Top 3 Hard Flooring For Every Budget
Discover the top 3 hard flooring options for every budget, from cost-conscious to money-no-object homemakers. Let’s explore laminate and vinyl flooring!
Hard Flooring Or Soft Flooring?
There are 3 main choices with flooring; raw material (wood or stone), soft flooring and hard flooring. Soft floors are cushioned vinyl – the cheapest but also the least durable. Whereas laminate and vinyl are hard floors – they last and look the same as natural stone or wood. But, save you both money and maintenance Vs natural stone or wood.
Now, let us share our industry inside secrets and show you the top 3 hard floors for every budget.
Laminate For Budget Floors
The Most Affordable Hard Flooring
Laminate is the most affordable hard floor, with prices starting at £25 per sq/m (supply only). It’s the perfect choice for DIYers or those on a tighter budget.
Good laminate will last 15-25 years and requires no maintenance. It is constructed with 4 layers, with the top layer being a special “wear layer.” This top layer is designed to be incredibly durable, protective and water-resistant.
The top laminates available in the UK are Quick-Step, Bonetto, FAUS and Finsa. See more on each below.
Quick-Step Laminate
Quick-Step laminate comes in stone, wood or more design-led styles. Our top picks in Quick-Step laminate ranges include the following:
- Classic – £
- Impressive – ££
- Majestic – £££
Bonetto Herringbone Laminate
Bonetto is the top choice for Herringbone-styled floors. It’s more expensive than other laminate ranges but looks and feels exactly like wood. Available in 8 different wood tones and with a 20-year guarantee, it’s a laminate worth investing in.
FAUS Laminate
FAUS is a recently UK-launched Spanish brand. Again, it comes with a mid to higher price tag but offers genuinely unique, realistic stone, ceramic or wood floors.
At Fausfloor®, we believe that laminate floors are not merely a substitution to hardwood but a viable choice to place in your home.
FINSA Laminate
Finsa laminate flooring is for the more environmentally-friendly buyer. It’s a sustainable brand offering real-look wooden floors made with MDF and chipboard. They have 2 main ranges FINFloor and, for the more cost-minded buyer, we’d recommend PureFloor.
Luxury Vinyl For Mid to High End
The Most Stylish Hard Flooring
LVT stands for luxury vinyl tiles, but often the term for most luxury vinyl. Luxury vinyl comes in tiles or planks and can lay on top of other floorings. It is made with the latest innovative technology and fitted with a locking system. So each plank or tile clicks and locks into place, making it efficient to install.
Luxury vinyl is split into 2 groups: LVT stick down and LVT click.
LVT click is the mid-range luxury vinyl. This is a floating system. It requires less floor preparation, as it is not stuck directly to the ground. It is fitted via a locking system, therefore less labour intensive.
LVT stick down is the higher-end luxury vinyl. It’s more expensive due to more intensive floor preparation but offers totally customisable designs and more durable wear layers for longer-lasting hard floors.
The top premium luxury vinyl brands include Harvey Maria, Karndean and Amtico (more on this below). But for style and value, the best luxury vinyl ranges are made by Quick-Step, BerryAlloc and COREtec.
Quick-Step Luxury Vinyl
Quick-Step luxury vinyl floors are high-performance, rigid floors. They come in many stone, wood or pattern effects and have a collection for every budget.
Harvey Maria Flooring LVT
If you want something to make, your guests say, “WOW,” then we recommend the UK design-led Harvey Maria luxury vinyl. Their range includes realistic stones and wood effects, but their standout collections are kitsch patterns and bold colours.
Amtico For High-End Hard Floors
The Most Exclusive Hard Flooring
Amtico flooring is worth the price tag if you want the best of the best. Not only are Amtico a British brand (they manufacture here in the UK), but they offer unrivalled benefits of custom floor laying designs, realistic look and feel, plus ultra-low maintenance. Part of the cost is the floor preparation required before you can lay Amtico. But the results will outlast any other hard floor. Making Amtico a worthwhile investment if you have the budget.
Amtico comes in both LVT click (ie: Amtico Smart Click range) and the more expensive and labour-intensive LVT stick down. But, their stuck-down collections offer you unique designs, borders and patterns, which are not available on their click locking system. Also, their LVT stick-down collections provide better wear layers (up to 1mm thick) and bespoke orders – ie: a parquet floor with specific measurements can be done.
Amtico Authentic-Look Luxury Vinyl
Amtico collections exactly imitate their designed material. So you cannot detect any difference in look or feel from genuine stone, wood or ceramic. They have many collections, all at varying price points. But their most elevated collection is the Signature Collection. At the top of their price range, it is sophisticated and pre-designed for the most exquisite floors.
Amtico Bespoke Floors & Lifetime Guarantee
Amtico is more than a UK-made luxury brand. They are floor artists. They offer custom-styled designs, borders and laying patterns, so your floor is unique to any other. And their lifetime guarantee ensures that you have a bespoke floor that is down for eternity.
In Conclusion, What’s The Best Hard Floor For My Budget?
So there you have it, our top picks for affordable to luxury flooring. In summary, for the stylish but budget-conscious, take a look at laminate. Try luxury vinyl for those with a budget in mind but looking for something more luxurious. And for those where money is no object and WOW-factor is everything, check our Amtico!
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