Laminate was the pioneer for realistic-looking wood flooring back in the ‘70s, and since then, other types of flooring have caught on and have begun releasing their own realistic wood looks. Still, laminate looks and feels like real hardwood, and holds its own as a popular realistic-looking wood flooring option to this day. Its low-maintenance cleaning features and durable, scratch-resistant surface will continue to offer a timeless flooring option for many years to come.
Engineered Wood: Part wood floor, part man-made materials, engineered wood flooring offers the best of both worlds. The real wood veneer layer offers the style and unique look of naturally occurring planks, and also features a thin veneer top layer of solid wood. The natural top layer makes engineered wood just as durable as traditional hardwood, and provides the same classic, timeless look.
Then there’s the core of the plank, typically made from layers of plywood or high-density fiberboard (HDF). These layers are oriented perpendicular to each other, which creates a strong lattice structure in the core. The stability and durability of the plank comes from this lattice. A mix of wax and adhesive holds these components together, which provides some water-resistance compared to solid wood.
