Laminate Flooring – AC Ratings

For our August edition editorial here on the Ask the Expert blog, I wanted to break down and discuss AC ratings for laminate floors. AC or Abrasion Class ratings are a way for folks to determine cost versus durability of laminate floors.
So, before we determine what each rating means, let’s know what the AC rating tests. The abrasion testing done ranges from resistance to burning, scratching, impact, chair casters, furniture legs and more. Basically any type of common abuse the laminate floor would see in a variety of applications from basic homes to commercial applications. Once all of the data is compiled, each line of laminate is assigned a rating of 1 through 5.
AC1 – the lowest tier of laminate floors, these floors are built to resist minimal residential traffic and are typically very inexpensive. AC1 laminate flooring is suitable for low traffic rooms such as bedrooms or other rooms in a home where traffic is light.
AC2 – suitable for lower traffic residential areas such as living and dining rooms. These areas receive some traffic in a home, but are not the rooms which will see the most abuse.
AC3 – these floors can be applied to a more varied area such has small offices, kitchens, recreation rooms or even very light commercial settings such as small office buildings. These floors are also much better at resisting the scratches from pets due to their stronger finishes.
AC4 – built for light to medium commercial applications, these floors are the beginning of commercial grade laminate. Suitable for busier offices, boutiques, restaurants and similar locations, these floors also are great in homes with multiple pets or children.
AC5 – the highest tier of laminate, these floors are suited for higher traffic commercial applications such as department stores, hotels, public buildings and similar areas where much higher amounts of traffic move through. These also see some residential applications for people who want the highest quality laminate floors or wish to ensure they have a floor which is as abuse resistant as possible.
Most quality laminate these days is typically at least AC3, and very few floors below this rating resist common abrasion very well and usually require fairly stringent cleaning schedules to ensure minimal abrasion possibility. I tend to recommend AC3 rated laminate at a very minimum simply from a durability stand point, but some times it necessary to get a laminate floor which is more budget friendly. Often, laminate is far more abrasion resistant than other forms of wood flooring, but keep in mind that the highest quality finishes applied to some hardwood floors will perform akin to AC3 and AC4 laminate – so not all laminate is tougher than traditional hardwood floors.