Parquet or laminate? - The differences

Often the right flooring in the new shelter plays an important role, but which floors should be chosen? Usually, this is quickly decided depending on the budget, but the price difference has now decreased so much that parquet is a real alternative to laminate.

Because even though laminate and parquet are processed the same way, there are still major differences!

Parquet is made of solid wood and is therefore considered a more noble product. Parquet floors, however, feel warmer, while laminate is more durable, cheaper, and available with alternative floor designs such as tiles.

Important: The subfloor

So that the floor still looks nice after several years, one should pay attention to a suitable subfloor before laying it. A smooth, even, and firm subfloor is indispensable.

Often, however, the floor is far from the desired properties and requires some preliminary work:
Wood plank floors
If the wood plank floors have more than 3 mm per meter of unevenness, it must be leveled. For this purpose, leveling compound for wooden floors is used. After priming the subfloor, overlapping fabric sheets are stapled and embedded into the flowing material. This is supported with a steel trowel. A vapor barrier in the form of at least 0.2 mm thick PE foil later protects the laminate from moisture.

Glued carpet on screed
Hard needle felt flooring can remain. Loop or velour carpets must be removed. When lifting the flooring, remnants of the carpet backing often stick to the screed. These are soaked with water and detergent and removed with a spatula or, more easily, with an electric scraper. A vapor barrier is also required here.

PVC sheet flooring
On screed, the covering can generally remain. If the plastic floor is undamaged, an additional vapor barrier can be omitted. However, if the covering lies on wood planks, it must be removed. An airtight closure of the subfloor does not allow air exchange and can therefore lead to damage.

Ceramic tiles
If laid evenly, the vapor barrier can be applied directly on them. Hollow tiles (loose) should be reattached or replaced with tile adhesive. Height differences between individual floor tiles of more than 3 millimeters are eliminated by removing the protruding tile. A vapor barrier is required.

Damaged screed with coarse unevenness
Leveling is needed here. Either fill with putty or simply apply self-leveling compound. If it is floating screed, a perimeter insulation strip must be installed at the junction between floor and wall to protect the joint, preventing it from filling up and thus losing impact sound insulation. If the screed is sanding off, it should be primed beforehand. A vapor barrier is required.

From a price perspective, parquet floors are not even that expensive anymore. That means the price difference between parquet and laminate is no longer as big as it once was. An important disadvantage of laminate floors is that they cannot be sanded. Parquet floors can be sanded twice starting from a thickness of 4mm. Personally, I find parquet floors better.

In terms of price, in my opinion, there is still a considerable difference between laminate and parquet! Qualitatively, the difference (when considering the lifespan) is also enormously high. Parquet looks like new again after sanding, and laminate, well, you have to replace it at some point, plus it doesn’t look as nice after a few years.