The Pros and Cons of Hardwood Flooring, Laminate Flooring and Carpeting for the Bedroom
By Mark J. Donovan
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You have a number of options to choose from when it comes to bedroom flooring. Common bedroom floorings include solid hardwood flooring, laminate flooring, and carpeting.
Solid Hardwood Flooring Pros For health and aesthetics reasons solid hardwood bedroom floors can’t be beat. They look beautiful, are low maintenance, and stand the test of time. Solid hardwood floors can also be finished multiple times over the decades, whereas with laminate and carpet flooring you simply have no choice but to dispose of it when it wears out or becomes damaged. |
Solid Hardwood Flooring Cons
Solid hardwood bedroom floors are expensive. In addition, they can be scratched and dented fairly easily. They can also stain or become damaged if liquids are spilled on them and its not picked up immediately. Consequently solid hardwood floors are not ideal for children bedrooms or in bedrooms with high moisture levels.
Also adding to the cost of solid hardwood floors is the installation. Solid hardwood floor installation should be left to the pros unless you already have experience installing them.
| Laminate Flooring Pros
Laminate flooring is constructed using a base wood material and a plastic top coat surface. Laminate flooring is ideal for childrens’ bedrooms due to its high durability and resistance to scratching, warping, and denting. The top coat surface is comprised of a photographic image sandwiched in between two coats of a plastic epoxy. Thus laminate flooring finishes are available in a plethora of patterns and styles, including faux solid wood looks. Laminate flooring is also easy to install. The average diy homeowner can install laminate flooring themselves. Laminate flooring is also much less expensive than solid hardwood floors. They typically have warranties around 15 years, again making them perfect for the young family with children. |
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Laminate Flooring Cons
Laminate flooring can not be easily repaired if scratched. In addition, it is susceptible to moisture. If water seeps in around the panel edges the panels will swell and become permanently damaged. Laminate floors can often sound hollow, particularly if the proper padding underlayment is not installed underneath the laminate flooring. They can also be cold and slippery feeling. Because it is a fake type wood material, laminate flooring often adds little value to the home, compared to installing solid hardwood floors.
| Carpet Flooring Pros
Carpet is the bedroom flooring of choice for many homeowners. Its inexpensive, feels warm and comfortable to walk on, and is fairly durable. There also also many varieties of carpet types and colors to choose from. Consequently, even for the most discriminate of homeowners, there’s a bedroom carpet for just about anyone. Carpeting also acts as both a sound and thermal insulator. It can make the bedroom floors feel warmer and it can help mute sounds emanating in the room. Carpet Flooring Cons Carpet flooring is a haven for dust and dust mites. Consequently carpet bedroom flooring can be a poor choice for folks who suffer from breathing related allergies. |
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Vacuuming and steam cleaning regularly can mitigate some of these concerns. Carpet flooring can also stain easily and over time the carpet can become compressed down and lose much of its warmth and charm.
So to choose the right bedroom flooring it’s important to first evaluate your bedroom flooring budget, your family’s susceptibility to allergies, and the age of your children. After considering all of these items you can make the right choice for your bedroom flooring needs.
For help on finding a wood flooring installation contractor, see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s Wood Flooring Installation Bid Sheet. It will help ensure that you find and hire the right flooring installation contractor for your wood flooring project. In addition, it will help to ensure that your wood floor installation is completed on time and on budget.
Related Information
Additional Flooring Resources from Amazon.com
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