Why choose Laminate Flooring for your home?

Although laminate flooring was not so hard-wearing when first launched a couple of decades ago, it has been a popular choice for homes and businesses over the years. Nowadays it has AMAZING water resistance, and scratch resistance properties! Some high-quality Laminates are even waterproof.  Laminate flooring is well known for being easy to install and can often be less expensive and easier to maintain than solid wood and engineered wood flooring. Great investment has been made in making Laminate flooring extremely water-resistant, scratch-resistant and realistic to the eye over the years. 

What is Laminate Flooring?

Laminates are hard surface synthetic flooring manufactured with several layers of material fused together with heat and pressure. The core is usually High Density Fibreboard (HDF) for the highest quality to give the best available stability and structure. The floor is then finished with what is called the ‘paper’, a photograph of wood, stone or bamboo.

The ‘paper’ (photograph) is very detailed and high resolution giving the best possible realistic effect.  Finally, a protective layer is applied over the photograph which makes the flooring scratch and water resistant. Surfaces can be glossy ( lower scratch resistance), satin or matt with grain and knot texture effects ( medium to high scratch resistance ) and can be available in various sized boards. 

Laminate flooring is considerably easy to install with no need for adhesive or nails. It is floated over a layer of appropriate underlay and the boards click together.  It is very easy to look after, all you will need to do is sweep or dust it and every so often give it a clean with laminate flooring cleaner. 

In short, the main advantages of choosing Laminate flooring are …

• Cost effective, can be less expensive than wood flooring 
• Strong and hardwearing.
• There are various levels of suitability for specific areas, from C3 for light traffic to C5 for high traffic areas
• It is easy to install
• You can choose water resistant to water proof depending on the manufacturers offerings
• You can find suitable types of laminate for under floor heating (with the correct underlay)
• Laminate flooring is  very hygienic and easy to maintain
• You can choose from a wide range of visual effects colour and pattern
• There are different sizes to choose from to suit your design needs.

Photo credits –  Swiss Krono GroupRetailer – Limerick Tile and Wood Centre