Laminate floors tend to be very good imitations of wood, and also stone or tiles. The top layer of the floor is in fact formed by printing, filling resin paper, which can have an arbitrary pattern. Laminate floors are multi-layer floor coverings, which are largely made of wood materials. Compared with traditional all-wood flooring, laminate is colder and noisier covering, but is significantly less expensive and its maintenance is easier.
Laminate flooring also has high water resistance and is relatively well adaptable to abrasion. Through its abrasion resistance and durability, the laminate is divided into commercial and domestic flooring, where commercial type is made with respect to the higher load.
Structure of laminate floor
Laminate flooring is thick as 6/25 to 3/10 inch, which is only about half the thickness of the wood flooring. Even though it is thinner, it is very resistant and durable. The base is also in the form of densified wood or pressed wood fiber (chipboard, MDF or HDF board), which is the main precondition for its durability.
The production technology of laminate may be different from the wood. Laminate floors are less expensive options, where the decorative foil or paper is pressed onto a layer of melamine resin, and it is applied with protective coating.
These laminate floors can be found under the name of DPL, which means a direct pressure laminate, and are suitable for less exposed areas such as the bedroom. Laminate flooring with quality solution is identified as HPL, which means that they are in a
high pressure laminate – the individual layers are pressed into each other at very high pressure and temperature.
Top, wear layer is made up of two layers of hardwood laminate. This floor is designed to exposed areas, must withstand shock, moving furniture, dirt, etc. You can use it in the kitchen, living room, or in the hallways. You may encounter further production technology when choosing flooring – a single-stage multi-layer lamination labeled CML.
One of the drawbacks of the laminate over wood is its noise. Laminate flooring, without the necessary adjustments while walking, causes relatively a lot of noise. That is why they have quality laminate flooring layer of noise-reducing steps. They are about 2/25 inch thicker, but their comfort when using is clearly increasing.
Features of laminate floor
Laminate floors are among the most popular flooring materials in homes, private institutions and public spaces for renovations and new buildings. Predispose them to do the following:
- Resistant to pressure, e.g. built-in heavy furniture and also furniture casters or high heels leaving no footprints
- Are difficult to ignite and well resist the cigarette ash
- Through a closed surface, it has nowhere to collect dust and so is suitable for people with allergies
- The color is still a significant proof of stains (coffee, wine, tea, etc.)
- Well resist the negative effects of conventional cleaning products and have low maintenance
Details are important to highlight the beauty of laminate floor:
The first-class floor has a first-class range of accessories (socket, terminal, expansion, transition stair rails, etc.). Do not forget that even small details of end internal and external corners underline the beauty of laminate floors.