Laminate Flooring : 8 mm vs 12 mm

In the past, laminate flooring has only one thickness - 8mm, but now 12mm flooring is in some of stores and people think thicker flooring will have better quality, more resistant, more durble than 8mm. Without professional knowledge, it is hard to tell the real difference between them.

Laminate flooring in 8 mm thickness is high density fiber-board substracte. Laminate flooring in 12 mm thickness is medium density fiber-board substracte. 8mm flooring has high density, looks thin, but it has high rate of thermal conductitivity. 12mm flooring has low density, good foot-feeling, but environment is not good because it has more materials used in the production.

Substracte

• As the substrate of laminate flooring, most of factories are using high density fiberboard with density between 850 - 950kg/m3. After testing, the density is in this range, the mechanical properties of the substrate is the best.
• Laminate flooring in 8mm has an average of density at 850kg / m3 and density is in a U-shaped curve. That means the density on face and bottom is much higher than the intermediate. Some factories, with constant innovation, trying to meet the needs of consumers, developed a multi-class thicker than 8mm floor, such as solid wood flooring, etc. the surface density is about 1100kg/m3, its lowest point of the density is the core about 850kg / m3, so the average will be greater than 850kg / m3.
• Laminate flooring in 12mm makes people have the comfortable foot-feeling as walking on hardwood flooring because it doesn't have so much sound than 8mm. 12mm flooring will click together closely as it has deeper click profile. 12mm flooring can reduce the sound or noisy than 8mm.

Environment

• Laminate in 12mm thickness is not green flooring. Thicker flooring will use more materials, like MDF. Medium density fiberboard is non eco friendly material which has high VOC. So, in 12mm flooring, you will have more VOC than 8mm without any other unique or outstanding advantages.

Price

• Factories can charge more in thicker flooring than thinner flooring; actually, thicker flooring did cost more because more materials are involved in the production.

Laminate floor in 8mm thickness is enough for the residential and commercial application, it is durable and resistant enough, very low VOC, density of substrate is high enough to support the flooring usage.

To take 8mm or 12mm flooring, it depends on your personal decision. 8mm is standard thickness, good quality, good price, durable enough, environmentally. 12mm is thicker flooring, same quality as 8mm, good walk-feeling, not so much noisy, high price. If you like the laminate flooring to look and walk similarly with hardwood flooring, you can take 12mm. If you want best economic flooring for the house, you please take 8mm.