How To Install Laminate Flooring

What laminate likes
Laminate likes temperatures from +18 to+25°C and relative humidity from 40 to 70%. High humidity makes laminate and the other wooden materials expand. Too dry air (for example, from air conditioners and warm floors) makes laminate shrink. That’s why, when home heating is switched on, it is recommended to use humidifiers (small fountains).

Dirt is dangerous
Laminate has a solid water-resistant surface, which is durable and wear-resistant. Dust doesn’t adhere to it and dirt can be easily removed. The dirt brought to the house from the street is dangerous, as it is easily trampled into the floor. It damages floor; sand and grit act as an abrasive paper leaving scratches. Therefore, try not to bring dirt inside the house, wiping thoroughly your feet outside a threshold. Put a big carpet in front of the entrance door.

Without polish and varnish
It is strictly prohibited to polish laminated floors with beeswax and polishing agents as they do not adhere to water-resistant coating do not penetrate into it and make unattractive spots. It is also no need to cover laminate with varnish.
It’s enough to sweep or vacuum the floor regularly. At wet cleaning wring out floor cloth thoroughly. Laminate is afraid of moisture. If you spoilt any liquid, wipe it immediately.
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Nowadays laminate is one of the top floor coverings. Nobody will debate about laminate advantages over the other materials, such as simple installation, possibility to re-use it, solidity, impact resistance, variety of colors, sound isolation, environmental friendliness etc.

The construction market is full of different brands from all over the world. Here is the review of the most popular of the them.

Elite laminate is represented by the world class manufacturers, having acquaried their place in the market of laminate coverings some decades before. Read more…

When you decide to install laminate into your house you start to look for an appropriate material. How to make a right choice and not to get screwed? Our simple tips will help you! Read more…

Laminate flooring is built for today’s active lifestyle. The HDF laminate core is both water resistant and dimensionally stable and the laminated surface is treated with Aluminum Oxide, adding strength and a high degree of scratch resistance. Laminate warranties cover fading, denting, staining and manufacturers defects, they do not however cover normal day to day wear and tear.

Although very durable, it is normal to find minor scratches as result of daily wear and tear. Fortunately, this situation is easily remedied with the aid of a laminate floor repair kit, available at your local flooring store and all online retailers. These kits may include acrylic or latex putty, wax pencils or crayons and are color coded to match the floor. In the event that your color or style of flooring has been discontinued, you can purchase a generic kit from your local hardware store. Always take a plank of flooring with you, in order to select the correct color.
For more serious damage, it might be necessary to replace the damaged boards. The introduction of glueless laminate flooring has resulted in a floor that is both easy to install and repair. For this you will need additional laminate flooring.

To replace boards that are situated close to walls or moldings, follow these steps:

1. Start by removing the baseboard or molding. Be sure to do this carefully as not to damage the molding, as it is replaced in the final step.
2. Remove the boards starting from the molding until the damaged board is accessible.
3. Replace the damaged board and then the rest of the boards you removed, by clicking them back in place.
4. Replace the molding.

The process of repairing a laminate floor board that is closer to the center of the room is more detailed and time consuming. The process involves removing the damaged board utilizing a saw or router, then replacing the board utilizing a sufficient water resistant adhesive. Follow these steps.

1) Mark the damaged board 1-1/2” from ends and side. Drill 3/16” holes at corners of marked area.
2) Cut along lines between the drilled holes and remove the center section. Then cut remaining piece in the center on both sides and remove.

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Classically produced laminate flooring is made up of three layers:

The decorative paper is what gives the laminate flooring its individual appearance. There is a wide range of highly authentic wood reproductions, but the large variety of interesting tile designs and creative décors should not be forgotten either. The wear layer is provided by the melamine resin, a highly wear resistant material that makes laminate flooring so hard wearing. Read more…

What qualitative properties, operational characteristics and drawbacks make the above mentioned floor coverings different? What kind of covering to choose? To find out the answer let’s compare some points considering installation process and further operation of laminate and parquet.

Laminated floors appeared in the construction market not long ago and in the mass sales just in the nineties. At the moment laminate is known to be one of the best floor coverings, having some considerable advantages over the other types of floor coverings. Laminate is produced out of environmentally friendly material, is load and impact resistant. It is easy to use and to install it. Laminate is almost maintenance free – its enough just to treat floor covering with a wet cloth made out of microfibers. Today laminated floors can be seen everywhere, either in dwellings or in public places. Laminate popularity and wide use is obvious due to its abrasion resistance, impact resistance and high temperatures durability. Read more…

Formica launch Compact Top range of structural laminate for laboratory and industrial furniture.

Compact Top provides a high performance, damage-resistant homogenous solid core laminate for environments where the upmost protection is required.

The range offers a practical and robust design application for laboratory and industrial services and compliments Formica Limited’s advanced chemically resistant product, Formica Chemtop2. Read more…

Laminate flooring is still a young industry tied to its European roots. Although major manufacturers are now producing laminate flooring in North America, the industry still looks to Europe for design trends and product innovations.

That explains why the booming North American market doesn’t have its own set of industry standards designed to help consumers understand what they’re buying. Read more…

Considering the question of house repair, first of all we pay attention to condition of floor. Old parquet or wooded floor, installed 30-40 years ago, has a sleazy appearance. If you have no possibility or willingness to restore or change the floor, just use it as a base for a new modern covering (for laminate, for instance). This decision is cheaper than complete replacement of an old floor covering and not worse than widely advertised filled floors or other trendy technologies.

To fulfill this idea you should remove the old floor anyway, strengthen and re-install it. This is to eliminate creaks, cavities and other defects. Read more…