Laminate flooring can give you the feel and appear of a real hardwood flooring with the added benefits of easy installation, greater sturdiness, and reduced upkeep. Rooms that see plenty of traffic are the ideal location for laminate flooring. Laminates are designed to hold up under the sort of abuse they are likely to see from youngsters, pets, spills and all of the other things that occur 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 use a thin layer of paper which shows a photographic image of natural wood grain which is placed under an incredibly hard layer of protecting film and then adhered to a high density backer board. This gives you the look of real wood for a much lower cost and higher level of durability.
There are many different makes of laminate flooring on the market these days. The two main processes for making laminate flooring are High Pressure Laminate ( HPL ) and Direct Laminate ( DL ). HPL uses a 2 step process to make 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 previous point.
When choosing which sort of DIY laminate flooring is right for you the important thing to think about is the level of traffic the floor will see. One of the biggest benefits of using laminate flooring is its durability. Thanks to the way it is formed it is resistant to all sorts 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 are not attached to the plywood subfloor but instead interlock above it.