You Can Have Wood Floors On A Budget

Trends in home building and home decorating come and go but wood floors have always been a favorite. Back 'in the day' unless someone wanted an earthen floor or maybe one made from hand-crafted bricks, they would use the available lumber in the region for their flooring. While necessity is supposed to be the mother of all inventions, the North American settlers made some wise choices for their homes. Today some of those old historic homes are still standing and have their original flooring. Hardwoods are made to last.

Hardwood flooring can be some of the most beautiful flooring in natural materials, but it isn't what you would call inexpensive. There are thousands of homeowners who really want the beauty of hardwood but it just isn't in their budgets. Again, necessity moved mother to create a new invention called laminate flooring.

New laminate flooring can look just as gorgeous as its hardwood cousin but for at least 30% less in price. In this case if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it must be a duck doesn't keep true. It looks like hardwood, is durable like hardwood, but laminate is really a picture or graphic of a particular wood pressed between a laminate coating and a core of wood fibers. So there is a hint of real wood in the product.

Laminate flooring is extremely hardy. It resists scuffs and scratches, repels stains including ink and is even oblivious to cigarette burns. Homeowners with pets, especially dogs, love laminate because there are no pet stains and some of those long toe nails do not make a mar. The dogs on the other hand slip and slide which provides a lot of humor for the owners.

If you wanted dark cherry wide plank flooring for your home, you will be able to find the exact match in a laminate. Planks are usually 3/8" thick and are installed by a tongue and groove locking system. When it is completely done it is like you have one big floor laying over your subfloor. And laminate can be applied over many types of subfloors. It does not have the same "sound" as genuine hardwood when you walk on it, so it is wise to have a thin padding put down under the floor to absorb some of the noise.

When homeowners purchase a hardwood floor they will have it stained in the color and intensity they want. The problem is, when sunlight hits a stained floor the stain will begin to fade over time. With a laminate floor, the stain and color that is installed today is the same stain and color you will see five years from now despite all the kids' muddy shoes and Fido's fiddles.

There are also laminate floors that look like real bamboo and other exotic woods. If you want a light oak, medium maple or a rich mahogany, you will find a laminate floor that meets your decorating plans.