Laminate Flooring
One of the main factors for choosing laminate flooring over hardwood is the cost. Laminate is considerably cheaper than hardwood. Laminate is an engineered alternative to real wood; it is constructed by laminating a facsimile of wood onto a background and then covered with a hard and clear coating. The price will depend on the thickness and visual representation of real wood.
Another factor in laminate’s favor is ease of installation. Requiring no nails, the tongue and groove design of the laminate boards makes installation easy for a novice. The boards typically come in either 4 inch or 8 inch widths; the 8 inch boards are typically easier to install than the 4 inch version. No matter which board width you choose, you must first lay down a foam pad to reduce squeaks and to even out the floor surface.
Despite laminate’s apparent ease of installation, the boards all come in one length so the installer will need …