we had wilsonart red oak installed 14 years ago when our 1 year old linoleaum got weird yellow spots(was covered under warranty) it is in the kitchen and runs into the back hall. i still looks as good as new and we are hard on our kitchen floors (dogs,kids,water,etc) i would like to run it ecerywhere! it has worn so much better than the hard wood in our dining room. i cant imagine water will be an issue for laminate short of a flood.

At this point, you will want to get some technical information about how to install your CHOSEN vinyl floor. Some (but not all) have a written statement in the installation instructions regarding "laying over cut back adhesive". If the statement is MISSING then you will need to get a statement, in writing, from the technical department of the vinyl manufacturer. Once you have that in writing, you can then make plans on what to do and what not to do. The one thing that I can comment on would be the "trowel ridges". If anything knocks your subfloor "out of level/flat" it will be the trowel ridges. Check to see if they are allowed under vinyl (regardless of material). Laminate planks won't care - they are rigid enough to deal with this without issue. Good luck. That is a lot of adhesive. It will be interesting as to what the vinyl flooring manufacturer has to say about laying over cut-back adhesive.

I think either will work there are huge differences in quality of both so do some research before committing . I have had good quality laminate in my last two homes and love it I had it everywhere in my last house except the bathroom in this one I have it in the powder room too . Kronotex alminate from Germany is what I had in my old house still looks good 17 yrs later. In our place now we have a laminate that looks like slate we have big dogs not one scratch in 10 yrs .We have that laminate on the mainfloor and LVP in the walk out basement because our dogs have a free run dog run and doggie door so easy to mop up when muddy feet walk through plus our grandkids are in and out of the pool all summer and they use the fridge and the bathroom in the walk out.I think wood floors are lovely but not with our lifestyle.

At $2/sf you are looking at 'middle of the road' laminate. A vinyl in the same 'middle of the road' category = $3-$4/sf. And remember: vinyl is more EXPENSIVE to install. Yep. More money for the labour because it is a PITA to install with its teeny-tiny-eensy-weensy click edge. If you only have $2/sf for materials, then you are better off looking at remove/replace the existing laminate. An entry level home (with entry level flooring) means it will not have the 'up scale' look of continuous flooring. It is the nature of the beast. Flooring that can do MULTIPLE jobs is more expensive than flooring that can only do one thing. Laminate, in your price range, can only do 'dry areas'. It will do it very well - as you have already experienced with your existing laminate - but it will not go into kitchens and it should never go into bathrooms. So....the question becomes: Which is it going to be - the budget or the 'look' you want? Because in your price range, you will be hard pressed to get both working in harmony. And vinyl is NOT allowed underpad. It will sit right on top of the substrate. Which means it can transmit noise MUCH BETTER than your existing laminate. Especially in your price range. It will be thin (4mm vinyl is about all you can expect) and it will be flexible (it will bow like a rainbow) and it will have more movement than you ever thought possible in a 'stable' product. Your price range offers $1.99/sf laminate from a big box store. That's about all you have right now. If your laminate and your kitchen tiles are in good shape, I suggest saving up for a vinyl floor that will cost $4/sf. Now you are in the right ball park for 'middle of the road' vinyl. And it will still be more expensive to install....but at least you will have purchased a mid-quality product.