Is Laminate Flooring Worth The Money? (10 Reasons It Is)

 

Laminate flooring is a type of flooring that contains several layers that are then fused through a laminating process.

They’re usually designed to mimic the appearance of either wood or stone panels.

Because it’s artificial, laminate flooring tends to be cheaper than actual wood flooring or stone flooring.

As such, it’s a go-to type of flooring that some homeowners on a budget will use.

That said, because it’s cheaper, you may wonder if laminate flooring is worth the price.

 

Is Laminate Flooring Worth The Money? (10 Reasons It Is)

 

1. Stain-Resistant

 

Laminate flooring has a few advantages that some other flooring types don’t have.

One of those advantages is its stain resistance.

When you have something like natural wood as your flooring or even natural stone, there’s a chance that it might stain.

That’s because both wood and natural stone are porous.

They absorb the liquid.

If you leave a colored liquid too long on the surface, it may leave a mark behind.

Laminate flooring doesn’t have that problem.

If you pour a colored liquid on the floor, it might leave a mark, but you can scrub it away.

That’s because it’s not quite as porous as natural wood or stone.

This makes laminate well worth the money if you have children or pets in the home.

Children tend to spill things on the floor, and pets can sometimes have accidents.

Laminate flooring ensures you’re able to clean up all kinds of different spills without worrying about leaving a stain behind.

That can save a family some money in the long run.

They don’t have to keep replacing their hardwood flooring or natural stone to remove stains.

They can simply scrub the area.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because it’s stain resistant.

 

2. Damage-Resistant

 

Another great feature of laminate flooring that makes it worth the money is its damage resistance.

When you have wood or stone flooring, you have to be mindful of it.

Wood, especially, is quite delicate.

If you drop anything heavy on it, the wood can chip.

Whole sections might even fly off.

Sharp objects are also not great on wooden floors.

If you have a dog or cat, for example, their claws can tear up your hardwood flooring.

Natural stone is a bit tougher.

You won’t scratch it as easily, but if you drop something heavy on it, there’s still a chance that it might chip or crack.

That can completely ruin your floors and require you to replace them.

Not everyone has the budget for that.

Laminate flooring, on the other hand, is a bit more durable.

It has a certain amount of flexibility to it that allows it to absorb impacts.

While you can still scratch laminate flooring, it isn’t quite as easy to do as wooden flooring.

It also won’t chip unless you’re actively trying to destroy the flooring.

Since it’s harder to damage, it lasts longer.

That can save homeowners a lot of money on repairs.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because it’s resistant to most types of damage.

 

3. Homeowners Can Install It

 

One of the best perks of laminate flooring is that homeowners can install it on their own.

When you want wooden floors or natural stone floors, you usually need a professional to install them.

They’re both difficult to install and require several steps and a lot of work.

Besides laying the panels or planks down, you also need to sand and buff wooden floors.

Both typically require sealing, too.

If you get something wrong, you may have to do the entire process over again.

It’s a costly venture that can be a pain to perform.

Laminate flooring, on the other hand, is a lot easier.

It tends to come in panels that you simply adhere to the floor.

They’re all made to fit together.

That makes it easy to lay, cut, and adhere until your new floor is in place.

Since homeowners are usually able to install laminate flooring on their own, they can save even more money in the process.

If you’re on a budget, being able to install your own laminate flooring is a huge bonus.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because you can save money by installing it yourself.

 

4. Little Maintenance

 

When you have wood or stone floors, you usually find that they need some maintenance.

Wood floors, in particular, need a lot of care.

Because it’s made out of real wood, it’s a living thing that requires some tender love and care.

In particular, you usually need to sand and buff the floors every few years.

The quality of the floors and their use usually determine how often you need to sand and buff them.

Sanding and buffing cost money unless you happen to have a sander and buffer at your home.

Natural stone needs a bit of maintenance, too.

Depending on the stone in question, you may find that it needs sealing.

That might take money from your monthly budget as well.

Laminate floors, on the other hand, require very little maintenance.

At most, you need to sweep and mop them.

You don’t have to worry about anything else.

That might make laminate flooring worth the money right there for busy homeowners.

You may not have the time or energy for flooring that requires your care.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because it’s easy to maintain.

 

5. Tons Of Styles

 

Another great benefit of laminate flooring is that it comes in tons of different styles.

The most common type of laminate flooring is wood or stone.

They essentially look like wooden planks or stone tiles.

You can find them in tons of different colors, too.

You can have laminate flooring that looks like grey wood, for example.

If you prefer natural stone, you can find all sorts of shades and grains of stone to use.

Besides the texture, laminate flooring also comes in tons of different shades of color.

This enables you to come up with unique flooring ideas.

You can make a unique living room based on your laminate flooring’s color alone.

When you have wooden or natural stone floors, you’re left with only a few options.

You only have the natural colors that they possess.

With laminate flooring, there’s very little restriction.

You might find that laminate flooring is worth the money because it enables you to have the color flooring that you want.

Any restrictions other types of flooring have typically don’t exist with laminate flooring.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because you have a large selection of different styles and colors from which to choose.

 

6. Eco-Focused

 

One of the reasons some people prefer laminate flooring over other types of flooring is that some of the brands make eco-focused or eco-friendly laminate flooring.

Wooden flooring and stone flooring has an impact on the environment.

Wood flooring, in particular, has to come from a tree.

It requires a sourcing company to cut down and harvest trees.

Even if it’s done sustainably, that still results in fewer trees in the world.

It doesn’t help the problem of too much carbon dioxide in the air.

It also contributes to habitat loss.

As such, wooden floors aren’t very eco-friendly.

Natural stone often requires the use of heavy machinery to mine it.

That also adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Quarries can also invade the habitats of certain animals.

Laminate flooring, on the other hand, contains mostly synthetic materials.

Any wood that it does use is minuscule in scale.

Some eco-friendly brands even replace wood with something more sustainable like bamboo.

Because laminate doesn’t impact the environment quite as much as harvesting trees and stones do, some homeowners might appreciate it for its eco-friendly nature.

Laminate flooring is worth it if you’re someone who lives an eco-friendly lifestyle.

 

7. Replaceable

 

When hardwood flooring becomes damaged, you sometimes have to remove entire sections just to repair one part.

That’s usually because the wooden planks, themselves, have become worn with time.

They all tend to age together.

Depending on the particular style of your stone flooring, you might also have to replace the entire thing when you need to repair even a small section.

That isn’t the case with laminate flooring.

Because laminate flooring tends to come in panels, you only need to remove the panels that require repair.

In most cases, you just end up replacing the panels that are in disrepair with new panels.

This makes repairing laminate flooring both easy and affordable.

With the right tools and some education, you can probably even replace your laminate flooring yourself.

That further saves on maintenance costs.

The ease of replacing laminate flooring also means that you can switch it out as the design of your living space changes.

Because of the cost and hard work of installing wood or natural stone floors, once they’re in, they usually stay in.

It’s too expensive or too much work to replace them unless they’re broken.

That means that you’re essentially stuck with your first choice.

Laminate flooring, on the other hand, is something you can easily change to match the style of the rest of your home.

Your floors change with your tastes.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because you can easily replace them whenever you want.

 

8. Water Resistance

 

Although laminate flooring isn’t waterproof, it does have some water resistance to it.

At the very least, it doesn’t absorb water quite as well as wood flooring.

As such, some might find laminate flooring to be an ideal choice for a bathroom or a kitchen.

You don’t have to worry about water staining your floor or ruining it.

As long as you wipe it up relatively quickly, you don’t have anything to worry about.

With wooden floors, you always have to worry about mold growth when water comes in contact with it.

Laminate flooring is a bit safer in that regard.

Laminate flooring is worth the money since it has water-resistant properties.

 

9. Long Lifespan

 

Laminate flooring is also worth the money because of its lifespan.

As long as you use high-quality laminate flooring, you could easily get a few decades out of it before it needs replacing.

That makes it a great investment, especially if you know you’re going to want to change the flooring at some point down the line.

Since its lifespan gives you plenty of use, it tends to degrade or fall into disrepair around the time when you would be thinking of renovating your home.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because it has a long lifespan.

 

10. Affordable

 

A final reason laminate flooring is worth the money is that it’s affordable.

Compared to wood flooring and natural stone, laminate flooring is a lot cheaper.

Despite being more affordable, laminate flooring has many benefits that wood and stone flooring doesn’t offer.

As such, you’re able to get a lot of bang for your buck.

Laminate flooring is worth the money because it doesn’t cost as much as other flooring types despite having several advantages.