Laminate Flooring Vs Vinyl Flooring. What Are They?

A laminate floor is made of several layers. The one you see is the most resistant to wear and tear and protects the design layer (the one that gives it colour and style). It comes in slats of different lengths and thicknesses. The price ranges from €15/square meter to €45 depending on the model, its characteristics and measurements.

Vinyl floors are made of polyvinyl chloride and PVC and come in slats and tiles. Its price ranges between €8/square meter and €35-50.

The installation of each type of flooring

To install a laminate floor, you need a hard, smooth and level surface, as in the case of a vinyl floor. If you have a floating floor, you will have to remove it in any case to install both a laminate floor and a vinyl floor. If you do it without removing the old one, any problem with the existing base, moisture, and movement will affect the new bed you install.

On a ceramic floor, you can install any of the two beds. Laminate flooring requires a previous base placed between the laminate and the surface, an insulating layer or foam that also cushions the footprint. There are different types (according to insulation and material), and you must add the necessary meters to the budget. Laminate flooring is installed directly on the floor, without an intermediate layer.

What tools do you need for the installation of each floor?

This may also help you decide if you will install the flooring yourself. Laminate flooring, which comes in a plank format, is cut with a saw, handsaw or specific cutting tools (a guillotine for cutting laminate flooring). Any can be found on large DIY surfaces. The vinyl floor, on the other hand, is cut with a cutter (a robust one) and a ruler. You need to make the mark on the cutting site, place the ruler and cut with a knife. It comes in various formats depending on the model, not just slats. This is what often indicates that vinyl flooring is easy to install. It does not require an intermediate layer and is cut with a tool we usually use at home. Although it is essential to know that when doing it yourself, you will have to remove a floating floor if it exists.

The level of strength and durability

For laminate and vinyl floors, you have different categories depending on their use and resistance to wear. It would help if you always looked at these features, one of which makes prices vary from one model to another within the same category. There are them for moderate use to excessive use, even thinking about the wear and tear of commercial premises or for homes with pets. In the case of laminate floors, you will often see this indication with the letters AC followed by a number. The higher the number, the more resistance the ground will have.

Suitable to withstand wet conditions?

This detail is essential depending on the room in which you will install the floor. For kitchens and bathrooms, you must take it into account. All vinyl floors are moisture resistant and can be cleaned with soap and water. However, in laminate flooring, there are also differences between models. For kitchens and bathrooms, there are specific models resistant to humidity (water-repellent). You will also find both floors -laminate and vinyl- fire retardant. In general, a laminate floor can be scrubbed with the mop well wrung out so that it does not support moisture (it dries quickly), although it is preferable to use a mop for usual cleaning. This changes depending on the moisture resistance of the soil.

Click versus adhesive or click system.

Laminate floors have an installation system called click; that is, each slats is fixed to the next with this system. That way, they fit perfectly together. Vinyl floors can also have this click system (they do not stick to the bottom) or be adhesive (the protective paper of the glue is removed, and some pieces are glued to each other, slats or tiles).

The thickness of each floor

Another difference between one floor and another is the thickness of the pieces and the total height they contribute to the floor. In the case of laminate floors, they are usually thicker. The total size is that provided by the floor, plus the insulating layer installed below. In addition, there are different densities (the thicker the sheets, the more resistant the floor will be). In the case of vinyl floors, they generally have the same thickness, which is less than that of laminates (they are not made up of several layers). In addition, when glued or installed directly on the surface, the thickness or height it provides is that of the floor (a few millimetres). Take this detail into account when you are going to install the floor over an existing one -because it is possible- or when removing the old model because it will affect, for example, the doors of the house.

The finish of the floors, more or fewer options

Within the laminate floors, you will find hundreds of designs in wood finish: more or less natural, stained, dark, with more or less marked veins, in light and dark wood tones, greyish, bleached. But always with a wood look. In the case of vinyl floors, you also have many options that imitate wood, being PVC, with a pretty realistic result, which even mimics the texture of natural wood grain (in the image, you have an example of imitation wood vinyl flooring). But in addition, here, the range is opened to other types of finishes that imitate stones, dyed in colour, hydraulic tile finish, and cement.

tries to look out for

Floors that climb the walls

If you want a continuity effect on a wall to create a plinth or to cover the front of a piece of furniture or a separation wall (look at the photograph that opens this topic in which you can see how the dark floor extends into an island kitchen), vinyl flooring allows you to take it from the bottom to the wall while a laminate floor is only installed as flooring. If you wanted to achieve the effect, you could combine it with a ceramic or, directly, with a vinyl tile.