Laminate Flooring Buying Guide
From Floor Coverings
Floor Shoppers Manual
Is Laminate better than hardwood flooring?
Laminate flooring is the next best thing to hardwood, stone or Marble Tile Flooring and in some ways even better. Laminate helps you achieve the look of beautiful hardwoods or luxurious marble or stone flooring without the expense. Laminate is constructed in four layers starting with a binding material and then a layer of processed particle board, followed by a high quality picture of either hardwood, stone, tile or marble and topped off with a protective chemical that helps resist scratches and other damage. The durability of laminate is measured with a system known as the Abrasion Rating System (AC). AC ratings 1 through 5 are used to determine laminate’s strength and resistance to wear and damage. The lowest level is for light traffic in homes and the highest rating is for very high traffic in the public sector. The most common rating is AC3 which offers protection for heavier traffic in the home and light traffic in businesses.
What rooms are best for laminate flooring installation?
A few things to consider before installing laminate flooring are what rooms are best suited for laminate flooring, how humidity and temperature will affect the performance of laminate flooring, whether or not the presence of children and pets will be a determining factor and the room’s exposure to sunlight. Laminate flooring is an excellent choice for living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, dens and offices for the beauty and durability it offers. But laminate is in reality a wood product, so caution needs to be exercised when installed in areas of excessive exposure to moisture like kitchens and bathrooms. In fact, some manufacturers’ warranties will be voided if it is installed in these rooms. If you decide to install in a bathroom or kitchen, a caulking sealer will need to be applied where water leakage is a big possibility.
Is laminate flooring ok for large pets?
If you have large pets, laminate might not be a good option for certain rooms with high traffic. Large pets can cause damage by scratching the surface. Keeping the nails trimmed on pets and using area rugs in places of high traffic will help to reduce this type of damage. Laminate is very stain resistant and this aspect makes it a good choice for homes with children. And in comparison with hardwood flooring, laminate resists denting better when children drop toys or other objects. Choosing a laminate with a high-density fiberboard in the core layer will also help to protect against damage done by children. Reducing noise is not one of laminate’s strong points, but installing an underlayment will aid in sound proofing the area. In addition, if you have someone in the home in a wheelchair, you should definitely choose a AC rating of 3 or higher.
What is laminate flooring made of?
Since laminate is made with wood, extreme temperatures, moisture, and humidity can present a challenge to its performance. Extreme temperatures have more of a negative effect on solid hardwood, but laminate will likely suffer some damage too. Humidity levels should be kept between 40% to 60% in order to keep laminate flooring from expanding and buckling. This is another reason why laminate should not be installed in the bathroom. You wouldn’t want to get out of a long, hot shower only to discover that your laminate flooring is permanently damaged. Sunlight can also affect the appearance of laminate flooring by fading. This is true only if a UV protective layer has not been added to it. Otherwise, laminate flooring that includes this layer will naturally resist fading from sunlight exposure.
What is direct pressure and high pressure laminate flooring?
There are two methods of constructing laminate flooring, direct pressure and high pressure. The main difference is that high pressure laminate is stronger because it has five layers instead of four and high pressure laminate is more expensive. With high pressure laminate, the top and bottom layers are fused directly to the core layer after they receive their treatment, whereas direct pressure laminate bonds all four layers at the same time using high heat and higher pressure than its counterpart. Installation types of laminate include glueless, glued and pre-glued. Some types also come with an foam underlayment already attached that adds sound proofing and moisture protection. The glueless type comes with a click and lock mechanism for easy installment. It comes in a variety of mock hardwood, stone, tile and bamboo patterns. The pre-glued type requires wetting to activate the glue before putting them together.
What textures does laminate flooring come in?
Available textures for laminate include smooth, embossed, wood grain and patina. Embossed is a slightly raised surface and wood grain feels like real wood grain. Patina is created by painting an embossed surface and then removing it so that the paint fills the spaces formed by the embossing. Manufacturers of laminate flooring usually recommend the use of a moisture barrier underlayment and one that will even out minor imperfections in the sub-floor. These also provide some sound proofing. Laminate flooring that comes with an underlayment already attached is the best option, but will be more expensive. T-moldings are used when rooms of similar height meet. Reducer moldings are used when rooms are of a different height. Quarter round covers the gap next to the wall. End cap covers thresholds and stair nose covers the edge of cork on stairs.
What is the AC rating on laminate flooring and does it affect the pricing?
There are a few different things that will affect the price of laminate flooring. The higher the AC rating, the higher the price will be. Good quality does not come cheap. High pressure construction is more expensive than direct pressure construction. The higher the resolution of the picture that is printed on the decorative layer, the more expensive it will be. Extended warranties, although valuable, usually come with a price and you will likely pay more for brand names of laminate flooring. If you are installing your laminate yourself, make sure the sub-floor is clean and dry. You should also allow the laminate to acclimate for 48 hours before installing.
Laminate flooring Care and Maintenance
The care and maintenance of laminate flooring involves regular sweeping, dusting or vacuuming. However, be careful not to use the beater bar of your vacuum on laminate as this will scratch the flooring as will a Flooring Buffer machine. Your laminate flooring will exhibit a beautiful just waxed finish, but you will never need to wax it. In fact, do not ever wax it or use any harsh detergents. You can clean your laminate flooring with cleaning products recommended by your manufacturer. If you should spill ink or oil on laminate, you can clean these up with a clean cloth and acetone.
