Laminate vs Hardwood vs LVP Flooring: Which Is Right for Your Home?

Shopping for new floors is one of the most impactful decisions you can make during a home renovation — and one of the most confusing. Walk into any flooring showroom and you’ll face a wall of samples: hardwood, laminate, luxury vinyl plank (LVP), rigid core, engineered hardwood. The names are different everywhere you look, and the price tags swing from budget to eye-watering.

At Builders Surplus — with showrooms in Louisville and Florence, KY serving Louisville, Cincinnati, and Northern Kentucky — we help homeowners cut through the noise every day. Here’s an honest, up-to-date breakdown of today’s most popular flooring types so you can buy with confidence.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate has come a long way since its early days. Modern laminate — like the Pergo Elements and RevWood lines we carry — delivers stunning wood-look visuals at a fraction of solid hardwood’s cost. Here’s what makes it a smart pick:

• Affordability: Laminate is one of the most budget-friendly flooring options available, making it ideal for large areas or whole-home renovations.
• Durability: A thick aluminum oxide wear layer resists scratches, scuffs, and fading — great for high-traffic areas and homes with kids or pets.
• Easy DIY installation: Most laminate uses a click-lock floating system — no glue, no nails, no subfloor adhesive required.
• Low maintenance: Sweep and damp-mop. That’s basically it.
• Realistic visuals: High-definition printing and embossing technology means today’s laminate genuinely looks like wood.

Best for: Living rooms, bedrooms, hallways, basements (above-grade), and rental properties.

Watch out for: Traditional laminate is not waterproof — standing water or high-humidity environments (bathrooms, laundry rooms) can cause swelling and warping. If that’s a concern, see Rigid Core LVP below.

Solid Hardwood Flooring

There’s nothing quite like real wood under your feet. Solid hardwood is milled from a single piece of wood — typically 3/4″ thick — and is the gold standard for classic home aesthetics and long-term value.

• Timeless appeal: Hardwood never goes out of style and adds warmth that no synthetic flooring can fully replicate.
• Refinishable: The biggest advantage over all other flooring types — you can sand and refinish solid hardwood multiple times over decades.
• Adds home value: Real hardwood is a recognized selling point for home buyers.
• Long lifespan: A properly maintained hardwood floor can last 50–100 years.

Best for: Living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and anywhere you want long-term investment value.

Watch out for: Solid hardwood is susceptible to moisture and humidity changes — it can expand, contract, and cup. It should not be installed in bathrooms or below grade. It’s also the most expensive flooring type and typically requires professional installation.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Engineered hardwood gives you the look and feel of real wood with better dimensional stability. It’s constructed with a real hardwood veneer on top bonded to multiple layers of plywood or HDF beneath — making it far more resistant to moisture and temperature fluctuations than solid hardwood.

• Real wood surface: The top layer is genuine hardwood — same species, same grain, same feel.
• More stable than solid hardwood: The cross-ply construction resists expansion and contraction from humidity changes.
• Versatile installation: Can be glued, nailed, or floated — and can work over radiant heat systems and in basements where solid hardwood cannot.
• Refinishable (limited): Depending on the veneer thickness, engineered hardwood can typically be lightly sanded and refinished 1–2 times.

Best for: Basements, kitchens, and rooms with radiant heat or moderate moisture variation where solid hardwood is risky.

Rigid Core Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) — The New King of Flooring

If you haven’t looked at LVP in the last few years, you’re missing the most exciting development in flooring. Rigid core luxury vinyl plank — also called SPC (stone polymer composite) or WPC (wood polymer composite) — has exploded in popularity for very good reasons.

We carry several top LVP lines at Builders Surplus, including Everlife rigid core LVT (Andover, Cyrus, Cyrus XL), Clairmont LVP, Smart Select, and our Smithcliffs™ Waterproof Hybrid Rigid Core Collection.

• 100% waterproof: Unlike laminate or hardwood, rigid core LVP is completely waterproof — safe for bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements.
• Extremely durable wear layer: Commercial-grade wear layers (12–28 mil) resist heavy foot traffic, pet nails, and everyday abuse.
• Comfortable underfoot: The rigid core plus attached underlayment provides cushion and reduces sound transmission — much quieter than laminate.
• Easy installation: Click-lock floating system goes down fast, even for DIYers.
• Realistic wood and stone visuals: Advanced embossing in register technology creates textures that sync precisely with the printed grain — genuinely convincing.
• Works anywhere in the home: On, above, or below grade. Over existing tile or hardwood. With radiant heat.

Best for: Bathrooms, kitchens, basements, mudrooms, laundry rooms — and honestly anywhere in the home. It’s become our most popular flooring category for a reason.

Watch out for: Very long planks can be tricky in small rooms with lots of cuts. Some ultra-budget LVP has a thin wear layer that won’t hold up to heavy use — make sure you’re buying quality.

Quick Comparison Chart

So Which Flooring Type Is Right for You?

Here’s a simple way to think about it:

• Tightest budget, whole-home project? → Laminate (Pergo, RevWood)
• Long-term investment, classic aesthetic? → Solid or Engineered Hardwood
• Bathrooms, kitchen, or basement? → Rigid Core LVP (Everlife, Smithcliffs™, Clairmont)
• Best of durability + value + waterproof? → Rigid Core LVP — it’s hard to beat
• Kids, dogs, heavy traffic? → Rigid Core LVP or a high-AC-rated laminate

See It In Person at Builders Surplus

Reading about flooring is helpful — but nothing beats walking on a full-room display and seeing how a floor actually looks in context. At our Louisville, KY and Florence, KY showrooms, we keep an extensive in-stock selection of laminate, hardwood, engineered hardwood, and rigid core LVP — all at discount prices well below big-box retail.

Our flooring team knows every product on the floor and can help you match the right material to your room, your lifestyle, and your budget. We serve Louisville, Florence, Covington, Newport, and the greater Cincinnati, OH area.

Browse our flooring collection →