Laminate flooring handles claws, chair legs and afternoon sun better than most vinyl, but its fiberboard core still hates standing water, so where you install it matters more than the pattern you pick.
Laminate Flooring Is a Photograph Under a Very Hard Shell
Laminate flooring is four layers fused under heat and pressure. On top sits a clear melamine overlay loaded with aluminum oxide. Below that comes a printed decor paper, then a high-density fiberboard (HDF) core, then a backing layer that keeps the plank from bowing. Better products emboss the surface in register, so the texture you feel lines up with the grain you see.
Two things follow. That melamine top is harder than the wear layer on most rigid core luxury vinyl plank, which is why laminate holds up so well to pets and grit. And there's no wood to sand. Unlike solid or engineered hardwood, a worn laminate plank gets replaced, never refinished.
What the AC Rating Tells You, and What It Doesn't
| Rating | Intended traffic | Where it fits at home |
|---|---|---|
| AC1 | Moderate residential | Bedrooms and closets |
| AC2 | General residential | Living and dining rooms |
| AC3 | Heavy residential, moderate commercial | Any room in most homes, kitchens and halls included |
| AC4 | General commercial | Busy households with large dogs |
| AC5 | Heavy commercial | Rarely needed in a house |
The AC classification is built mainly on surface performance: abrasion, impact and staining. It says little about how the joints survive a spill, so look for a separate standing-water rating.
