It can be tough to decide which flooring material is ideal for your home with so many options out there. You can choose anything from laminate to vinyl to hardwoods, depending on your budget, personal taste, and the room where it will be used. This is important because not all flooring materials will work for each space in your home. Some types of flooring are ideal for minimal traffic areas like the bedrooms, while others are better suited for high traffic areas like the kitchen or living room. Here is a list of different flooring material options to help you make the right choice.
Hardwood Flooring Material Options
Hardwood is one of the most popular flooring material options because of its natural style and durability. Most hardwood floors are planks of wood sourced from trees like maple, oak, and walnut. Each offers different aesthetic and structural qualities.
Hardwood flooring is relatively easy to install because of the tongue and groove technique commonly used to manufacture it. Hardwood is also a popular choice among homeowners because it is easy to maintain. To keep the floor in pristine condition, sweep or dust daily and regularly clean with a quality solution made for wood floors.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a budget-friendly option for homeowners who enjoy the look of hardwood flooring but have a limited budget. As the name suggests, laminate flooring materials are planks engineered to mimic real hardwood.
The planks are made in four layers. The bottom layer is moisture-proof to protect against water damage. The core layer is a compacted board. The design layer is what makes the surface mimic wood or another material like ceramic tiles, stained concrete, or stone. The design layer is protected from surface burns, stains, and fading by a transparent top layer.
Stone Flooring
Of the different flooring materials on this list, stone flooring is the most expensive. However, the elegance and durability of a stone floor are worth the price. When considering stone for your flooring, there are several types to choose from including sandstone, travertine, marble, limestone, and granite.
Each type has unique aesthetic qualities. Harder and denser stones are more expensive because they are difficult to mine, but the thicker stones are more moisture-proof and durable and you can expect them to last many years.
Engineered Flooring Material Options
For many homeowners, a hardwood floor is appealing but unaffordable. This is why some flooring material options are produced to look exactly like hardwoods. Unlike laminate options, engineered hardwood flooring has a layer of real hardwood. This layer of wood is merged with cheaper planks of plywood. This makes engineered flooring more affordable while retaining the aesthetics of natural hardwood. To protect the surface from scratches, the planks are coated with a high-quality veneer.
Bamboo Flooring
Bamboo flooring is one of the most popular flooring material options thanks to its style, durability, and sustainability. A bamboo floor feels like hardwood and has a similar aesthetic. Due to their versatility, bamboo floors work well with almost any home design, especially in modern houses. Bamboo floors are known for their easy maintenance and water resistance. To make cleaning easier, there are several bamboo floor cleaning products available on the market.
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