The Differences Between Laminate Flooring and Luxury Vinyl Tile

Changing out the flooring in your home can have a huge impact on the overall design style of the home. When you replace dirty carpeting or even older materials that are simply in poor condition, you can significantly improve the value of your home. While wood flooring seems to be the most coveted, laminate and vinyl flooring offer homeowners the polished look at a much more affordable price. Both laminate and vinyl are great solutions, but what’s the difference between them?

Laminate flooring consists of several layers of particle board and other wood byproducts. The resin coated design on the surface of the floor is what gives it the natural wood flooring look. It’s an excellent choice for bedrooms and living rooms. If your subfloor is largely uneven, your installers will have a much easier time putting laminate in than vinyl, since laminate is able to cover small dips or imbalances. Generally, laminate flooring is less expensive than its luxury vinyl counterpart.

Vinyl flooring in general offers much more versatility in terms of design. While you can certainly go with the wood look too, you can achieve a stone look by using luxury vinyl tiling, or LVT. This material is made from plastic instead of wood, making it better equipped to stand up to spills and moisture, as you would see quite frequently in bathrooms and even kitchens. While it’s more waterproof than laminate, the install is much less forgiving. An experienced professional will know the proper way to lay the flooring to give you the expensive look you’re after.

Ultimately, laminate and vinyl flooring are two options that allow you to remarkably improve the look of your home without the high price tag of other floor choices. The decision you make will depend on the current condition of your floor, your budget, as well as the overall look you’re hoping to achieve.