Are you planning on upgrading your home? But haven’t decided on the type of flooring to use? I’ll take it that you have decided on a few types of flooring but haven’t made up your mind yet. The list should include laminate flooring. But are they efficient in elevating your home? In other words, does laminate flooring increase home value?
Given its price and long-lasting durability, you can be safe to assure that laminate flooring will indeed boost your home’s value. But it is one of the lowest of the flooring improvements and only coming ahead of cheap carpeting or vinyl sheets.
When it comes to laminate flooring, the material looks identical to your perfect hardwood floors. But it comes at half the price; which is fantastic if you’re on a budget. It looks so realistic that you’d very well mistake it for real wood if not for the tag attached.
An Insight to Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring has been around since the 70s. The earlier ones were mostly focused on the aesthetics and their quality rather than emulating other materials. It’s a prominent fact that back in the 1970s and 1980s, laminate flooring dominated the market space but their designs weren’t as neutral as they are today.
Back in the days, laminate flooring was more brightly colored and filled with floral designs and geometric shapes as these were in style during those two decades. But ever since then, manufacturers of flooring have reinvented themselves and have worked to develop the flooring process to further satisfy their customers.
Increasing Home Value with Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring improves the value of your home if you’re comparing it with normal carpets. Wall-to-wall carpeting will be of lesser value when compared with laminate flooring.
But if we consider the original hardwood floors, they will still be more expensive and valuable to the potential customers. Even though laminate flooring will cover most of your floors at an affordable cost, it won’t be able to elevate the entire value of the house when compared with the real thing.
Many will say that there aren’t any exact sayings or clear-cut methods for examining home values. But most of the upper privileged high-end homes will prefer ceramic and hardwood other than opting for the laminate flooring.
Laminate flooring is most widely used and accepted in mid to low-range houses. When it comes to mid-low-range houses, laminate flooring is more widely used and accepted. But they won’t necessarily be chosen for the high-end housing whose owners will, in 9 out of 10 cases, pick the natural materials.
Why Laminate Flooring Is Popular?
The most obvious reason why laminate flooring is so cheap is its low cost. But there are other reasons why many people prefer them over other options. Let’s take a deeper look into all the reasons that make laminate flooring so popular.
Very Cheap
It is quite hefty and expensive to get a whole-house floored when you use wood as your base material. This is why laminate floorings have taken the market by storm after their arrival. And we can predict that laminate flooring will surely dominate the market in the upcoming years.
Laminate flooring is not only affordable but it’s very cheap. It is one of the lowest-cost alternatives, and you can get your floors laminated by paying around $1 to $5 per square foot. You will also have to pay an additional amount for labor which will be in between $1.50-$3 per square feet.
If you were to use wood instead, the costs would be a lot heavier standing between $3 to $5 per square feet; with labor costs charging from $3 to $5 per square feet. In other words, laminate flooring will give you a bang for your buck while any other alternatives will cost you quite a lot.
Easy Installation
When it comes to laminate flooring, you’ll hardly have to worry about nails or adhesive tapes, or glues because the material simply hovers above the subfloor. This is wonderful news as it means that you can easily attach this type of flooring on top of existing concrete or wood.
But the existing flooring needs to be smooth for the laminate to set in place properly. Due to such rationales, it is extremely easy to install laminate flooring. And it’s less time-consuming as well.
If you explore the magical land of Pinterest, it’s a delight to see many homeowners taking it upon themselves to use laminate flooring with a twist of their DIY creations and it’s simply amazing.
High Durability
The initial collections of laminate flooring did not come with water-resistant layers. As they were not resistant to moisture, they were not the first choice of many homeowners due to this inconvenience.
But with the advancement of technology, homeowners are now able to get laminate flooring that comes with a water-resistant layer. This is an extra layer in the core which protects it from moisture. This means that you have some time to pack up and protect the flooring when water or any other form of moisture comes near it.
It can be concluded that even though laminate flooring is not directly waterproof like other materials such as vinyl, it can withstand scratches, dents, and other stains when compared to wooden flooring
Aesthetic Appeal
High-definition images and decorative layers have made laminate flooring an object of desire. In most cases, you’ll see that the object looks identical to a wooden texture. If you go up to a random stranger and ask them to distinguish between laminate flooring and natural wood flooring, chances are that he’ll fail to answer properly; unless he’s in the business.
With such designs and color combinations, everyone will be able to pick out a flooring of their choice and taste. And there’s something for everyone. Whether it’s for a child’s bedroom or an underground practice pad, the different designs of laminate flooring will have you covered.
Drawbacks of Laminate Flooring
If you’re purchasing the laminate flooring in hopes that it’ll give you the same performance as wooden flooring, then you might have to think twice before proceeding with your decision if you don’t wish to be disappointed.
Given the price that you’re paying, it would be slightly foolish to think that your laminate flooring will have the same materials and strength as a natural wooden floor. The aesthetics might fool you but it’s not the real thing.
As previously stated, laminate flooring has come a long way since its beginnings. It might have a layer that is resistant to moisture but it is not fully water-proof. Its middle layers are still very vulnerable to water so make sure you replace the entire floor when you see such damages. But this will not be the case with natural hardwood flooring.
Another drawback is that there will be no room for refinishing. When you buy hardwood, you will be able to refinish it over and over again. Thus instead of replacing it, you’ll just be able to create another new floor on top of the old one. And being water-resistant, it’ll take quite a lot to damage your wooden flooring.
But when it comes to your laminate material, you won’t be able to refinish it. So replace the damages when you see a scratch or stain. Things will get even worse if you can’t find the same matching style. In which case, you’ll need to replace the whole floor.
Conclusion
Now that we’re at the end, you might have some idea about laminate flooring. So, does laminate flooring increase home value? Compared to cheap floorings like carpet and vinyl, sure. If we compare it to other more exotic and stylish choices, it might even decrease your home value. But if you are low on budget then I would highly recommend you give laminate a try.
