Laminate - why is it so unpopular among sellers?

We are building a single-family house with underfloor heating for hot water. The ground floor living area will have tiles throughout, but we are still undecided about the children's rooms and the bedroom.

We originally thought about floating laminate flooring as a DIY project – it should cost around €15 plus impact sound insulation per m². If the flooring wears out in 20 years, we don't care; then we'll simply get new flooring.

Now we have been to three floor retailers and all of them have rather recommended vinyl or parquet, of course glued down. We are actually against parquet because it is suboptimal with underfloor heating and above all: expensive. If the children (currently toddlers) damage it, you just end up frustrated. Sanding is rarely possible with engineered parquet and replacing it when glued down: good luck. We distrust vinyl due to pollutant exposure, confirmed by Ökotest from 2012. Laminate, on the other hand, seems to be free of pollutants, also according to Ökotest.

Why do all sellers advise against laminate? Because they earn more with other coverings? And is floating installation of engineered parquet with underfloor heating sensible or rather not recommended?

So we currently have both laminate and vinyl in our apartment. Disadvantage: You need very good impact sound insulation. The elephant herd upstairs is really bad (and we only have a toddler!) Since we don’t have underfloor heating, your feet get cold quickly, although with the vinyl (a bit thicker) it’s quite manageable. Our son lives on about 25sqm of vinyl. We can’t detect any health burden (or unpleasant smell). Advantage: incredibly easy to maintain. I think with small children this is THE factor. At the moment I adore our vinyl because I can wipe up pee without panic.

In our house there will be a low-pile carpet in the kids’ room. It’s simply nicer when they have outgrown diapers and play sitting on the floor. The underfloor heating isn’t always on anyway. In the rest of the house there will be laminate with proper impact sound insulation (floating installation I think).

Why do all sellers advise against laminate? Because they earn more with other coverings?

Yes and no. Yes, they earn more with other coverings, but on the other hand, you yourself describe that laminate cannot be sanded down, which - especially if it is supposed to be cheap - is a disposable floor. After a few years, it always looks worn out and if the thin cheap boards are not glued, it also likes to click and creak underfoot.

One should also ask why laminate is so popular in rental apartments... of course, because it looks good, is cheap, and the landlord doesn’t care about the missing impact sound insulation if he doesn’t live downstairs himself. After 5 or at the latest 10 years, it can then be removed and the next tenant "enjoys" the "high-quality" 5€ floor (I realize that you don't take the cheapest with 15€).

A parquet floor can first be sanded down when it is worn out, and you can also seal/care for the wood so that the surface is already quite hard and resilient.

If you then decide for laminate anyway and do not take the thinnest material including proper impact sound insulation, then honestly you reach the level where you can also get a real wood parquet. For example, we have that in the guest room; the floor including incl. substructure/adhesive (it lies on old tiles, without underfloor heating) and sealing cost about 30€/m². Ok, I admit - it was a leftover stock at the hardware store, fit exactly in m² and color, but sometimes you just have to be a bit lucky. It has been there for 5 years now, it doesn’t creak at all, looks great and will easily last another 25 years with the low stress before it would need sanding.

Of course, you can install laminate for 15€/m² zzgl. substructure/adhesive, but I don’t think it will last 20 years in heavily used areas like children’s rooms. By the way, we have carpet there. Not the cheapest either, but I would always do that again.

Best regards
Dirk Grafe

I also find laminate terrible, every rental apartment I had in recent years had it. Cold underfoot, noisy, and woe if it gets wet. Especially in the entrance area, the edges would bend up... And it's ugly too. Also way too slippery if you have pets. Now in my own house, I will definitely install vinyl, there are nice ones that are waterproof (our floor isn't) with a good texture so no one has to slip on it. It is also warm underfoot.

I think these are extreme prejudices against laminate. You don't always have to choose the cheapest option. We have installed it in several rooms, and there are some very nice-looking types; the selection is actually larger than with vinyl, etc. It’s not cold underfoot for us—okay, we have underfloor heating—and our little ones also like to walk barefoot on it. It’s only been a few years, but it still looks like new. Sure, you can’t sand it down after 25 years, but my children can choose the next floor themselves when they’re no longer little kids, since it’s their room (I’m still paying anyway), so it doesn’t bother me at all. Edit: And moisture has not been a problem with ours—at least not yet. And with two little ones, quite a bit ends up on the floor...

Not prejudice, but years of experience with laminate. Yes, you can take more expensive ones and certainly should in your own house (not the one for 3.50 per sqm).

But they are all smooth and cold, no matter how expensive. I haven't seen one with surface texture yet.