Laminate Flooring is Back
If you are looking to buy a hard surface floor (not carpet), chances are the salesperson you are working with is going to recommend Luxury Vinyl Plank. Whether it is a WPC, SPC, loose lay, click-lock, LVP, LVT, or glue down, all of these are forms of Luxury Vinyl. Are they really the best option for you?
When it comes to water resistance, Luxury Vinyl plank receives top marks. Marketed many times as Waterproof (though nothing truly is 100%), these products are made of composite plastic which through register and embossing is made to look and feel like hardwood or tile. This means from the top of the product, aka the end facing you, you can clean it easily with just a mop and soap. If you spill on it, you rarely have to worry about damaging the surface of the floor. What’s underneath on the side that goes facing your subfloor, and what is in between in the core of the product, impacts how it will perform should water get through the top layer or come up from below. The product’s natural resistance to being stained and to water damage is what makes it so often the go-to-product of many retailers. But…
Let’s not forget about Laminate. The original alternative to hardwood and tile, Laminate is making a comeback in the flooring industry. Why? Simple: it has better scratch resistance and is a more dense product. Laminate has a top wear layer that is a repeated printed pattern taken from its natural equivalent to give it the look of what it is mimicking. The difference is that where Vinyl is made from plastic, laminate is often coated with aluminum oxide. This means from a scratch resistance and wear standpoint, Laminate is much harder to damage. With over 75% of home owners owning a pet, this means their fur children’s claws and nails are a lot less likely to scratch the floor. It also has more dent resistance to any heavy furniture or appliances you might have in the room. High traffic areas like your entryway, living room, and kitchen are ideal for a product like Laminate as it will perform well in these environments.
The reality is, right now there are delays in production on many products. This is because many resources used for product construction (if not the whole product itself) are outsourced from overseas. With premiums on freight, gas prices, and containers, the cost of flooring products that rely on these oversea resources are increasing. Most luxury vinyl planks today cost similar to an entry level hardwood, since they source from overseas. Laminate on the other hand is largely produced domestically. This shift in the value equation leads many to believe that retailers will begin to sell more laminate than they were before. Especially as many manufacturers begin to reinvest into their laminate products. Personally if I were buying for my home today, I would use a Laminate floor.
