Chances are, if you have looked into flooring at all recently you have heard about both luxury vinyl plank and laminate. We often have customers come in very confused about the differences between these products. We’re excited to clear up some miscommunications about laminate and luxury vinyl plank flooring right here, right now.

 Let us start by saying both laminate and luxury vinyl are products that you get what you pay for. We work hard to provide the highest quality laminate and luxury vinyl.. you won’t find any of the cheaply made “junk” around our showroom.

What is laminate?

Laminate flooring is a kid, pet, and allergy-friendly hybrid floor covering made of a particleboard wood core. It I a floating floor that comes in planks with a locking system, and it must be installed over a laminate pad.

Today, a well-constructed laminate floor is one of the most durable and environmentally friendly floors you can find. But first, you have to find the well-constructed laminate! At Mouery’s, we value quality and focus on name-brand laminate products with 12mm thickness, a plastic melamine finish, and a spill shield top layer. Not all laminate is created equal, and it is important to know how your product is made.

The laminate flooring you find at Mouery’s is made with low VOCs. It actually resists dents and indentations and is super durable. We even offer our premium WhisperStep pad to help insulate, sound-proof, and resist moisture even further.

Traditionally the biggest downfall to laminate has been the swelling and warping that can happen when it comes into contact with liquid. Now, this downfall has been combatted with laminates such as RevWood from Mohawk, which claims to be waterproof, and Mannington Laminates that have a 72-hour spill shield, ensuring that it is a family friendly floor, and can handle water spills on it for up to 72 hours.

RevWood can be installed in all areas of the home including bathrooms. Mannington’s laminate with a spill shield can be installed in all areas of the home except for the bathrooms.

The thickness of specific products is especially important to take note to in a remodel as trim may need to be adjusted, or quarter round may need to be installed. The laminate found in our showroom is all 12mm thick (approx. ½”). Laminate is currently only available in a wood look.

What is Vinyl Plank?

Modern luxury vinyl is arguably the most well-rounded floor. It is kid-proof, pet-proof, waterproof, and some even say life-proof. It can be installed anywhere from your living room to the airport and is one of the easiest floors to install without a professional.

Luxury vinyl plank is NOT the vinyl that comes in a roll you may be thinking of. It is a locking floating floor that has an attached pad backing, composite core, vinyl and image layer, and is finished with a wear layer on top. The two main types of composite cores are WPC and SPC.  They are both extremely durable, and the only real differences between them is the composition of their core.

-       WPC luxury vinyl has a wood pulp and plastic composite with foaming agents, making it slightly softer under foot compared to SPC

-       SPC luxury vinyl is made of a stone & plastic composite

-       Neither is likely to dent, but SPC luxury vinyl is less likely to dent than WPC

-       WPC luxury vinyl has a slightly denser sound under foot (less click-y)

-       Our premium hard surface underlayment, Whisper Step, can be added under any luxury vinyl product in order to give it a more solid sound underfoot and eliminate any hollow sound.

Luxury vinyl can be installed in all areas of the home including bathrooms since it is 100% waterproof. Luxury vinyl plank is available in both a wood look and a tile look.

Luxury vinyl plank comes in a variety of thicknesses. SPC cores start with an overall product thickness of 4.5mm thick and WPC cores have a max thickness of 15mm thick. This is especially important to take note of in remodels, as the height of trim could need adjusting, or quarter round may need to be installed.

All in all, between laminate and luxury vinyl one in not necessarily better than the other. Both products found at Mouery’s are sure to be high quality and extremely durable, made to be lived on. And we’re talking roller-skated on, soccer played on, real life lived on!! We hope this blog has helped to educate you on the differences between laminate and luxury vinyl.

Final Thoughts

If you have any further questions, we would love to talk to you! Feel free to give us a call at (417) 883-4710, email us at flooring417@gmail.com, or visit our showroom located at 2516 W Battlefield Rd, in Springfield, Mo.

We offer free in home estimates and design consultations, you can get set up for an appointment here. We also post weekly rug sales, new arrivals, design inspiration, completed job site photos and more on our social media platforms, so be sure to follow us where you can!