Laminate vs. Vinyl Flooring: Top 10 Differences Compared and Explained

The major difference between Laminate Vs Vinyl Flooring is that laminate flooring is made of wood by-products whereas vinyl flooring is made of plastic material.

The Laminate flooring is partially water-resistant and vinyl flooring provides a completely waterproof surface.

What Is Laminate Flooring?

Laminate Flooring is the first man-made alternative to hardwood-type flooring and is suitable for hallway and living room areas.

The laminate flooring is made up of synthetic material and it consists of four or five different layers such as a décor layer, a wear layer, a core layer, and a backer layer and then sealed together with the help of lamination process.

The laminated flooring is intentionally designed for those people who want hardwood-type flooring. But this hardwood flooring is more expansive and overcomes this problem with the design of laminated flooring.

Also, laminate flooring is inexpensive in nature; durable and its thick composition of different layers make it comfortable to walk on. The overall thickness of laminate flooring is between 6mm to 12mm.

Provide a Different Layer of flooring for intentionally,

To Provide a Wear Layer

The Aluminum oxide layer is protecting against floor scratches.

To Provide a Print Layer

For creating a flooring effect use a printed layer on it.

To Provide Core Layer

The core layer is the main part of the flooring; it is made up of highly compressive wood.

Built-in Underlayment

The soft layers help to hide the unevenness of the subfloor.

Top Brand for Laminate Flooring                   

• Armstrong
• Aqua-Guard
• Dream Home
• Mohawk
• Pergo
• Shaw

Read More: Mezzanine Floors | Types of Mezzanine Floors | Mezzanine Flooring

What Is Vinyl Flooring?

Vinyl Flooring is made up of a Synthetic material and made of single and homogenous materials but it is similar to laminate flooring.

In Vinyl Plank sheets and Vinyl tile, the Layer of the base is made up of fiberglass and then coated with the use of a Plasticizer and PVC Vinyl.

Actually different types of vinyl flooring are available in the market such as vinyl sheet flooring; it is come on a roll. Also, it is the thinnest type of vinyl flooring. So that is easy to handle and more workable.

The vinyl flooring comes in a large size sheet and makes a whole area to impermeable. So that it is more suitable for the bathroom.

Another type of vinyl flooring is Vinyl tiles, which is a thicker form of Tile but the main disadvantage is a high chance of water passing into the floor.

Vinyl Plank Flooring comes in Wood finish Printed strips, mostly these vinyl planks use a groove and tough system for making an easy installation process.

Both Vinyl Tiles and Vinyl Planks are sometimes known as ‘Luxury Vinyl”, due to their thicker construction.

Provide Different Layers Of Flooring,

To Use an Ultra Violet Acrylic Coating

Ultraviolet Acrylic Coating is used for protecting a floor against sun damage.

To Provide a Wear Layer

Provide a wear layer on the flooring to protect against scratches.

To Provide Polyvinylchloride (PVC) Layer

The use of PVC Layer gives support and stability to flooring.

To Provide Image or Printed Layer

This Printed layer gives a vibe like wood, or stone flooring.

To Provide a Core Layer

The core part of the floor is made of PVC material.

To Built it Underlayment Layer

This layer helps to hide the unevenness of subfloors.

Top Brand for Vinyl Flooring

• Armstrong
• Core TEC
• Cryntel
• Karndean
• Mannington
• Metroflor

Read More: What Is PVC Flooring | Types of PVC Flooring

Laminate Vs Vinyl Flooring

The following table shows the major difference between laminate and vinyl flooring,

Point	Laminate Flooring	Vinyl Flooring
Material	Fiberboard made from High-quality Wood	No organic Content, Polymer
Moisture	Not Waterproof	Completely Waterproof
Core	Wood by-product	Plastic
Cleaning	Don’t Use a wet mop	Use Wet mop
Life Span	Up to 15 to 20 year	Up to 25 year
Resale Value	Higher value as compared to any type of vinyl flooring	Lower resale value as compared to Laminate flooring
Installation	Little bit complex due to its floating floor-type nature	Easy to install due to its lightweight.
Scratch –  Resistance	It is more scratch resistant as compared to Vinyl Flooring.	It is average Scratch resistance than Laminate Flooring.
Cheap in Nature	Laminate flooring is cheap or inexpensive compared to Vinyl Flooring.	Vinyl flooring is expensive due to its use of luxury material.

Read More: What Is a Mud Flooring? How to Prepare Mud Floor, Advantages & Disadvantages

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