Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is a type of flooring in which layers of melamine resin or fiber board are glued together by a process called lamination. It looks like solid hardwood, but is not. The top layer is an appliqué layer, which is covered by a transparent layer. They come as thin, long sheets of laminates, with tongue on one side and groove on the other side, which can be clicked in place. You can buy laminate flooring from trusted retailers like Armstrong.

Installing Laminate Flooring

It is very easy to install laminate flooring. You can do it yourself, saving you heaps of money. The sheets are clicked in place locking the tongue and groove parts together. Typically, laminate floor pieces come in the form of a plank or a tile. Laminate floors usually need an underlay to prevent them from coming in contact with moisture. The sheets near doors and cabinets should be cut to size. Remember to leave a small gap of 1-10mm between the walls and the laminate sheets. This will provide enough space for expansion of the material in humid weather. You should also remove the baseboards before installation and replace it after all the work is done. This will give the laminate floors a nice, neat look. Apart from that, you can also fix beading trim to the baseboards.

Advantages of Laminate Flooring

Laminate floors are easier to install than other types of hardwood flooring products. This is made possible by the tongue and groove mechanism. They are also very durable. The transparent protective layer is resilient to scratches and dents. As laminate flooring is a synthetic product, all sheets will be of the same color, unlike hardwood flooring. It is good for lighter wet areas like kitchens and bathrooms, but not in the shower. These floors are very easy to clean, just vacuum and mop regularly. They also resist stains effectively.

Disadvantages of Laminate Flooring

One of the main disadvantages of laminate flooring is that it is not real, solid hardwood. If you want real, not artificial, hardwood flooring, this type of flooring is not for you. The laminate floors are also very slippery because the top layer is very smooth. This type of floor does not add as much to the value of your house as solid hardwood floors. If any scratches or dents appear on the floor, they cannot be sanded or repaired. The only way to remove any scratches is to replace the entire flooring. There are also some serious health concerns about indoor air pollution due to formaldehyde present in melamine resin, the material used to make laminate flooring.