Best Laminates

The selections here are based on design features, brand reputation and over all design.

10. Alloc, Original

High Pressure Construction, 10.88MM thick, an Aluminum locking system and a AC rating of 5. Alloc Original may be one of the toughest laminates on the market. The Original Collection offers 23 hardwood designs with each design offering it's own set of features. All wood patterns offer AquaResist (Alloc's high density fiber board with moisture resistance) but other features to look for are Bevel Edges, Wood Structure technology (texture that follows the wood's annual rings), Antique Structure technology (hand scraped), and Embossed In Register. Not every design in the Original Collection has these features so the best way to shop for Alloc is to find a Alloc retailer so you can see and feel the different wood patterns.

The Original Collection comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

9. Armstrong, Natures Gallery

Of all the collections featured here on the top 10, Natures Gallery offers the largest selection of hardwood and stone designs. All boards are 8MM thick and include traditional, exotic and rustic hardwoods as well as random size tile and slate. One of my favorite things about Natures Gallery is American Duet, a small collections of 6 hardwood designs, each available in two board widths 6.69" and 4.72". You can install American Duet using one uniform board size, or for a more unique look, you can install using a combination of both 6.69" X 50.6" and 4.72" X 50.6". Design features include Armstrong's MasterWorks, Realistic Embossing, VisionGuard, HydraCore, ArmaLock.

Natures Gallery comes with a 30 year residential warranty.

8. Fausfloor, Really Exotic

The Really Exotic collection offers some of the best exotic wood designs I've ever seen. If you're interested in an exotic wood the Really Exotic collection is a must see which offers 4 Pear Tree patterns, 2 Merbau patterns, 5 Mahogany's, 3 Tigerwoods, 2 Wenge and 2 Walnuts. All designs are 8MM thick and come in 11.5" X 46.5" board sizes. Various features to look for are; Joint Guard, Embossed In Register, MicroBevel, Comfort Underlayment, InterPlank Design (unbroken wood patterns) and LongStrip (random board lengths up to 10 feet).

Really Exotic comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

7. QuickStep, Country

I love handscraped, cabin style hardwood. If you're worried about wear and tear this kind of laminate is absolutely the best because it's already whethered and worn in appearance. Once described to me as "your first chance to own a brand new 100 year old floor" the QuickStep Country Collection is one of the best hardscraped laminates available.

The boards are 9.5MM thick, 54 inches long and 6 inches wide. In addition to having QuickSteps's Natural Authentic (embossed-in-register) texture, these boards are also designed with QuickStep's "Country Surface", handscraped texture technology. The edges are made with QuickStep's Contour Artisanal; while some laminates have a straight beveled edge, for a more rustic appearance, Contour Artisanal is a rough, scalloped edge. These boards look like real handscraped hardwood!

Country comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

6. Wilsonart, Estate Plus

All Wilsonart Laminates are made with High Pressure construction but additionally the Estate Plus and the Red Label Collection are made with Wilsonart Permaplex technology. Permaplex is high pressure laminate with a surface layer that is 250% thicker than most other laminates. The Estate Plus collection offers 16 hardwood designs including bamboo, birch, oaks and maples. All boards are 8.4MM thick and come in 7.7" X 46.5" long board sizes. Additional design features include, Wilsonart's ScuffShield, GreyCore and Tap-N-Lock installation technology.

The Estate Plus Collection comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

5. QuickStep, Linesse

Always the innovator, QuickStep brings us The Linesse Collection. Three seperate wood strips on one plank, each strip slides independently and when installing the three strips slide making it possible to install in a staggered pattern, like real hardwood. The result is a much easier installation and a very realitic appearance. The boards are 10MM thick and 54.5" long X 8.125" wide. Features include QuickStep's Natural Authentic texture technology and Eased Edge (a shallow 4-sided micro bevel). There are 6 hardwood designs available.

The Linesse Collection comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

4. Wilsonart, Red Label

In addition to being a high pressure laminate the Red Label Collection is made with Wilsonart's Permaplex technology. Permaplex is HPL with a surface that is 250% thicker than most other laminates. The Red Label collection offers 12 wood patterns available in 46.5" X 5" board sizes with belveled edges, 4 wood patterns available in 46.5" X 3.5" with beveled edges, 5 handscraped wood patterns available in 46.5" X 7.7" two of which have beveled edges, 3 distressed wood patterns available in 46.5" X 7.7" and 3 slate designs available in 15.5" square. Over all the Red Label collection is very realistic in appearance.

Red Label comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

3. Berry Floor, Lounge

The Lounge collection by Berry Floor has everything you would want in a laminate floor. They're made into individual boards, extremely durable and have a very realistic appearance. Lounge features some of Berry Floors best technologies including WoodStructure, HandScraped, WoodView Microbevel and BerryLoc. There are 10 wood colors to choose from one of which is a stunning Santos Mahogany Lounge is 8MM thick and is graded for general commercial use.

Lounge comes with a limited lifetime warranty

2. Fausfloor, Cosmopolitan

Because of their realistic designs, Fausfloor is quickly becoming one of my favorite laminate manufactures. Cosmopolitan is a stunning collection of hardwood, parquet, travertine, porcelain and tile. I chose this collection based primarily on appearance however there is a lot to be said about design features and durability. The Cosmopolitan collection features Embossed In Register texture, Microbeveled edges, and Fausfloor innovations InterPlank Design (unbroken wood patterns) and DualFinish (gloss variation). All boards are 11.5MM thick and are made with Fausfloor LongStrip (random board lengths up to 10 feet).

Cosmopolitan comes with a residential lifetime warranty.

1. KaindL, Tuscon Plank

If you have never heard of Kaindl laminate before you might be surprised to see it here as my #1 laminate. I'm a little surprised too because until about 4 weeks ago, when a Kaindl corporate sales representative walked into my showroom, I had never heard of Kaindl either. Usually when a laminate rep walks in my store I immediately want to run through the warehouse and out the back door. Running seems so much easier than sitting through a sales presentation pretending to be impressed by a mediocre laminate. But I'm a nice guy and needless to say I didn't run and I'm glad because Kaindl has since then become my best selling laminate. Although Kaindl has 7 collections there are only 3 that you need to know about; Sarasota, Tuscon and Richond. All 3 are 10MM thick, have 30 year stain, wear, fade and topical water warranties, are made into individual strips (like real hardwood) and are all visually stunning.