Flooring Laminate vs Hardwood

[Keim]

My older (circa 1950) home came with hardwood throughout. Resurfaced them about 8 years ago. Still looking great!

 

[Alex]

Engineered wood flooring is the best route, imho. Laminates like "pergo" feel like teflon and look fake. Engineered planks are tongue and grooved with a factory finish. Find the color and finish you like and it installs as easy as Pergo, but it is real wood.

 

[packrat44]

Being frugal, I bought used maple flooring that came out of a school that was built in 1936. It cost $1/sf and the pieces were up to 14' in length. Used a drum sander to level the wood and to strip the old wax build-up. Then used a large floor model pad sander with finer grit. Floor has been down for 15 years without refinishing. Still looks and feels great. I imagine I will probably refinish it in another 10 years. Real wood can be refinished many times.