How thick is Karndean flooring?

Karndean luxury vinyl flooring, or LVT, is made up of a number of different layers packed into highly dense planks. This density makes them one of the slimmest hard flooring options out there, but how does the thickness of Karndean flooring affect the performance of the floor?

If you’re considering luxury vinyl for your next flooring project, first read our guide to Karndean flooring to learn about plank construction and then read the following guide to find out which Karndean thickness is best for your space. We’ll look at how the thickness of a plank influences a range of factors, including price. To make it easy, we’ll compare luxury vinyl side-by-side with other types of hard flooring in our Karndean thickness chart, so you can see the features and benefits at a glance.

In this guide:

• How thick is Karndean flooring?
• What is the best thickness for luxury vinyl?
• Karndean thickness chart

How thick is Karndean flooring?

Karndean flooring thickness ranges from 2mm to 6.5mm, depending on the LVT installation type and the price of the collection. Karndean gluedown luxury vinyl thickness can be anything between 2mm and 3mm. It has a thinner profile than click luxury vinyl because there’s no underlay or click system built into the plank. Karndean click luxury vinyl is between 4.5mm and 6.5mm so it’s the thicker flooring option of the two.

How thick is a luxury vinyl wear layer?

The wear layer on Karndean luxury vinyl planks is between 0.3mm and 0.7mm, depending on the specification and price. Karndean LVT flooring available at Tapi has the following wear layers:

• 0.7mm – Art Select
• 0.55mm – Van Gogh

The thickness of the wear layer is more important than the total thickness because it’s the wear layer that dictates how much usage a floor can cope with before it wears out. It’s important to note that the wear layer is the same thickness for both glue down luxury vinyl and click luxury vinyl.

What is the best thickness for luxury vinyl?

The best thickness for luxury vinyl is the one that’s right for you and your home! It can be influenced by other factors such as how much floor area you need to cover or how busy your space is. Here are the things you need to consider when weighing up which luxury vinyl thickness is best:

• Durability – A thinner luxury vinyl stuck directly to the subfloor is more stable and durable
• Comfort – Thicker click luxury vinyl has felt-backing or a built-in underlay so it feels more comfortable underfoot
• Subfloor condition – Thinner glue down luxury vinyl requires a good subfloor and will show imperfections immediately; thicker click luxury vinyl will be more forgiving initially but may show a poor subfloor over time
• Sound absorption – Thicker luxury vinyl features underlay that improves sound absorption; thinner luxury vinyl is stuck to the subfloor so there is less noise from plank movement
• Underfloor heating – Thinner luxury vinyl is better for conducting underfloor heating
• Foot traffic – Thinner LVT is better for busy spaces like hallways and living rooms because it’s stuck to the subfloor
• Fitting – Thinner luxury vinyl can run from room to room without doorbars, and doesn’t need an expansion gap so requires less adaptation of doorframes and skirting
• Cost – Thicker LVT tends to cost a little bit more for the product because of the click-lock installation mechanism and the built-in underlay

Karndean thickness chart

We’ve looked at luxury vinyl thickness, but how does LVT compare next to other types of hard flooring? Karndean flooring, as a luxury vinyl option, is generally thinner than laminate and engineered wood options. As you can see, the thickness of the flooring has no bearing on its durability or wear guarantee. Take a glance at the stats to help make your decision:

* The thickness of the Karndean luxury vinyl collections available to buy at Tapi.
** Equivalent to 35 years.

If you’d like to see the collections of Karndean flooring available at Tapi, book a free home visit appointment and we’ll bring our samples straight to your door. Alternatively, find your nearest Tapi store that stocks Karndean to see bigger samples and talk to one of our floorologists about the best luxury vinyl flooring for your space.