Wooden Flooring vs Laminate: What’s Actually Worth The Money?

When it comes to flooring, wood is more expensive. You can only expect to pay good money for engineered wood starting at £40 – 100+, but you’re solid oak planks and walnut flooring are going to be easily more expensive than that. Laminate? You can get something decent for about £15 – 25 per square meter.

Thats the thing. You can expect real wood flooring to last for decades as long as you look after it. You might only get 10-15 years out of laminate if you’re lucky, and it can be really easy to run it down to the point where you have to just clear the entire flooring instead of making any scratches.

How They Actually Work

Real wood flooring changes with the climate. It expands with moisture in the air and contracts when it is drier. This is just how wood functions. There should be expansion gaps left around the edges and be prepared to accept that the material is alive. Some people become bothered by this. Others find it adds character.

Laminate flooring is not nearly as affected by the climate. It is more stable dimensionally making it easier to live with some ways. However, if you drop something heavy on it, it will dent or chip, and cannot be repaired. With real wood, you can typically sand down the surface to remove damage or make it less noticeable.

The Reality of Maintenance

Nobody ever mentions this in brochures. Wooden flooring requires some level of care. Not excessive amounts, but some. When mopping you cannot just slosh around water. You need to use the proper products and follow the instructions.

Depending on the height of foot traffic, the flooring may need to be re-oiled or re-varnished every couple of years. This is an inconvenience, but it is also a responsibility that needs taking care of. This kind of maintenance is enjoyed by some people, and is considered a nuisance by others.

Cleaning laminate flooring is simple. If liquid is spilled, just wipe it up; no special cleaning supplies are required. However, if water accumulates in the flooring joints, it will cause damage that cannot be repaired. Water-related damage can happen if a pot plant overflows, or if there is a leak in a washing machine. Once water is inside the joints, you’ll end up with laminate flooring swelling, and undulating distortion of the laminate will occur.

What About Underfoot?

Despite being more subjective than the other points, real, solid plank wood is the preferred flooring option. Walk barefoot across the flooring planks and experience the real wood underfoot. It will be a much warmer and stable feeling than any laminate wood product can provide.

Other laminate products do a good job of trying to match wood grains, and some have convincing textured embossed surfaces. But at the end of the day, one can entirely feel the multi-layered plank product beside the flooring. It simply feels more rigid, and the surface can be mistaken for surfaces of other laminate products, creating a more clinical flooring style.

When Laminate Makes Sense

It may be a better bang for your buck, but buying laminate flooring is simply the way to go if you’re in a rental. If you’re in a rental and may need to relocate in the next couple years, don’t make the investment in wood flooring, as you may have to walk away from the added value of your investment. In these cases, laminate or other vinyl flooring products are the most common and cost-effective choices.

If you have kids that are going to be bashing toys, or dogs with sharp claws, laminate takes abuse without you having to worry about the repair costs. Damaging a plank will only set you back about twenty quid. Damaging a section of engineered wood planks costs considerably more.

Laminate works well in other parts of the house too, most notably kitchens. The waterproof options that are technically luxury vinyl but sold alongside laminate, deal with wood’s splashes and spills better. Just make sure to get something rated specifically for wet areas.

When Wood is Worth It

Living rooms and bedrooms is when wooden flooring really comes into its own. These are spaces where you really want that premium feel underfoot, and the wood is more expensive, which makes the room feel more finished.

In the event you plan to stay in your house long term, be advised that wood makes financial sense in this situation. The initial cost may be considerable but, over twenty years, it works out cheaper than having to replace laminate and wood flooring multiple times.

In the case that you sell your house, be sure to know estate agents appreciate a wooden floor. It photographs well, and for that, it deserves praise. It is noted and appreciated by buyers, more than laminate, even if it looks similar in pictures.

The Relatable Reality

In actuality, there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The best answers depend on each unique situation, including budget limitations, the particulars of each house, and the homeowner’s lifestyle. Keep in mind, laminate flooring is not a budget-friendly alternative to hardwood flooring. It is a completely different material and product altogether, even though they may appear similar. Each product has it’s time and place.

The best option, in my opinion, is to put in engineered hardwood flooring in the main living spaces of the house, as long as the budget seems feasible. In the hallways and spare rooms where some durability is required, and you do not need a premium laminate flooring, I would suggest putting in laminate flooring. However, I am basing this on my own personal situation and circumstances, and they may be completely different from your own.