Hybrid flooring vs tiles and carpet

Tiles, carpet and hybrid flooring are three very different floors. A tile is a hard piece made from clay and other natural materials, fired at very high temperatures. It is fixed to the subfloor with adhesive, and the joints are filled with grout. Carpet is a soft floor covering laid over an underlay. Hybrid flooring is a rigid plank with a printed design. The planks click together as a floating floor, which rests on the subfloor and is not fixed down. The subfloor is the floor under your new floor. Which one suits a room depends on water, on how the floor should feel and sound, and on what is on the floor now.

Hybrid flooring, tiles and carpet side by side

Tiles vs hybrid flooring

• What a tile is. The trade body for tiles states that tiles are made from clay, sand and other natural materials, and are fired at very high temperatures. It describes them as hard and rigid. It states that ceramic tiles can lie in water without any change.
• How each is laid. Tiles are fixed to the subfloor with adhesive, and the joints are filled with grout. This is a tiler's work. A hybrid floor clicks together and rests on the subfloor.
• The joints. A tiled floor has grout lines, which are the filled joints between tiles. A hybrid floor has click joints between the planks, and normally no grout.
• Cleaning. The trade body for tiles states that the vast majority of ceramic tile floors can be cleaned by sweeping and light mopping. The care routine for a hybrid floor is short too: dry cleaning, and then a damp mop.
• Under your feet. Both are hard floors. On 88 of the 111 hybrid ranges we read, the supplier stated an attached underlay, which is a thin soft layer under each plank.

Our guide How to clean hybrid flooring shows what suppliers state about care.

Hybrid flooring over old tiles

You do not always have to take old tiles up. 10 of the 12 hybrid suppliers we read name tiles as a floor that the planks can go over, or as a kind of subfloor. The suppliers ask for the same kinds of things: tiles that are firmly fixed (6 state this in plain words), a floor that is flat, clean and dry, and grout lines that are not too wide or too deep. A floor laid over tiles sits higher than before, so doors may need to be shortened. Our guide to hybrid flooring over tiles, concrete and floorboards shows the limits.

Bathrooms, laundries and kitchens

Bathrooms and laundries are wet areas under the National Construction Code. The standard AS 3740 covers domestic wet areas. Tiles are the usual floor in these rooms. For hybrid flooring, suppliers differ: 5 of the 12 suppliers we read say that building rules may not allow this kind of floor in a wet room, or tell you to check the building rules before you choose. So before you choose a hybrid floor for a bathroom or a laundry, ask two questions. What does the supplier of this range state about wet areas? And what do the building rules require for this room in your home? Your builder, plumber or building surveyor can answer the second one.

Hybrid floors are laid in kitchens and living areas. For a kitchen, read what the supplier states about spills. 10 of the 12 suppliers we read state that kitchen cabinets, island benches or other fixed things go in before the floor, and are not put on top of it.

Our guide Is hybrid flooring waterproof? shows what suppliers state, word for word.

Carpet vs hybrid flooring

• What carpet is. Carpet is a soft floor covering with a pile surface. It is laid over an underlay. The trade body for carpet names foam, latex, rubber and felt as the main kinds of underlay.
• Under your feet. Carpet is soft. The trade body for carpet states that a carpeted floor feels warmer underfoot. A hybrid floor is a hard floor.
• Sound. The same body states that carpet softens harsh sounds, and that carpet with underlay cuts the noise of footsteps and of things that drop on the floor. A hybrid floor is a hard floor. Some suppliers print an acoustic star rating on the web page of a range. A star rating belongs to a whole floor, not to a plank or an underlay alone.
• Cleaning. The trade body for carpet names regular vacuuming, quick removal of spots and stains, and a professional deep clean every 12 to 18 months. A hybrid floor is cleaned dry, and then with a damp mop.
• Carpet does not stay under a hybrid floor. It is removed before the planks are laid. 7 of the 12 hybrid suppliers we read state in plain words that carpet cannot stay under the planks, and none of the others names carpet as a floor that can stay.

Our guide to hybrid flooring underlay explains acoustic ratings.

Carpet or hybrid flooring in a bedroom

Both are used in bedrooms. Three things help you choose.

• The feel. Carpet is soft underfoot. A hybrid floor is hard.
• The sound. Carpet softens the sound of footsteps. In an apartment, ask your owners corporation or building manager what your building requires, before you change carpet to a hard floor.
• The care. Carpet needs regular vacuuming. A hybrid floor is cleaned dry, and then with a damp mop.

Which one fits which room

• A bathroom or a laundry: start with the building rules for wet areas. Tiles are the usual floor there.
• A kitchen or a living area: tiles and hybrid are both used. Read what the supplier of a hybrid range states about spills.
• A bedroom: carpet and hybrid are both used. Choose by feel, sound and care.
• Old tiles that are firmly fixed: a hybrid floor may be able to go over them.
• An apartment: start with the building's noise rules.

We sell hybrid flooring only.