The short answer: a 2G click system locks two planks together along the long edge by angling and tapping the next plank in, while a 5G click system drops the short edge straight down onto a sprung tongue so the joint snaps shut without tapping. Both are glueless floating-floor systems, but the 5G design makes the install faster and the short-edge joints stronger, which is why most modern hybrid, SPC and laminate ranges sold in Australia have moved to 5G or a 5G-style drop-lock.
What a click system actually does
Click-lock joinery is the milled tongue-and-groove profile on the edges of every plank in a floating floor. It holds neighbouring planks together mechanically — no glue, no nails, no screws — and lets the whole floor move as one slab in response to temperature and humidity. The locking profile is the most engineered part of any hybrid, laminate or engineered timber plank, and it’s what stops the floor from gapping after the first hot summer or the first winter cold snap.
2G and 5G are the two profile generations you’ll see referenced on Australian product spec sheets. The numbers are a Valinge naming convention — 2G is the second-generation profile and 5G is the fifth — and both are licensed across the industry, so the same plank brand may use one profile on the long edge and a different one on the short edge.
How a 2G click system works
A 2G joint is the original angle-and-tap click. You hold the new plank at roughly a 20 to 30 degree angle, slide its tongue into the groove of the plank already laid, and rotate it down flat. On the short edge, you then need to tap the plank along its length with a tapping block to close the joint fully — usually two or three taps with a rubber mallet.
2G works, and it works reliably on laminate floors where it’s still common. The downsides are practical:
- You need swing room above the plank to angle it in. That gets awkward under doorframes, kitchen toe-kicks and around fixed furniture.
- The short-edge joint is closed by tapping, so the joint quality depends on how evenly you hit the block. Over-tapping crushes the locking lip; under-tapping leaves a hairline gap.
- The locking strength on the short edge is lower than the long edge, and that’s where most failed-joint callbacks come from.
How a 5G click system works
5G keeps the angle-and-rotate motion on the long edge, but redesigns the short edge so it closes vertically. The short edge has a small sprung plastic or composite tongue housed in a slot beneath the plank. When you rotate the plank down flat, the next plank’s short edge pushes the tongue back, then snaps it forward into the groove — you’ll hear an audible click.
That sounds like a small change, but on the floor it’s the difference between a one-person install and a two-person install on long boards:
- No tapping block required on the short joint, which means no risk of crushing the locking lip with an over-enthusiastic mallet.
- You can drop a plank into a tight spot — under a doorframe, against a kitchen island — without needing the swing room a 2G angle requires.
- The sprung tongue provides higher pull-apart resistance on the short edge than a tapped 2G joint typically achieves.
- It’s faster. On a typical 50-square-metre install, a 5G floor goes down in noticeably less time than the same plank on a 2G profile.
Which products use which
Most of the SPC and hybrid ranges we stock now ship with a 5G or 5G-style drop-lock profile. That’s true across the best hybrid flooring brands in Australia and across the SPC market more broadly — the rigid core suits the 5G profile because the locking lip needs to be stiff enough to spring properly, and SPC delivers that. The practical buying difference between hybrid and SPC is covered in our guide to hybrid flooring vs SPC flooring.
Laminate is more mixed. Higher-end laminate ranges run 5G; entry-level laminate often still uses 2G or a 2G/2G profile (angle on both edges). Engineered timber sits in the middle: most modern engineered ranges use a 5G short-edge drop-lock, but older or budget engineered products can still be 2G on both edges, and some traditional engineered timber is glue-down rather than click at all.
What it means for your install
If you’re laying the floor yourself, 5G is the easier system to get a clean result with. The short-edge drop-lock removes the most common DIY failure point — uneven tapping. You still need to do the basics right: a level subfloor within roughly 3 mm over a 2 metre span, the correct expansion gap around every fixed object (we cover this in detail in expansion gap for click flooring), and a square first row.
Squaring the first row is where most DIY installs go wrong. If your first row is half a degree out, the error compounds across the room and you’ll be trimming wedge-shaped boards by the time you reach the far wall. The 3-4-5 rule for squaring a room is the simple geometry trick the trade uses to get this right with a tape measure and a chalk line.
For installs over concrete slabs — which covers most ground-floor rooms in Australian homes — both 2G and 5G work, but the subfloor prep matters more than the click profile. A moisture barrier and a level surface are non-negotiable. We’ve written the full prep guide in laying click flooring on concrete.
The bottom line
2G is older, slower, and depends on a tapping block to close the short edge. 5G is faster, drops the short edge into place vertically, and produces a stronger short-edge joint. If you’re choosing between two otherwise-similar products and one has a 5G profile while the other is 2G, the 5G product will be easier to install and more forgiving over the long run. We can show you the click profile on any plank we stock across our Sydney and Brisbane showrooms — bring a sample home, snap two boards together yourself, and you’ll feel the difference inside thirty seconds.