Laminate flooring can look like wood, but the two flooring types are as far apart as chalk and cheese. If you are about to replace laminate flooring in a kitchen or hallway, or any other highly trafficked area in your home, it may be worth taking the time to think about what laminate flooring is, and how it differs to wooden flooring.

Laminate flooring can look like wooden flooring, of course. It can also look like stone or granite. Theoretically it could look like anything at all, as the exact look of this flooring is made up of a photographic outer layer.

However, just because convincing laminate flooring can look like wooden flooring doesn’t mean that it shares any other characteristics with genuine wood flooring.

For one, laminate flooring can swell into unattractive bubbles with moisture. These can then get nicks and tears into them, which are difficult, if not impossible in many cases, to get to and repair.

Another common care issue with laminate flooring is that the planks which make up the surface can ‘drift’ apart. Small visible gaps then form in the floor, into which dust and dirt can make its way. If this happens for some time it can be difficult to repair the flooring, so a level of care is needed. This is fine for the able bodied and willing, but should be a consideration in other cases.

Whilst it often presents homeowners with a flooring surface that is more hardwearing than carpet, in reality laminate flooring is very easy to install badly – whether by the homeowner themselves or by a fitting team. When selling a house, many homeowners either feel that they need to remove and replace the laminate flooring in order to show the house at its best, or see potential buyers put off by a flooring surface that does not give the room space the justice it may well deserve.