Affordability without looking cheap
Today's laminate has deeper embossing, longer and wider boards and better bevels than the flat, shiny product people remember from twenty years ago. Installed cost per square foot lands well under hardwood, which is why it's often the answer for a full first floor or a rental.
Durability
Laminate's tough melamine wear layer resists scratches and scuffs from pets and chairs particularly well, and it doesn't fade in a sunny south-facing room the way some surfaces do. It is the harder-wearing choice of the two wood-look products in a high-traffic hallway.
Style options
Oak, hickory, walnut and maple visuals, greys through warm browns, smooth or hand-scraped textures, plus stone-look tiles. Because the visual is printed, laminate offers looks — like a very pale white oak — that would be expensive in real wood.
Where laminate belongs
Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, hallways, offices and rentals. In kitchens, baths, mudrooms and basements we generally recommend luxury vinyl instead, since standing water at seams is laminate's one real weakness.
Maintenance
Sweep or vacuum, damp mop lightly, wipe up spills promptly, and keep mats at exterior doors. No refinishing or waxing.
Installation
Laminate floats over an underlayment rather than being fastened down, so subfloor flatness, the right underlayment and correct expansion gaps at the walls are what keep a floor from peaking or clicking underfoot. Our installers handle the prep, the layout and stagger, undercuts at door casings and the transitions into adjoining rooms.