Engineered Hardwood vs. Laminate
Choose engineered hardwood if you want a real wood floor that can be refinished and listed as hardwood. Choose laminate if scratch resistance, spills and budget matter more to you than the wood itself. Both are layered floors that look like wood, and we sell and install both, so the right answer usually depends on the room.
Engineered hardwood is real wood you can renew. Its top layer is a slice of real hardwood, so it looks, feels and ages like wood, and depending on that layer's thickness it can be sanded and refinished once or several times.
Laminate is the tougher surface for the money. Its wood look is a printed image under a hard, clear wear layer that resists scratches better than a wood finish, but it can't be sanded when it finally wears.
Rooms that get wet lean toward laminate rated waterproof. Most engineered hardwood is water-resistant, not waterproof.
Rooms that join a house full of oak lean toward engineered. Real wood blends with real wood, and it can be listed as hardwood when you sell.
This table compares the two where they really differ.
| What differs | Engineered hardwood | Laminate |
|---|---|---|
| Top surface | Real wood | Printed image under a clear wear layer |
| Refinishing | Once to several times, by top-layer thickness | Not possible; worn planks are replaced |
| Scratches | Shows them like wood | Resists them well |
| Water | Water-resistant | Some lines sold as waterproof |
| Installation | Floated, glued, nailed or stapled | Clicks together and floats |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
What Engineered Hardwood and Laminate Are Made Of
Engineered hardwood and laminate are both built in layers, but only engineered hardwood has wood on top. Its surface is a layer of real hardwood, such as oak, hickory or maple, bonded to a core of plywood or high-density fiberboard. The NWFA counts it as real wood flooring, which settles whether engineered counts as the real thing. The layered core is what keeps it steadier than solid wood through humid summers and dry winters.
Laminate is a high-density fiberboard core with a photographic image of wood on top, sealed under a clear melamine wear layer. Its looks come from the print and from the texture pressed into the surface, and the best lines emboss that texture to follow the printed grain.
A real wood surface dents and ages like wood, mellowing or darkening with light over the years, and it can be sanded back to fresh wood. A printed surface resists scratches better, and the look you choose on day one is the look you keep.
If you are weighing engineered against solid hardwood instead, our post on why engineered hardwood outperforms solid in older homes covers that choice.
Refinishing and How Long Each Floor Lasts
Engineered hardwood can be renewed by sanding and laminate can't, which is the biggest difference over the life of a floor. How many times an engineered floor can be sanded depends on the thickness of its real-wood top layer:
- A standard top layer, about 1/16 inch, can be refinished once or twice.
- A thicker top layer, 3/32 to 1/8 inch, can be refinished three or four times.
- For comparison, 3/4-inch solid hardwood can be sanded four to six times.
The spec sheet for an engineered floor lists that thickness, usually as the wear layer or top layer, so ask for it when two boards look alike. They can have very different futures.
Laminate lasts as long as its wear layer. When that layer finally wears through in a walkway, the worn planks are replaced. Bruce, which makes both kinds of floor, puts a laminate floor's life at roughly 15 to 25 years. It puts an engineered floor at 20 to 30 years, with a refinish able to stretch that a good deal further.
When an engineered floor is ready for renewal, our hardwood floor refinishing crews do the sanding and finishing.
Scratches, Dents and Pets
Laminate wins on scratches, and the gap is wide. Its melamine wear layer is much harder than a wood finish, so dog claws, dragged chairs and grit that would mark a wood floor mostly leave laminate alone. Every Mohawk laminate in our catalog is rated AC4 for abrasion, near the top of the laminate scale.
Engineered hardwood scratches the way wood does. The factory finish takes the first hits, and a matte or wire-brushed surface hides light scratches far better than a smooth, glossy one.
A dropped pan tells you more about dents than scratches do. How deeply engineered hardwood dents depends on the hardness of its wood species, so hickory and white oak hold up better than walnut. Our post on what Janka hardness ratings mean in real life explains the scale. Laminate's dense core resists dents well, though a hard blow right at a plank's edge can chip it.
With a big dog or young kids, laminate stays looking newer for longer. In a calmer household, engineered hardwood wears in like any wood floor and can be refinished when it is time.
Spills, Water and Humidity
Laminate sold as waterproof handles spills better than engineered hardwood, which is water-resistant rather than waterproof. Eleven of the laminate colors in our catalog are listed as waterproof. Engineered hardwood forgives a spill that is wiped up, but water left standing works into the seams and can mark or swell the wood.
Both floors suffer when water gets underneath them. A slow leak from a dishwasher line or a radiator valve can ruin either one, so fix a drip right away whatever the label says.
Humidity is where engineered hardwood asks a little more of you. Wood floors are happiest between 30 and 50 percent indoor humidity. Mohawk allows 35 to 65 percent for its laminate, which is more forgiving at both ends.
In a Yonkers apartment heated by steam radiators, winter air can run drier than 30 percent, and a humidifier keeps an engineered floor from opening small gaps between boards. Laminate is more relaxed about dry air.
In a basement, either floor can work. Engineered hardwood moves less than solid wood, which makes it the wood floor to use below ground level, and 55 of the hardwood colors in our catalog are rated for it. Every AC4 laminate in our catalog is rated for basements too. The slab still has to be dry for either one.
Sound and Feel Underfoot
Engineered hardwood usually sounds and feels more like a traditional wood floor underfoot, especially when it is glued or nailed down. A floor fastened to the subfloor has no air gap, so footsteps sound solid, and up close real wood feels like the real thing because it is.
Laminate floats over an underlayment, and a thin underlayment can give footsteps a hollow, clicky sound. A good underlayment quiets it considerably. In a co-op or condo, the board may set sound rules for any hard floor, and the underlayment is how you meet them. Our post on hardwood and laminate in Yonkers pre-war apartments covers building rules and noise.
Installing Over Concrete, Radiant Heat or an Old Floor
Over concrete, radiant heat or an old floor, engineered hardwood has more ways to go down, and laminate goes down faster. Laminate clicks together and floats, with no glue or nails, and it can be walked on as soon as it is in. Engineered hardwood can be floated, glued, nailed or stapled, and our catalog carries engineered floors for each method.
On a concrete slab, engineered hardwood is glued or floated, and laminate floats over a moisture barrier. Over an old wood floor that is still firmly fastened, such as a parquet floor in a pre-war apartment, engineered can be nailed or glued right on top and laminate floats over it. Either way, the new floor sits higher, so doors, thresholds and the transition into the next room get checked before anything is ordered.
Over radiant heat, both work when the maker's rules are followed. Engineered floors come with a surface temperature limit, 85 F on the Bruce floors we carry, and the same AC4 laminate can go over radiant heat under its maker's instructions. Twenty-five of the hardwood colors in our catalog are marked radiant-heat approved, so ask about radiant heat before you fall for a particular board.
Our installers handle both floors, from preparing the subfloor to the final trim, and choose the installation method for the subfloor you have.
Cost and Resale Value
The cost gap favors laminate, both for the material and usually for the installation, since a click-together floating floor goes down quickly. Engineered hardwood costs more up front and gives you a floor that can be refinished later. We price both at a free in-home estimate, because the subfloor, the trim and any stairs change the number as much as the floor does.
At resale, engineered hardwood is real wood, so it can be listed as hardwood, while laminate is listed as laminate. In the main living areas of a house with wood floors elsewhere, that can matter to buyers. In a basement, a rental unit or a playroom it rarely does, and laminate's durability is the better value there.
Which Floor for Which Room
You don't have to choose one floor for the whole house. This table shows which floor we would pick for each room.
| Room | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Living and dining rooms | Engineered hardwood | Real wood, blends with oak, refinishable |
| Bedrooms | Either | Low wear; choose by look and budget |
| Kitchen | Waterproof laminate | Spills, dropped utensils, chair traffic |
| Entry or mudroom | Waterproof laminate | Grit, salt and wet boots |
| Basement | Laminate or engineered | Both rated for basements; slab must be dry |
| Rental unit | Laminate | Durable and cost-effective |
| Co-op apartment | Either, with sound underlayment | Board sound rules decide the build-up |
You can compare the looks side by side in our hardwood and laminate catalogs.
Engineered Hardwood and Laminate FAQ
Can You Tell Engineered Hardwood From Laminate by Looking?
No, not from across a room. Up close, real wood never repeats itself, while a laminate line has a set number of printed plank designs that can repeat across a big floor, so look for the same knot twice. Texture embossed to follow the printed grain makes the best laminates much harder to tell apart.
Can Laminate Sit Next to Engineered Hardwood?
Yes, laminate and engineered hardwood can meet in the same house. They usually differ in thickness, so a transition strip or reducer bridges the height where they meet, typically at a doorway.
Which Is Easier to Repair?
Engineered hardwood is slightly easier to repair. Both are fixed by replacing damaged boards or planks, but engineered hardwood can also be sanded and refinished for surface wear, which laminate can't.
Can Engineered Hardwood or Laminate Go on Stairs?
Yes, both can go on stairs, but neither floats there. Each step is glued and fastened, with a matching stair nose on the front edge, so stairs take more labor than the same area of floor.
Where Does Luxury Vinyl Fit?
Luxury vinyl is the third layered option, built on a plastic core where laminate has wood fiber, so water doesn't swell it. It runs warmer and quieter underfoot, while laminate feels more like wood. Our post comparing laminate and luxury vinyl covers that choice.
See Both Floors Side by Side
The fastest way to decide is to stand on both. Visit one of our three showrooms to compare engineered hardwood and laminate under real light, or request a free in-home estimate and we'll bring samples to the room you are planning.
