When it’s time to replace the flooring in your home, you probably think about hardwood and carpet. While both have their advantages, engineered hardwood flooring is becoming increasingly popular. In fact, more and more homeowners are putting solid hardwood floors in traditionally carpeted areas.
Installing engineered hardwood floors throughout your house creates an elegant appearance while increasing real estate value. In this guide, our team at Authentic Hardwood Flooring explains why hardwood flooring is better than carpet for your house.
Engineered Hardwood: An Unmatched Flooring Option
Many homeowners hesitate to install traditional hardwood floors due to natural wood’s high maintenance requirements and scratch-prone nature. Fortunately, if you want the classic wood-grain look for your floors without the maintenance, you can opt for engineered wood.
Manufacturers make engineered hardwood flooring by adhering a thin layer of real hardwood onto a thicker piece of high-end plywood. The result is a beautiful flooring option with better durability while maintaining the classic look of traditional hardwood. You can also enjoy impressive longevity as engineered hardwood won’t shrink or expand with humidity.
Engineered hardwood flooring comes in two main types:
- Prefinished engineered hardwood: Manufacturers treat prefinished engineered hardwood flooring with an aluminum oxide crystal sealant, which creates a highly durable surface that can resist constant foot traffic, furniture moving, and more. Installation is easy — you simply select the prefinished planks you want, install them, and your new floor is done.
- Unfinished engineered hardwood: Unfinished engineered hardwood flooring gives you more customization options, as it comes with a thicker top layer that you can sand and stain however you want. Although this option tends to be more expensive, it allows you to get the exact floor you want with no need to compromise.
Hardwood Flooring Is the Better Flooring Option: Here’s Why
Whether you go with prefinished or unfinished engineered hardwood, you’ll get flooring that offers more advantages than carpet.
Hardwood Flooring Has an Elegant Appearance
You can easily customize hardwood floors thanks to their nearly limitless color and stain options. Some prefer carpet because of its famously soft texture that feels great under bare feet. However, hardwood floors deliver a sense of elegance that carpet can’t match.
Whether you put them in your office or bedroom, engineered hardwood floors instantly make a room look more refined, which increases property value when you sell your home.
Hardwood Flooring Is Easy To Clean
One of the most significant reasons why hardwood floors are better than carpet is easy cleaning.
A coffee spill on your carpet can turn into a permanent stain, and cleaning carpets is often easier said than done.
In addition to stubborn stains, carpets hold onto dirt and bacteria deep in the carpet fibers. While various cleaning solutions and vacuums claim to remove these harmful bacteria, it’s difficult to clean a carpet completely. As such, carpet is also not ideal for those who suffer from allergies.
With hardwood floors, you can simply sweep the dust away and use a mop to revamp your flooring’s shine. You can also kill any bacteria lingering on your floors with routine mopping, which creates a healthier environment in your home.
Engineered Hardwood Flooring Lasts Longer Than Carpet
Although hardwood floors can have a higher price tag upfront, they last significantly longer than carpets. In the average household, carpet lasts around a decade before it needs replacing. With professionally engineered hardwood floor installation, your flooring can last up to 100 years with proper maintenance, offering significantly greater long-term cost efficiency.
Now that you know why hardwood flooring is better than carpet, let our team at Authentic Hardwood Flooring help you pick out your perfect hardwood flooring. Contact us online or by calling (678) 985-0110 to learn more about the unique advantages of engineered hardwood floors.