ISO 14486:2025

International
Standard
ISO 14486
Second edition
Laminate floor coverings —
2025-03
Specification
Revêtements de sol stratifiés — Spécifications
Reference number
© ISO 2025
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Requirements — General and classification . 3
4.1 General requirements .3
4.2 Classification requirements . .4
4.3 Additional technical requirements .6
5 Marking, labelling and packaging . 7
5.1 Marketing and labelling .7
5.2 Packaging .7
Annex A (informative) Operational properties . 8
Bibliography . 9

iii
Foreword
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 219, Floor coverings.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 14486:2012), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— definition 3.4 amended;
— provisions for tests with underlayment included;
— provisions for locking strength for herringbone installations added in Table 2;
— additional technical requirements added (see 4.3);
— requirements for packaging added (see 5.2).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

iv
Introduction
To encourage the consumer to make an informed choice, this document includes a classification system (see
ISO 10874) based on intensity of use, specifying the requirements floor coverings must fulfil in order to be
deemed to give satisfactory service.
Laminate floor coverings are generally designed for floating installations for interior use and are considered
for domestic and commercial levels of use, including domestic kitchens. This document does not specify
requirements relating to the use in areas which are subjected to frequent wetting, such as bathrooms, laundry
rooms or saunas. In general, laminate floor coverings can only be used in those areas when authorized by
the manufacturer and under conditions described in the manufacturer's installation guidelines.

v
International Standard ISO 14486:2025(en)
Laminate floor coverings — Specification
1 Scope
This document specifies the characteristics of laminate floor coverings, supplied in modular format e.g. tiles,
planks. It also specifies requirements for marking and packaging.
Additional operational properties are given in Annex A.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes
requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 105-A02, Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part A02: Grey scale for assessing change in colour
ISO 4760, Laminate flooring — Topical moisture resistance — Assembled joint
ISO 4892-2:2013, Plastics — Methods of exposure to laboratory light sources — Part 2: Xenon-arc lamps
ISO 4918, Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings — Castor chair test
ISO 10874, Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings — Classification
ISO 16581, Resilient and laminate floor coverings — Determination of the effect of simulated movement of a
furniture leg
ISO 16979, Wood-based panels — Determination of moisture content
ISO 16981, Wood-based panels — Determination of surface soundness
ISO 24334, Laminate floor coverings — Determination of locking strength for mechanically assembled panels
ISO 24335, Laminate floor coverings — Determination of impact resistance
ISO 24336, Laminate floor coverings — Determination of thickness swelling after partial immersion in water
ISO 24337, Laminate floor coverings — Determination of geometrical characteristics
ISO 24338:2022, Laminate floor coverings — Determination of abrasion resistance
ISO 24339, Laminate and textile floor coverings — Determination of dimensional variations after exposure to
humid and dry climate conditions
ISO 24343-1, Resilient and laminate floor coverings — Determination of indentation and residual indentation —
Part 1: Residual indentation
EN 16354, Laminate floor coverings — Underlays — Specification, requirements and test methods
ANSI LF-01, Laminate flooring — Specifications and test methods
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
laminate floor covering
rigid floor covering, typically in modular format, having a multiple layer product structure
Note 1 to entry: This can include for example, backer, substrate, décor and overlay.
Note 2 to entry: Modular format can be e.g. tiles, planks.
Note 3 to entry: The planks and tiles have worked edges that allow the product to be joined together to form a larger
integral unit. The product may vary in surface texture and gloss level.
Note 4 to entry: Laminate floor covering does not include products having a resilient, stone, textile, wood, leather or
metal top surfacing material(s).
3.2
overlay
top layer of a laminate floor covering, which provides wear resistance and protection
Note 1 to entry: The overlay consists of aminoplastic, thermosetting resins (usually melamine) or other resins (usually
acrylic) that provide wear resistance.
3.3
décor
layer of a laminate floor covering that provides the visual aesthetic properties
3.4
substrate
core layer of a laminate floor covering containing at least 65 % wood in mass, which provides thickness,
stability and other properties needed
Note 1 to entry: The substrate generally consists of HDF and MDF (high density fibreboard and medium density
fibreboard) material.
3.5
backer
layer of a laminate floor covering that provides balance
3.6
underlayment
material used between the laminate floor covering and the subfloor (e.g. foam padding)
Note 1 to entry: Some laminate floor covering products have the underlayment attached directly to the product (pre-
attached underlay).
Key
1 surface layer including overlay and décor
2 substrate
3 backer
4 pre-attached underlayment (optional)
Figure 1 — Laminate floor covering element
4 Requirements — General and classification
4.1 General requirements
Floor coverings described in this document shall conform to the applicable general requirements specified
in Table 1 and shall be tested in accordance with the test methods given therein.

Table 1 — Laminate floor coverings — General requirements
Property or character-
Test method Requirement
istic
ISO 24337 Geometrical characteristics
Δt ≤ 0,50 mm, relative to nominal value
Thickness t, without un-
avg
derlayment
t − t ≤ 0,50 mm
max min
Δt ≤ 0,50 mm, relative to nominal value
Thickness t, with pre-at-
avg
tached underlayment t
t − t ≤ 0,80 mm
max min
For the nominal values given, no measured value shall exceed:
Length, l
l ≤ 1 500 mm: l ≤ 0,5 mm; l > 1 500 mm: l ≤ 0,3 mm/m
Δw ≤ 0,10 mm, relative to nominal value
avg
Width, w
w − w ≤ 0,20 mm
max min
Δl ≤ 0,10 mm relative to nominal value
avg
Δw ≤ 0,10 mm, relative to nominal value
Length and width of
avg
squared elements, l = w
l − l ≤ 0,20 mm
max min
w − w ≤ 0,20 mm
max min
Squareness, q q ≤ 0,20 mm
max
Straightness, s s ≤ 0,30 mm/m
max
Maximum single values:
Flatness, f fw ≤ 0,15 % fw ≤ 0,20 %
,concave ,convex
fl ≤ 0,50 % fl ≤ 1,00 %
,concave ,convex
Openings measured from the surface between vertical contacting edges:
a
Openings , o o ≤ 0,15 mm
avg
o ≤ 0,20 mm
max
h ≤ 0,10 mm
avg
Height difference, h
h ≤ 0,15 mm
max
ISO 24343-1 Residual indentation After 150 min recovery, residual indentation shall be ≤ 0,05 mm.
ISO 4892-2:
Light resistance
No more than slight change in accordance with ANSI LF-01, or
(100 ± 0,5) h exposure
≥ Grade 4 per grey scale according to ISO 105-A02
Method B
Total radiance level
Allow sample (24 ± 1) h recovery time without light exposure at 23 °C and
Cycle 2 or
50 % relative humidity before taking final measurement.
(396 ± 2) kJ/m
Cycle 5
a
Openings between vertical contacting edges of laminate floor coverings are measured from the surface.
4.2 Classification requirements
Floor coverings described in this document shall conform to the applicable classification requirements
specified in Table 2 and shall be tested in accordance with the methods given therein.
The large ball impact test and the castor chair test of products of all classes shall be carried out with the
pre-attached underlayments or with an underlay specified by the manufacturer. If no underlayment is pre-
attached or s
...