The most durable floors
When buying a new floor, there are lots of factors that influence your decision. One of the most important is durability – how well will your flooring hold up against the wear and tear of everyday life and lots of footfall without showing wear? This is especially important if you have kids and pets or just come from a busy household in general. By looking at the pros and cons of each flooring type, it’ll hopefully make your decision a little easier.
Wood
Wood is by far the most popular flooring option when considering durability and it’s no surprise with an expected life spanning several decades, meaning you won’t ever have to think about replacing it. Solid or engineered wood is undoubtedly the traditional choice, although it often comes at a higher price than alternatives such as laminate and vinyl.
The only concern with wood flooring is that it can scratch and stain, so think twice about laying it in rooms that see high exposure to these. However, it is able to be sanded down a number of times depending on the product, done every 10-15 years or so. It is also worth bearing in mind that only engineered wood is able to withstand the fluctuating temperatures of underfloor heating whereas solid isn’t, as it warps and expands under heat.
Laminate
Although wood flooring offers us style, durability and a very desirable flooring in general, not all of us can afford to splash out on this luxurious choice, which is why cheaper alternatives have been produced and laminate is a notable contender!
Although man-made, it imitates real wood flawlessly, with its photographic layer perfectly replicating the natural patterns found in natural wood products. If you do go for laminate, don’t think that you’re having to sacrifice real wood’s resilience, as laminate is very hard wearing and will last many years. Although it doesn’t quite match real wood’s longevity, for the cheaper price laminate is a close competitor. One of laminate’s most useful qualities is that it is resistant to scratches, stains and water and able to cope with differing temperatures, meaning you can install underfloor heating. Because of its water-resistant surface, it is also a lot easier to clean with little maintenance needed.
Luxury Vinyl Tiles
Forget everything you may have once thought of vinyl being cheap, tasteless and old fashioned. Vinyl has been developed to produce the Luxury Vinyl Tiles, a much more stylish, softer and durable alternative. It is hard to find fault with LVT, with it being affordable, hardwearing and coming in very notable impressions of natural products such as wood and stone, so much so it’ often hard to tell them apart!
Perhaps the biggest advantage LVT has is that it’s scratch, stain and waterproof, perfect for rooms such as the bathroom and kitchen which see high exposure to these elements. Additionally, vinyl is incredibly easy to clean and compatible with underfloor heating. Ultimately, we’d recommend vinyl as the most practical and hard-wearing flooring for family homes.
As discussed if you are looking for something that’ll last then you have a huge range of options on offer. Whether you’re on a tighter budget or style is most important to you, there’s something for everyone.
