If you are thinking about installing new flooring in your home, knowing which type of floor is right for you can be tricky. There is now a newcomer to the wood-look flooring market. Hybrid flooring burst onto the scene recently, offering some exciting new features, but how does it stack up compared to standard laminate floors?
What is hybrid flooring?
Hybrid flooring looks like hardwood flooring but combines the best attributes of laminate and vinyl floors. It has the rigidity vinyl lacks and more to offer than a traditional laminate. While hybrid and laminate floors are excellent home flooring options due to their durability, beauty, easy maintenance, and affordability, the most significant difference between the two is that hybrid flooring is waterproof, making it perfect for wet rooms.
What is hybrid flooring made of?
Hybrid flooring consists of several layers:
- Attached cork backing: some designs include a pre-adhered acoustic backing to deliver exceptional acoustics and comfort underfoot
- Rigid inner core: featuring a limestone composite core board designed to be waterproof and resilient against temperature changes
- Design layer: a decorative layer intended to match the textures and styles of natural wood
- Wear layer: a UV coated layer to provide durability and resilience
Comparing Hybrid vs. Laminate
Water Resistance: hybrid floorings’ water resistance is the most crucial difference between the two flooring types, offering you the option to use it throughout your home, even in your bathroom or laundry.
Durability: both flooring types offer exceptional durability, especially when compared to natural hardwood floors. Hybrid and laminate floors are scratch resistance and hardy, even in high-traffic areas.
Price: laminate flooring is slightly cheaper than hybrid flooring, making it an attractive choice for those with investment properties. However, hybrid planks are more flexible than laminate ones, requiring a thinner underlay, which can even out the pricing. Installation of the two should be pretty similar, cost-wise.
Environmentally friendly: hybrid flooring is considered one of the best flooring choices in terms of how eco-friendly it is due to its internal layer consisting of limestone core, virgin PVC, bamboo dust, and recycled wood.
Cleaning: while both flooring types are relatively easy to clean, hybrid flooring offers you the choice to use a soaking wet mop to clean up any spills or marks. Paired with regular sweeping and vacuuming and spot-cleaning when needed, hybrid flooring can stay beautiful for years to come.
Both hybrid flooring and laminate flooring are good alternatives to natural timber floors. In short, they are cheaper, more durable, easier to install and come in more colours and styles.
Choose Vision Décor for your hybrid flooring in Perth
Vision Décor has a dedicated and highly experienced team ready to help! With years of experience in flooring in Perth, we offer free on-site consultations so you can make the right choice.
Come and visit our showroom or get in touch today.