Types of flooring: a plain guide

Most residential floors fall into a few families. Solid hardwood and engineered wood are real wood on top. Luxury vinyl plank (LVP) and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) are resilient and handle water better. Laminate, tile and carpet are alternatives with their own strengths. The right type depends on the room, the subfloor and moisture.

Our catalog is organized into four material families: solid hardwood, engineered wood, vinyl plank and luxury vinyl tile. This guide explains the differences so you can filter with confidence, and includes brief, honest notes on the other common options.

How do the main flooring types compare?

Solid hardwood

One piece of wood, typically ¾ inch thick, nailed to a wooden subfloor. It can be sanded and refinished many times, which is why century-old oak floors in Brooklyn brownstones can still be restored. It is best in dry, stable rooms above grade.

The tradeoffs are movement and installation. Solid boards expand and contract with humidity, so they need an expansion gap at the walls and suit narrower widths best. They are not recommended directly over concrete, in basements, or in most rooms with radiant heat. Browse solid hardwood.

Engineered wood

A real wood face on a layered core. It is more dimensionally stable than solid, suitable over concrete and in apartments, and available in wide planks and patterns such as herringbone. The thickness of the face layer determines how many times it can be refinished.

Depending on the product, engineered wood can be nailed, glued or floated, which makes it the usual choice for city apartments with concrete slabs and sound-underlayment rules. Some products are approved over radiant heat or below grade; the installation instructions will say. Our comparison of engineered and solid wood in NYC apartments goes deeper.

Vinyl plank flooring (LVP)

Resilient plank flooring that resists moisture and wear. It is a practical choice for kitchens, basements and rentals. Products vary in thickness, core type and wear layer, and those three details matter more than the photo on the box.

Most vinyl plank sold today has a rigid core and clicks together as a floating floor, often with an attached underlayment pad. The wear layer is a clear top coat measured in mil; thicker layers resist scuffing longer. Vinyl resists water at the surface, but standing water can still reach the subfloor through edges and perimeter gaps. Browse vinyl plank flooring.

Luxury vinyl tile (LVT)

Vinyl in tile or plank format with realistic wood or stone visuals, often with rigid cores. It is widely used in bathrooms, commercial spaces and anywhere water is a factor.

LVT also covers thin, flexible glue-down products, which are common in offices and retail because single pieces can be replaced. In our catalog, many rigid-core plank products sit in this family too, so check the product page for core type and installation method. Our guide to SPC, WPC and glue-down LVT explains the differences.

What about laminate, tile and carpet?

These are not among our four catalog families, but they are real options and worth understanding.

Laminate

Laminate uses a photographic layer over a high-density fiberboard core, sealed under a hard top coat. It resists scratches well and can look convincing. Its weakness has traditionally been water: the fiberboard core can swell if moisture gets into the joints. Some newer laminates are marketed as water-resistant, so read the warranty terms closely. For wet rooms, many people choose vinyl instead.

Porcelain and ceramic tile

Tile is the long-standing choice for bathrooms and entries. It is hard, waterproof at the surface and very durable. It is also cold and hard underfoot, grout lines need upkeep, and installation over wood joists requires a stiff, properly prepared subfloor. Wood-look porcelain planks exist, though they install like tile, not like flooring planks.

Carpet

Carpet is soft, warm and quiet, which is why many leases and buildings ask for rugs over much of the floor. As wall-to-wall flooring, it holds dust and stains and wears in traffic paths. Most people now prefer a hard floor with area rugs, which gives the acoustic benefit while keeping the floor underneath easy to clean.

Does the building type change which flooring works?

Often. In Brooklyn, three situations come up again and again. Apartment buildings usually have concrete slabs, so solid hardwood needs a built-up subfloor while engineered wood and vinyl can go down directly. Row houses and brownstones usually have wood joists and old plank or parquet floors, which may be worth refinishing rather than covering; see refinish or replace. Detached and semi-detached houses often have basements, where vinyl or LVT is usually the practical choice.

Many co-ops and condos also require approved sound underlayment, and some leases require rugs over much of the floor, often called the 80% rule. Check those rules before you narrow down a material.

Which flooring type suits which room?

• Living rooms and bedrooms: solid or engineered wood, or vinyl plank in rentals
• Kitchens: engineered wood with care around the sink, or vinyl plank for more water tolerance
• Bathrooms and laundry rooms: LVT, vinyl plank or tile
• Basements and below-grade rooms: vinyl plank or LVT, or an engineered product approved for below grade
• Apartments on concrete slabs: engineered wood or vinyl, with the underlayment your building requires
• Offices and retail: LVT or vinyl plank with a commercial-rated wear layer

Room suggestions are general. Each product has its own approved locations, moisture limits and warranty terms; check the installation instructions before ordering.

How to choose between them

1. Start with the subfloor: concrete, plywood, old planks or tile.
2. Note the room's moisture exposure and whether it is below grade.
3. Check building rules, especially sound underlayment and alteration agreements.
4. Decide how long you plan to keep the floor and whether refinishing matters to you.
5. Then narrow by look: species or visual, width, color and finish.

Browse each family from the Floors page, or call us at (718) 252-6177 to talk through which suits your rooms. Samples help more than photos, so bring a few home and look at them in your own light.