Laminate Flooring Buying Guide

As a leading UK supplier of home flooring, our expertise covers more than just carpet. With laminate flooring being one of the most popular flooring choices in the UK, we’ve made it our business to ensure we know laminate inside out, upside down and top-to-bottom.

Simple to maintain and easy on the eye, laminate flooring has moved on in leaps and bounds in recent years, and now there’s more to choose from than ever! An affordable alternative to solid wood flooring, there are countless types of laminate flooring available including wood-effect laminate, as well as stone, slate and ceramic tile designs. In the following guide, we look at the different types of laminate flooring, the styles and finishes on offer, and how to choose which laminate is right for your room. If you’re unsure what laminate is made from or you want to know the difference between laminate and luxury vinyl, make sure you read our ‘what is laminate’ guide first.

With so much choice of laminate flooring available these days, it's many people's first port of call when looking for a wooden or tiled floor. Laminate flooring is practical and looks fantastic, and with its strong wood-based core, it’s built to last. When you add easy to fit and an affordable price, laminate just keeps ticking all the boxes.

Here are just a few reasons why we love it so much:

• Realistic look - Modern day print and production processes mean that pretty much any style of flooring can be replicated with a laminate, from classic wood to travertine tiles, all with an authentic finish.
• Fuss-free fitting - With its click and lock design, laminate floor is super simple to install.

• Low maintenance - Unlike real wood flooring, laminate needs very little on-going maintenance.
• Easy to clean - Just a swoosh with a slightly damp mop and a swish with a broom is all that’s needed. Our laminate care guide tells you how to keep your laminate looking lovely.
• Sustainable - The wood used in all our laminate is FSC certified making it an eco-friendly flooring option.
• Versatile - Laminate can be used almost anywhere in your home, from the lounge to the hallway, and some laminates can even be fitted in a bathroom or on the stairs.

To help you decide on the right laminate flooring for your home, you can order free samples of your favourite laminates online and we will deliver them straight to your door within 3-5 working days, completely free of charge!

Laminate flooring is diverse enough to be used in any room of the house! When buying laminate flooring, you should bear in mind which room it will be fitted in. Our floorologists are all clued up on laminate and will find one that matches each room perfectly.

Kitchen laminate

Kitchens are the hub of the home, so the tough exterior of laminate makes it an ideal flooring option for this busy room. Easy maintenance laminate flooring is great for kitchens, as it can handle any spillages or dropped food. Super practical and with a wide range of designs to choose from, kitchen laminate flooring will give you functionality as well as gorgeous styling.

Lounge laminate

Wood-effect laminate is a popular choice for lounges. It brings the warmth of a traditional real wood floor without the frequent upkeep or the draughts coming through the floorboards. With such a huge selection of wood styles and colours available, the only issue you’ll have is deciding which one you want to order for your living room!

Bedroom laminate

As bedrooms are low traffic areas, there’s no need to worry too much about durability - just choose your favourite design from the huge selection of bedroom laminate available. Smooth flooring doesn’t harbour dust, so laminate is a great alternative to carpet in a bedroom, especially if you suffer from allergies.

Hallway laminate

The hallway is probably the busiest area of the home, so it requires hard-wearing flooring. Our heavy use laminate would be perfect as it’s scratch resistant and super easy to keep clean. Choose a light oak to brighten your stairway or create ambience with walnut laminate.

Dining room laminate

This practical flooring is great for dining rooms. Easy to clean and maintain, it can deal perfectly well with the odd drink or food spill and is robust enough to deal with chair legs moving backwards and forwards every day. Pretty much any laminate will work in your dining room so you really can create any look you want.

Bathroom laminate

Although not usually considered to be the ideal choice for a bathroom or loo, new design technology means there is now water resistant laminate flooring for bathrooms available. It can cope with humidity and dampness and it’s slip resistant too, so it’s a pretty safe option.

Conservatory laminate

Another good thing about laminate is that it has built-in UV resistance making it a practical flooring choice for a sunny room like a conservatory. Solid wood floors quickly fade in direct sunlight, whereas conservatory laminate can easily take the heat.

There are lots of laminate flooring styles available, each designed to mimic a real solid wood or natural stone floor. Wood-effect laminate is the most popular, with each wood type having its own character and bringing something different to your space.

Oak laminate

Oak flooring will give any home a timeless finish that complements pretty much any style of decor. Oak laminate flooring is very realistic and so much more practical than solid oak. It’s the perfect way to get the amazing look of real oak without the huge cost, or ongoing maintenance.

Walnut laminate

Walnut is a beautifully rich wood and this laminate authentically captures its natural beauty including knots and grain detail. Walnut laminate flooring can give you the perfect dark wood floor without the scary price tag meaning you can revamp your home at a fraction of the cost.

Chestnut laminate

Arriving in varying shades and styles, chestnut laminate has a natural look with grain detailing that enhances its authenticity. Some have a worn look to the surface, creating a vintage feel.

Stone laminate

This tile effect laminate flooring is the perfect solution if you’ve always wanted a stone floor. Stone effect laminate looks fantastically realistic, is anti-slip and has a comfy warm surface to walk on — the best of both worlds!

Slate laminate

Now you can achieve the look and feel of real slate without the high cost by investing in slate effect laminate flooring. The dramatic and earthy tones of slate laminate flooring will give any space a very alluring, high-end look that screams luxury.

The surface finish and plank detailing of laminate flooring can dramatically change the look and feel of your floor. These extra details enhance the authenticity of your laminate, giving you the look and feel of real slate, stone or wood. The style you choose can impact on the overall look of your floor, but what are the differences between laminate flooring finishes?

PLANK EDGING

• No groove edge

No groove means just that! The edges of all planks meet squarely creating a smooth, uniform surface blending the wood floor together from plank to plank.

• Bevel edge or V-groove

A bevel edge is a finish added to the edge of each plank of laminate to enhance depth and definition between them. When the planks are clicked together, a v-groove can be seen between each board giving an even more natural finish by enhancing the wood plank effect.

• 4 bevel edge

A 4 bevel edge laminate plank incorporates the bevelled edge on both the length and width of the planks or tiles. This enhances the definition of the plank effect even more, increasing the realism to give you the look of a hardwood floor.

• Pressed bevel edge

This is like the 4 bevel edge but with a couple of differences. Firstly, the pressing technique creates a more rounded v-groove for a nicer feel underfoot. Secondly, the surface design layer is wrapped around the edge, creating softer definition and less of a ‘gap’ between each plank for greater authenticity.

SURFACE FINISHES

• Embossed or textured finish

Some laminate comes with a textured finish to the surface and this laminate is called embossed. The pattern is pressed into the laminate to create a texture that makes your flooring look and feel more like real wood. However, regular embossing doesn’t match up exactly with the grain design on the printed layer of your laminate.

• Registered embossed or authentic finish

The process for registered embossed is the same as for regular embossed whereby a pattern is pressed into the surface of the laminate to create texture. With a registered embossed finish, the texture follows the grain of the printed image, creating an authentic look and feel underfoot. Innovation in the industry’s technology enables each individual laminate plank to be matched with perfect precision.

• Hand scraped finish

The surface of the laminate flooring is pressed in such a way that it creates the appearance of wood that has been scraped giving it real rustic feel. The laminate appears old and distressed and your feet will feel the contours of grains and indentations.

Plank designs

• Single plank laminate

Single plank laminate gives the impression of a single plank of wood taking up the full width of each piece of laminate, giving a traditional look to your floor.

• 2 strip plank laminate

The 2 strip laminate designs give the impression of 2 strip of wood across the width of each laminate piece which gives a staggered appearance highlighting colour variations.

• Multistrip plank laminate

Multistrip means that the laminate looks like there are multiple boards within one plank. When the multiple planks are in a random pattern, it creates an incredibly unique design.

• Herringbone plank laminate

Herringbone laminate offers a timeless look for your home that’s also really on trend. The chevron layout adds subtle pattern and variation in colour, plus it’s much cheaper and easier to install than a real wood parquet floor.

• Narrow plank laminate

Narrow plank laminate gives the impression that each plank is narrow which is great for small spaces as it will make the room look larger by making it seem like there are more planks. Clever, huh?

• Wide plank laminate

This laminate works well in larger spaces as the planks appear wider giving a more rustic look and feel to the room without making it look too busy.

• Tile plank laminate

This laminate is made to replicate tiles of different sizes and shapes and applies to stone and slate effect laminate flooring, so it’s usually rectangular or square.

If we’ve convinced you to take the plunge on a laminate floor, then why not book a free home visit where you can try out laminate samples in your own home? Alternatively, you can book an in-store consultation with one of our expert floorologists who can show you all our flooring options. Already chosen your laminate and raring to go? We have some other guides you might like to read including ‘the best underlay for laminate flooring’ and ‘how to install laminate flooring’ should you fancy fitting laminate yourself.