What are alternatives to real wood floors?

Go with wood look tile or vinyl planks. Tile can be cold and hard underfoot, so if anyone has back issues, arthritis, etc., consider installing in floor heating (especially if it gets cold or snows where you live), and use good quality gel mats for standing for long periods of time. Vinyl looks great, installs easy, a breeze to maintain. I just ripped out laminate and installed hardwood floors. Not a fan of laminate. Not great with kids, pets, spills and drips.

There are many laminate planked floors from many different manufacturers that look like wood but cost less than wood floors. You need to take a trip to several home improvement stores and take a look at the selection available. The laminate planked floors come in many different colors, the planks can be different widths, the wear layer can be different thicknesses, and installation can be floating or glue down. The laminate planks can also be water resistant or water proof. You can choose to install yourself or have the floor professionally installed. I think it's a good idea to spend a bit more money and buy a laminate floor with a thicker wear layer. You can buy less expensive floors with a thinner wear layer but I want my floors to last for a while and wear well. It's an investment that you want to get the most years from! I recently installed LifeProof that I purchased at Home Depot. I am very impressed with this flooring but there are numerous other brands out there!

All the home stores offer lots of varieties. The least expensive are the wood-look vinyl planks that stick down. In many cases, you'd never know the difference. They are water and scuff resistant, textured like wood and extremely easy to clean. The other option, more expensive, is laminate. These are the plank type floors that usually click-lock together. They are a wood product but are not hardwood as in a real wood floor. There is a wood-look laminate that is on the top of the pressed wood material. These come in a wide variety of colors and designs. You also need quite a few tools to properly install a laminate floor. The vinyl floors need only a few tools - no saws or power tools at all. Hope that helps!

My neighbor used plywood. He just bought sheets of it and cut them to about a 4 or 5 inch width and 8' long. Nailed them down and stained them. Looks fantastic, easy, and looks much more expensive than I ever dreamed. The better grade plywood has some beautiful grain and you would not know is ply.

What is the sub-floor like? If you have a good base, look into places like lumber liquidators or big box stores. They often advertise flooring under $1/sq ft. At most you can rent a chop saw and a nail gun.

If you have pets, avoid laminate floors. You can purchase wood look tile, heavy duty vinyl if pets won't be a problem with that flooring type.