Laminate Flooring
Modern style with everyday durability. Laminate flooring brings realistic wood textures and a low-maintenance finish to your home, making it a smart choice for busy rooms. Choose from versatile tones and styles for a practical floor built for daily life.
Shop Laminate
“The most floor for the money. A modern laminate takes traffic that would mark real timber.”
— our flooring team
LaminateBuying guide
Still unsure? Real people, honest advice.
Buying guide
A few simple decisions—finish, format and where it’ll live—make choosing your laminate straightforward.
Best value per m²
Best scratch resistance
Best for fast makeovers
In depth
How to choose laminate
The twelve laminates in this range are one board in twelve designs. The board is 8 mm thick and 193 mm by 1204 mm; its melamine wear surface sits over a printed decor on a high-density fibreboard core; it clicks together, has micro-bevelled edges, is rated AC4 and listed as compatible with underfloor heating, and each box covers 2.32 square metres under a 25 year manufacturer's warranty. Because the specification is the same across the range, the whole decision is the printed design, organised in the subcategories by tone: beige and light browns, mid browns, dark browns, greys and white.
What laminate is for is dry rooms with traffic. The melamine surface is the hardest of the three floor types here against abrasion, harder than a vinyl wear layer or an oiled oak, which is why a laminate holds up under chair legs, toy cars and dog claws. The laminate standard, quoted below, grades that resistance in abrasion classes from AC1 to AC6, and every board in this range is AC4. It is the floor for bedrooms, landings, living rooms and home offices, and the usual answer for an upstairs laid as one floor.
Shop by shade
In practice
What it is not for is water. The core is wood fibre, and the same standard excludes areas subject to frequent wetting, bathrooms and laundry rooms among them, because the core takes on water and swells. A kitchen is a judgement about how much water reaches the floor; a bathroom is not a judgement at all. For the same tones in those rooms, the rigid vinyl range carries them on a core that takes on no water, and the comparison guide sets the two side by side.
The boards are laid floating over an underlay, and the underlay decides more than most people expect: it levels small imperfections in the subfloor, protects the boards from residual moisture in the base, and sets how the floor sounds and how much heat gets through from underfloor heating. The industry association's account of those jobs is quoted below, with the expansion gap it recommends at the edges of any floating floor. The trade's position on floating against full-surface gluing is quoted as well, and it is not what many fitters assume.
A printed laminate reads more even than the timber it follows, which suits a modern room and can look flat in a period one; from standing height a good print reads as wood, close to it does not, and it is honest to choose it as a printed floor with a hard surface rather than as an imitation. The formaldehyde class for wood-based boards is the last fact below, for anyone specifying a floor for a bedroom.
FAQ
What is laminate flooring?
Can laminate go in kitchens or bathrooms?
Does laminate work with underfloor heating?
How long does laminate last?
Do you deliver UK-wide and can I get a sample first?
Standards
What the published standards say
Each entry is quoted from its source and linked to it. The full set is in the standards reference.
BS EN 13329 — laminate floor coverings
BS EN 13329 specifies the characteristics, requirements and test methods for laminate floor coverings with a surface layer based on aminoplastic thermosetting resins, including requirements for marking and packaging. It also contains a classification system based on EN ISO 10874 for areas and levels of use, and it does not cover areas subject to frequent wetting such as bathrooms, laundry rooms or saunas.
“BS EN 13329 specifies characteristics, requirements, and test methods for laminate floor coverings with a surface layer based on amino plastic thermosetting resins. BS EN 13329 specifies requirements for marking and packaging.”
Source: BS EN 13329:2016+A2:2021 | 31 Oct 2021 | BSI KnowledgeAC1 to AC6 — abrasion classes for laminate
EN 13329 classifies the abrasion resistance of laminate floor coverings in abrasion classes AC1 to AC6. The EPLF's own Environmental Product Declaration for DPL laminate floor covering states the property "Abrasion Class EN 13329" with the value range AC1-AC6.
| Abrasion classes under EN 13329 | AC1-AC6 |
|---|
“Abrasion Class EN 13329 | AC1-AC6 | -”
Source: Environmental Product Declaration - Direct Pressure Laminate Floor Covering (DPL Floor Covering), owner of the declaration: European Producers of Laminate Flooring e.V. (EPLF), decl. no. EPD-EPL-20210138-CBE1-ENWhat an underlay is actually for
The MMFA groups the benefits of an underlay under floating multilayer modular flooring into three headings: ensuring a satisfactory installation by levelling unevenness, permanently protecting the floor against wear and against rising residual building moisture, and improving the floor's properties in terms of impact sound, walking noise, heat insulation and walking comfort.
“The requirements for suitable underlays are aimed at protecting the floor from daily wear and tear such as falling objects and walking, as well as shielding the floor from rising residual building moisture or damp.”
Source: Underlays — MMFA (Multilayer Modular Flooring Association)The expansion gap
The EPLF, the European association of laminate flooring producers, recommends an edge gap of 8 mm to 12 mm on all sides of a floating floor, so that the covering can expand and contract without lifting.
| recommended edge gap on all sides | 8 to 12 mm |
|---|
“To accommodate such changes, a edge spacing should be observed on all sides. A free space of 8 mm to 12 mm is recommended.”
Source: EPLF Technical Bulletin — Installation of Laminate Floor Coverings (06/2022), 6.4 Edge gapsFloating or glued down
Yes. The EPLF, the association of European laminate flooring producers, states in its technical bulletin on installation that laminate floor coverings are by conception intended for floating installation, and that a full-surface adhesive bond is an exception used only under special circumstances, for example at the specific request of the client. Before bonding a laminate floor over its full surface, installers are urged to contact the manufacturer or supplier to establish whether the product is suitable or approved for that type of installation.
| laminate floor coverings – method by design | floating installation |
|---|---|
| full-surface adhesive bond | exception, only under special circumstances and after checking suitability/approval with the manufacturer |
“Under special circumstances, for example at the specific request of the client, it may be necessary to install laminate floor coverings using a full-surface adhesive bond, despite the fact that by conception laminate floor coverings are intended for floating installation.”
Source: EPLF Technical Bulletin – Installation of Laminate Floor Coverings (English edition 06/2022), European Producers of Laminate FlooringEmission class E1 — formaldehyde
E1 is the formaldehyde emission class used for wood-based products including laminate flooring; an E1 product releases no more than 0.1 ppm of formaldehyde, and the emission is determined by the chamber method of EN 717-1.
| E1 limit | 0.1 ppm |
|---|
“Engineered wood products classified as E1 do not emit more than 0.1 ppm of formaldehyde into the ambient air.”
Source: OSB with Emission Class E1 - What Does This Mean? — SWISS KRONODelivery & areas
