
-Glue, float, staple, or nail-down on all grade levels
-Wood subfloors or dry concrete slabs
-Glueless engineered wood floors install similar to laminate floors
-Dimensionally stable, most may be net fitted to vertical walls.
-Less effected by humidity changes than solid wood floors

Unfinished hardwood floors (also called job-site finished)
-With a job-site finish they sand the floor smooth, less chance for overwood
-Custom stained colors, generally 2-3 coats added of finish
-This can be fairly messy, takes several days

Pre-finished hardwood floors (also called factory finished)
-Usually installs in less than a day
-Less messy than job-site finish
-Limited to manufacturer's colors
-Manufacturers can apply 7-10 coats of finish
-Factory finishes are extremely wear resistant
-Some manufacturers add aluminum oxide for additional durability
-Today's factory finishes are much easier to care for than the old waxed finishes.
-Prefinished trims are not an exact match to the floor.
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-Wood accents available to create unique looks and patterned designs.
-Never clean or wet mop a hardwood floor with water. Water can dull the finish and permanently damage the wood floor.
-All hardwood floors can be scratched. Scratches in the finish layer are fairly easy to repair.
-Areas with lots of direct sunlight may effect the wood color over time
-Most hardwood floors can be used over radiant heat with some limitations
-Wood floor finishes can be used to restore the floors original beauty
-Mostly used for: living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, dens, and great rooms.

Laminate Floors
Laminate floors combine a realistic impression of real hardwood, stone and tile with an extremely durable finish. These floors have become a popular alternative to real hardwood and vinyl floors.
-Laminate floors are NOT real wood floors
-Laminate floors are extremely impact, scratch, sunlight fade and stain resistant
Although laminate floors are extremely tough, they can be scratched by big dogs or dragging heavy objects across the floor.

Laminate flooring come in 3 types:
Installer has to apply special glue
-Special glue is applied manually to the tongue & grooves of each plank.
-Floating floor installation
-Not very common anymore
Glueless floating laminate floors
-No glue, just click, or snap-fit lock planks together
-Most laminate floors are of this type
Factory pre-glued, floating laminate floors
-The glue is applied at the factory. Just moisten the plank tongue and insert into adjacent plank.
-Some laminates use this method, not many

-Trims and moldings are available for laminate floors. Moldings are laminated over a fiber core so they match the floor, or the moldings can also be made from real wood and color coordinate with the flooring.
Laminate flooring uses the floating installation method, which means:
-Laminate floors just rest on top of the subfloor. They are never secured or fastened to the substrate below. Instead they just lay on top of the substrate. Specially designed tongue-and-groove interlocking systems to secure planks together.
-Float entire floor over a variety of sub floor materials, such as plywood, OSB, existing vinyl flooring, concrete slabs, etc...
-You never have to glue-down, staple down, or nail-down laminate flooring.
-Even though these floors are floated the sub floor still must be level for locking planks together.
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-Most laminate floors can be used anywhere within the home, including wet area (but may not be warrantied).
-Laminate floors do not need a wax or polish.
-Excessive moisture may affect a laminate floor's inner core and overall performance
-Laminate planks are not easily repaired. There are touch-up kits and chip repair kits, but difficult to find.
-Laminate floors require a thin, special padding underneath the planks so they can move freely.
-Laminate floors can be fairly noisy when walked on. Special underlayment paddings are made to help reduce the noise level.
-Glueless laminate floors are a very good do-it-yourself product
-Highly resistant to the effects of sunlight
-Most laminate floors can be used over radiant heated concrete slabs
-Mostly used for: family rooms, living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and dens.

5 things you should never put in the dishwasher

Wood: This includes wooden spoons, salad bowls, chopsticks, and cutting boards. Wood will swell and crack in the dishwasher. Cutting boards or bowls can split & break.

Knives: You can put your cheap butter knives in there, but never the larger, nicer ones. The harsh detergent will cause nicks and scratches on the blade, dulling it. Also, putting and removing sharp, large knives is likely to cause damage to the dishwasher rack itself.

Crystal/Hand-blown Glass: These items are not just sensitive to heat (they can crack), but abrasive detergent can chip and etch them as well, causing them to lose their brilliance. They should be gently hand washed and dried with a soft, lint free towel.

Pots & Pans: It's generally not a good idea to put pots & pans in the dishwasher. After running a few cycles on them, some pots and pans will end up with loose handles and seals/top coatings can come off. Additionally, here are particular types that should definitely not go into the dishwasher:

--Nonstick/Anodized Aluminum: The coating will wear out and break down and it will no longer be non-stick. This includes bakeware.

--Cast Iron: It will rust and lose its seasoning. After rinsing with water, heat on the stove to completely dry.

--Enameled Cast Iron: These are very prone to chipping. Plates and bowls may hit against the pot during the cycle.

--Aluminum: It's extremely vulnerable to nicks and scratches. This includes thermoses and water bottles.

Acrylic: Some of the acrylic tableware I have says top rack dishwasher safe, but in my experience it usually wears, dulls & eventually starts to crack.

Final tips: It's not always as easy as looking at the label to see whether something is dishwasher safe. Keep in mind that the environment inside a dishwasher is hot, humid, and wet. The detergent in abrasive. The water spray is not gentle (it's trying to spray off that caked-in spaghetti sauce). The top rack generally gets a gentler wash than the bottom. If you keep these things in mind, you'll be able to make better decisions about what to put in and what to keep out of the dishwasher.

Check back often for more household tips from Melanie Wright, Realtor/CDPE
(707) 410-6634