Laminate, wood or vinyl? How to choose a floor

Short answer: laminate is usually the cheapest and resists scratches best, engineered wood is real wood that can be sanded when it gets worn, and vinyl handles water best and is the quietest to walk on. All three come as click flooring you can lay yourself. Choose by room, then look at one number on the pack: the AC rating for laminate and the wear layer for wood and vinyl.

Prices overlap. A premium laminate can cost more than a basic engineered floor, so always compare floors of the same durability.

Which floor suits which room?

• Living room and bedroom: all three work, so taste and budget can decide. AC3 laminate is enough.
• Hallway and kitchen: this is where grit, water and dropped things end up. Choose AC4 laminate or click vinyl with at least a 0.3 mm wear layer, ideally 0.55 mm in the hallway. Wood works if you wipe up spills straight away and have a proper doormat.
• Children's rooms and homes with dogs: laminate copes best with claws and toy cars. Vinyl is quieter and nicer to sit on. Wood marks but can be sanded.
• Basement: vinyl copes best with damp. On concrete, laminate and wood need a vapour barrier, see Underlay and vapour barrier.
• Underfloor heating: all three work if the floor is approved for underfloor heating. Follow the floor's maximum temperature, often 27 °C.
• Bathroom: see below. It is the only room where rules decide the choice.

Laminate: look at the AC rating

The AC rating shows how well the surface resists wear. It is tested under the European standard EN 13329, where an abrasive wheel rubs the surface until it wears through. The higher the number, the tougher the floor.

• AC3: the minimum for homes. Enough for bedrooms and living rooms.
• AC4: handles hallways and kitchens, and light commercial use such as offices.
• AC5: made for busy shops and offices. Rarely needed at home.

The pack often also shows a use class, such as 23, 32 or 33. The first digit says where the floor may go, 2 for homes and 3 for commercial spaces. The second says how heavy the traffic can be. A class 32 floor covers a whole home. Laminate cannot be sanded, so once the surface is worn you replace the floor.

Engineered wood: look at the wear layer

Engineered wood, often sold as click parquet, has a layer of real wood, the wear layer, on top of a core. Its thickness decides how many times the floor can be sanded. One sanding removes about 0.8–1.6 mm of wood, and below about 2.4 mm the flooring trade advises against sanding at all.

• 2.5–3.5 mm: usually one or two sandings.
• 4 mm or more: two or three sandings.

A lacquered finish is the easiest to look after. An oiled finish is easier to repair where it gets worn, but needs re-oiling now and then. Oak is the most common species because it is hard and durable.

Vinyl: look at the wear layer and the core

Click vinyl has a clear plastic wear layer over a printed design. Kährs lists 0.3 mm for normal traffic and 0.55 mm for high traffic, and that is a good rule of thumb: 0.3 mm is enough in an ordinary home and 0.55 mm is safer in a hallway and for a busy family.

There are rigid vinyl floors with a hard core, often called SPC or rigid core, and softer, flexible vinyl. Rigid floors hide small bumps better. Flexible ones need a very flat subfloor. Vinyl expands when it gets warm, so in rooms with large sunny windows the manufacturer may require a bigger expansion gap or a glued floor. Read the pack.

Flooring in bathrooms

Laminate and wood do not belong in a bathroom with a shower or a floor drain. Click vinyl has a waterproof surface, but the joints are not watertight. Pergo says its click vinyl suits utility rooms and toilets without a floor drain, but not rooms with one.

Building rules for bathrooms differ from country to country. What they share is that a wet room with a floor drain or walk-in shower needs a fully waterproof floor, such as sheet vinyl with welded seams or tiles on a waterproofing membrane, with a fall towards the drain. That is a job for a qualified installer. In a cloakroom without a floor drain, click vinyl is often fine if the manufacturer approves it.

Lay the floor before or after the kitchen?

After the kitchen units. A floating floor must be able to move. Kährs states that units, kitchen islands and walls must never be fixed to a floating floor. If the units stand on top of the floor they lock it, and it can then buckle or open up. So fit the units first and lay the floor up to them with an expansion gap. The plinth hides the gap.

Click or glued?

Everything on this page is about click flooring that floats on an underlay. It is the easiest to lay yourself, and it is what Parquet Planner calculates. Glued wood and glued vinyl are quieter and can run through several rooms without a threshold strip, but they need a perfectly flat subfloor and are usually laid by a professional.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best flooring for a hallway and kitchen?

Laminate rated AC4, or click vinyl with a wear layer of at least 0.3 mm, ideally 0.55 mm in the hallway. Both cope with grit, water and dropped things. Engineered wood also works in a kitchen if you wipe up spills straight away, and in a hallway with a proper doormat.

What AC rating should laminate flooring have?

AC3 is the minimum for homes and is enough for bedrooms and living rooms. Choose AC4 for hallways and kitchens. AC5 is made for busy shops and offices and is rarely needed at home.

How many times can engineered wood flooring be sanded?

It depends on the wear layer, the top layer of real wood. One sanding removes about 0.8–1.6 mm. A 2.5–3.5 mm wear layer usually allows one or two sandings, and 4 mm or more allows two or three. Laminate and vinyl cannot be sanded.

Can you put laminate or click vinyl in a bathroom?

Not in a bathroom with a floor drain or a walk-in shower. There the floor has to be a waterproof system that meets local building rules, laid by a qualified installer. In a cloakroom or utility room without a floor drain, click vinyl is often fine if the manufacturer approves it.

Should flooring go down before or after the kitchen?

After the kitchen units. A floating floor must never be pinned down under units, a kitchen island or a partition wall, because it has to be able to move. Fit the units first and lay the floor up to them with an expansion gap. The plinth hides the gap.

More guides

• How to lay laminate flooring – the whole job step by step, with radiator pipes and door frames.
• Laminate underlay and vapour barrier – when you need a vapour barrier and which underlay to choose.
• Flooring calculator – planks, packs and waste.

Sources

• Parkettkaiser, Laminate usage and abrasion classes (AC1–AC5 under EN 13329, use classes).
• Quick-Step, Quality standards for laminate flooring (use classes 21–34).
• Hardwood Floors Magazine, How many times can a wood floor be sanded? (0.8–1.6 mm per sanding).
• Kährs, Vinyl Click 5 mm and 6 mm (wear layer 0.3 and 0.55 mm).
• Pergo, Can I use Pergo vinyl floors in my bathroom? (not in rooms with a floor drain).
• Kährs, Installation instructions for floating wood floors, in Swedish (kitchen units must never be fixed to a floating floor).
• Weitzer Parkett, Parquet on underfloor heating, in German (surface temperature).

Updated 2 November 2026.