Tips for Choosing Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring, in contrast to real wood flooring, is a synthetic material made to imitate real wood or stone in both look and feel. Having grown in popularity over recent years due to being extremely cost-effective and hard-wearing, laminate is now available in many styles and colours, and choosing the right product can sometimes prove overwhelming if you don't know where to start!
Laminate flooring is typically sold in small tongue and groove planks, that comprise of multi-layer materials – typically melamine resin – which is then topped by a layer of patterned material to simulate a natural finish. This patterned material is then laminated with a protective, transparent layer to seal the board, making it easy to clean and helping prevent it from becoming stained or discoloured. Laminate, like almost any material, can of course become stained or can suffer difficult-to-remove marks from time to time, and there are a number of useful products available from tile and wood flooring specialists to help restore your laminate flooring to its former glory, the most common being laminate and wood cleaners – neutral detergents specially designed for the household cleaning of varnished, pre-finished or laminated wooden floors.
If you've decided laminate flooring is for you then a good place to start is to decide what room the flooring will be installed into. This is important since some types of laminate are more suitable for specific environments such as a kitchen or bathroom where they might experience more spillages or moisture. Once you've decided what room you want your flooring to go in and you've selected a product suitable for that space, you have a number of further options to consider, including the type of décor, finish, design, board size, and the fitting profile.
Cosmetic decisions such as the type of décor, finish or design of your laminate flooring will undoubtedly be a matter of taste and will depend on the interior design on your space. Bear in mind that nowadays laminate flooring is available in all different types of décor to reflect the type of wood or stone you wish to. Popular styles include maple, cherry, black slate, walnut, olive, teak and birch, including many others. Equally, don't limit yourself by not considering the many finish options available including smooth, wood grain (for added texture), rustic, stone, bevelled, embossed, varnished and oiled. All these options help to ensure that you have the maximum choice and compatibility when choosing your flooring solution.
Another important consideration to make when thinking about purchasing laminate flooring, is the type of fitting profile the boards come in. Whilst all quality wood flooring specialists offer easy-to-fit laminate solutions, you may find one system that you prefer, or are even already familiar with. Without doubt the most popular fitting profile for laminate flooring is the ‘twin-clic' profile, but others also include ‘top clic' as well as ‘clic 2 clic'.
If you're conscious about getting value for money then do take into account the guarantee that comes with the laminate flooring you're interested in. The guarantees can range enormously by anything from 7 years to 25, and can also differ in terms of their stipulated purpose – being domestic or commercial. Be sure to choose the option that's important to you. If you're not especially bothered by having a weighty guarantee, or enjoy re-decorating regularly, then fear not, you still get fantastic value for money as few quality laminate flooring solutions offer less than a 7 year guarantee, and will most likely live far beyond that.
For the environmentally conscious consumer, (which by now hopefully we all are!) be sure to check that your laminate flooring is FSC approved. The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was established in 1993 as an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization to promote the responsible management of the world's forests, and they only approve quality products that are responsibly and sustainably sourced. Make sure you look for the logo.
Laminate flooring is typically sold in small tongue and groove planks, that comprise of multi-layer materials – typically melamine resin – which is then topped by a layer of patterned material to simulate a natural finish. This patterned material is then laminated with a protective, transparent layer to seal the board, making it easy to clean and helping prevent it from becoming stained or discoloured. Laminate, like almost any material, can of course become stained or can suffer difficult-to-remove marks from time to time, and there are a number of useful products available from tile and wood flooring specialists to help restore your laminate flooring to its former glory, the most common being laminate and wood cleaners – neutral detergents specially designed for the household cleaning of varnished, pre-finished or laminated wooden floors.
If you've decided laminate flooring is for you then a good place to start is to decide what room the flooring will be installed into. This is important since some types of laminate are more suitable for specific environments such as a kitchen or bathroom where they might experience more spillages or moisture. Once you've decided what room you want your flooring to go in and you've selected a product suitable for that space, you have a number of further options to consider, including the type of décor, finish, design, board size, and the fitting profile.
Cosmetic decisions such as the type of décor, finish or design of your laminate flooring will undoubtedly be a matter of taste and will depend on the interior design on your space. Bear in mind that nowadays laminate flooring is available in all different types of décor to reflect the type of wood or stone you wish to. Popular styles include maple, cherry, black slate, walnut, olive, teak and birch, including many others. Equally, don't limit yourself by not considering the many finish options available including smooth, wood grain (for added texture), rustic, stone, bevelled, embossed, varnished and oiled. All these options help to ensure that you have the maximum choice and compatibility when choosing your flooring solution.
Another important consideration to make when thinking about purchasing laminate flooring, is the type of fitting profile the boards come in. Whilst all quality wood flooring specialists offer easy-to-fit laminate solutions, you may find one system that you prefer, or are even already familiar with. Without doubt the most popular fitting profile for laminate flooring is the ‘twin-clic' profile, but others also include ‘top clic' as well as ‘clic 2 clic'.
If you're conscious about getting value for money then do take into account the guarantee that comes with the laminate flooring you're interested in. The guarantees can range enormously by anything from 7 years to 25, and can also differ in terms of their stipulated purpose – being domestic or commercial. Be sure to choose the option that's important to you. If you're not especially bothered by having a weighty guarantee, or enjoy re-decorating regularly, then fear not, you still get fantastic value for money as few quality laminate flooring solutions offer less than a 7 year guarantee, and will most likely live far beyond that.
For the environmentally conscious consumer, (which by now hopefully we all are!) be sure to check that your laminate flooring is FSC approved. The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was established in 1993 as an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization to promote the responsible management of the world's forests, and they only approve quality products that are responsibly and sustainably sourced. Make sure you look for the logo.