What do you choose, unfinished hardwood or laminate flooring?
There are advantages and disadvantages between choosing unfinished hardwood and laminate flooring. Most, if not all laminates come pre-finished. One of the best things about pre-finished flooring is that it is super durable and often comes with long term warrantees against scratching, fading or staining. One the other hand, unfinished hardwood flooring offers more widths than laminate flooring as well as more wood varieties to choose from.
Pre-finished floors are quite simple and cleaner to install than traditional unfinished hardwood. Laminate flooring often uses a tongue and grove system where boards basically snap together easily. Hardwood must be nailed or screwed to the sub floor making it more labor intensive than pre-finished products. Hardwood can be matched to existing wood flooring where it is virtually impossible to do that with laminate.
If you are choosing between unfinished hardwood and laminate flooring you have to consider some things. Laminate will stand up much better in high traffic areas and will not fade in direct sun light. It is often cheaper and many people install it themselves. If you choose hardwood, we always recommend that you get it installed and finished by a professional for best results.
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