Amtico and laminate flooring are two of the most popular flooring options in Scotland, and across the world.
Amtico is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and are renowned for their huge range of styles and the high quality of their products. We are proud to be one of the only Approved Amtico Installers in the nation meaning that we are able to provide a full range of products and all our showroom staff are fully trained in Amtico products.
This is fantastic, but we realise that every single customer has their own unique tastes, budgets, and requirements, which is why we also offer an extensive selection of laminate, vinyl, hard wood, and more.
Amtico and laminate flooring are often compared and confused, which is not all that surprising considering the large number of similarities that there are between the two.
For a start, both Laminate Glasgow and Amtico are designed to mimic natural materials such as stone and wood and feature a HD printed top layer and textured finish to add realism to the tiles and planks.
So what is the difference?
As much as there are certain similarities between LVT and laminate, they are not the same, and there are also many differences between the two.
LVT from Amtico is certainly a more premium product, with a more realistic finish and is often indistinguishable from the real thing to the untrained eye.
Being much warmer and softer to walk on than hardwood, and able to be installed over all forms of underfloor heating, this makes it the perfect choice for practical homeowners who love the appearance of wooden or stone flooring.
The main difference, however, is in the manufacturing process. LVT is created by combining multiple layers of Polyvinyl chloride PVC, whilst laminate is created using high density fibreboard.
This does lead to a less durable product, but it is cheaper in most cases, and laminate production is considered pretty eco-friendly as recycled wood pulp is used as part of the construction.
The other big difference is the thickness of the tiles created. LVT flooring is thinner than laminate, under 5mm, whilst laminate can exceed 10mm in many cases.
LVT is quieter to walk on, and softer, and it is for this reason that our customers often report that LVT feels more premium when trying out both options down at our Glasgow showroom.
IF sound absorption and privacy is a big priority for you when installing a new floor, you really can’t go wrong with LVT.
What about ongoing maintenance?
There is very little to choose between laminate and Amtico flooring in terms of maintenance. This is because there is in fact very little maintenance to do.
Both are remarkably low effort to care for, although you should take care to use dry cleaning methods such as brushes to clean your laminate, whilst LVT can be cleaned using a wet mop with no difficulty or risk of damage being done.