Wood and Faux Wood Flooring Options

SAN RAFAEL — If you’re thinking about installing a wood or faux wood floor in your home, you’ll want to know the full spectrum of your options. Here’s a summary of these options and their benefits:

Authentic wood flooring

The authentic wood flooring family consists of two types of products: unfinished and prefinished. An unfinished wood floor is installed, sanded and finished in the home. This option offers three main benefits:

1. Since an unfinished wood floor is sanded in place after installation, it provides an opportunity to get the smoothest possible finish.

2. An unfinished wood floor affords a virtually unlimited range of custom color and stain options.

3. An unfinished wood floor is totally customizable, which makes it easy to incorporate borders, insets, medallions and other fine touches.

The other authentic wood flooring option is prefinished flooring, which is finished at the factory prior to installation. It provides the following advantages:

1. Since there’s no sanding or staining required, installing a prefinished wood floor is easier, quicker and cleaner (not to mention less expensive) than installing an unfinished one.

2. A prefinished floor’s factory finish is more durable than the finish applied to an unfinished floor.

3. While not customizable, prefinished flooring comes in a wide variety of colors and styles.

Faux wood flooring

When it comes to faux wood flooring, there are two primary options to choose from: laminate and luxury vinyl plank. Laminate is composed of a melamine wear surface, a fiberboard core and a melamine backing. These layers are fused together under extreme heat and pressure to produce a product that’s harder and more durable than authentic hardwood. So, if you’re looking for a faux wood floor with superior dent and scratch resistance, laminate is an excellent choice.

The other option to consider is luxury vinyl plank. Not to be confused with luxury vinyl tile, this product is also known as floating vinyl plank because it doesn’t attach to the subfloor—it simply clicks together and “floats” freely above it. Luxury vinyl plank is similar to laminate in a lot of ways. The main difference is its core, which is made of extruded plastic instead of wood. This offers the benefit of a floor that looks like wood but is totally waterproof. So, if you’re concerned about spills or installing in a bathroom or laundry room, luxury vinyl plank can be a great option.