SPC Hybrid vs Laminate Flooring - Opinions and advice?

[Gooner]

I have existing Tasmanian oak floorboards in my kitchen & dining area which my highly strung border collie has scratched up badly. Area is approx. 6m x 4m.

A floating floor seems to be a good option for replacement. Above all, I want scratch resistance and durability to combat my dog’s nails.

House is on stumps. I have checked the floor and subfloor and found variation of 5mm over 2 meters but max deviation over any 1.2 distance is 3mm (only in one specific area.)

I am/was thinking 7-9mm SPC Hybrid flooring. As this is a kitchen and I have existing benches, I do not want to raise the height of the floor too much. The gap required around vertical surfaces is a consideration and I would like to minimize that if possible. (Perhaps not much I can do about that?) 8mm gaps seems like a lot! OK if hiding under a skirting board, but not as nice when needing a gap around a stone bench.

One store I spoke to recommended 12mm Laminate (plus 2-3mm underlay) over SPC for being more scratch proof and being more tolerant to floor variation. Downside is the thickness and that they are water resistant (48-72 hours) and not waterproof like SPC. I have often read SPC is more scratch resistant than laminate, but I guess it just depends?

Would like to hear advice, examples, and perhaps any recommendations on specific products. Thanks!

[mic-d]

I have existing Tasmanian oak floorboards in my kitchen & dining area which my highly strung border collie has scratched up badly. Area is approx. 6m x 4m.

A floating floor seems to be a good option for replacement. Above all, I want scratch resistance and durability to combat my dog’s nails.

House is on stumps. I have checked the floor and subfloor and found variation of 5mm over 2 meters but max deviation over any 1.2 distance is 3mm (only in one specific area.)

I am/was thinking 7-9mm SPC Hybrid flooring. As this is a kitchen and I have existing benches, I do not want to raise the height of the floor too much. The gap required around vertical surfaces is a consideration and I would like to minimize that if possible. (Perhaps not much I can do about that?) 8mm gaps seems like a lot! OK if hiding under a skirting board, but not as nice when needing a gap around a stone bench.

One store I spoke to recommended 12mm Laminate (plus 2-3mm underlay) over SPC for being more scratch proof and being more tolerant to floor variation. Downside is the thickness and that they are water resistant (48-72 hours) and not waterproof like SPC. I have often read SPC is more scratch resistant than laminate, but I guess it just depends?

Would like to hear advice, examples, and perhaps any recommendations on specific products. Thanks!

I can't help much but we recently used a Karndean 5G fold down hybrid floor that is extremely scratch resistant. It needs only 5mm gap going to 8mm if more than 100sqm. 5mm runout over 3m max though (we found we could push this a little), just no isolated high points and depressions should be filled with self levelling compound. You can always put a small cove trim over any gaps and run the floor under kick boards.

[r3nov8or]

Friends had untold issues with hybrid over long runs. Ended up replacing it all, but I'd need to check precisely what with