The natural wooden flooring, made from exotic tree species is the main choice of interior designers because of its gorgeous look and the cosiness it gives to the room. But it is because of this fact that it is often copied, usually in cheaper variants. When we talk about fake wood flooring, laminate is at the top list.
Those copied types of flooring appear on the market in different sizes, and also in various colours, imitating wood. Some tiles have a pattern of wood in different colours and hues, the vinyl flooring that is also available on the market has different shades, and the same is true with the laminate. But as there are so many options nowadays for cheap wooden flooring on the market, what would be our reasons for buying a cheaper variant?
We will list some wrong conceptions about natural wood flooring:
- The price of natural wood flooring is much higher – this is not true anymore since there are a lot of manufacturers on the market and they are competing for the best prices. So you may find a cheap variant, by the budget you have.
- It is harder to maintain natural wooden flooring, compared to its fake variants – today there are a lot of detergents and appliances that will make cleaning easier. You can do this even only with the vacuum cleaner.
- Engineered and laminate flooring are the same – this is not correct because the engineered flooring is produced from natural wood, its top layer is from solid wood, and the laminate is just an imitation.
Here is some information about laminate flooring – it is a relatively new product on the market, compared to the other available types on the market – it was first presented in the 70s. It is composed of five coats, and there are a lot of colours, shades and pattern variants of it because the fifth layer is an image. The layers of the laminate are the following:
- Before the installation of the laminate, you have to put special insulation on the floor. This underlay will have insulating qualities, will keep the warmth in the room, and also will help you make the surface even. It also has the property to reduce the noise. But although this insulation has such properties, it will not have the advantages the engineered wood has.
- The second layer is made of resin. This layer makes the laminate resistant to humidity and stable when walking on it.
- The next layer is fibreboard with high density which is the most important layer of all. This layer provides the durability and resistance of the laminate.
- Above it, there is an image coat. Although some people think that it is real wood, it is an image, printed from a computer, and it looks quite natural. So here comes the advantage of the engineered flooring – it is natural and made from natural wood.
- After that, there is a top layer, that protects the image from scratches and damage.
