When and where to use laminate wood flooring.
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Although nothing beats the appearance of natural wood flooring, there are some drawbacks. Wood floors are expensive. Depending on the size of your home, it could cost $20,000 or more to upgrade to wood flooring. And even the hardest wood scratches. If you have big dogs, lots of children, or heavy traffic, you may be surprised how quickly wood flooring shows some wear and tear.
Laying laminate wood flooring
For circumstances like these, laminate wood flooring may be a better choice. It looks like wood flooring, but it’s less expensive, more durable, easier to install, and better suited to high-traffic areas.
Nowadays, there’s a huge selection of laminate wood flooring to choose from. Virtually every color, finish, and wood grain is available. You can even buy wide planks, if that’s the look you want. In addition to wood, laminates also duplicate tile, slate, and stone flooring.
Laminate wood flooring resists moisture
Laminate wood flooring consists of a top layer made of melamine resin, which is extremely durable. It resists scratches, stains, fading, and water damage better than natural wood. The core can be anywhere from 6mm to 12mm thick. The thicker the core, the better the floor. Look for one that’s been treated to make it water repellant. And make sure the joints have a coating of wax to keep moisture from ever reaching the core.
Some people don’t care for the sound of laminate floors. Investing in a thicker core will make them sound more like real wood flooring.
Two kinds of laminate wood flooring are available – High Pressure Laminates (HPL) and Direct Pressure Laminates (DPL). Because HPL takes two steps to glue and fuse the layers together, it costs more to produce than DPL, which is manufactured in a single step. As a rule, HPL costs more, wears better, and lasts longer than DPL.
HPL also has greater moisture protection in the tongue-and-groove system that joins the boards together. This will help prevent the seams from swelling when humidity is high.
Laminate wood flooring is designed to be floated over an existing floor, which means that you can use it over almost anything – vinyl, concrete, or plywood. Because it’s not glued down or nailed to the subfloor, it’s easy to install. In fact, most do it yourselfers can achieve good results on their own. You just need to make sure that the floor you’re going on top of is level and smooth.
A thin padding is laid over the existing floor and then the laminate boards lock together with a tongue and groove system. Molding in a matching finish is easy to cut and install.
Once they’re installed, laminated floors are very easy to take care of. They never need to be waxed or polished and a dust mop is usually all that’s needed to clean them.
Read more about engineered wood flooring here.
Laying laminate wood flooring Image Flickr: Hendricks Photos
Laminate wood flooring resists moisture Image Flickr: John Loo
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