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What is a Good Thickness for Laminate Flooring?

What is a Good Thickness for Laminate Flooring
December 31, 2021

If you're attempting to figure out how to pick laminate wood flooring for your house and are curious about thickness, here are some solutions.

How is the thickness of your home's laminate flooring determined?

Plank thickness in laminate flooring is measured in millimetres (mm). A millimetre is equal to 0.039 inches.

All In One Renovation, for example, will specify plank thickness on their packaging or in their advertising by measuring the total plank thickness — from the bottom surface that sits on the subfloor of your household to the top of the plank.

So, if the plank has an attached pad (meaning that the underlayment is genuinely connected to each plank), the plank's thickness may be 14 mm. It is a 12 mm thick plank with a 2 mm thick pad attached, for a total thickness of 14 mm.

As a result, plank thickness does not relate just to the core of the plank but rather to the sum of all layers that comprise the plank.

Is the thickness of laminate flooring a guarantee of durability?

No, not always. The aluminium-oxide wear layer on top provides durability during All In One Renovation—the laminate floor's wear layer to withstand foot activity and minor abrasions, increasing its longevity.

Impact resistance, or a laminate floor's capacity to endure the impact of a falling item, is proportional to plank thickness. In general, the thicker the board, the less likely the floor may shatter from a fallen object. On the "Large-Ball Impact Resistance" and "Small-Ball (Dart) Impact Resistance" tests, our feet meet or exceed a light commercial certification.

Is laminate flooring thickness a guarantee of quality?

Again, this is not always the case; a thicker laminate might be made using lower-quality components. All In One Renovation employs a superior high-density fibre (HDF) core consisting of 50% southern yellow pine and 50% hardwood in all of our laminate flooring, regardless of thickness. Every component of our laminate flooring is critical in every product we manufacture.

Is there a benefit to having a thicker plank laminate floor?

Yes. In their blog post titled "Choosing 12 mm Laminate Flooring," BuildDirect summarizes the situation as follows: "By striking a balance between simplicity of installation and a tough walking experience, 12 mm laminate flooring inside your house feels just like the real thing, and it's also a DIY friendly floor surface."

  • It is easier to install a thicker board. It's a little more forgiving because it may span tiny subfloor variances without causing difficulties later on. A proper installation requires "levelness." Because a laminate floor is floating, a subfloor with a peak or valley more than 1/8th of an inch in 40 in of grade is unacceptable.
  • A thicker plank might offer better acoustics. Because the board is thicker, sound travels more slowly.
  • A thicker plank is more resistant to impact.

What are the different laminate flooring thicknesses?

On the market, there are four typical laminate-flooring plank thicknesses. The narrower the plank, as you might think, the less costly the laminate floor. Our planks are available in three thicknesses: 8 millimetres (8 mm), 10 millimetres (10 mm), and 12 millimetres (12 mm) (12 mm).

What is the best piece of laminate flooring thickness advice?

There is no right or wrong answer when determining the optimal plank thickness with other purchases. More (or thicker) is typically preferable for all of the reasons discussed above, but there's no incentive to buy more floor than you need.

You're looking for laminate and must decide from the following options: What is the ideal thickness for laminate flooring? What is the perfect thickness?

There are 7mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, and maybe more variations. But it's difficult to understand how little a millimetre is, and can a few millimetres make a difference? The cost implies that it can—the price rises in direct proportion to the increase in millimetres.

This page will address all of your laminate flooring thickness questions:

  • Is the thickness of laminate flooring critical?
  • How thick should my flooring be?
  • A comparison of several laminate thicknesses

What is the thickness of laminate flooring?

The laminate thickness is measured from the bottom of the board to the top of the board. Millimetres are used to measure this thickness. The tricky thing is that some laminate boards arrive with the attached pad. This should not be considered when calculating laminate thickness.

Is the thickness of the laminate important?

The thickness of a laminate floor is more significant for its aesthetics–look and feel–than its endurance. However, it still impacts durability; it's simply not the essential element. Below are some of the advantages of thicker laminate flooring:

  • Underfoot, it feels more like hardwood.
  • More elaborate motifs can be engraved in.
  • quieter and less echoey
  • higher thickness = better resistance to impact
  • Because thicker laminate may disguise subfloor problems, installation is more forgiving.

It's worth noting that a thicker laminate has no direct benefit in terms of durability. I say directly because impact resistance and ease of installation can affect how long your floor lasts.

The final element is significant since one of the most important concerns with laminate is how flat the floor underneath it is. If there are flaws in the laminate installation, it may fall apart with time.

What is the ideal thickness for laminate flooring?

The thickness of laminate flooring should be between 6 and 12mm. If you locate something thicker than 12mm, it's probably an erroneous measurement–possibly including additional padding. If you want a high-quality wooden feel, go for 10 or 12mm. If expense is an issue and you have smooth flooring, 7 or 8mm will suffice.

So, what are the benefits of thinner laminate?

Well, there's the expense. And the cost should not be overlooked. Just as you wouldn't buy the most costly t-bone steak to slice up and toss into fajitas, you don't have to get the thickest laminate in every scenario.

So, when is it worthwhile to pay? You must understand the importance of one thickness vs the others.

Comparison of laminate thicknesses

Comparing laminate thicknesses will help you choose what you require in your home. Let us begin with the smallest and work our way up.

Is 7mm laminate flooring a good choice?

7mm laminate flooring is the "bottom of the barrel," but let's say you find it at a great price. Is it worthwhile to purchase?

Well, don't.

I mentioned that thickness previously isn't the essential component in durability. A manufacturer might be able to create an extremely durable 7mm laminate. The issue is that they will not.

And we can't blame them. We already discussed how thin laminate seems and sounds cheap. If manufacturers made 7mm durable, they would make a floor that isn't cheap (since it's well-made) yet appears reasonable.

Is 8mm laminate sufficient?

So, if 7mm laminates are bad, what about 8mm? In certain circumstances, we like 8mm since it is the starting point at which manufacturers begin to take things seriously. In other words, high-quality laminate in 8mm is available. But recall the disadvantages of thinner laminate we discussed earlier? There will still be those with 8mm.

8mm VS 10mm

The 2mm difference between 8mm and 10mm may not seem like much, yet it is a 25% increase in material. So, what variations in performance will you notice?

The 8mm may be as challenging as the 10mm. However, if you install both, you may find that the 8mm is noisier and feels more like plastic than wood underfoot. If the subfloor isn't completely level, the 8mm laminate installation will crack more easily and fast.

In other words, remember all of the benefits we spoke about before regarding thicker laminate? They are often evident when comparing an 8mm vs 10mm laminate floor.

10mm VS 12mm

What about the difference between 10mm and 12mm?

It's still a 2mm difference (just like eight vs 10), but I don't think the performance difference is as significant here. The reason for this is declining returns: Many of the performance issues associated with thin laminate are eliminated with 10mm laminate.

However, there are several advantages to going a step thicker:

The main distinction between 10mm and 12mm flooring is purely cosmetic. 12mm laminates have some of the most significant patterns and feel and look the most like hardwood.

When comparing 8mm versus 12mm laminate, though, you'll most certainly see a considerable difference in all of the aspects that make thicker laminate preferable.

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