When choosing wood flooring, your options include original hardwood floors, made from three-quarter-inch strips of solid wood, engineered wood floors, laminate floors and vinyl floors. 

Laminated planks are made from processed wood chips, which have been ground to dust.

Question: I am shopping for new flooring. Where do I start?

Answer: First consider your budget and lifestyle.

Get the best quality flooring for your budget. As with all building materials, its cost has gone up. Do your research before heading to the store. Our flooring experts recommend shopping at the smaller flooring stores, as you will get the best value.

Order enough to account for all the cutting. The more irregular the shape of the space, the more you will have to allow for waste due to cutting.

Your household’s lifestyle is important. The more people and pets in the home, the higher the incidents of spills and other damage. Consider going with flooring that can withstand food and drink spills, pet stains, and pet hair. Select flooring that can easily be wiped down after spills and splatters.

Regular and proper maintenance is essential to keeping your flooring looking new. Don’t splurge on expensive flooring if you are not willing to set aside the allotted time to keep it up.

Q: What is the difference between solid wood and laminate wood-looking flooring?

A: Let’s include engineered wood and compare.

A genuine hardwood floor is made from three-quarter-inch strips of solid wood. Wood floors are available in at least 50 species. The most popular hardwood species used for solid wood floors are red oak, white oak, ash and maple. They can be painted or stained any color.

Sometimes called the “100-year floor,” solid hardwood typically is finished with a thick, durable topcoat that protects it from damage. That protective coat can last for 10 or more years. When it’s time to refinish the floors, they can be sanded and refinished up to 10 times over their lifetime because they’re so thick. In between refinishings, all a wood floor requires is sweeping and dust-mopping. Clean up spills and stains with a cloth that’s barely damp or with a dab of water-based wood floor cleaner.

Engineered wood is a product with multiple layers — the top layer is solid wood, so it looks and feels like the real thing. Plus, it can be installed directly on a concrete slab. The floor is made from three to five thin layers of wood, stacked in a cross-grain pattern, and laminated together to form one plank. The top layer — the one that you see — is made from 1/4- to 1/32-inch of the high-quality wood of your choice.

Engineered floors call for the same simple maintenance as hardwood floors: regular sweeping and dust-mopping. Spot-clean tough messes with a slightly damp cloth or a water-based wood floor cleaner.

A laminate floor looks like wood, stone or tile, depending on the pattern you select, but it’s not — so it costs less and keeps its like-new look for longer.

Laminated planks are made from processed wood chips, which have been ground to dust. The wood fibers are mingled with resins to make the product moisture resistant. That mixture is pressed at high pressure and heat to make a board, which is overlayed with paper that bears the likeness of the wood, slate or tile that the product intends to mimic. The paper is impregnated with melamine for structural stability and then overlaid with a wear layer that resists scratches, dents and everyday wear and tear.

Each generation of laminates looks more realistic and holds up better when it gets wet. However, I am told by our flooring experts that today’s laminate is being replaced by vinyl flooring.

Q: What is vinyl flooring?

A: There are two types — sheet vinyl and vinyl laminate which is also called LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) and Click Lock Vinyl.

Sheet vinyl is an inexpensive option, mostly used in rentals and trailer homes. It is extremely cost effective. Because it is very soft, it is susceptible to damage from moving furniture or heavy objects.

LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank)/Click Lock Vinyl/Vinyl Laminate can be tricky to navigate because the manufacturers have not settled on an industry standard name. This is essentially a laminate floor. But instead of the construction being comprised of wood product, it is a plastic core with a vinyl top layer. The core can be either SPC (Stone Plastic Core) or WPC (Wood Plastic Core).

Vinyl is easy to care for, clean, is quiet to walk on and softer on the feet than tile, for example. There is no added cost for yearly upkeep. It is fairly easy to install, with no dry time. It can be walked on immediately. Furniture denting is not an issue. Read the documentation provided, as this is the best way to maintain your warranty through the manufacturer. Sweep and mop with a neutral cleaner. Sealers and other maintenance is not required.

LVP can be scratched with heavy items or small rocks. Fortunately, scratched planks can be replaced with leftover material.

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When choosing wood flooring, your options include original hardwood floors, made from three-quarter-inch strips of solid wood, engineered wood floors, laminate floors and vinyl floors. 

Laminated planks are made from processed wood chips, which have been ground to dust.

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