Whether you are upgrading your home’s look to a whole new level or just changing the floor, you might be confused about choosing the floor. It can be not easy, but here you will see two primarily used flooring options that you can pick from.
Laminate or Vinyl? Both of them have a few significant differences like moisture, core, maintenance, and much more. The following properties of both flooring options will tell about their key differences, and you can choose wisely according to your budget, needs, and other concerns. But first, let’s talk about their structure.
Vinyl Flooring Structure
If we look at the vinyl flooring, it looks like a single-layered solid object, but there are mainly four layers with every Vinyl plank. Here’s how it is divided
- The top layer is clear and see-through, just like a photogenic layer
- The second layer is a thick core below the photogenic layer.
- The third layer is made of foam, used for cushioning.
Laminate Flooring Structure
Laminate flooring has more layers than a Vinyl floor. It is composed of five layers, and they all come with their own features. Here’s a complete structure of these layers
- The top layer is photogenic (just as same as the vinyl)
- The second layer is thin and is impact-resistant. This layer is followed by high-density fiberboard or HDF.
- The lowest layer is also soft and usually made of foam for cushioning.
Which One Is Better?
Cost Comparison
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl floors are usually around $1 per square foot for simple and glue-down sheets. However, these prices can be more if you are choosing luxury vinyl plank flooring in Vaughan & Toronto, and they can easily cost you around $5 per square foot. This makes them unpredictable because their rates also keep moving up and down according to their quality.
Laminate Flooring
The price for this one also moves according to the rigidness. For instance, if you are going for a 7mm thick plate, it is $1 per square foot, but a 10mm thick plate can cost you $5.
Cost Winner
Both of them are roughly comparable in price. They both are less expensive than natural hardwood and many other types of flooring.
Installation
Vinyl
Vinyl installation is the easiest of all. Many vinyl types can be glued to the subfloors, or they can be laid loose. On the other hand, the gluing method is done with a sticky liquid attaching it to the sub-floors. However, in loose-lay, planks are attached side-to-side and are not glued with sub-floor.
Laminate
Laminate flooring is a type of floating floor. Laminate planks are attached side to side, and the wight and friction sustain them from moving forward or backward. In this way, they do not lose their original position.
The easiest one: Tied because vinyl has two installation methods, whereas laminate has a single one.
Side Note: If you are getting it installed, please be sure that you don’t take the measurements yourself because you can experience different DIY measurement failures.
Looks
Laminate
Precisely, the Laminate floor gives a more realistic wood look because the core layer is thin and followed by high-density fiber. So, you can opt for laminate if you only want looks to be the major reason for your decision.
Vinyl
Every vinyl doesn’t look so real because they are made of a thin layer of the image inside a photo layer. However, you can opt for better image quality for a better and more realistic appearance.
Winner of looks: Laminate
Eminence And Life-Span
Laminate
The life-span of this flooring depends upon maintenance and cleaning. However, they can easily stand for 10 to 25 years. So, if we talk about structure, it has pretty good eminence.
Vinyl
Vinyl flooring roughly ranges up to 20 years.
Winner for life-span: Tied
Environment Impact And Resilience
Laminate
The laminate floor is fragile to water because its core is made of wood. So, it is better to keep it away from water and only limit it to dry places. Having a wood-core makes it less impactful for the environment; however, there is still a little plastic used, so you can not expect a hundred percent eco-friendly material.
Vinyl
Vinyl flooring is waterproof from its top layer to down. This is so because all the edges and layers are made of plastic-type material. However, this has a bad impact on the environment, and as we know, plastic is hard to recycle.
Winner: Tied
Resale Worth
Vinyl Flooring
Vinyl flooring is considered as floors with low resale value. Although, there are other vinyl floors entering the market, making them better at returning resale.
Laminate Flooring
High-quality laminate is not better at resale value than solid hardwood and engineered wood, but it competes with vinyl and gives higher resale value.
Winner: Laminate
Which One To Choose?
It mostly depends on personal preference, I.e., style and cost, but there are other things to consider. The cost is the same for both, but the only significant difference is you have to use them for different functions. For instance, laminate cannot be used for a bathroom because it is not fully waterproof, and vinyl is a better option, but for entire house flooring, laminate is a better option because it offers a range of different choices.
If you are still confused, feel free to get in touch with our Flooring Contractors in Scarborough, and they will guide you.
