Laminate or parquet board which is better - comparison of characteristics

Sometimes, until the very last moment, the owner of the apartment being repaired cannot decide which flooring is better to purchase. After all, today they are produced so much that it is difficult to make the final choice. Especially often, many cannot decide which is preferable: a laminate or parquet board. After all, both of these materials are very popular today. The flooring is environmentally friendly, reliable and luxurious, and the laminate is easy to care for, and it looks quite worthy.

Briefly about the advantages and disadvantages of laminate flooring

The feature of the laminated coating is its multilayer. The layers are wood fiber boards and kraft paper, which are connected by polymers. Protection is applied to the decorative top layer, which is based on melamine resin. Due to this layer, this flooring is particularly durable.

Thanks to the fiberboard layer, the laminate acquires constant geometrical dimensions, as well as the ability to withstand climatic variations. Under the fiberboard there is another layer, which consists of either plastic or special paper impregnated with a special resin. To increase the moisture resistance, the edges of the material are treated with wax-containing impregnation.

The end view of the laminate.

Laminate flooring differs in the loads that it is able to take on. It can withstand small, medium and high loads, as evidenced by the corresponding marking. What type of flooring to lay, first of all, depends on what type of traffic the room has. In the kitchen, for example, the load on the floor will be high, and in the nursery it will be medium. Light loads will be in the sleeping room.

+ We list the advantages of a laminate floor:

• It does not attract dust.
• It easily withstands impacts and is slowly erased. The most durable is the coating of classes 31, 32 and 33, which is intended for industrial and office premises. For the apartment, you can use a laminate of classes 21, 22 and 23.
• The laminate floor will not be damaged, even if subjected to prolonged compression.
• Laminate is not afraid of sunlight, not fading from time to time. It is also heat-resistant and does not come in contact with cleaning chemicals.
• Laminate flooring is suitable for arranging a warm floor.
• Patterns, textures and colors of the laminate shine with variety.
• The warranty on this material is from 5 years.
• Laminate care is extremely simple.

- The disadvantages of the laminated coating are also available:

• In rooms where it is too wet, this material is not recommended.
• If you do not use a substrate, then the insulation of such a floor from external noise will be very weak.
• The laminate is not subject to repair. If it is damaged, then nothing can be fixed - only change.
• The appearance of the laminate betrays that it is an artificial material.

About parquet: its advantages and disadvantages

And now we need to talk about parquet - otherwise how do we find out how a laminate differs from a parquet board. Each parquet board, like a laminate, consists of several layers. Naturally, these layers have a completely different composition. Inside the multilayer structure there are planks glued together perpendicularly. This allows the parquet to serve for many years without wiping and without deteriorating from bumps and other loads.

We list in detail what a parquet board consists of. Let's start from above. So, to protect against external influences, a special varnish is applied with the upper layer (or rather, several layers).

Next come the valuable woods. It can be oak, beech or ash, for example.The thickness of this layer is small - from 2.2 to 6 millimeters.

Lamels, otherwise, narrow boards made of spruce or pine make up the central layer of parquet. They have a side groove-type mount for connecting to an adjacent board. This layer is perpendicular to the previous one.

As the lowest layer, which serves for the stability of the structure, plywood is used from spruce or pine, from 1 to 2 millimeters thick. Its fibers are located in the same way as the fibers of valuable species of wood in the outer layer.

Parquet board from the end.

+ Now note the advantages of parquet:

• This coating protects against external noise very well, as it is made of natural wood. Also, it does not attract dust.
• Varnish, which is applied under production conditions, is very durable and harmless. It has no toxic formaldehyde.
• Parquet can be sanded and restored many times. The thicker its upper layer, the greater the number of times this can be done. But it is very difficult to find a master who will take up this work.
• The appearance of the parquet board does not compare with anything - it looks elegant and stylish. The texture of natural wood has a unique beauty.
• It’s easy to lay a parquet board; it’s also easy to care for.
• The manufacturer gives a guarantee for this material for 10 years, no less.

- The disadvantages of the floorboard are few, but they also have:

• You cannot lay parquet in a bathroom or other room with high humidity - it does not tolerate moisture.
• Parquet varnish erases faster than the top protective coating on the laminate.
• Parquet requires more careful observance of the indoor microclimate than a laminated coating.

Compare all the parameters of laminated flooring and parquet

To finally find out what is better than a laminate or parquet board and which of the coatings to choose for your apartment, we will conduct a detailed analysis of these materials. As we learned a little earlier, they have very little in common - this is layering. However, the layers are completely different. Now let's talk about the differences.

Ability to withstand loads and impacts

Here, laminated coating comes first, but on condition that it is of a higher class of operation. You won’t scratch him with a heel, you won’t hurt him with a sharp leg of a chair. And he is able to withstand more weight than parquet. Even heavy furniture, with caution, can be moved around the laminate. There will be practically no scratches. But if you decide to move the cabinet around the parquet, the floor will be scratched very quickly.

The ability to withstand fluctuations in temperature and humidity

Parquet does not like either too dry air (it is drying up), or too humid rooms (swelling). But the laminate floor perfectly transfers both. Therefore, in the winter, during the heating season, when it is very dry in the rooms, small gaps may occur between tightly fitting boards. Laminate will not react like that - that's a plus for him.

Laminate was created in order to get a floor covering imitating parquet, but devoid of its shortcomings. Therefore, initially this type of coating was even more expensive than parquet. Then new technologies appeared, production reached the mass level, and the laminate became cheaper.

If we talk about the laminate of classes 31, 32, 33, 34, popular today, then they are much superior to parquet. The fact is that they use a high density fiberboard (HDF), which expands slowly and evenly. Therefore, there are no gaps in such a floor covering.

Product face

Needless to say - noble and stylish parquet wins by this parameter. If your room is decorated in a classic style, then it just asks for a parquet board. It will look great next to a marble fireplace, gilding and stucco, in harmony with paintings on the walls and antique furniture.

If the apartment is decorated in one of the modern styles (modern, high-tech, eco-style), then in it is the place for the laminate floor.It has so many drawings, colors, textures and patterns that you can always choose the one suitable for the chosen design.

Floor Care

If the floor is to be laid not in an apartment, but in a public building, it is especially important how difficult it is to take care of it. Here, when choosing a parquet board vs a laminate, you should know that a laminated floor can be safely washed with a damp cloth at least every day. But pouring a bucket of water on it to do a thorough cleaning is not necessary. The use of powder and detergents is not recommended.

Parquet is more tender - it can be vacuumed, only carefully so as not to scratch. Wipe it with a well-wrung rag, in addition, you should periodically use special compounds for caring for the tree.

Where and what is better to lay

Remember that in the corridor, where they walk a lot and bring dirt from the street, it is better to use a laminate. And in the kitchen such a floor will be much more practical. But in children's parquet will be quite appropriate. Also in the bedroom, a natural wood coating is more acceptable than an artificial laminate.

Product price

Everyone believes that parquet is more expensive than laminate, taking it for an axiom. Although this is not entirely true. It is also important who produced this material. And even more important, from which components it is made. Much depends on the class of the laminate. The stronger its coating, the more expensive it is. So an excellent high-quality laminate may well cost more than an average price parquet.

Parquet board can also vary greatly in price. After all, it has a different top varnish layer and thickness. Much depends on the type of wood from which it is made. If on the parquet there are knots, variegated drawings, then it will not be expensive. But if it is a world-brand product made of excellent wood without a single speck, then the price of such parquet can be very high.

Comparison table of the main characteristics of the laminate and floorboard

The truth about parquet and laminate - expose?

Many sellers distort information trying to sell their product. Let us expose these statements, which may be heard by many.

1. So, you can often hear that the only eco-friendly material of these two is parquet. This is a lie - according to European standards, the laminated coating has the same environmental class as parquet - E1. As we considered at the beginning of this article, a parquet board consists of layers of wood, and these layers are glued together with special adhesives. Therefore, it was not without chemistry at all.

2. The fact that the laminate, unlike parquet, is more booming, is also a false statement. It depends on the substrate and how well the floor base is aligned. After all, only having achieved a perfect fit of the coating to the base, you can achieve a minimum echo. By applying a cork backing, a better sound insulation effect can be achieved. Then it doesn’t matter what is on top - parquet or laminate - there will be no echo. And vice versa.

3. As an argument that a parquet board is better than a laminate, there is a statement that a laminated coating, unlike a parquet board, cannot be repaired. It would seem that everything is true. But in practice it turns out that this is a marketing ploy and there are several nuances. The thing is that it is very difficult to find a master who agrees to restore parquet that is not glued to the base. During grinding, the board may bend slightly at the joints, and this is fraught with the appearance of waviness. And grinding erases the color and removes brushing, after which the parquet will look too cheap.

Video: How to choose a laminate and parquet