When choosing flooring options for your home, there is often the question of what type of floors to choose and which is the best. Laminate and Vinyl flooring are two great choices with tremendous advantages: an example is durability.
Laminate floors vary in appearance and style, while vinyl floors are perfect for high-moisture areas. Aquaguard is an excellent laminate flooring brand, while Nucore is a great vinyl flooring brand, but which is the best option for your home? It all comes down to your preference.
One significant difference between Aquaguard laminate flooring and Nucore vinyl flooring is the overall thickness. Aquaguard laminate flooring is 12mm thick, four times more than Nucore flooring (ranges between 5.5-8.0 mm).
| Aquaguard Laminate | Nucore Vinyl Flooring | |
| Thickness | All products are 12mm thick, considered one of the best. | Thickness ranges between 5.5-8.0mm, which is a little less than Aquaguard. |
| Durability | The wear layer protects the floor from scratches, and the finishing on the design layer would last a lifetime. It is also 100% waterproof. | The bottom layer is made using high-density fiberboard, and both layers have a protective wear layer. Standard Aquaguard is water-resistant, and Aquaguard Performance is waterproof. |
| Warranty | Offers a limited lifetime residential warranty and a 15 or 20-year commercial warranty. Improper installation may cause you to lose your warranty. | It offers a lifetime residential warranty and a 15-year commercial warranty. |
| Availability | Youcan only be purchased online; you can only view samples in stores and cannot take a sample home for free. | Customers can buy these floors on the Floor & Décor website and their stores. The online store can deliver the products to your home. |
Aquaguard Laminate Flooring
This is one of the best laminate flooring brands you can find. Their products, exclusively sold online by Floor & Decor, are durable, affordable, and waterproof. Therefore, they are perfect for wet areas in your home, such as your kitchen and bathroom.
Since it is laminate flooring, the photo-realistic design layer makes it look like hardwood floors. The colors range from dark shades to light shades, depending on your preference. Aquaguard has up to ninety options available to customers for lovers of wood-colored floors.
Aquaguard laminate comes in two different lines (Standard Aquaguard Laminate and Aquaguard Performance), and they are offered in five categories. The first category is the Aquaguard Authentic Texture Laminate Flooring.
The Authentic Texture flooring has the same texture as an authentic hardwood plank (they are 12mm thick, have a wear rating of AC5, and come in over 40 styles). The second category is the Standard Texture which looks like traditional wood but is a composite floor.
The third category is the High Gloss Laminate Flooring which has over ten styles available to customers. The fourth category is Hand-scrapped Laminate Flooring. These floors look worked on by hand, perfect for a vintage setting. Stains and scratches are easily visible on these floors.
Lastly, the Smooth Laminate Flooring offers wood and tile-look floors, with the former available in warm colors and the latter beautiful patterns.
Pros and Cons of Aquaguard Laminate Flooring
Pros
- Aquaguard floors are affordable and of high quality.
- The floors are water-resistant and waterproof.
- They are easy to install.
- Their scratch and dent resistance is excellent because of the AC5 rating.
- They offer about 90 styles that are available to customers.
- Aquaguard offers a great warranty on its products.
Cons
- The floors are scratch-resistant but not scratch-proof.
- You may need underlayment.
- You may need to hire a professional to install the floors because improper installation may void you of your warranty.
Nucore Vinyl Flooring
Nucore floors are quality vinyl planks that are exclusively sold at Floor & Décor (online websites and stores). They are 100% waterproof which means they can be used in wet areas and should not warp or shrink. They are also scratch-resistant so that they can withstand minor scratches.
There are about 85 different products available to customers. Seventy-four floors have a hardwood finish, looking like gray or natural hardwood. Twelve others have a tiled stone look, including marble and dark marble products.
You do not need to purchase a moisture barrier, except you have a concrete sub-floor because the floors come with a cork underlayment. The cork pad provides warmth, makes your floors more comfortable, and helps in noise reduction.
These floors are straightforward to install, so you can end up doing them yourself—no need for gluing or nailing the flooring. You can use the floating (click and lock installation method. Due to the antimicrobial coating, these floors are mildew and stain-resistant.
Nucore flooring is offered in five categories: the Nucore High-Gloss, Nucore Hand-scrapped, Nucore Embossed-In-Register, Nucore Textured, and Nucore Smooth Flooring.
Pros and Cons of Nucore Vinyl Flooring
Pros
- These floors can be purchased online and in stores, unlike Aquaguard floors.
- They are the slightly cheaper option.
- The floors are 100% waterproof and can be installed in wet areas.
- They are easy to install; you can use the floating method.
- The cork underlayment serves as a moisture barrier and provided warmth which helps to save costs.
- They are scratch and dent-resistant.
- Easy to clean.
Cons
- The floors are thick but not as thick as Aquaguard floors.
- It features low amounts of phthalates.
- They are scratch-resistant but not scratch-proof.
Differences Between Aquaguard Laminate and Nucore Vinyl Flooring
Apart from the difference in thickness, with Aquaguard being the slightly thicker option, there are other differences between these two flooring brands.
Cost
Both flooring options are affordable, but Nucore flooring is slightly cheaper than Aquaguard flooring. Nucore price ranges between $2.35-$3.80 per square foot, depending on the line you are purchasing.
The Standard Aquaguard Laminate (perfect for a residential and a light commercial setting) price ranges between $2.28-$3.99 per square foot. The Aquaguard Performance (excellent for a heavy commercial environment) price ranges between $2.99-$4.29 per square foot.
Conclusion
These two flooring brands are excellent options for your home; it all depends on if you are going for laminate flooring or vinyl flooring. If your option is laminate, Aquaguard is affordable, waterproof, durable, comes in different styles, and will last you a long time. If your option is a vinyl plank flooring, Nucore is affordable, waterproof, scratch-resistant, and features an underlayment, thereby saving costs.