LUXURY VINYL VS HARDWOOD – PROS AND CONS

You've always dreamed of hardwood floors. They are low-maintenance, durable and beautiful. You then hear about luxury vinyl.

It has the same look and cost as wood, but it is more affordable. You're now confused. You're confused. We understand. This is something we see a lot. Let's look at both the pros and cons to help you choose the right option for you.

FLOORING PURPOSES

It is important to first consider the purpose of hardwood floors. There are many situations where you might need to lean one way or another. These are the most common reasons why people add wood flooring.

Building your dream home

Remodeling or updating your home?

Preparing your home for sale

Renters looking for investment property

To create more living space, refinish the lower level.

Selecting flooring for your vacation home

QUALITIES OF HARDWOOD & LUXURY VINYL

Once we have a clear understanding of your purpose, what you want from your wood floors, it is possible to break it down into quantifiable characteristics to show some of the differences. This will allow you to see the pros and cons for each type of flooring.

Luxury Vinyl Plank

PROS

Lower price
Installation is easier
Low maintenance
Moisture resistant
Radiant heat can be used
Recyclable

CONS

Not waterproof
It cannot be repaired/refinished
Shorter lifespan
No resale value
Hardwood Flooring

PROS

Longer lifespan
Greater resale value
Attractive appearance
Refinished and repaired
Insulator that works well
Renewable resource

CONS

More expensive
More difficult to install
Sensitive to moisture damage
Radiant heat can cause damage

Let's look at three factors that can influence your decision: installation, appearance, maintenance.

INSTALLATION

Vinyl flooring is quicker and easier to install. Professional installation is the best way to get the best results for either type of flooring. However, real wood requires a better subfloor. Hardwood flooring should be installed on a level subfloor or foundation of cement. Vinyl and hardwood are not tolerant of uneven subfloor structures. Over time, real wood will begin to bend. Vinyl will tolerate an uneven base better.

Vinyl can be installed over concrete, wood or other flooring layers. However, vinyl tiles or planks have a peel and stick backing that makes it difficult for remodeling.

Hardwood flooring can expand and contract naturally with changes in humidity. To allow planks to move freely, you must leave an expansion space around the perimeter of your floor.

APPEARANCE

Vinyl planks have a more natural appearance than hardwood flooring. Hardwood flooring has the most attractive and beautiful appearance, with its unique colors and wood grains. Vinyl planks are dyed and textured on their outer layers to imitate many wood species. You may notice a repeating faux pattern in some planks.

MAINTENANCE

It's a tie when it comes to maintenance if we are talking about day-to-day maintenance. Both need to be maintained with recommended cleaners and must be mopped regularly. Hardwood floors require more attention to moisture. Hardwood floors can be repaired if they become damaged. This will remove any scratches, gouges, or wear that has occurred over time. Vinyl can't be repaired.

THE VERDICT

Vinyl planks and hardwood flooring have their advantages and disadvantages. The main differences are in price and durability. Both have a beautiful look, and they are both easy to maintain. Luxury vinyl will have an easier installation process. The bottom line questions you should ask are:

What are you willing and able to spend?

How long would you like it to last?

Vinyl is a great option if you are on a budget but still want hardwood look without the high price.

Hardwood is a great choice if you are looking for resale potential.

Hardwood is a great choice if you are looking to attract buyers who are more discerning.

Hardwood is best if you are looking to have it refinished in 10-20 years.

Hardwood is more expensive and therefore more durable, hence the higher price. Luxury vinyl is a better option if you are looking for value in the future. Hardwood is a better option if you are looking for value in the future.

We hope you find this information helpful in making the right decision for your particular situation. At Floor Sanding Hastings We offer luxury vinyl as well as hardwood. To see them in person, visit our showroom. We are happy to help you make a decision and walk you through all of your options.
Call us at 01424 390159 Get a complimentary consultation today!

WHY PREFINISHED WOOD FLOORING CAN BE YOUR BEST CHOICE

There are many motives for installing hardwood floors in your house like durability and raising its re-sale worth, but if it comes down to it the key rationale is that there simply are not any other floor covering choices that may rival its own natural beauty. Hardwood conveys a feeling of warm that no additional floors may come close to replicating. But if you are intending to get solid hardwood installed, then there is still a significant choice to be made -- if you proceed with prefinished floors or even the more conventional finish in-place selection?

There are a few purists who might let you know that the only"actual" solid hardwood flooring is the kind that is sanded and finished on the jobsite with an ever dwindling supply of technical craftsmen. A lot of these very same purists also feel that computers are only a passing fad. Prefinished solid hardwood is precisely the same as the unfinished kind, however the stain and sealant are employed at the factory rather than in your house.

Prefinished Hardwood Flooring Setup Time

Oftentimes prefinished hardwood floors may be installed in a day or two your flooring may be carpeting at the daytime and the hardwood flooring could be appreciated the same or following day. Finish-in-place hardwood floors requires the time to be set up, sanded, and at the very least a day to have the end implemented -- then it's to dry. If you are having it installed through a renovation job, be worried about using the space for many days and based upon the humidity, maybe even more.

No Mess with Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

If you have ever been in an area where unfinished hardwood has been sanded, it is an experience that will not soon be forgotten. There can even be sanding dust on your hair. Sanding hardwood in a completed house can create a significant mess and also in a house under construction, the walls and trimming must be thoroughly purged of dust before paint could be implemented. The only dust you will need when installing prefinished flooring is a little from the saw and that may be placed outside if it is a wonderful day.

Prefinished Hardwood Flooring is DIY Friendly

If you're handy with tools and enjoy saving money, installing prefinished hardwood flooring can be a great DIY project. The very best thing that can be said about installing and finishing finish-in-place hardwood as a DIY project is to call the professionals if you don't happen to be a rather experienced woodworker.

Unfinished and prefinished hardwood are both beautiful goods, but unless you just have to have your floor installed and finished because it had been done back in the afternoon, prefinished hardwood floors is generally your very best choice.

  

Wood Flooring For Your Bedroom

Once thought of as a cold choice to carpeting, an increasing number of people are denying that wood flooring to your bedroom isn't only a stylish option, it's also a wholesome option that's far from cold. No matter which interior mag or TV series you look at, you will find hardwood flooring from wall to wall, using hardly any folks opting for carpets these days. You will find any number of reasons for this shift, however, apart from being a good looking solution, there's significant evidence to suggest that hardwood floors, particularly in a bedroom is a badly healthy alternative.

It's a well-known actuality that wood flooring is one of the preferred solutions for anybody who suffers from allergies or asthma and as a result, it makes complete sense to select this option for your 1 room in your house where you're likely to spend up to a third of your time! Not only will hardwood floors in your bedroom imply that you will not be exposed to the mites and germs that lurk in carpets, but it also means you'll have a simple maintenance routine once it comes time to do the housework.

The type of wood floors you choose for your bedroom will be contingent on a number of variables, the most significant being whether there is any evidence of moisture on your bedroom and whether you have under floor heating. For any room in the house that suffers from either significant moisture or temperature fluctuations where you plan to install hardwood flooring it is best to decide on engineered floors , instead of solid wood. The cause of this is that solid wood flooring, when it comes up against peaks and troughs of humidity and temperature fluctuations, expands and contracts. While growth and contraction is completely normal and natural for solid timber, and occurs all the time, surplus growth and contraction can lead to cupping and bowing of these boards as well as excess gaps, which give way to drafts and make dust traps.

Engineered wood flooring on the other hand doesn't expand and contract to the identical extent as strong wood and as this is ideal for any bedroom in which there's very likely to be significant temperature or moisture fluctuations. While these conditions are somewhat more unlikely in bedrooms, even if your bedroom is underground or in case you've got an ensuite bathroom or shower room that isn't ventilated and it might be, then you should definitely opt for engineered wood flooring. This rule is also true when you have under floor heatingsystem. Generally , solid hardwood floors isn't recommended for installation finished under floor heating due to the rises and falls of temperature caused by the heating. Engineered hardwood floors can however be installed over under floor heating and this is really a luxury combination, especially in a bedroom setting.

If it comes to the style of flooring you might or should choose for your bedroom, then you truly will be spoilt for choice. Together with the range of wooden flooring available today, there's no need to limit yourself to following the rules; you truly can go as imaginative as you desire, both with respect to colour, board widths and pattern.