Laminate Flooring vs. Luxury Vinyl
If you’re in the process of a home remodel, room renovation, or design refresh, there’s no doubt that you have come across fantastic laminate and luxury vinyl flooring options as possible solutions for your project. Both of these budget-friendly choices offer quick, efficient installation, excellent performance, and eye-catching hardwood and stone visuals. So how do you know which valuable option will be the better fit for your property? It comes down to specific household factors that will determine which hard surface product you will ultimately choose:
Visual & Construction
When it comes to emulating the authentic look of striking wood and stone, both laminate and luxury vinyl varieties will help you capture your favorite species and even wider, longer plank formats. Thanks to the multi-layered construction with an aluminum-oxide top wear layer, high-density fiberboard core, and composite wood layers, laminate planks are rigid, dense, and offer tremendous durability. Hailing from the resilient vinyl category, LVT planks will still provide rigid texture while also offering a softer give, greater flexibility, dimensional stability, and a naturally waterproof construction. If you are looking for water resistance from a laminate product, make sure the manufacturer’s claims are certified before your purchase!
Budget Factors
Genuine hardwood and natural stone floors offer incredible impact in the home but will use much more of your budget to purchase and install. Laminate and LVT floors will both come at a lower price point and require less labor costs for professional installation. Although laminate costs are generally higher per square foot than that of LVT, both products are relatively comparable in price. It’s imperative when purchasing laminate to focus on domestically produced styles that follow stricter manufacturing and quality control standards, even if it costs a little bit more.
Installation
Speaking of installation, LVT and laminate flooring will each offer floating floor and DIY capability thanks to click-lock installation systems. You will find greater installation opportunity with LVT floors thanks to their waterproof qualities, allowing them to be installed at, below, or above grade, and inside any rooms that experience high moisture including mudrooms, laundry rooms, and even basements. You will need to verify that the laminate option you like design-wise is suitable for the grade and the level of moisture that the rooms will see. Either one of these flooring solutions will offer greater protection against moisture than wood and displace rooms for less time during installation. If you are preparing a property to list on the market, both laminate and LVT floors will go down efficiently and cost less to install.
Care & Maintenance
Compared to wood and stone, laminate and LVT floors are incredibly low maintenance and easy to clean. To keep them sparkling, simply sweep, dust-mop, and spot treat when necessary! Homeowners love that LVT floors can be wet mopped at any time for quick, spotless cleaning. Again, you will need to verify that your laminate floors have the appropriate level of moisture resistance before and if you wet mop them. With either product, you will receive a much easier and less time-consuming care and maintenance routine than that of hardwood floors.
If you’re ready to explore which laminate or LVT option will work best for your home project, visit any one of our seven Flooring 101 locations and our experts will help you find the selections to complete your design vision!
