SPC Hybrid vs Laminate Flooring - Opinions and advice?

I have existing Tasmanian oak floorboards in my kitchen & dining area which my highly strung border collie has scratched up badly. Area is approx. 6m x 4m.

A floating floor seems to be a good option for replacement. Above all, I want scratch resistance and durability to combat my dog’s nails.

House is on stumps. I have checked the floor and subfloor and found variation of 5mm over 2 meters but max deviation over any 1.2 distance is 3mm (only in one specific area.)

I am/was thinking 7-9mm SPC Hybrid flooring. As this is a kitchen and I have existing benches, I do not want to raise the height of the floor too much. The gap required around vertical surfaces is a consideration and I would like to minimize that if possible. (Perhaps not much I can do about that?) 8mm gaps seems like a lot! OK if hiding under a skirting board, but not as nice when needing a gap around a stone bench.

One store I spoke to recommended 12mm Laminate (plus 2-3mm underlay) over SPC for being more scratch proof and being more tolerant to floor variation. Downside is the thickness and that they are water resistant (48-72 hours) and not waterproof like SPC. I have often read SPC is more scratch resistant than laminate, but I guess it just depends?

Would like to hear advice, examples, and perhaps any recommendations on specific products. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by Gooner

I have existing Tasmanian oak floorboards in my kitchen & dining area which my highly strung border collie has scratched up badly. Area is approx. 6m x 4m.

A floating floor seems to be a good option for replacement. Above all, I want scratch resistance and durability to combat my dog’s nails.

House is on stumps. I have checked the floor and subfloor and found variation of 5mm over 2 meters but max deviation over any 1.2 distance is 3mm (only in one specific area.)

I am/was thinking 7-9mm SPC Hybrid flooring. As this is a kitchen and I have existing benches, I do not want to raise the height of the floor too much. The gap required around vertical surfaces is a consideration and I would like to minimize that if possible. (Perhaps not much I can do about that?) 8mm gaps seems like a lot! OK if hiding under a skirting board, but not as nice when needing a gap around a stone bench.

One store I spoke to recommended 12mm Laminate (plus 2-3mm underlay) over SPC for being more scratch proof and being more tolerant to floor variation. Downside is the thickness and that they are water resistant (48-72 hours) and not waterproof like SPC. I have often read SPC is more scratch resistant than laminate, but I guess it just depends?

Would like to hear advice, examples, and perhaps any recommendations on specific products. Thanks!

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I can't help much but we recently used a Karndean 5G fold down hybrid floor that is extremely scratch resistant. It needs only 5mm gap going to 8mm if more than 100sqm. 5mm runout over 3m max though (we found we could push this a little), just no isolated high points and depressions should be filled with self levelling compound. You can always put a small cove trim over any gaps and run the floor under kick boards.

Friends had untold issues with hybrid over long runs. Ended up replacing it all, but I'd need to check precisely what with

What about engineered timber boards, or is that what you have meant by laminate? All the others apart from solid floorboards are imitation look of timber and look crap. In my opinion with timber flooring either solid or engineered an oil finish is best as if there is any area that is scratched or needs refinishing you can spot repair. Where with polyurethane finishes it is a coating that sits on top of the timber and once scratched its not something that can easily be spot repaired.

Thanks for the replies. I have done some research and spoken to several flooring retailers and installers. There is a fair bit of conflicting information on the internet, but a common theme talking to people who deal with installing the stuff seems to be that retailers and installers are going off Hybrid due to headaches with warranty issues. One guy mentioned that the thickness and composition of SPC (Stone Polymer Composite) is such that it is more prone to cracking and that they are seeing issues with cracking both at the joins and coming up through the boards themselves at time. I bought a few boards of both Hybrid SPC and 12mm Laminate to lay on my floor and I can see how the laminate would be more robust compared to hybrid stuff. I feel the potential cracking issue on hybrid may be worse on existing floorboards which is on joists and bearers on a stumped house. (I.e. more bounce on the subfloor.) I have been talked into going laminate even if current tech has it at 48-72 hour water resistant compared to waterproof hybrid.