It’s hard to deny the appeal of something like hardwood flooring in the home. They’re a classic, really, and quite pretty to look at. They’re also fairly nice to walk on, all things considered. Unfortunately, they also happen to be rather expensive.
Really, that’s the main drawback of them. Both purchasing the planks themselves and the installation are just incredibly pricey for natural hardwood. That’s probably why so many alternatives have been considered throughout the years. The question is, though, are the substitutions up to snuff?
The answer to that is a bit more complicated than a simple “yes” or “no,” though. After all, there are a few different possibilities here for alternatives to hardwood paneling. Today, we’ll be largely focusing on vinyl flooring, but we will briefly touch upon the other choices as well.
Why Don’t We Just Get Hardwood?
Now, the first thing that you might be wondering is why we should bother with these alternatives at all. It’s certainly a reasonable thing to ask — as you can see here, https://www.fs.usda.gov/ne/newtown_square/pd/rp124.pdf, the whole process of getting the traditional hardwood flooring is quite costly. It also takes a long time, which isn’t something that most of us can fit into our schedules these days.
So, there’s a pretty good reason that natural wood floors have somewhat fallen out of fashion. Even their upkeep is costly and complicated. Hence, a lot of people just don’t want to deal with them anymore. Now, we have plenty of alternatives that can achieve the same look for a fraction of the cost and maintenance requirements.
What Are the Alternatives?
Most of us already know the answer to this query, or at least some of them. That said, it’s still worth covering them, especially to go into a bit more detail. To get into some of the basics first, just know that the alternatives to hardwood that we’ll be covering here today typically don’t involve just covering up pre-existing wood floors. Rather, they’re a different type of installation altogether.
Carpet
Let’s get this one out of the way quickly — carpet is a fairly common type of flooring that’s already in many homes. It’s far from the easiest to maintain, though, because it can get dirty incredibly quickly. Cleaning it can also be a complete disaster.
If you have pets, you probably already know how dreadful it can be when their fur ends up deep in the threads of the carpet. Although it can be nice in bedrooms for little kids to give them a bit of padding if they decide to be acrobats, it’s far from the best option you could go for.
Vinyl
Another type of alternative for hardwood floors is vinyl, which is a bit more practical most of the time. Why is that? Well, we’ll be diving into that now.
There are a few things that set it apart. For one thing, it’s a lot less expensive to install than any of the other options here. It’s also quite durable, meaning that luxury vinyl plank flooring will last you a long time no matter where you decide to have it installed. That includes businesses if you’re someone who owns one and has been considering changing the floors.
In comparison to carpets, vinyl planks will certainly last longer. Often, they’ll end up withstanding the test of time better than the wood ones too, funny enough. That’s largely because they just don’t require nearly as much maintenance to keep their shine and luster over time.
The fact that they are customizable is another point in their favor. You can emulate whatever style of wood that you’d like for them, really. So, it’s unlikely that you won’t be able to find a style that suits your needs.
Laminate
Another common substitute for hardwood is laminate. Now, this sort of flooring also tries to emulate the appearance of natural wood, but it isn’t necessarily comparable to vinyl. You see, it’s quite pricey and requires a lot of maintenance as well. Unfortunately, it can also scratch quite easily, which isn’t exactly ideal.
Is Vinyl Worth It, Though?
With all of that said, you probably already know the answer to this question. Still, though, let’s go over why vinyl is worthwhile versus the other types of flooring. Some of the information you can find on this page if you’re curious about how difficult it is to have hardwood panels in comparison.
What are the main perks of vinyl, then? Some of them we’ve already covered, but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate them. Really, the main thing is that they are simply less expensive and require less work for an extremely similar (and almost undistinguishable) final result. In that sense, it’s hard to say that it isn’t worth it.
For a bigger job, though, you may have some reservations. That’s certainly understandable. For anyone who’s running a business or is in charge of the interior design or upkeep of one, you’ve probably grappled with the decision of what flooring to use already.
Thankfully, it’s always something that can be replaced or altered, so you’re never going to be one hundred percent stuck with what you go for. So, that’s not necessarily something to worry about here. Rather, the critical thing is to consider what you will end up wanting in terms of longevity and simple maintenance, while still maintaining a good appearance.
Although hardwood might be your first instinct, consider how expensive it can be to install in a business. Let’s just say it’s not going to be cheap, especially if there are several rooms and floors that will need to be changed. Because they can be scratched so easily, too, you’ll probably end up having to purchase a coating to help prevent that.
So, if you’re someone who would prefer to avoid that hassle, then vinyl might be the way to go for you. Check out retailers and installers to find out what tools they provide you moving forward.
