Laminate Flooring Guides

Laminate flooring explained: water-resistant vs waterproof, AC ratings for durability, and installation over existing floors.

Laminate flooring is a synthetic floor covering built around a core of HDF (high-density fibreboard), topped with a printed decorative layer showing a wood or stone pattern, and finished with a clear melamine resin wear layer that resists scratching. It clicks together without glue and floats over the subfloor, which makes it one of the more DIY-friendly flooring options available in the UK.

The two specs that matter most when choosing laminate are the AC (Abrasion Class) rating and water resistance, and they measure completely different things. AC rating covers how well the surface resists scuffs and wear: AC3 suits general domestic use, AC4 is the sensible minimum for kitchens and hallways with heavier traffic, and AC5 is a light commercial rating that lasts longest but usually isn't necessary in a typical home. Water resistance is separate and covers what happens to the HDF core if water gets past the surface. Standard laminate is not waterproof and will swell within 2-4 hours of standing water reaching the core. Water-resistant laminate has wax-sealed edges that push that window out to 24-72 hours, useful protection against a spill you don't notice straight away, but it isn't a substitute for genuinely waterproof flooring in a wet area.

Laminate suits living rooms, bedrooms, hallways and, with a water-resistant product, kitchens. It's not the right choice for bathrooms or utility rooms with routine water exposure; LVT is the better option there, since it shares laminate's click-together installation but with a genuinely waterproof vinyl core rather than a wood-fibre one.

UK laminate costs £8-30 per m² for materials depending on AC rating and water resistance, with £8-12 per m² added for professional fitting if you're not laying it yourself. It's typically the cheapest hard flooring option in the UK, which is a large part of its enduring popularity alongside its DIY-friendly installation.

Installation follows the same basic pattern regardless of grade: a foam or felt underlay goes down first, planks click together row by row with joints staggered for strength, and a 10mm expansion gap is left around the perimeter so the floor can move slightly with humidity and temperature changes without buckling. That gap gets covered with scotia beading or matching trim once the floor's down. Don't seal the perimeter gap with silicone, laminate needs to be free to expand and contract; sealing it in is one of the more common causes of a floor lifting or peaking at the seams months after fitting.

One thing to watch for regardless of which guide below you're reading: marketing language on laminate packaging isn't always precise. Terms like "water-resistant", "splash-proof" and even "waterproof laminate" from some retailers all tend to mean the same thing in practice, a sealed, wax-treated core that delays water damage rather than a material that's immune to it. If a product genuinely has a non-wood core, it's technically rigid-core LVT rather than laminate, whatever the marketing calls it.

Plank thickness is another spec worth checking alongside AC rating. Most UK laminate runs 7-12mm thick. Thinner boards (7-8mm) are cheaper but transmit more footstep noise and feel slightly hollow underfoot, particularly on a floating installation over concrete. Thicker boards (10-12mm) feel more substantial, resist minor subfloor imperfections better, and are generally the better choice for hallways and kitchens where the extra durability earns its keep.