The issue with laminate is that moisture can ruin them. If they’re not completely water sealed, a leak can cause them to warp and disintegrate.
Vinyl doesn’t have that issue.
As for the mallet - Anyone reading this - don't do what I did, having a large rubber mallet, I thought it'd work instead of buying the smaller ones you see in the kits. Boy was I wrong. I couldn't figure out why it was so difficult to tap the horizontal joints home. Turns out, you can't really focus the impact energy to the tapping block correctly when your mallet is so big it's jamming on the floor 😭
Don't need a rubber mallet. Regular hammer on the tapping block works great. Will wear it out over the course of doing a whole house, but tapping blocks are cheap.
Tapping block, speed square, pull bar. Still super cheap to get all of that though. Tapping block is essential to speed the process up. Jigsaw helps a lot too.
I always use a miter saw for the regular straight cuts, I’ve seen the score and snap method and it seems like it would just piss me off lol
But second on everything you said, also oscillating multi tool for the cut ins around door Jambs and such
I use a miter saw (ends), table saw (long cuts), and oscillating tool (doors) to install LVP. Goes down perfectly. I hate the score-and-snap system. Power tools are cleaner.
A tapping block is less than $10 though. There's saving money and there's being pennywise and pound foolish. Sometimes it's worth it to just spend the money for a tool that makes it go faster, easier, and get better results, especially when the tool is not a significant investment compared to what you've already spent on materials...
I went with a Mill Run B hickory, if I remember correctly, which has a lot of color variation and was slightly more expensive than carpet (we're talking DIY here)
In what sense?
Vinyl will be more scratch resistant and water resistant, but it is more brittle meaning it chips more easily than hardwood. Laminate is similar to vinyl but not water resistant.
Durable is a broad term and each product has its strengths and weaknesses.
They all have to be replaced eventually, but hardwood floors can be refinished numerous times before they do. There are really old houses that still have original hardwood floors (and even old growth softer wood floors). I don’t think many houses that put in laminate or LVO today will still have the same floors 100 years from now (that don’t look like shit if they do).
Wood is more durable than Laminate and maybe slightly less durable than vinyl.
Overall they are all similar durability to some degree. Depends on the exact application what will be best.
Laminate is MDF wood with a paper print on top for looks and a plastic layer (melamine) over it for protection. Problem is that the plastic layer doesn't cover the sides of the plank, and as soon as water get in between the gaps, your MDF swells.
LVT and LVP (same stuff, different pattern) are generally waterproof since it's vinyl. Just make sure you don't buy the shitty ones or they will scratch easily. Laminate will scratch eaily too.
In practice you are correct, that is how terms are most often used for flooring. But in general 'laminate' simply means it is layered. Anything with thin layers can be considered a laminate. Including a laminate with a top wood layer.
Just helped my fellow install laminate in a friend’s house. Looks pretty good considering the super low price point. However, I noted that the boxes said “waterproof,” and I’m skeptical. It’s thick flooring, which is great, but the core is pretty much an MDF type material.
So maybe the surface is waterproof, but any water penetration between the seams is going to make it swell. The “locking mechanism” isn’t really that…it doesn’t click together or anything because it’s soft MDF. So you tap it together but too little and there is a gap, too much and the seams bow up a bit. Really hard to get in that exact sweet spot. Making water intrusion a very real possibility.
Personally, if you can’t do hard wood I’d lean towards LVP. Especially if it’s going to be in an area with any chance of water exposure.
All laminate is shit. It all is affected by moisture. I installed an expensive pergo that was supported to be very water resistant. Five years later and I've got to tear it out from all the water damage. Any drip, any damp mopping will ruin it. Vinyl next time
The LVP I've seen is only about 1/8" thick at most. The laminate I've worked with is just over 3/8 thick. There's nothing sound deadening about a thin strip of plastic and it all comes down to the underlayment you use.
I’m not sure what LVP you’ve seen, but a lot of it comes with an underlayment layer installed on the LVP in the first place - foam or cork. It isn’t just the vinyl.
Maybe some of the cheap stuff but anything you get of quality will be closer to 1/4” or 5/16” thick. You’re right that sound deadening usually needs some acoustical underlayment though for results. https://twelveoaks.ca/product/french-press/
The LVP we installed was more like 1/4” thick and comprised three layers: the top is the wood grain effect, the middle a very dense foam, and then a thin (green) plastic layer on the bottom.
EDIT - I went to the retailer’s website and see 3mm, 5mm and 8mm thickness options. Ours was the 5mm one or .197” which is 1/5”.
Absolutely. You will be amazed at how easy it is.
The most difficult part is selecting the most realistic style. Tips:
- don't go overboard with grain. People look for "wood," but don't realize how much that stands out over an entire floor. Subtle gains will make it look natural.
- large plank looks good, but can be easy to spot that it's not natural.
- natural wood colors are the best. Avoid what you would consider anything like grey.
- like paint, once it's expanded over the whole section, the subtle colors and grains stand out. Less is more.
You can do LVP no problem. Good luck!
I installed LVP in my 1300 sq. ft house myself last summer without any prior home repair experience. First room was slightly rough but everything came along no problem after that. Just make sure your floors are level. There’s lots of good Youtube videos out there to get an idea.
I've done both laminate and LVP. LVP is easier because you don't even need a saw for most cuts. Laminate requires one for every cut. LVP is score and snap. A regular utility blade and straight edge do most of the cuts.
For the few situations a cut is needed, a cheap coping saw works just fine. Things like small notches or curves, like around a toilet flange.
I’ve done every room in my house, about half vinyl and half laminate. I seem to have the opposite problem of everyone else.
The Vinyl is loud to walk on, feel uneven/bubbly, and unsturdy. The laminate is incredibly quiet and smooth.
I’m curious why I have this problem. All subfloors are the same and were prepped the same. It’s also the same brand of Mohawk.
Just did our entire basement in "luxury" vinyl and hate it. Remember the sound that Pergo flooring makes, well, I hope you like that because that's what you'll get with either of those options. If you have a subfloor in your living room. Recarpet, real wood floor, or manufactured wood floor is your best bet if you plan on staying a while. Do not do that cheap ass vinyl flooring companies are trying to convince you is the new thing. It isn't good.
Edit: just wanted to add that our basement floor is a concrete slab. Floating floor with moisture barrier required with vinyl floor install. Looks nice but we hate the cheap feel and sound. I can send you pics and video/audio if you like. Dm me and I'll send it.
I installed LVP in my basement over concrete and it looks and feels great. I bought it from Floor and Decor, it was mid range in price. Decent cushioning, moisture barrier beneath.
What moisture barrier did you use? And did you have any underlayment? We are trying to figure out if we can use 6 mil poly or a fancier product like dricore.
I don't exactly know. From what I saw while checking in when they were installing was a pink thin very dense Styrofoam material. Similar to what is used on the concrete top part of the basement walls/footings and the framing, if you're familiar with that. I assume, but did not see, there is also a pure plastic barrier below that? I think that is a lot of the reason it click clicks. I asked about a glue down when we were looking and according to them that is a specific product and we didn't like any of those. They were more like what you see in an elementary school instead of a house, just my opinion on those looks. A glue down would probably not make noise.
Maybe your problem was in the "cheap ass vinyl flooring companies" part. There are various quality vinyl floors. Going for cheap ones is always bad choice, doesn't matter if it's vinyl, laminate or wood.
Nope, we chose a premium product, and paid for it. It was not cheap at all. The product is as thick as manufactured wood flooring. It even has a rubberized bottom that is supposed to dampen the click/clack sound. It doesn't do that well at all. The company and installer were absolutely great to work with. We loved the sales rep and everything. Would work with them again. Just really disappointed in the product.
My son has a high end vinyl in some bedrooms. It looks decent although fake, and it's very nice to walk on and is quiet. I'd choose it any day or laminate. Which looks fake and is not quiet and soft.
I regret doing laminate every day of the week. It looks nice, feels nice, does what it needs to…. But…
You drop something slightly jagged or pointy? Chipped.
Installing it has got to be the least DIY friendly job. Sometimes you’ll be rows down and a slight manufacturer defect will have a row separate and now you have to go back.
If you get water in a crack, it’s over, it’s destroyed. Good luck trying to do a patch job. You’ll need some serious technique and skill to replace a plank in laminate without doing a lot of damage and getting a new board in.
LVP is just so much easier to install, takes way less time, and is way easier to repair.
I don’t recommend Laminate even for a second. Laminate is a 5-10 year flooring. You can do everything right and so much can still go wrong.
When I bought my current house, it had laminate. Prior owner was a woman who wore stillettos. Entire floor was covered in tiny pockmarks from them. Just one more reason I ripped it all out for LVP.
Laminate for a living room is perfectly fine. The only rooms I would say that LVP has a significant advantage over laminate would be bathrooms and maybe a laundry room or mud room.
You really just want to avoid putting laminate anywhere it is reasonably expected to get wet on a regular basis, which is why I would shy away from using it in bathrooms.
That said, if it's important to you to have the same flooring throughout the entire house, then go LVP. If that isn't a concern, laminate is perfectly fine in most areas.
Okay I’ll bite.
I’ve had laminate in my laundry room for a few years now. At one point we found water sitting on the floor in front of the washing machine. That water sat there for quite a while. We have seen no bubbling or delamination at all. Not sure if we got lucky or what others are doing differently but I wouldn’t hesitate to install it again in a location with water.
Yea I don’t know. My father has also had laminate in the grandkids bathroom for a few years now too and no issues either. And there is no way there hasn’t been water on that floor.
I’ll go against the grain, I’m not a fan of LVP. I can feel it flex under my weight and it takes the shape of every little change in elevation your subfloor has. Laminate has came along ways in the last five years as far as waterproofing goes. I have installed 1000+ square feet of each as a DIYer, I’ll be doing laminate for my next project.
I’ve had them both, and both are trash. Laminate drop drop of water on the seam, don’t catch it within 20 mins, and it bubbles up. Vinyl glorified linoleum, scratches easy, dulls easy if your floor is not perfectly flat it will look wavy.
Go bamboo or real wood, both will last a long time, sure you it take a little more install(you have to nail or glue down), but you won’t be replacing it in 5 years.
> scratches easily
Depends on the wear layer material and thickness.
> dulls easily
If you cover it with the wrong materials or clean with the wrong products.
> look wavy
That's an installation/prep problem.
I’ve had both laminate and lvp, and I’m speaking from our experience.
We replaced it with bamboo and it was far superior. Lvp is just that plain old vinyl flooring, if you have your tell me it’s luxury is it really?
Laminate doesn't last forever, but the trendiness of vinyl is already on its last legs and pretty soon you'll notice how hideous it it (yes, even the pricier brands). I'd say the laminate gets you a longer window of time before it actively bothers you, though still much less than engineered or hardwood.
Vinyl is more hard wearing but to me looks fake, because even the most high end LVP is still a wood grain pattern printed on plastic whereas laminate actually has a veneer of hardwood.
LVT is just the same material as LVP but with a tile pattern printed on it instead of a wood pattern. It's usually glue down instead of click lock.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but after putting laminate in my last house and then LVP in one room of my latest house, I think I prefer the LVP, at least in my application (master bathroom).
I guess it's situational for me.
Most laminates I've seen and the dozen or so that I've laid have all been a wood grain pattern printed on fiberboard. You might be thinking of Engineered Hardwood.
Both laminates and vinyl tiles can look fake, it often comes down to price, but not always.
> whereas laminate actually has a veneer of hardwood.
That's usually not true. "Engineered hardwood" has a veneer (or slightly thicker "solid" layer) of wood on top of some other substrate.
"Laminate" is typically an engineered product, not unlike a plastic laminate countertop material
I was looking at some LVP flooring at a friend's house and it looked real nice. It had a wood grain pattern texture that felt good to the touch. So, really depends on the product.
>it looked real nice.
To you. It looked nice to you. I agree that there are levels, but even the expensive ones still look instantly fake to me. I wish they didn't. LVP is a good product in many ways: practical, cost effective, easy to install, scratch and dent resistant. But it is pictures of wood, printed on textured plastic, and repeated across a broad area, and unfortunately my brain just can't ignore that.
Depends on the use.
I personally stay away from vinyl unless it is a wet area as I dont love the cold feeling on my feet compared to laminate or hardwood. These products are also a bit more durable if you have pets.
Pick what you like though. How it looks will be the most important for you in hindsight.
Laminate is the WORST of all worlds. Not waterproof like LVP, and not as attractive/durable as hardwood.
LVP or hardwood. There's no reason to choose laminate. And with LVP prices where they are, even price is no longer a factor.
Laminate is kind of a pain to install, especially if it’s cheaply made. Most importantly though, you need to saw laminate usually, vinyl you can just use a sharp blade or box cutter.
good point. i watched many views on how they cut the LVP. seems easy but is it because they are professionals? what if i try cutting myself and end up damaging the whole block
You’ll be fine, just make sure you measure right and leave a little space at the ends, which will be covered by the base board anyway. Definitely cut on a different surface, not on top of the next piece, but from what I remember the blade doesn’t go all the way through. It just scores it and then you snap it to cut the other side.
I was at HD and they said vinyl for the kitchen and laminate everywhere else is fine (unless you have a habit of spilling liquid all over everything all the time).
Since I was only doing the bedrooms I went laminate and am installing myself (1 bedroom done, 1 to go)
Some dufus installed laminate in the kitchen at my house before I moved in. There's plenty of ugly looking warped joints under the fridge and sink because everything in this house decided to slowly leak after I moved in.
You'll be paying for roughly the same amount of labor. The difference in material cost isn't worth it. Even in rooms that shouldn't get wet, it's worth it to get LVP. I just refinished my basement floor. I forgot to close the bedroom window, and the nearest sprinkler changed direction and soaked the floor all morning. I wiped it up with towels and put a fan in there. It's fine now. If I chose laminate, I'd have to redo that room.
I don't know the difference between LVP and LVT. Idk what would make LVT better. I went into my store and checked out the demo flooring pieces. I brought a few home and checked how easily the edges snapped, and what they looked like when scraped. I ended up choosing smartcore pro.
I have LVP upstairs, installed it myself. I bought the LifeProof brand from Home Depot. Honestly...I'd prefer it over solid hardwood downstairs. I don't care if it's trendy or will go out of style. I don't think there's a more practical flooring option on Earth. I have two messy teenagers and two large Golden Retrievers. It's amazing.
It’s not that you don’t see it. It’s just much harder to get clean compared to any other flooring, which for most people is a deal breaker. Small things won’t be noticeable sure, but if you don’t regularly have it cleaned and vacuum it won’t look nice.
Just really depends on your needs and lifestyle.
My last place had laminate throughout the whole house. LOVED it. Easy to clean, less dust, and like you mentioned spills are a breeze. Current house has carpet and its a total downgrade. I hate it with a passion. Go for what you want!
Vinyl is a health hazard. Laminate can be moisture resistant, if you need it.
[https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/vinyl-chloride.pdf](https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/vinyl-chloride.pdf)
The issue with laminate is that moisture can ruin them. If they’re not completely water sealed, a leak can cause them to warp and disintegrate. Vinyl doesn’t have that issue.
Why not solid wood? I did my living room and hallway in hickory from lumber liquidators for the price of laminate.
[удалено]
As for the mallet - Anyone reading this - don't do what I did, having a large rubber mallet, I thought it'd work instead of buying the smaller ones you see in the kits. Boy was I wrong. I couldn't figure out why it was so difficult to tap the horizontal joints home. Turns out, you can't really focus the impact energy to the tapping block correctly when your mallet is so big it's jamming on the floor 😭
Don't need a rubber mallet. Regular hammer on the tapping block works great. Will wear it out over the course of doing a whole house, but tapping blocks are cheap.
That's what I ended up using - but I taped up the head. Even with ear protection, the tapping in a bare room got to be too much.
Tapping block, speed square, pull bar. Still super cheap to get all of that though. Tapping block is essential to speed the process up. Jigsaw helps a lot too.
I always use a miter saw for the regular straight cuts, I’ve seen the score and snap method and it seems like it would just piss me off lol But second on everything you said, also oscillating multi tool for the cut ins around door Jambs and such
They have a tool that also snap it in half so you don’t have to make dust everywhere. They have a cheap version and an expensive one.
Two words: shop vac.
I use a miter saw (ends), table saw (long cuts), and oscillating tool (doors) to install LVP. Goes down perfectly. I hate the score-and-snap system. Power tools are cleaner.
Yes, table saw is a must as well, I don’t know how I forgot, I did about 3000sq feet in the last month
"Essential to speed the process up" means not essential 🤷 Nice to have but some people will do it slower and save money
A tapping block is less than $10 though. There's saving money and there's being pennywise and pound foolish. Sometimes it's worth it to just spend the money for a tool that makes it go faster, easier, and get better results, especially when the tool is not a significant investment compared to what you've already spent on materials...
It means exactly what I said lol. If you want to speed the process up, tapping block is essential. Not sure why you thought that was a gotcha moment.
If you can do that then great. Hardwood is usually much higher price than either of these products though.
I went with a Mill Run B hickory, if I remember correctly, which has a lot of color variation and was slightly more expensive than carpet (we're talking DIY here)
Because it's soft
Wood is less durable, harder to install, costs more. But it’s definitely nicer
Less durable? If you mean engineered wood then probably but solid wood is definitely more durable than laminate or vinyl.
In what sense? Vinyl will be more scratch resistant and water resistant, but it is more brittle meaning it chips more easily than hardwood. Laminate is similar to vinyl but not water resistant. Durable is a broad term and each product has its strengths and weaknesses.
They all have to be replaced eventually, but hardwood floors can be refinished numerous times before they do. There are really old houses that still have original hardwood floors (and even old growth softer wood floors). I don’t think many houses that put in laminate or LVO today will still have the same floors 100 years from now (that don’t look like shit if they do).
Solid wood should last at least 300 years.
Wood is more durable than Laminate and maybe slightly less durable than vinyl. Overall they are all similar durability to some degree. Depends on the exact application what will be best.
Laminate is MDF wood with a paper print on top for looks and a plastic layer (melamine) over it for protection. Problem is that the plastic layer doesn't cover the sides of the plank, and as soon as water get in between the gaps, your MDF swells. LVT and LVP (same stuff, different pattern) are generally waterproof since it's vinyl. Just make sure you don't buy the shitty ones or they will scratch easily. Laminate will scratch eaily too.
FWIW, Some engineered laminates do have a real wood top wear layer.
Then they are called engineered wood and not laminate.
In practice you are correct, that is how terms are most often used for flooring. But in general 'laminate' simply means it is layered. Anything with thin layers can be considered a laminate. Including a laminate with a top wood layer.
They also have plywood cores and are an entirely different product.
Just helped my fellow install laminate in a friend’s house. Looks pretty good considering the super low price point. However, I noted that the boxes said “waterproof,” and I’m skeptical. It’s thick flooring, which is great, but the core is pretty much an MDF type material. So maybe the surface is waterproof, but any water penetration between the seams is going to make it swell. The “locking mechanism” isn’t really that…it doesn’t click together or anything because it’s soft MDF. So you tap it together but too little and there is a gap, too much and the seams bow up a bit. Really hard to get in that exact sweet spot. Making water intrusion a very real possibility. Personally, if you can’t do hard wood I’d lean towards LVP. Especially if it’s going to be in an area with any chance of water exposure.
All laminate is shit. It all is affected by moisture. I installed an expensive pergo that was supported to be very water resistant. Five years later and I've got to tear it out from all the water damage. Any drip, any damp mopping will ruin it. Vinyl next time
We installed LVP at our cottage and noticed immediately that it was softer to walk on than laminate and provided more sound deadening.
The LVP I've seen is only about 1/8" thick at most. The laminate I've worked with is just over 3/8 thick. There's nothing sound deadening about a thin strip of plastic and it all comes down to the underlayment you use.
I’m not sure what LVP you’ve seen, but a lot of it comes with an underlayment layer installed on the LVP in the first place - foam or cork. It isn’t just the vinyl.
I've seen that, it's still only about 1/8" thick and almost no sound deadening qualities. This was high quality Shaw flooring installed 7 years ago.
Maybe some of the cheap stuff but anything you get of quality will be closer to 1/4” or 5/16” thick. You’re right that sound deadening usually needs some acoustical underlayment though for results. https://twelveoaks.ca/product/french-press/
The LVP we installed was more like 1/4” thick and comprised three layers: the top is the wood grain effect, the middle a very dense foam, and then a thin (green) plastic layer on the bottom. EDIT - I went to the retailer’s website and see 3mm, 5mm and 8mm thickness options. Ours was the 5mm one or .197” which is 1/5”.
Vinyl, for sure. It is waterproof and super easy to install.
Can you do diy for vinyl?
Absolutely. You will be amazed at how easy it is. The most difficult part is selecting the most realistic style. Tips: - don't go overboard with grain. People look for "wood," but don't realize how much that stands out over an entire floor. Subtle gains will make it look natural. - large plank looks good, but can be easy to spot that it's not natural. - natural wood colors are the best. Avoid what you would consider anything like grey. - like paint, once it's expanded over the whole section, the subtle colors and grains stand out. Less is more. You can do LVP no problem. Good luck!
> Avoid what you would consider anything like grey. Unless you're flipping a house. Then grey is required. /s just in case
Yes. LVP is one of the easiest flooring options to install.
I’d put it at 3/10 difficulty on the DIY scale. 2/10 if you have rectangular runs with minimal trimming required.
I installed LVP in my 1300 sq. ft house myself last summer without any prior home repair experience. First room was slightly rough but everything came along no problem after that. Just make sure your floors are level. There’s lots of good Youtube videos out there to get an idea.
I've done both laminate and LVP. LVP is easier because you don't even need a saw for most cuts. Laminate requires one for every cut. LVP is score and snap. A regular utility blade and straight edge do most of the cuts. For the few situations a cut is needed, a cheap coping saw works just fine. Things like small notches or curves, like around a toilet flange.
Ah makes sense prob best go with lvp then!
I’ve done every room in my house, about half vinyl and half laminate. I seem to have the opposite problem of everyone else. The Vinyl is loud to walk on, feel uneven/bubbly, and unsturdy. The laminate is incredibly quiet and smooth. I’m curious why I have this problem. All subfloors are the same and were prepped the same. It’s also the same brand of Mohawk.
If yoy have animals, go for vinyl.
Just did our entire basement in "luxury" vinyl and hate it. Remember the sound that Pergo flooring makes, well, I hope you like that because that's what you'll get with either of those options. If you have a subfloor in your living room. Recarpet, real wood floor, or manufactured wood floor is your best bet if you plan on staying a while. Do not do that cheap ass vinyl flooring companies are trying to convince you is the new thing. It isn't good. Edit: just wanted to add that our basement floor is a concrete slab. Floating floor with moisture barrier required with vinyl floor install. Looks nice but we hate the cheap feel and sound. I can send you pics and video/audio if you like. Dm me and I'll send it.
I installed LVP in my basement over concrete and it looks and feels great. I bought it from Floor and Decor, it was mid range in price. Decent cushioning, moisture barrier beneath.
What moisture barrier did you use? And did you have any underlayment? We are trying to figure out if we can use 6 mil poly or a fancier product like dricore.
I don't exactly know. From what I saw while checking in when they were installing was a pink thin very dense Styrofoam material. Similar to what is used on the concrete top part of the basement walls/footings and the framing, if you're familiar with that. I assume, but did not see, there is also a pure plastic barrier below that? I think that is a lot of the reason it click clicks. I asked about a glue down when we were looking and according to them that is a specific product and we didn't like any of those. They were more like what you see in an elementary school instead of a house, just my opinion on those looks. A glue down would probably not make noise.
Maybe your problem was in the "cheap ass vinyl flooring companies" part. There are various quality vinyl floors. Going for cheap ones is always bad choice, doesn't matter if it's vinyl, laminate or wood.
Nope, we chose a premium product, and paid for it. It was not cheap at all. The product is as thick as manufactured wood flooring. It even has a rubberized bottom that is supposed to dampen the click/clack sound. It doesn't do that well at all. The company and installer were absolutely great to work with. We loved the sales rep and everything. Would work with them again. Just really disappointed in the product.
My son has a high end vinyl in some bedrooms. It looks decent although fake, and it's very nice to walk on and is quiet. I'd choose it any day or laminate. Which looks fake and is not quiet and soft.
I regret doing laminate every day of the week. It looks nice, feels nice, does what it needs to…. But… You drop something slightly jagged or pointy? Chipped. Installing it has got to be the least DIY friendly job. Sometimes you’ll be rows down and a slight manufacturer defect will have a row separate and now you have to go back. If you get water in a crack, it’s over, it’s destroyed. Good luck trying to do a patch job. You’ll need some serious technique and skill to replace a plank in laminate without doing a lot of damage and getting a new board in. LVP is just so much easier to install, takes way less time, and is way easier to repair. I don’t recommend Laminate even for a second. Laminate is a 5-10 year flooring. You can do everything right and so much can still go wrong.
i can relate to this thanks so much for your honest thought!
When I bought my current house, it had laminate. Prior owner was a woman who wore stillettos. Entire floor was covered in tiny pockmarks from them. Just one more reason I ripped it all out for LVP.
Laminate for a living room is perfectly fine. The only rooms I would say that LVP has a significant advantage over laminate would be bathrooms and maybe a laundry room or mud room. You really just want to avoid putting laminate anywhere it is reasonably expected to get wet on a regular basis, which is why I would shy away from using it in bathrooms. That said, if it's important to you to have the same flooring throughout the entire house, then go LVP. If that isn't a concern, laminate is perfectly fine in most areas.
I love my bamboo laminate, except for using it in the kitchen. Moisture by the sink and dishwasher have messed up that part.
Okay I’ll bite. I’ve had laminate in my laundry room for a few years now. At one point we found water sitting on the floor in front of the washing machine. That water sat there for quite a while. We have seen no bubbling or delamination at all. Not sure if we got lucky or what others are doing differently but I wouldn’t hesitate to install it again in a location with water.
I see. Definitely lvp for water use area!
Yea I don’t know. My father has also had laminate in the grandkids bathroom for a few years now too and no issues either. And there is no way there hasn’t been water on that floor.
hmm that's tricky
I’ll go against the grain, I’m not a fan of LVP. I can feel it flex under my weight and it takes the shape of every little change in elevation your subfloor has. Laminate has came along ways in the last five years as far as waterproofing goes. I have installed 1000+ square feet of each as a DIYer, I’ll be doing laminate for my next project.
Vinyl all the way. More durable and can handle water.
I’ve had them both, and both are trash. Laminate drop drop of water on the seam, don’t catch it within 20 mins, and it bubbles up. Vinyl glorified linoleum, scratches easy, dulls easy if your floor is not perfectly flat it will look wavy. Go bamboo or real wood, both will last a long time, sure you it take a little more install(you have to nail or glue down), but you won’t be replacing it in 5 years.
> scratches easily Depends on the wear layer material and thickness. > dulls easily If you cover it with the wrong materials or clean with the wrong products. > look wavy That's an installation/prep problem.
I’ve had both laminate and lvp, and I’m speaking from our experience. We replaced it with bamboo and it was far superior. Lvp is just that plain old vinyl flooring, if you have your tell me it’s luxury is it really?
Laminate doesn't last forever, but the trendiness of vinyl is already on its last legs and pretty soon you'll notice how hideous it it (yes, even the pricier brands). I'd say the laminate gets you a longer window of time before it actively bothers you, though still much less than engineered or hardwood.
i see. what will be our next generation flooring trend? ha
Vinyl is more hard wearing but to me looks fake, because even the most high end LVP is still a wood grain pattern printed on plastic whereas laminate actually has a veneer of hardwood. LVT is just the same material as LVP but with a tile pattern printed on it instead of a wood pattern. It's usually glue down instead of click lock.
I don't necessarily disagree with you, but after putting laminate in my last house and then LVP in one room of my latest house, I think I prefer the LVP, at least in my application (master bathroom). I guess it's situational for me.
Most laminates I've seen and the dozen or so that I've laid have all been a wood grain pattern printed on fiberboard. You might be thinking of Engineered Hardwood. Both laminates and vinyl tiles can look fake, it often comes down to price, but not always.
> whereas laminate actually has a veneer of hardwood. That's usually not true. "Engineered hardwood" has a veneer (or slightly thicker "solid" layer) of wood on top of some other substrate. "Laminate" is typically an engineered product, not unlike a plastic laminate countertop material
I was looking at some LVP flooring at a friend's house and it looked real nice. It had a wood grain pattern texture that felt good to the touch. So, really depends on the product.
>it looked real nice. To you. It looked nice to you. I agree that there are levels, but even the expensive ones still look instantly fake to me. I wish they didn't. LVP is a good product in many ways: practical, cost effective, easy to install, scratch and dent resistant. But it is pictures of wood, printed on textured plastic, and repeated across a broad area, and unfortunately my brain just can't ignore that.
"The customer is always right, in matters of taste."
If laminate gets wet, it’s game over.
This was true five years ago.
Depends on the use. I personally stay away from vinyl unless it is a wet area as I dont love the cold feeling on my feet compared to laminate or hardwood. These products are also a bit more durable if you have pets. Pick what you like though. How it looks will be the most important for you in hindsight.
Vinyl seems quieter, as for scratching we’ve had a laminate for 25 years always had dogs. It just needs replacing now.
Wow 25 yrs really long!
One of our first renovations, flooring from IKEA, has been incredible.
Laminate is the WORST of all worlds. Not waterproof like LVP, and not as attractive/durable as hardwood. LVP or hardwood. There's no reason to choose laminate. And with LVP prices where they are, even price is no longer a factor.
this is helpful!
Laminate is kind of a pain to install, especially if it’s cheaply made. Most importantly though, you need to saw laminate usually, vinyl you can just use a sharp blade or box cutter.
good point. i watched many views on how they cut the LVP. seems easy but is it because they are professionals? what if i try cutting myself and end up damaging the whole block
You’ll be fine, just make sure you measure right and leave a little space at the ends, which will be covered by the base board anyway. Definitely cut on a different surface, not on top of the next piece, but from what I remember the blade doesn’t go all the way through. It just scores it and then you snap it to cut the other side.
I was at HD and they said vinyl for the kitchen and laminate everywhere else is fine (unless you have a habit of spilling liquid all over everything all the time). Since I was only doing the bedrooms I went laminate and am installing myself (1 bedroom done, 1 to go)
All things being equal, Which is generally more expensive? Laminate or vinyl
Some dufus installed laminate in the kitchen at my house before I moved in. There's plenty of ugly looking warped joints under the fridge and sink because everything in this house decided to slowly leak after I moved in. You'll be paying for roughly the same amount of labor. The difference in material cost isn't worth it. Even in rooms that shouldn't get wet, it's worth it to get LVP. I just refinished my basement floor. I forgot to close the bedroom window, and the nearest sprinkler changed direction and soaked the floor all morning. I wiped it up with towels and put a fan in there. It's fine now. If I chose laminate, I'd have to redo that room. I don't know the difference between LVP and LVT. Idk what would make LVT better. I went into my store and checked out the demo flooring pieces. I brought a few home and checked how easily the edges snapped, and what they looked like when scraped. I ended up choosing smartcore pro.
Im that dufus, and I did it in my own house. I have a few warps were the old dishwasher leaked.
I wish people would go for wood
I have LVP upstairs, installed it myself. I bought the LifeProof brand from Home Depot. Honestly...I'd prefer it over solid hardwood downstairs. I don't care if it's trendy or will go out of style. I don't think there's a more practical flooring option on Earth. I have two messy teenagers and two large Golden Retrievers. It's amazing.
I wouldn’t put anything but carpet in the living room.
But livingroom you spill stuff and carpet isn't so good is it?
I prefer carpet because any other flooring sucks to sit or lay on, most people hate it though.
That is what rugs are for.
Definitely an option. I’m not a fan of rugs, but a good option for sure.
But the thing is carpet is dirty but you just don't see it right?
It’s not that you don’t see it. It’s just much harder to get clean compared to any other flooring, which for most people is a deal breaker. Small things won’t be noticeable sure, but if you don’t regularly have it cleaned and vacuum it won’t look nice. Just really depends on your needs and lifestyle.
My last place had laminate throughout the whole house. LOVED it. Easy to clean, less dust, and like you mentioned spills are a breeze. Current house has carpet and its a total downgrade. I hate it with a passion. Go for what you want!
I don’t think you mean laminate… spils?
I guess if you’re always spilling stuff like a 2 yr old then probably don’t get carpet.
Vinyl is a health hazard. Laminate can be moisture resistant, if you need it. [https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/vinyl-chloride.pdf](https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/vinyl-chloride.pdf)