Yes, laminate can go in a kitchen, as long as you choose the plank for the way water actually reaches a kitchen floor: splashes at the sink, drips from the dishwasher, and the odd leak behind the fridge. The deciding factor is not the word "laminate" but what the exact listing says about water, and how well the room around the plank is planned. Twelve-millimetre planks in our laminate flooring collection start at $1.59 per sq ft, and our waterproof SPC planks start at $2.66 per sq ft, so the step from the entry laminate price to the entry SPC price is $1.07 per sq ft. Below, four products from our shelves are compared on their water wording and their price, then costed for a 150 sq ft kitchen in whole boxes, with plain rules for when SPC is the safer call.
Quick answer: is laminate flooring ok in a kitchen?
It is a qualified yes. The core is the part to think about: the Riche Toronto Collection listing, for example, names a high-density fibreboard core under its textured surface. The water features on our laminate listings are there to protect that core, and each one is worded differently. Both Goodfellow planks list a 72-hour water resistance rating. On the Riche Sandy Driftwood plank, the listing describes a waxed locking system "for improved moisture protection". Neither listing calls the plank waterproof.
So the honest answer to "will it swell at the sink?" depends on two conditions. First, the plank needs a stated water feature, not just a nice surface. Second, water has to be dealt with quickly. A 72-hour rating is a time limit, which means a spill wiped up the same evening sits well inside what the listing describes, while a slow leak under the dishwasher that runs for days does not. Our SPC listing makes a different kind of claim: it describes a core that is waterproof outright.
Three spots decide most kitchen outcomes:
- The sink run, where splashes land on the same joints in front of the cabinet every day.
- The dishwasher bay, where a slow drip can stay hidden behind the kick plate.
- The fridge water line, if an ice maker or water dispenser is connected.
If you are still choosing between laminate makers, our guide to the AC5 laminate brands we stock explains the wear ratings behind the names.
What our 12mm laminate and SPC cost, and what their listings say about water
Price is the reason laminate stays in the kitchen conversation at all. Here are four products with their box price, the coverage printed on the box, the material cost per sq ft worked out from those two figures, and the water wording each listing uses.
| Product | Box price | Coverage | Material per sq ft | Thickness | Rating | Water wording on the listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodfellow Prag No.028 | $60.54 | 20.18 sq ft | $3.00 | 12mm | AC5 | 72-hour water resistance rating |
| Goodfellow Devine No.026 | $60.99 | 20.18 sq ft | $3.02 | 12mm | AC5 | 72-hour water resistance rating |
| Sandy Driftwood | $69.99 | 15.4 sq ft | $4.54 | 12mm | AC 3 Residential Grade | Waxed locking system, Valinge 2G Drop Lock |
| Riche Misty Grey Oak SPC | $62.00 | 14.18 sq ft | $4.37 | 9mm | 20mil wear layer | 100% waterproof rigid SPC core, EVA pad attached |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
The two Goodfellow planks land at $3.00 and $3.02 per sq ft, and the waxed-joint Riche laminate at $4.54 per sq ft. The padded SPC plank comes in at $4.37 per sq ft, below that Riche laminate, so the waterproof option here is not automatically the expensive one.
Across the wider shelf, our 32 in-stock 12mm laminate products run from $1.59 to $4.54 per sq ft, with boxes from $23.00 to $69.99. The 87 SPC products in stock run from $2.66 to $5.08 per sq ft, with boxes from $59.00 to $69.99. The two ranges overlap for most of their length, which is why a kitchen decision usually turns on water risk rather than on budget alone.
Plank formats are close as well. The Goodfellow planks are 7-5/8" wide and the Misty Grey Oak SPC plank is 7.09" wide, so switching material for the kitchen does not force a narrow-strip look.
Where laminate can go wrong in a kitchen
Kitchen problems with a floating floor tend to start in a few predictable places rather than across the whole room. Planning those places before the boxes are ordered matters more than any single spec on the label.
The sink base and the dishwasher bay
Both hide pipes behind a cabinet face or a kick plate, so a drip can run for a while before anyone sees it. The boards in front of those cabinets are the ones that meet that water first. A laminate listing with a 72-hour rating gives you a window to find and dry a spill; it does not describe a floor that can sit in a puddle. The Misty Grey Oak SPC listing, by contrast, states that its core "will not swell, warp, or buckle from moisture exposure". If you keep laminate, protect the zone: check the dishwasher supply and drain connections, fix any slow drip under the sink before install day, and keep an absorbent mat at the sink run.
Expansion gaps around cabinets and the island
A floating floor needs room to move, and the Goodfellow installation note asks for a 6-8mm expansion gap around the perimeter. In a kitchen, that perimeter includes every cabinet base and both sides of an island, so the gap and the trim that covers it need to be planned rather than improvised. This has nothing to do with water, yet it is the detail most likely to be skipped in a tight galley layout.
The fridge water line
An ice maker or water dispenser is fed by a thin flexible tube that runs behind the fridge to a shut-off valve. A leak there forms a puddle where nobody stands, which makes it the quietest risk in the room. Before a click-lock floor goes down, pull the fridge out, look at the fitting and the tube for kinks or wear, and replace the line if it looks tired.
Every product in this comparison installs as a floating click-lock floor, so none of them is glued to the subfloor and a damaged board in the kitchen run can be lifted and replaced. That only helps if you still have matching boards, so keep a spare box from the original order rather than hoping the same colour is available years later.
The Devine colour shares the Prag plank's 12mm thickness, AC5 rating and 72-hour water resistance rating, so the choice between the two Goodfellow planks is a matter of colour and a 45-cent difference per box. For material options beyond laminate and SPC in a full renovation, our kitchen renovation flooring guide covers the wider field.
A 150 sq ft kitchen priced in whole boxes
Laminate and SPC are both sold by the box, so a per-sq-ft figure only becomes a budget once you know how many boxes the room takes. This is the same arithmetic our quotes use:
- Measure the floor area. The example here is a 150 sq ft kitchen.
- Add 5% for cuts and the last row: 150 multiplied by 1.05 gives 157.5 sq ft.
- Divide the adjusted area by the box coverage and round up. For the Prag plank, 157.5 divided by 20.18 is 7.8, which becomes 8 boxes.
- Multiply the boxes by the box price for the material line.
- Add underlay for laminate: one $50.00 roll covers 200 sq ft, so this kitchen needs a single roll. The padded SPC plank needs none.
- Add 13% HST to the subtotal for the total.
Run against three of the planks above, the numbers come out like this:
| Floor for the 150 sq ft kitchen | Boxes | Material | Underlay | Subtotal | HST | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goodfellow Prag No.028 laminate | 8 boxes | $484.32 | $50.00 | $534.32 | $69.46 | $603.78 |
| Sandy Driftwood laminate | 11 boxes | $769.89 | $50.00 | $819.89 | $106.59 | $926.48 |
| Riche Misty Grey Oak SPC | 12 boxes | $744.00 | none needed | $744.00 | $96.72 | $840.72 |
Spread over the 150 sq ft of floor, the Prag total works out to $4.03 per sq ft, the SPC total to $5.60 per sq ft and the Sandy Driftwood total to $6.18 per sq ft. The SPC kitchen costs $236.94 more than the Prag kitchen: the material line is $259.68 higher, and skipping the $50.00 underlay roll trims the gap before tax to $209.68.
The less obvious result is the third row. The waxed-joint Sandy Driftwood laminate comes to $85.76 more than the SPC kitchen, because its material price of $4.54 per sq ft sits above the SPC plank's $4.37, and it still needs the underlay roll that the SPC row leaves out. If moisture protection is the reason you were drawn to that plank, the SPC row buys a core its listing calls waterproof for less money.
None of these totals includes installation, removal of the old floor or delivery. Those depend on the room, the subfloor and the existing floor, and they are priced on your quote rather than in a sample budget. The SPC row carries no underlay line because the listing describes a 2mm EVA pad pre-attached to the back of every plank, with no separate underlay required.
When SPC is the safer choice for a kitchen floor
Water is the one area where the two materials are not close. The Misty Grey Oak listing describes a "100% waterproof rigid SPC core" and lists kitchens among the rooms it suits, and it states that its EVA pad is pre-attached. The laminate listings rely on a time-limited rating or waxed joints to keep water out of the core, which suits splashes that get wiped and suits standing water much less.
Choose the waterproof plank when any of these apply:
- The kitchen floor runs straight into a bathroom, a laundry room or a basement stair.
- The dishwasher, the fridge line or the sink plumbing has leaked before.
- The household is busy enough that a spill can sit unnoticed for hours.
- You want one floor across the whole main level with no transition strip at the kitchen.
Stay with laminate when the kitchen is dry in practice: no history of leaks, appliance connections in good order, and a floor that stops at the kitchen doorway. At $3.00 per sq ft, a 12mm Goodfellow plank carries an AC5 rating, which its listing describes as "Commercial Heavy Traffic", and the saving against SPC on a small kitchen is real money. Our article on waterproof LVP for kitchens goes further into the vinyl side, and SPC against laminate in below-grade rooms runs the same comparison where moisture is a constant condition rather than an accident.
Questions about laminate in a kitchen, answered briefly
Can you put laminate in a kitchen with a dishwasher?
You can, if the plank has a stated water feature and the appliance hook-up is sound. Test the supply line and drain hose for drips before the boards go in, since the dishwasher bay is the hardest part of the floor to inspect once the machine is back in place.
Is there waterproof laminate for a kitchen?
Not among the laminate planks priced here. Goodfellow states a 72-hour rating and Riche states waxed joints for moisture protection; the only listing in this comparison that uses the word waterproof for its core is the SPC plank. If your kitchen needs a floor that tolerates standing water, that wording is the one to look for.
Should I pick laminate or vinyl plank for the area in front of the sink?
For the sink run, the vinyl plank is the more forgiving surface, because the same few joints take splashes several times a day. Laminate with a water rating copes with ordinary washing-up splashes when they are wiped up rather than left to dry on their own.
Does a thicker 12mm laminate handle water better than a thinner one?
The Goodfellow listings do not tie the two together. They describe the 12mm thickness as being "for enhanced underfoot comfort and acoustic performance" and list water resistance as a separate 72-hour rating. Read the water line on the listing, not the millimetre figure.
What does laminate cost for a 150 sq ft kitchen?
With the whole-box method, the Prag plank comes to $603.78 including one underlay roll and HST, and the Sandy Driftwood plank to $926.48. Neither figure includes installation. For how laminate compares with SPC vinyl and engineered hardwood across a whole kitchen, our kitchen flooring guide sets them side by side.
Get a quote for your kitchen floor in Toronto and the GTA
Tell us the room sizes, what is on the floor now and which plank you are leaning towards, and we will price the boxes, the underlay and the installation together. You can request a quote online with your measurements.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819