Vinyl stands up the best against excess moisture and spills, and it can be less expensive than laminate. However, laminate gives a more realistic wood look to enhance the design aesthetic in your home.
Durability. Both vinyl and laminate flooring are extremely durable. Laminate usually lasts for up to 20 years, while vinyl flooring typically comes with a 15+ year warranty. However, you can't refinish or reseal laminate, while you can add extra layers of urethane to vinyl flooring to extend its life.
Laminate and LVT/LVP flooring are both extremely durable, but they have their weaknesses. Laminate is prone to scratches and chipped corners over time, so vinyl is probably a better choice for your home if you have pets. LVT/LVP is scratch-resistant, but it's more vulnerable to denting and tearing.
Laminate flooring is slightly more expensive than vinyl. It sells for anywhere from $1 to $6 per square foot, although most varieties fall closer to the $2 to $4 price range. Occasionally, you'll see high-quality laminates priced up to $7 per square foot. Installation costs an extra $1 to $5 per square foot.
Ease of Installation
When comparing vinyl plank to laminate, it's a close race as to which is easier to install. However, the installation of vinyl plank requires fewer tools and steps, so it's the superior choice in this category.
Vinyl Flooring: How Are They Different? Laminate and vinyl planks feature plastic design and wear layers. But vinyl planks also have plastic cores, while laminate cores are made from wood composites. This is one of the most important differences between the products.
Vinyl flooring is a popular choice for kitchens and bathrooms due to its high resistance to moisture. However, it has several characteristics, which make it an equally great flooring choice for bedrooms.
In terms of practicality, vinyl is the best option. It's built to withstand a high level of wear and tear and any spills can quickly be wiped up without the worry of water damage. Waterproof laminate – If you want something a little more luxurious, waterproof laminate flooring is a great choice.
Depending on the quality of the flooring, laminate flooring can last between 15 to 25 years on average, or longer. Choosing the right flooring for your home is about more than just aesthetics, it's also about durability and strength.
Concrete is the most durable floor you can have in your home. Concrete floors are typically stained to order and can look quite lovely.
Do (carefully) mop your laminate floor every two months.
To keep your laminate floors fresh, mop them every two months. Damp mops (a.k.a. microfiber mops) are gentle enough to use on laminate floors. If you're going to use a regular mop, just wring it out until it's almost completely dry.
If you have pets and kids causing a ruckus in the house, vinyl does not scratch easily, chip or suffer any kind of major damage that is going to make it look bad. Cleaning and maintenance of vinyl plank flooring is easy. Sweeping or vacuuming is all that's needed for daily maintenance.
Laminate flooring also wins out over vinyl when it comes to environmental sustainability. Vinyl is produced using petroleum, which isn't a renewable resource. Its production generates toxic chemicals.
1. Hardwood Continues to Dominate. Hardwood has remained at the top of the podium for decades now and continues to dominate the home flooring industry.
Laminate, on the other hand, is made out of recycled hardwood, so it is not waterproof. Due to its melamine wear layer, it has a tough finish which resists against scratches and may have minor protection against minor water (quick spills).
As long as you address the overriding concern of moisture, you can install laminate flooring in the kitchen. If you want to eliminate worries about moisture, install sheet vinyl or luxury vinyl plank (LVP).
Vinyl flooring, including luxury vinyl tiles (also known as luxury vinyl plank) and vinyl roll, as well as porcelain or ceramic tile are generally considered to be the best flooring options for a kitchen because of their ability to stand up to moisture and humidity. Laminate flooring can be installed in the kitchen.
Vinyl does not get cold in the winter and it is generally softer beneath your feet than wood or ceramic tile floors. Some products also have a padded underlayer that can make walking on these floors even more comfortable.
Bedrooms are perhaps the best room in your home to use laminate flooring because they are the least prone to moisture. Unlike kitchens and bathrooms, where water is used often, it is rare that you need to bring water into your bedroom.
Two of the most popular, and best flooring for pets are ceramic and porcelain varieties as they are sealed and glazed for extra protection compared to natural stone tile. Once tile is installed properly – trust us on this one – it's extremely difficult to damage or stain the tile itself.
Both flooring types are compatible with underfloor heating, although vinyl is slightly more efficient. Vinyl floors have the lowest thermal resistance of all Pergo flooring solutions and act as excellent thermal conductors.
Whereas laminates are hard and inflexible, most vinyls are soft and flexible. So, vinyl flooring can tolerate floors that are sloped or have humps in it. The vinyl will just go right on top of it.