Though genuine hardwood flooring is beautiful to look at, it is expensive and hard to install. The difficulty of installation and the high-maintenance nature of solid handscraped hardwood flooring leaves a lot to be desired. This is why many people are looking for fake wood flooring that is cheaper and easier to use.
Fake wood flooring options like Laminate, engineered hardwood, luxury vinyl plank are the most popular and common flooring options to shop. The wood-look flooring options deliver that beautiful hardwood look you’re after and you’ll save money while getting it. Especially if you buy from us.
What Are The Different Types of Fake Wood Flooring?
- Laminate Flooring
- Engineered Hardwood Flooring
- Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring
Laminate Wood Flooring Is Kinda Faux
What Is It?
To understand what exactly laminate flooring is or how it’s made, let’s consider the first-word laminate. In the manufacturing world, “lamination†is the process of bonding layers of material together, commonly via high temperatures or adhesives. Laminate flooring is composed of four material layers bonded together: a backing layer, a substrate layer, a pattern layer, and a wear layer.
The purpose of the backing layer is to prevent bowing and cupping in addition to providing water-resistant qualities to the floor. The material used for this layer varies depending on the manufacturer, but a common material used is heavy melamine foil.
You can think of the substrate layer as the core of the laminate board. Its purpose is to both provide impact resistance to the flooring and to act asthe interlocking tongue and groove system during installation. Laminate consists of high-density fiber board and makes up the bulk of a laminate board.
The pattern or design layer is what gives a laminate board its style. It iscomprised of a high-resolution image, typically an image of a real wood board, printed a top a melamine laminate or paper layer that is then bonded to the substrate layer. The wear layer adds shine and protects the pattern layer from moisture, scratches, and fading and is made of aluminum oxide.
When Does It Make Sense To Use It In My Room?
Compared to other types of faux wood flooring, laminate flooring is arguably the most affordable but it isn’t the most water-resistant. This means that you should avoid using laminate flooring in bathrooms, porches,or other high-moisture areas. It might even be prudent to avoid using this type of floor in kitchen areas to ensure you won’t experience any issues with warping or buckling. Laminate floors are great options for livingrooms, dining rooms, hallways, bedrooms, and other low-moisture areas of your home.
Where Can You Buy It Laminate Flooring?
For the sake of transparency, we at reallycheapfloors.com think that cheap laminate flooring is a thing of the past and that better, similarly priced options exist such as luxury vinyl plank (which we offer a huge selection of, by the way). However, wood-look laminate flooring is still a relatively common material that can be found in most big-box hardware stores and virtually any store specializing in flooring, both online and in-store. It’s not our number one pick for a fake wood flooring option, but if you find a great deal on some, and don’t imagine a risk of water damage, go for it!
Do Engineered Hardwood Floors Look Better?
What Is It?
Most people are unaware that engineered hardwood is technically a premium type of laminate flooring with a solid hardwood top! Engineered hardwood flooring plank core consists of various layers of material bonded together, all with a distinct purpose. It’s considered premium, however, because each of these layers is made of real wood rather than using less natural materials like vinyl or melamine foil.
Engineered hardwood flooring generally consists of a backing layer, a corelayer, a veneer layer, and a finish layer. The core layer is generally comprised of multiple layers of softwood or plywood. This provides engineered hardwood superior stability when comparing it to traditional solid hardwood. Each individual board will retain its shape much better,even in varying moisture changes.
The veneer layer is considered part of the “wear†layer and is generally a 100% solid hardwood veneer of varying degrees of thickness, depending on the manufacturer and how premium the product is. The veneer layer is then typically finished with a stain and/or a polyurethane coat that not only add to the look of the flooring but also act to protect it from scratches and moisture.
When Does It Make Sense To Use It?
Engineered hardwood flooring is more durable and affordable than solid hardwood flooring. It makes sense to use engineered hardwood flooring anywhere you would use solid hardwood. However, engineered hardwood is stilla higher maintenance product than luxury vinyl plank. Engineered is not entirely water-resistant or maintenance-free. Avoid using this product in high-moisture areas like bathrooms or kitchens. Even so, it is a far betterchoice than solid hardwood or laminate.
Since engineered hardwood flooring uses a soldi hardwood top called aveneer, you may even be able to refinish them. Depending on the thickness of your wear layer, you can potentially refinish a high-quality engineered floor a couple of times. This also means that you can change the look ofyour floors each time by simply choosing a different stain option. This isgenerally why engineered hardwood flooring options with a thicker wear layertend to be more expensive. The oretically, you can get more use out of your floors with a thicker wear layer than with a thinner wear layer.
Where Can You Buy It?
Well, from us of course! We have provided a wide variety of flooring options at amazing prices for over 40 years! Most of our engineered hardwood flooring options are maufactured in the United States. Browse our selection of engineered hardwood flooring products to find the perfect option for your space.
Engineered hardwood flooring is well-stocked in most big-box hardware stores as well. Most flooring-specific stores, whether you choose to shopin-store or online will stock it. Be sure you understand the quality of the engineered hardwood flooring you are buying before you order. If you need more information on what types of engineered hardwood flooring are the best choices for your needs, check out our blog article dedicated to the topic: What Is Engineered Hardwood Flooring?
Luxury Vinyl Plank
What Is It? Does It Cost More Money?
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring is a popular flooring type made of aspecial mix of vinyl, limestone, and hardened plasticizers. This combination of materials layers together to form a strong, durable, waterproof plank.The reason this type of flooring uses the term “plank†as opposed to “boardâ€when referring to a single piece of flooring is due to the material beingmuch thinner than hardwood. LVP is considered a rigid floor because it is not a flimsy sheet vinyl floor. LVP shares a similar stability to hardwood in its rigid form.
It seems counter-intuitive, but this flexibility and the typical mode of installation both provide a great deal of stability to an LVP floor. LVP floors are purpose-built for a floating floor installation. You can gluedown LVP if you want the hassle. There are lvp options that come in aglue-down product as well. You won’t need nails to keep any contraction orexpansion of warping or bowing as hardwood can experience after installation. Vinyl plank has a core with heat-bonded limestone and synthetic material in it. This allows it to have some of the best featuresflooring can have since it’s waterproof, durable, and affordable.
An LVP floor has a backing layer, a vinyl core layer, an image layer, and awear layer. The material used to make LVP flooring is typically acombination of vinyl, limestone, or wood composite. LVP construction materials provide flexibility, antifungal properties, and UV protection.
When Does It Make Sense To Use It?
LVP is a great flooring option for pretty much any room in your home. Luxury vinyl plank comes in a vast variety of styles. LVP is commonly inproduction to look like wood, tile, or stone. That means you can find astyle that works for any area in your home, no matter the environmental conditions or purpose of your space. LVP is basically plastic, meaning it is waterproof. There would be no issue using this type of flooring inhigh-moisture areas like bathrooms. It’s extremely durable, quite comfortable underfoot, and typically textured to provide a realistic feel and appearance while also providing anti-slip properties to the floor. Thereal question is “when doesn’t it make sense to use it ?â€
Where Can You Buy It?
You’re already here! We consistently provide unparalleled savings to our customers. We offer a wide variety of flooring options. Browse our selection of LVP flooring products to find the perfect look and utility for your space.
LVP flooring is in stock at most home improvement stores. You can also findit at any building supply as well as any flooring-specific store, both in-store and online. Be sure you understand what type of LVP flooring you are buying before you order. If you need more information on what types of LVP are the best option for your needs, check out our blog article dedicated to the topic: What Is Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring?
Our Fake Wood Flooring Conclusion
We hope this sheds light on the similarities, differences, and uses for laminate flooring, engineered hardwood, and luxury vinyl plank flooring. Please shop our large selection of engineered hardwood and luxury vinyl plank styles.
