Selecting the right flooring option for your home can be a tricky decision. With so many options of flooring available, and each having their own positive features and benefits – how do you choose?
Australian Select Timbers understands the importance of choosing a floor that suits a customer’s purpose of use, style choices and budgets. We have prepared this guide with some pros and cons and suitability to room types for our flooring collections to make your decision as easy as can be!
| Specification | Timber | Hybrid | Laminate | Vinyl |
| Price | $$$ | $$ | $-$$ | $$ |
| Installation Type | Floated or Direct Stick | Floated | Floated | Glue Down Only |
| Installation Difficulty | Medium | Easy | Easy | Medium |
| Scratch Resistance | ** | *** | **** | *** |
| Water Resistance | Medium | High | Medium | High |
| Colour and Style Availability | **** | **** | **** | **** |
| Pet friendly | *** | **** | *** | **** |
| UV Resistance | ** | *** | *** | *** |
| Sustainability | **** | ** | *** | ** |
| Room Suitability | Timber | Hybrid | Laminate | Vinyl |
| Bathrooms & Laundries | NO | YES* | NO | YES* |
| Kitchens | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Entry & Exits (Residential) | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Living and Dining | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Bedrooms | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Media Rooms | YES | YES | YES | YES |
| Commercial Spaces | YES | YES | YES* | YES |
With your requirements for a floor in mind, here are some helpful hints on flooring types:
| Price | New flooring can add significant value to the home. Australian Select Timbers has a budget friendly option in all flooring types! To view the full range, go to www.asttimbers.com/ranges | |
| Installation Type | Herringbone timber flooring requires direct stick installation, and not all timbers are suited for stick down. Check each flooring types of installation guide for further details. | |
| Installation Difficulty | Both laminate and hybrid are great options for a DIY install with easy click together installs. | |
| Scratch Resistance | Felt pads and flooring protection is recommended with all flooring types, however laminate provides extremely high scratch resistance in AC4 products. | |
| Water Resistance | With correct installation, even timber can provide excellent water resistance. | |
| Colour and Style Availability | All flooring types have a myriad of styles and colours available, although timber is a more premium option that adds significant value to a home. | |
| Pet friendly | Each with a different pro or con when it comes to pets! Timber can get micro scratching from claws; laminate is not 100% water resistant* but has high scratch resistance! Both hybrid and vinyl are fantastic options for those with pet worries. | |
| UV Resistance | All floors that are subject to UV light should be protected at windows and doors with window furnishings. Fading is to be expected for most floors, although, laminate and hybrid's protective wear layers provide additional resistance to fading! | |
| Sustainability | As timber is a renewable resource, it is the most sustainable and eco-friendly flooring option. Australian Select Timbers works with reputable manufacturers that use best practices for all flooring collections and we hope that in the future a sustainable recycling program becomes available for hybrid and vinyl flooring. Laminate is the second-best option for sustainability as it uses natural wood pulp in its core making it easier to recycle. |
Room Suitability
| Bathrooms & Laundries | It is important to check each products warranty guide for suitability to wet areas like bathrooms and laundries. Rooms with floor wastes are not able to have floating flooring installed. | |
| Kitchens | Our flooring collections have been manufactured to withstand high traffic areas. Note that some flooring types will dent and scratch if heavy items are dropped on it. | |
| Entry & Exits (Residential) | Entries and exits of the home carry the grunt of dirt and grime of the home. The use of protective mats is recommended to avoid scratches and stains on your floor. | |
| Living and Dining | It is recommended to use rugs and scatter mats to protect traffic areas from unnecessary wear and tear. | |
| Bedrooms | Floating flooring can feel a little echoey and cold. BUT! We love timber flooring in a bedroom for longevity and style, so we do recommend warming the space up with a rug too! | |
| Media Rooms | Direct stick flooring is the best option for a room like a media room where sound can echo more than a regular living space. Choose rugs to assist with sound insulation. | |
| Commercial Spaces | If installing engineered flooring into a commercial space it is important to check the products testing certificates to know if it suited to that traffic type. It is recommended that AC4 or higher for abrasion class is selected for laminate flooring in commercial zones. |
In addition to the above criteria for a flooring choice, your installation type and sub floor could be a deciding factor to stay within your budget and purpose! Sub floor preparation is an important part of your flooring installation and is an additional cost to the product and labour. Check each products installation guide to see if your flooring choice is the right one for your requirements.
All product technical specifications and certificates are available on our website at https://www.asttimbers.com.au/resources/test_certificates.
Our support team is available to answer any questions that you might have regarding your flooring choice! Feel free to contact us to find your local supplier of Australian Select Timbers flooring at www.asttimbers.com.au /where_to_buy
