The best laminate flooring can be judged by two criteria, the quality of its construction and the calibre of its manufacturer and brand.
In this laminate flooring guide you will learn exactly what goes into making the best laminate floors and we will list the best laminate flooring brands so you know which manufacturers to consider.
Hardwood Floor Installation
The average total cost ranges from $9 to $20 per square foot.
Get Free EstimatesCarpet Installation
The average total cost for carpet ranges from $5.67 to over $21 per square foot, depending on the quality.
Get Free EstimatesLaminate Floor Installation
The average total cost for laminate flooring is between $3 to $13 per square foot.
Get Free EstimatesThere is a lot of laminate flooring to choose from and much to consider so we recommend that you take the time to read through our entire guide. Please make use of our quick navigation links to zip around this guide.
This post is meant as a general guide, please consult with a reliable home flooring professional before making a final decision.
So what is laminate flooring and what makes it the best choice for you? A laminate floor is a composite product that consists of several different layers fused together.
Generally speaking there are four or five layers:
Further, with some laminate brands a fifth layer is included to help minimize discrepancies in the subfloor – see more about underlayment below.
To summarize, the best laminate flooring will have a thick, hard wearing protective top layer, 3 to 4 further inner core layers for maximum structural stability, preferably with underlayment pre-attached, and a quality click-lock system (or Uniclic system) for a quick and easy floating floor installation.
So, now you know what it is, but how do you compare one floor to another and find the best laminate flooring for your home?
As with many flooring products, you get what you pay for. Whilst laminate is a cheaper option than real hardwood planks or stone tiles, do not make the mistake of choosing the cheapest of the cheap as you may get disappointing results including buckling, swelling and gaps appearing between edges.
Good mid-range laminate floors tend to be priced around $2.50 per square foot and high end, luxury laminate can be as high as $5 to $6 per sq/ft.
If you are concerned about hardness and sound absorption, then make sure you go for a laminate that is at least 12mm thick (0.47 inches) – not including underlay.
Thicker laminates also tend to have a better feel to them in terms of authenticity because the planes of the 3D photographic layer can be deeper and more detailed and thus more realistic.
Another quick way to check the quality of laminate is to see what the moisture swell rate is: this should not be more than 18%, and ideally you should look for brands that have a swell rate of 13% or lower.
And to create better realism, it helps to choose a laminate that has a large pattern repeat. A laminate which has a 1 in 10 pattern repeat will mean that there will be fewer planks in your batch that are exactly the same, making it easier to create a more varied and natural look to your floor as you lay it.
But by far, the most useful thing to look out for is certification from the North American Laminate Floor Association (or NALFA for short).
NALFA apply a strict set of criteria to the laminates that they certify. Laminates need to pass 10 quality control tests that are performed in an independent laboratory to check for numerous aspects including wear, water, light and stain resistance, static load, dimensional tolerance, surface bond and thickness swell.
The NAFLA website has a wealth of information and includes an up-to-date list of the best brands and manufacturers that they have certified.
You now know how to spot and top rated laminate floor but you still need to be sure that it’s the best option for you. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of laminate flooring.
Of course, Laminate floors won’t be the best choice in every situation. Let’s take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of laminate to establish if it’s the right flooring for your project.
So let’s start with the pros of laminate…
To the untrained eye, top laminate brands that feature modern 3D digital photographic layers and replicate both the look and feel of wood or stone, are often difficult to tell apart from the real thing. As witnessed by Dorris and Greg from Ginger and The Huth Blog:
“We were sold on this flooring after the salesman we were working with brought out real hardwood in the same black maple color to compare to the laminate black maple we were looking at. I wish I had taken a picture because we could not tell the difference between the real hardwood and the laminate.”
Again today’s photographic and printing techniques make it possible to recreate just about every kind of flooring surface imaginable, so laminate floors can replicate any look you want. As explained by Bill Dearing, president of the North American Laminate Flooring Association:
“any design you can imagine is possible in laminate… Unique and rare species that aren’t possible in real wood, and marbles and stones that would cost thousands of dollars – all of it’s possible in laminate design.”
And even the different hardwood finishes can be reproduced, from distressed to hand-scraped and even planks with saw marks in them.
Because the processes involved in creating laminate flooring often happen within the same facility, the cost of producing it is cheaper and thus the retail price is often significantly cheaper than authentic hardwoods or stone products.
For example, solid oak hardwood generally retails upwards of $3 per square foot, whilst certain oak look laminates ranges can retail for as little as 99 cents per square foot.
It can be argued that producing laminates, which are mostly made in the home country of sale, provide a lower carbon-footprint than the farming, harvesting and transportation of hardwoods or the quarrying and transportation of stone flooring.
Plus many manufacturers use recycled wood products for the MDF component of the laminate flooring, and laminate flooring does not need special glues for installation or cleaning materials.
The vast majority of today’s laminate floors come with “click-lock” design systems (also sometimes referred to as a Uniclic system), which mean that you simply install the laminate boards as a floating floor over a sub-floor with foam underlayment. One edge of the board will have a groove into which the other edge, that has a “tongue”, is clicked and locked into place.
Some manufacturers cover the grooved and tongued edges with dry adhesive that you simply dampen before clicking into place to add an extra level of locking. And because of this click-lock system, laminate flooring is one of the easiest floors to remove when it’s time for an update.
The best quality laminates offer a generous wear layer that makes the flooring very durable and resistant to scratches, dents and stains – more so than hardwood that can dent much more easily.
Because of its durability, laminates are perfect for high traffic areas and can even be installed in wetter areas like bathrooms. Beware though that laminates – just like hardwood – are not waterproof and will not fare well if water is left to sit on them.
Laminate installed as a floating floor can be installed over existing flooring (not carpet) which will save time and money as you won’t have to remove existing floors.
Under floor heating systems specifically designed to be used with laminate flooring are widely available; but double check with your floor manufacturer as to suitability.
Laminate flooring is also seriously easy to clean, simply vacuum or sweep and then run a barely damp mop over it, perhaps with a tiny bit of cleaning product added. And no annual maintenance program is required.
And now let’s take a look at the cons of laminate…
This is probably the number one reason that puts people off laminate – the fact is that it isn’t actually authentic wood or stone. This is perhaps not a true disadvantage, but it does need to be considered in terms of the perceived value of laminate.
Because it is lower in cost and not authentic, laminate is seen as a lower value product. But this is not necessarily a disadvantage depending on the context of the project, as explained by Ashley Phipps from Simply Designing, laminate flooring is a “good mid-grade home improvement project. Not ideal for a very high-end or custom neighborhood depending on location. Always research what other homes in your neighborhood have as you don’t want to over or under upgrade your home.” A somewhat higher-end alternative to laminate, but still not as pricey as hardwood, is engineered hardwood.
This is the really major decision that you’ll need to make with laminate: if it gets very badly damaged you cannot simply sand it back and refinish it like hardwood. It will have to be replaced. Having said that, if you opt for a top quality laminate brand with a good wear layer, the chances of it getting so badly scratched, dented or worn are minimized.
Laminate can be produced in an eco-friendly way but at the end of it’s life it’s not really recyclable and will most probably end up in a land fill. Given that it’s lifespan is shorter than many other floors, it’s not the best flooring for the environment once it’s done with.
Because it is predominantly made of HDF, laminate floors have a harder feel to them than real hardwood. This sensation can be dulled to a certain extent by installing a good quality foam underlay under the laminate.
The hardness of laminates also makes them less good at absorbing sound, which some people find off-putting – again getting a good quality foam underlay can help improve sound absorption.
Also beware that some of the cheapest laminates do not have a decent anti-slip agent added to the wear layer and therefore can be a bit slippery.
As with everything interior related, the best laminate flooring manufacturers have kept up with all the latest design trends to ensure their products stay relevant to today’s market. The biggest trends are:
Home Depot’s in house LifeProof brand covers most types of flooring including carpet, porcelain tile and Lifeproof luxury vinyl flooring. They also now produce good quality and low cost laminate flooring which ranges in price between $2 and $2.50 per sq/ft.
Is there collection of laminate the best of the best, probably not, but for the price they have a lot going for them. They are all 12mm thick, scratch resistant and many of them are suitable for use with underfloor heating.
TrafficMASTER products, including their laminate flooring, are available exclusively at the Home Depot. It is a competitively priced laminate option with a good choice of styles and designs that will suit most homes.
Benefiting from the Home Depot’s decent reputation for quality products and services, consumers have expressed general satisfaction with TrafficMASTER laminate flooring, so it’s worth considering when you’re doing your research.
Important to note is that TrafficMASTER laminates come with different wear layer thickness: 7mm, 8mm and 12mm. Whilst the selection of laminate floors with a 12mm wear layer is small, you should consider them first as they are the most durable of the TrafficMASTER laminates. However, even the laminates with a thinner wear layer are going to perform well with normal residential use.
All of TrafficMASTER laminates are wood look, and apart from one Brazilian Cherry and one Acacia option, the wood designs are of domestic species such as Oak, Hickory, Maple, Birch, Pecan and Sycamore.
However, there is a good range of styles and colors, including a few distressed and rustic looks as well as some on-trend gray toned options. So, if you’re looking for a classic wood look, budget-friendly laminate, then TrafficMASTER will certainly have a something for you.
Pergo are literally THE original laminate flooring brand. Back in the early 1980s the brand was launched by a Swedish company called Perstorp who had actually invented the laminate flooring technique, and had been bringing both laminate and plastics products to the market since the late 1800s.
The brand was subsequently acquired by the gigantic US based Mohawk Industries conglomerate, and continues to dominate the global market as the leading laminate flooring brand. As a result – unsurprisingly – the Pergo collections of wood and stone look laminates are both extensive and sublime.
There’s something to suit every taste and style in the Pergo range: from authentically reproduced classics like hickory and oak, to beautifully rendered exotics like bamboo and jatoba, to delicately veined travertine marbles and dramatically rugged slates.
Their laminates are available in a large range of widths, thicknesses and finishes. They also have some surprising products like their Lumiere Oak floor from the Pergo Portfolio collection that looks like parquet flooring.
But if the Pergo brand doesn’t have quite enough choice for you, then Mohawk’s own name brand currently has 138 laminate flooring options for you to consider, including hardwoods, exotic woods, and stones.
Mohawk has rebranded its laminate as a wood flooring product (clever). There are currently three lines, Revwood, Revwood Plus and Revwood Select, offering mostly classic styles and finishes; there are some very pretty distressed laminate planks and a number of lovely high gloss ones. What they do best is offer lots of different colors and styles within certain classic wood looks; for example there are 58 different oak laminates alone.
With its long history of providing excellent quality flooring of all kinds, Mohawk’s over-arching dominance in the arena means that their products are very readily available and well known to many contractors and retail stores across the country.
Quite aside from the huge range of floors to choose from, Mohawk also offer a complete range of laminate trims and moldings to complement their flooring and give your home a completely professionally finished look.
Furthermore, Mohawk’s laminates feature their GenuEdge technology, which means that the photographic design layer rolls over the edges of each plank and tile, just as it would in the real thing, lending an extra element of authentic replication.
As the Pergo story shows, in today’s world of multi-national conglomerates, things do tend to be a bit interconnected, so you perhaps won’t be surprised to know that Quick-Step is a brand made by a company called Unilin which was created back in the 1960s in Belgium, but which is now is also part of the enormous Mohawk Industries group.
But, in contrast to its complicated acquisition history, Unilin plays a rather more straightforward and important role in the whole history of laminate flooring: they were behind the introduction of the original and award-wining Uniclic “click-lock” system that almost all laminate floors use today.
The Quick-Step brand of laminates continues to innovate and bring new products to market even today, with new interesting laminate flooring collections regularly being added.
One of the Quick-Step advertising strap-lines is that their floors are “so realistic, even Mother Nature has to look twice” – and indeed their newer collections show a very particular attention to detail that is hard to beat.
Mannington is probably best-known for its world-leading luxury vinyl tile ranges, but their high end laminate flooring range is certainly also worth considering, not least of because some of them are really rather lovely.
Mannington has recently revamped their laminate flooring line and currently has just one collection featuring 64 different styles. The Restoration Collection is a mid priced, quality laminate flooring range.
Established in 1946, Shaw Floors is probably best known in the US for its dominance in carpeting and rugs, but entered the hard surface flooring industry in 2002 with the opening of its first laminate flooring facility.
Shaw has gone on to be one of the major players in all areas of flooring, and today offers more than 120 products in its laminate range. Most of these floors are in the Shaw Repel collection a flooring designed to be water repellent/resistance, but note, not 100% waterproof.
As well as big hitting manufacturers like Pergo, Mohawk, Quick-Step, Mannington and Shaw there are many other high quality laminate flooring brands to consider including, but not limited to, Armstrong, Berry Alloc, Bruce, Columbia, Kraus, Kronotex Lamton, Tarkett.
High traffic areas such as entry hallways and kitchens may need laminates with superior wear layers, so consider those that have aluminum oxide added to them for extra durability; and different areas, such as basement or bathroom may need specific underlayment to deal with potential moisture threats.
As with everything, not all underlayment is created equally – the best products will offer good quality sound absorption and help smooth out imperfections in your subfloor.
Take the time to research the different options available, particularly if you and if you are looking at a laminate that already has an underlayment later attached, and if you are planning to use laminate in the bathroom or with under floor heating.
Yes, laminate flooring is one of the more DIY-friendly flooring options, even for DIY novices, as long as you do due diligence with preparing the sub-floor, using the correct tools and referring to the manufacturer’s instructions.
There are tons of how-to guides and videos online, including this nifty series on the NALFA website.
If you’re interested in the general idea of a laminate floor, particularly because of its green credentials, then other excellent green alternatives to consider are bamboo, eucalyptus and cork floors.
These floors are created using similar fusing technologies as those used to create laminates, and often use similar “click-lock” floating floor installation processes.
Also of interest is the manufacturers WE Cork who alongside their 100% cork range, also create laminates that incorporate a high-density cork layer rather than the usual HDF layer to create a softer, more comfortable feel.
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