Your choice of flooring can make a significant difference to your home, from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.

Hard flooring has become more popular in recent times. The two main options for this are engineered wood flooring and laminate flooring. Although they can look remarkably similar, they are two distinct products. Engineered wood flooring has layers made from real timbers, whilst laminate layers are made from synthetic materials.

Engineered wood flooring

Engineered wood flooring has a base that is made from either softwood, plywood, or HDF. A thin veneer of real oak is then added to this base. This gives the appearance of solid wood.

Engineered wood flooring can be finished using either a lacquer or an oil. A lacquer finish provides a water-resistant barrier, whilst an oil finish offers an authentic, natural look.

Engineered wood flooring pros and cons

Despite being made from real timbers, engineered wood flooring is relatively affordable, extremely durable, has a longer lifespan than laminate, is ‘natural’, and can be fitted over underfloor heating.

The main downsides are that it is more expensive than laminate, is not totally water or scratch-resistant, and can take longer to install.

Engineered wood flooring experts

If you feel that engineered wood flooring is the best choice for your property, specialists such as www.irwintiles.ie/wooden-flooring/engineered-wood-flooring can offer advice and a range of solutions to suit individual requirements.

Laminate flooring

Laminate flooring has a base made from HDF, and a special backing layer that prevents it from warping. A thin photographic layer is added on top of the base to give the illusion of a genuine solid wood floor. A further transparent, scratch-resistant, and water-resistant layer is also added on top.

Laminate flooring pros and cons

The key benefits of laminate flooring are that it is affordable whilst looking like real wood, easy to install, easy to clean, robust, water-resistant, and underfloor heating compatible.

The main downsides are that it is thinner than real or engineered wood, it has a shorter lifespan, and is not able to be sanded or refinished.