Guide to Laminate Flooring Thickness

Construction

• A plank or tile of laminate flooring consists of four layers, including the wear layer, design layer, inner core layer and backing. The wear layer is usually a coating of clear resin which protects the tile or plank from wear and stains. Generally, thicker tile has a heavier layer of resin, which keeps the laminate looking new longer, and this extra resin raises the price of the laminate per foot or per piece.

Thickness

• Every manufacturer's laminate flooring will be a different, but overall, you can judge the quality of the laminate by the cost and the thickness. Middle-end laminate will be about a quarter-inch thick with a 1- to 2-millimeter layer of wear layer. Better laminates will range between a quarter and three-fourths inches thick, with 3- to 4-millimeter wear layer. Overall, experts at This Old House state that most laminate measures between five-sixteenths and a half-inch thick.

Cores

• Some manufacturers vary the thickness of the core layers between higher and lower-end tile lines. Cores are usually constructed of a medium or high-density particle board, and usually range between one-third and a quarter-inch thick.

Sizes

• It is usually easier to mix and match laminate flooring within a single manufacturer, which will have different styles in brand-standard or complementary sizes. Most brands also include border pieces with each laminate design, intended to finish the perimeter of a room. These borders are usually sold in sizes and thicknesses appropriate with tiles and planks of the same or similar line.