Balancing aesthetics and durability is an important consideration when it comes to flooring choices for commercial settings. While hardwood floors are appreciated for their natural beauty, warm tones, and classic look, they are not the most practical option for high-traffic areas where they are susceptible to wear and tear, like scratches, dents, scuffs, spills, moisture, and other damage.
Fortunately, several solutions combine the appearance of hardwood with the robustness needed for commercial settings like retail stores, office spaces, restaurants, and hotels. Here, we are comparing the most popular among those solutions, laminate and luxury vinyl flooring.
Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring is a multi-layer product composed of a particleboard base topped by a printed image under a transparent protective layer. Tongue-and-groove planks snap together to form a floating floor. A foam underlayment provides a softer footfall and helps dampen noise. Laminate floors are affordable, durable, and easier to maintain than natural hardwood. They are resistant to stains and UV damage.
There are a number of drawbacks to laminate floors. They are somewhat noisy and hard underfoot. While they are somewhat water-resistant, laminate floors are prone to swelling and warping when subjected to moisture and standing spills. They are not advised for use in bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other areas where moisture is prevalent. Laminate has a tendency to chip, and because these floors can’t be refinished, the entire damaged plank or section must be replaced. Finally, laminate flooring lacks authenticity. Though manufacturing advances over the years have made higher-end laminate products more closely resemble genuine wood, the look and feel of hardwood are somewhat artificial.
Luxury Vinyl Flooring
Luxury vinyl flooring, also known as LVF, LVP (planks) and LVT (tiles), excel in replicating the appearance of natural materials like stone and wood. Interlocking luxury vinyl floors are multi-ply products that include a topmost wear layer, a design layer, cushioning, rigid, waterproof core materials, and an attached underlayment. Deeply textured surfaces and photo-realistic printed images help make LVP floors closely resemble the real thing. Luxury vinyl floors are highly durable, easy to maintain, virtually waterproof, comfortable to stand and walk on, and quiet underfoot. When damage does occur, planks and tiles are relatively easy to replace.
As for the "cons" of luxury vinyl flooring, it is much more affordable than hardwood but typically more expensive than laminate. Like laminate, LFV is not generally considered to be environmentally friendly, though there are some luxury vinyl products that are partially made from sustainable materials. They should be protected from prolonged exposure to sunlight as they can be susceptible to fading.
Overall, luxury vinyl flooring is the winner when it comes to aesthetics, durability, maintenance, and comfort, but laminate can still be an excellent choice when there's a need for flooring that is more affordable.
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