Posts Tagged ‘genuine hardwood’

Laminate flooring can give you the look and feel of a genuine hardwood surface with the added benefits of easy installation, greater sturdiness, and reduced maintenance. Rooms that see a lot of traffic are the perfect location for laminate flooring. Laminates are designed to hold up under the sort of abuse they’re likely to see from youngsters, pets, spills and all of the other things that happen in a busy home.

Many laminates are so well made these days that it can be tough to know which floors are laminate and which are real hardwood. Laminate floors will employ a thin layer of paper which shows a photographic picture of natural wood grain which is placed under a stupendously difficult layer of protective film and then adhered to a high density backer board. This gives you the look of real wood for a significantly lower cost and higher level of durability.

There are lots of different types of laminate flooring on the market these days. The two main processes for creating laminate flooring are High Pressure Laminate ( HPL ) and Direct Laminate ( DL ). HPL uses a 2 step process to form the finished product. The paper image, protecting film, and core material are joined using heat and pressure and then these layers are attached to a high density fiberboard backing. With DL all the layers are joined together at one time.

When choosing which sort of DIY laminate flooring is right for you the most important thing to consider is the level of traffic the floor will see. One of the most important advantages of using laminate flooring is its durability. Because of the way it is created it is resistant to all kinds of punctures, stains, scuffs, and gauges. It is easy to install laminate flooring over existing flooring including wood, vinyl, linoleum, and tile. Most laminate flooring systems are floating floors which means that they don’t seem to be attached to the plywood subfloor but instead interlock above it.