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Laminate Flooring Everything You Need To Know
Laminate flooring takes the effect of traditional wood. It offers
easy installation and lasting durability. At first, it
can be difficult to spot the difference between hardwoods and
laminate flooring. What appears to be a natural wood grain pattern
is really a thin layer of decorative paper (a photographic image)
under a tough-as-nails protective film which is glued and pressed
onto a high-densitybboard. Laminate Floors come in
a vast choice of wood effect, it also is available in stone
and ceramic effects.
Laminate floorings is easy to install,
is very hardwearing and relatively inexpensive in comparison to
genuine hardwood flooring.
Laminate flooring is a floating floor, which means it does not
fasten directly to the sub-floor. Instead the planks are clicked
together. This enables the floor to be fitted quickly and easily
.
Most laminate floors today fit together with a click system,
the most commonly used is the UNICLIC system.
This is extremely easy and fast to fit. The ingenious UNICLIC-system
has a special shape of tongue and groove. You simply place the
tongue of one plank into the grove of another at an angle and press
down. This accurately milled shape makes
it possible to create a tight connection during the installation.
The floor can be walked on straight away.
If you are laying laminate flooring over a concrete sub-floor then
you will need to lay a damp proof membrane (DPM). This
is a sheet of plastic of approximately 5mm density which helps
to protect the Laminate from moisture. On top of this you will
need to lay foam underlay this acts as sound barrier and also
helps even out
minor irregularities in the sub-floor.
Most manufactories now offer a combined DPM and underlay along
with several underlay's that have a variety of sound absorbing
qualities
Most of the leading laminate floor manufactories also have
ranges of flooring which include built in underlay. This underlay
is pre-fitted to the bottom of the flooring and is usually of sound
absorbing quality. You do not need to install this type of floor
as secondary but if you are laying over a concrete sub-floor you
will still have to lay down a D.P.M. (Damp Proof Membrane) first.
Laminate flooring has been around in Europe for around 15 years
and has seen massive growth over the past few years. In 2004 over
750 million square meters of laminate floors was sold worldwide
this was an increase of 13% on the previous year. The biggest growth
market is in the US with an impressive growth rate of 25%.
What are Laminate Floors made from?
Laminate flooring is usually made up of four layers:
1. Overlay (Wear Layer)
The top wear layer is provided by the melamine resin, a highly
wear resistant material that makes Laminate Flooring so hard wearing.
This top layer is very similar to the top layer on counter or kitchen
work tops but is usually around 40% stronger. This makes the laminate
flooring highly resistant to scratches, burns, dent’s, stains,
etc.
2. DPL (Decorative Paper) or HPL (Decorative Paper + Add High Strength
Paper)
It is the decorative paper which gives the laminate flooring its
individual appearance, ranging from highly authentic wood reproduction,
ceramic or stone designs. An important thing when
purchasing laminate flooring, is to understand the difference between
DPL and HPL.
3. Core layer
This is made up of either high density fiberboard (H.D.F.).
Or medium density fiberboard (M.D.F.) this is saturated in
resins
to make it extremely hard. Most manufactures also add a moisture
resistant resin to the core. This is important as it helps keep
the flooring protected from moisture penetrating the boards.
4. Stabilizing layer
The bottom layer is the stabilizing layer; this is what gives
the laminate floor its stability. It is made up of moisture resistant
resins.
How is Laminate Flooring Produced.
This is where DPL & HPL are different.
In the direct-pressure laminate process the decorative covering
layer and stabilizing layer are pressed together onto the core
layer. The high-pressure laminate process on the other hand,
the decorative paper and overlay are pressed onto special high-strength
paper first. Only in a second stage is this so-called high-pressure
laminate glued to the core layer. This makes the flooring a lot
tougher and more resistant to dents etc.
How Is Laminate Flooring Graded
Apart from the different warranties that manufactures offer and
the difference between DPL & HPL the other thing to look
out for when purchasing laminate flooring is industry standard
load
and traffic categories. These are broken into two categories
and are as follows.
Residential
Class 21 – Moderate Loads. Ideal for bedrooms etc.
Class 22 – Normal Loads, Ideal for living rooms etc.
Class 23 – Heavy Loads. Ideal for anywhere in the house (except
bathrooms)
Commercial
Class 31 - Moderate Loads. Hotel Rooms, meeting rooms, etc.
Class 32 – Normal Loads. Offices, waiting rooms, etc.
Class 33 – Heavy Loads. Large offices, shops, public
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