How to Choose the Best Flooring Option for Your Home
Amidst a sea of big-box store selections and online retailers, it can be overwhelming to know where to start when choosing the best flooring options for your home.
Maybe you’ve already narrowed it down to wood versus carpet. Next, you’ll need to consider variables like the type of wood, the thickness of the material, the color, and the texture.
But when it comes to wood flooring, the buck doesn’t stop there.
Durability, budget, and installation are all factors that should influence your decision, as well. Read along for expert advice from the Pool Brothers team, as we reveal what we like best (and least) about many of the most popular wood flooring options available today.
Solid Wood Flooring & Engineered Wood Flooring
Your mind's made up—wood flooring it is. But not so fast. Do you want solid hardwood or engineered hardwood? What’s the difference between the two? Put simply, the main difference is how it’s made. Engineered wood is made from a relatively thin layer of hardwood bonded over high-quality plywood, while solid wood flooring is made of solid wood throughout its thickness. engineered may only be able to be refinished once due to the thin layer of wood on the surface.
Solid wood flooring and engineered wood flooring offer similar benefits and appearance.
What We Like Best About Wood Flooring
Its timeless design and durability make wood flooring a great long-term investment.
From pine and oak to mahogany, maple and cherry, there’s a wide variety of wood options to choose from.
Wood floors are often easy to maintain and clean.
Wood is a non-toxic material.
When installed professionally, wood floors can last a long time.
Hardwood flooring can be sanded and refinished multiple times throughout its lifetime.
The Disadvantages of Wood Flooring
Wood floors can often cost more than other flooring options.
You’ll need to select the right materials and take extra steps to reduce the risk of termite attacks on your wood flooring.
Most wood flooring options aren’t waterproof, so they aren’t a great option for kitchens or bathrooms.
Wood is prone to scratches and dents.
Engineered wood may only be able to be refinished once due to the thin layer of wood on the surface.
LVP Flooring
One of the most popular flooring options in recent years is LVP, or Luxury Vinyl Plank. LVP is made from compressed layers of vinyl, and it can nearly mimic the look and feel of hardwood. It’s 100% waterproof and a popular option to truly give you the luxury feel of wood without the price—especially if being installed in a home that you may not see yourself in for the long term. If you’re looking for the appearance of hardwood without the cost, LVP may be the best choice for you.
What We Like Best About LVP Flooring
LVP is often a more cost-effective alternative to wood flooring.
A multitude of LVP design and texture options are available to mimic the hardwood appearance.
LVP is 100% waterproof, making it a great option for high-traffic areas.
It’s durable and resistant to scuffs, dents, and scratches.
The Disadvantages of LVP
LVP can be difficult to replace in the future.
With limited UV resistance, you may experience fade spots over the years with LVP.
Certain low-quality LVP products or LVP not installed professionally have been known to produce off-gassing (a release of chemicals and odor into the air) for weeks up to months following installation.
When replacing existing laminate or wood floors with LVP, noticeable gaps may be visible around doors, door jams, and transition areas because LVP is often much thinner than laminate materials.
Laminate Flooring
Perhaps the most cost-effective option out of the group is laminate flooring. Laminate flooring is made of very thin layers of materials fused together to give the appearance of wood flooring.
Though popular for its affordability, laminate often gets a bad rap for its durability. But Mohawk flooring changed the game for laminate when they introduced a new waterproof, scratch-resistant laminate flooring option—RevWood. Mohawk’s RevWood has recently become a popular flooring option at Pool Brothers, especially for homeowners looking to achieve the look of real wood flooring at an affordable price.
What We Like Best About Mohawk’s RevWood Laminate Flooring
It comes with manufacturer guarantees. Depending on the product, you can get anywhere from a 10 year up to a lifetime warranty for RevWood, including a lifetime all-pet warranty.
It’s scratch-resistant. In fact, RevWood is more than four times resistant than other laminate flooring options.
It’s a great option if you’re looking for a premium wood appearance.
RevWood can be cleaned with a wet/steam mop, which is not recommended for many other laminate flooring options.
When installed professionally, RevWood laminate flooring can instantly transform and update the look of your home.
The Disadvantages of Low-Quality Laminate Flooring
Low-quality laminate can look “fake” and unnatural.
Most laminate options are not waterproof.
A low-quality laminate product, or forgoing professional laminate flooring installation, will not improve the resale value of your home.
Most low-end laminate options available in big-box stores are not durable, can be difficult to repair, and cannot be refinished.
The Bottom Line
New flooring is a big investment that can make a huge difference in the appearance of your home. But buying and installing new flooring shouldn’t be stressful. And it doesn’t always have to cost a fortune, either.
The best way to avoid common remodel pitfalls is to enlist the help of a professional to guide you every step of the way. You can trust the flooring experts at Pool Brothers Cabinets + Flooring + Lighting to handle every detail of your project.
Our professional in-house designers walk you through all of your options and help you select the most durable flooring for your home. You will have access to our Pool Brothers design studio where you can see and touch for yourself all of our top-of-the-line flooring options, so you are sure to choose the best color, texture, and material that works for you. Our carpenters are experienced flooring professionals who have been installing floors for over 20 years—you can rest easy knowing they will do a quality job.
From designing the space to ordering the flooring, and even installing it—you only have to work with one company throughout the whole process. And that’s Pool Brothers.