Laminate Flooring, Pros and Cons

Laminate Flooring has grown much in popularity over the last decade and has in many ways nearly flooded the flooring market with a wide range of choices available

Although most of these floors are good quality and will give you great performance there are unfortunately also some that are below industry standards, generally you get what you pay for so if it's cheap then make sure to do your homework on the Brand and it is always a good idea to ask for references where the same floor were installed a few years earlier.

Pros

• Variety of choice - There are a huge variety of Laminate Floors available in the market from colours, different grains, surface textures, various plank lengths, patterns and new choices are being added yearly by the manufacturers.

• Price and Looks - Laminate Floors are very affordable compared to Solid Wood floors, with most of the laminates looking very similar to your more expensive wood floors. This is possible due to the high resolution of print combined with grain and texture effects being applied to the laminate planks, making it look very authentic.

• Fuss Free Installation - This is mostly due to the fact that laminate is a floating floor which means it doesn't get fixed to the sub floor. In turn this makes it a good DIY product but also means that it is fairly quick to install with minimum amounts of dust and fumes and it is easy to remove should you want to replace it in the future.

• Durability - Laminate Floors are very durable with features like scratch, stain, impact and fade resistance. Most Laminate Floors comes with an 8 to 15 year guarantee on average and if well looked after it will last even longer. Again you get what you pay for so make sure you buy from a reputable supplier.

• Versatile - You can install laminate floors in nearly any part of the house, not recommended for very moist or wet areas like bathroom. It can also be installed on nearly any sub floor like concrete, wood sheets or plywood and vinyl floors, as long as the sub floors is even, low moisture levels and don't give way under pressure or weight.

Cons Like anything in this world each product including flooring has it's up and down sides and so does laminate flooring.

• Moisture - Most Laminate Floors are very susceptible to high moisture or water damage due to the High Density Fibre core which is made from. It is important to make sure that there are no moisture issues before installing a laminate floor and therefore it is not recommended to install laminate floors in bathrooms and care should be taken when installing over existing solid wood floors, as specially not recommended over parquet floors.

Excessive water use for cleaning can also damage laminate floors, it is recommended to only use a damp cloth for cleaning - do not use conventional mops and don't spray cleaners directly onto the floor but rather onto the cloth and spills should be cleaned up immediately.

• Installation - Although laminate flooring are a fairly good DIY product it is difficult for most novices to get a perfect installation and there are a few ground rules which need following otherwise you might end up throwing your money in the water. If you have one and a half right hand then it is recommended to get a reputable installer.

• Repairing Your Floor - There are two sides here, the first is that due to being a floating floor it is fairly easy to replace a plank if damaged. The down side is that it needs replacing where with solid wood it can be sanded and finished again, you get a laminate repair kit which works well on a one tone colour but if the plank has colour variations then it is usually quite visible.

• Expansions - Laminate Floors expand and contract and although not as much as Solid Wood it needs a expansion profile between rooms or if the length or width of the room is more than specified by the manufacturer (Usually between 8 to 12 metres in the length and 6 to 8 metres in the width). So if you have a large area then you might need to split the floor by using an expansion profile and to most people this is an eye sore.

Conclusion In our opinion the Pro's outweigh the Cons by far when it comes to laminate flooring and as with most floor coverings each has its down sides. If you decide on laminate flooring then get a quality floor and a good installer, in addition to this it is very important that the correct cleaning methods are used and your floor will be well worth the money.