What are the basic differences between hardwood floors and laminate floors?

Answer 1

price and ease of installation.
Laminate flooring is much less expensive and easily installed for a quick brand new look.
Laminate has come such a long way in selections and looks just like real hardwood but has a veneer of hardwood not easily repaired.
However, hardwood floors are an investment and increase the value of your home for many years to come.Hardwood floors are actual solid wood like pine or oak and has to be installed by professional and then stained and finished. Can be redone or refinished many many years later and looks like brand NEW.

Answer 2

A hardwood floor is made out of solid wood. A laminate is a product that is made using any of several materials and methods and that has a layer of material applied to the top surface that either simulates wood or is a thin layer of wood itself. Most laminate flooring products are manufactured from wood particles bonded together with an adhesive of some type. A surface finish of some type, often a simulated wood grain, is then applied (the laminate). Some laminate flooring products are waterproof, some are water-resistant, and some are neither.

Answer 3

basically they are two different things. hardwood is hardwood genuinly 100 percent real wood. laminate floors consist of compressed wood chips,glues,resins and with a thin layer of laminate,laminate-just like your kitchen counter laminate, which is made up of paper and resins and god knows what else. glued to its backing(the wood chips ect) check out the laminate flooring because there are different grades out there and i have seen the laminate adhered to a solid backing of a soft wood such as popular. if i was to choose the laminate flooring i would go for the solid backing.
my self i would spend the extra money and go for the hardwood floor. because when it gets damaged or plainly just looses it good look its easy to rectify, sand it and re finish. a laminate floor is subject to water damage really easy and if you have to repair it your going to be ripping it up and replacing the flooring.

Answer 4

Hard wood floors typically have 5-13 mm of hard wood (oak, birch, walnut, etc). on a layer of press-board. Laminate floors are a type of synthetic material, that looks like wood. Hard wood floors are generally better, but much more expensive.

Answer 5

wood floors are exactly that-wood. laminate floors have a plastic type top on it (laminate) that looks like wood. laminate tends to be cheaper depending on the type.

Answer 6

Laminates are easier to care for and keep clean, and harder to scratch.