Stand in the flooring aisle and the two look like the same product at two prices. They are not. The difference is what the plank is made of, and it decides how the floor copes with water, cold and a dropped cast iron pan.
The short version
- Laminate has a wood-fibre core with a photographic layer on top. Hard, warm underfoot, very scratch-resistant. Water that sits on a seam swells the core, and swollen laminate never goes back.
- Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) is plastic all the way through. Water does nothing to it. Slightly softer, so a heavy dropped object can dent it, and cheap thin vinyl telegraphs every lump in the subfloor.
Room by room
Basement: vinyl, always. Concrete gives off moisture, and a basement is where a hot water tank eventually fails. Laminate in a basement is a gamble you only win until you do not.
Bathroom and laundry: vinyl or tile. Same reason.
Kitchen: vinyl. Dishwashers leak. Not often, but they do.
Living room and bedrooms: either. This is where laminate earns its place. Good laminate feels more solid underfoot and resists scratching better than most vinyl, which matters with dogs.
Over in-floor heat: check the product. Both can work, but each has a maximum temperature and some products are not rated for it at all.
The Winnipeg details nobody mentions in the store
Let it acclimatize. Flooring delivered from a cold truck in January needs to sit in the room for a day or two before it goes down. Install it cold and it expands afterwards, and the floor buckles.
Leave the expansion gap. Both products move with temperature and humidity. The gap at the walls is not optional, and it is why baseboard exists.
Salt and grit in winter. At the entry, grit is the enemy of any floating floor. A decent mat inside the door does more for the lifespan of your floor than the extra ten dollars a box you spent on the wear layer.
The subfloor decides the result. Neither product hides a wavy floor. If the subfloor needs levelling, that is part of the job, not an upsell.
What to look at on the box
- Wear layer (vinyl): 12 mil is light residential, 20 mil and up handles a busy family home.
- Thickness: thin planks feel hollow and show the subfloor. Thicker planks with an attached pad are quieter underfoot.
- AC rating (laminate): AC3 for a home, AC4 and up for heavy traffic.
- Coverage per box, so you can work out how many boxes you need. Our flooring calculator does the arithmetic including waste.
Buy every box from the same batch. Dye lots shift, and the difference shows in daylight.