#Luxury vinyl plank flooring pictures install#

Laminate isn’t for rooms with dog wash stations, showers, tubs, or appliances that use water. However, if you are thinking about one of those dog wash stations in the mudroom that are all the rage these days, don’t consider laminate flooring.

#Luxury vinyl plank flooring pictures install#

You can live life on the edge and install laminate in a half bathroom that only has a sink and toilet. For example, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and finished basements are all great candidates for laminate flooring. You can’t put laminate flooring anyplace where it may get wet because it’s not completely waterproof.īut you can still put laminate in places that aren’t likely to get wet. Remember that particleboard or chipped wood core used to create laminate flooring? Well, that stuff swells when it gets wet. When it comes to usage, LVP and laminate have many similarities but one huge difference. Where Can You Install Luxury Vinyl Plank and Laminate Plank Flooring? But the win goes to LVP because some products are textured, like real wood. Like laminate, several pictures of wood are used, so you must rack the planks before installation for even distribution of each pattern.īoth products emulate wood so closely it’s a toss-up. This gives the planks not only the look of wood but the texture of real wood as well. Unlike laminate planks, vinyl plank flooring is often textured. The wear layer and UV protection layers also give the planks the look of finished wood. And, like laminate flooring, the vinyl is printed with a picture of real wood. First, the planks fit together closely, just like a real hardwood floor. Vinyl planks emulate wood in several ways.

They look so much like wood, you need to rack them like wood! Most manufacturers use several patterns, so you need to make sure to mix up the planks when racking the floor before installation. The surface of laminate planks can be incredibly close in appearance to the real thing. It looks amazingly like wood because high-definition photography captures the wood grain as well as the color of the wood. Laminate flooring includes a picture of real wood. LVP is clearly superior when it comes to durability. In addition, if the wear layer on the laminate isn’t treated for UV light protection, laminate flooring will fade in the sunlight. Less density with laminate flooring means less durability. You either end up wasting planks or living with scuffed and dented edges. But if you accidentally tap laminate flooring too hard, you can mar the edges during installation. Both types of floors are click-lock with a tongue and groove. And that density is important when installing floors too. LVP flooring is great for use with pets, kids, and anything else that’s tough on floors. Remember all that talk about density? Well, that density converts to durability once the flooring is installed. Now that we know how vinyl and laminate differ in construction, let’s see how those differences translate to durability and appearance. Starting with an integrated underlayment on the bottom, then the SPC core next is the decorative vinyl layer, covered by the wear layer, and topped off by a layer of ultraviolet (UV) light protection. So, bring on the heavy furniture! LVP gives better resistance to damage from denting and scratching.Īnd the other layers? Ambient stacks them high. This base is made from limestone, polyvinyl, and chemical stabilizers. Instead of a soft, chipped wood or particleboard base, LVP has a base made of Stone Polymer Composite (SPC). And the core layer is where you find the biggest difference between laminate and vinyl. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring is like a flooring parfait on steroids. That leaves the vinyl layer and the wear layer susceptible to scratching and denting, especially from heavy furniture or furniture on casters. Because it lacks strength and density, it doesn’t provide a ton of support (pun intended). That particleboard base is a really soft material.

Technically, you could call laminate flooring “wood flooring” because the base is made of recycled chipped wood waste.

There’s a base of particleboard, covered by a picture of wood grain, and topped off by a thin clear wear layer. Planks of laminate flooring are like a basic flooring parfait. Before comparing the products, let’s start by defining what we mean by laminate flooring and vinyl flooring. In a head-to-head matchup, who would win the laminate vs vinyl flooring showdown? How does luxury plank vinyl compare to laminate flooring? They are both alternatives to solid wood, engineered wood, or tile/stone flooring. The answers may surprise you.Ĭomparing Luxury Vinyl Plank to Laminate Flooring – The Big Picture Let’s compare and see if one is better than the other. Shopping for flooring and confused by the options? Both luxury vinyl plank flooring and laminate plank flooring offer two economical options for engineered flooring.