All You Need to Know About Laminate Flooring

Laminate Construction | Laminate Installation

Laminate is an affordable substitute for natural wood or stone flooring. New technology has enabled manufacturers to produce laminate flooring that captures the beauty of natural wood or stone, but with increased durability and less maintenance.

Laminate flooring:

  • Won’t wear out (greater impact & scuff resistance than hardwood);
  • Won’t dent under heavy furniture;
  • Never needs refinishing;
  • Is easier to clean and maintain than hardwood;
  • Is highly resistant to water and stains;
  • Is fade resistant: it won’t fade with time, like hardwood, carpet and vinyl; and
  • Offers a great value: the look of hardwood or stone with all the benefits of laminate at a substantially lower cost.

Laminate also lets you enjoy some unique styles that would be impractical with real hardwood. For example, Spalted Maple gets its distinctive look from fungus in the wood. While you wouldn’t put “real” Spalted Maple flooring in your home (because the fungus is too soft for a floor covering), laminate allows you to capture the unique look of Spalted Maple with all the benefits of laminate.

Laminate floors have been available in Europe for decades, but were not introduced into the United States until the mid 1990’s. Laminate floors are a direct descendent of the counter top laminate, well known for its strength and toughness. Laminate flooring represents the next generation of laminate and is 20 – 30 times harder than laminate counter tops.

LAMINATE CONSTRUCTION

Laminate floors are constructed of four layers, stacked one on top of the other, then glued and permanently fused together.

Wear Layer

  • Protective top layer resists fading, scratching and wear and is easy to clean.
  • Traditionally made of poly-urethane, higher quality laminates use urethane infused with aluminum oxide (second hardest substance next to diamonds) to increase scratch resistance.
  • Higher quality laminates are “textured” in order to give a more realistic look and feel to the product.
      - Texture is added to the wear layer through a process called “embossing”, which involves
      pressing textured patterns into the wear layer.
      - Embossed in Register is an enhanced process whereby the texture pattern is designed to
      follow the grain in the image, creating an even more realistic look and feel.

Décor Layer

  • A photograph of natural wood grains or ceramic and stone tiles imprinted onto specialized paper.
  • Higher quality laminates use high definition imaging to create unbelievably realistic looking planks.

Core Layer

  • High density fiberboard makes up the bulk of laminate flooring.
  • Adds dimensional stability because the composite material doesn’t expand and contract with changes in temperature and is highly resistant to water.

Buyer’s Tip: Cheaper laminates are made with less resin, reducing the bonds between the layers. This can cause the Decor layer to delaminate and the Core layer to disintegrate when exposed to water.

Backing

  • Typically made of a thin laminated material.
  • Provides additional support by helping the floor adapt to changes in temperature and protects the core from moisture.

Laminate designed to replicate hardwood is available in single planks with beveled edges (just like real wood) or 3-strip planks with square edges. Laminate designed to replicate ceramic or stone tile is available in planks with images of multiple tiles.

Because of its dimensional stability, laminate can be installed anywhere in the home, including rooms that are below grade (such as a basement), rooms with a concrete sub-floor and rooms subject to more moisture, such as the kitchen. Laminate can even be installed over an in-floor radiant heating system.

Note: While laminate flooring can be used in rooms subject to moisture, vinyl flooring is recommended for wet areas.

LAMINATE INSTALLATION

Floating Floor Installation Laminate is installed using the “floating floor” method. It is not attached to the sub-floor with glue or nails. Instead, the planks are snapped together at the sides using a tongue and groove design, resulting in the laminate floor “floating” above the existing sub-floor.1

Buyer’s Tip: Although it is more expensive, premium laminate, milled to a higher tolerance and made with a precision locking mechanism, keeps the floor together, preventing gaps from showing at the seams.

If laminate is installed in a “wet” area, such as a kitchen or bathroom, it is necessary to caulk any seams where the laminate floor meets a cabinet or wall (in order to prevent excess water from seeping into the laminate and damaging the fiber core). It is NOT necessary to caulk the seams between the laminate planks. The tongue and groove edges of premium laminate are treated with special sealants to prevent moisture from attacking the inner core.

As stated above, laminate is not permanently attached to the sub-floor, but it is installed over underlayment that is laid on the sub-floor. The type and thickness of the underlayment will be specified by the manufacturer. If the installer uses an underlayment that is not specified by the manufacturer, the product warranty can be voided.

Underlayment offers the following benefits:

  • It acts as a moisture barrier, preventing moisture from seeping back up from the sub-floor into the laminate, substantially extending the life of the floor;
  • It adds a cushion that makes walking more comfortable;
  • It helps to muffle sound;
  • It improves the floor’s resistance to dents; and
  • It evens out minor irregularities in the sub-floor.

Quarter Round Molding for Laminate

Laminate floors are installed with a ½” expansion gap between the wood and the wall. This gap allows for some expansion and contraction of the laminate with changes in temperature and moisture without causing buckling or other problems. To cover this gap, quarter round molding can be installed around the perimeter of the room to create a subtle and polished detail between the floor and the wall.

Pre-finished quarter round will match with the color and finish of the floor. Paint or stain grade quarter round, which is less expensive than pre-finished, should be used if the customer wants to match the existing baseboard.

Transitions for Laminate

When installing a new laminate floor, transitions are required when:

  • There is still a small percentage of laminate (approximately 5%) that is glued together.
  • The laminate floor meets another floor surface; or
  • There is an opening or doorway into an adjoining room with a different floor surface.

For example, laminate is being installed in a kitchen that opens up to a family room with carpet, or in a living room that opens up to a tiled foyer. In each case, a transition from one surface to the other is required.

The transitions used with new laminate flooring, which are made to coordinate with the color of the laminate, are described as follows:

T-Molding – Sits atop the new and adjoining floor surface

  • Transition from laminate to a hard surface of approximately the same height, such as tile, hardwood or laminate.
  • Used for transitions in both openings and doorways.
  • Not used for transitions to carpet.

Reducer Strip – sits atop the adjoining floor surface

• Transition from laminate to a floor of lesser height, such as vinyl or glue down carpet.

End Cap – Abuts adjoining floor surface

  • Transition from laminate to another floor of greater height (or to carpet of the same or greater height).
  • Used for transitions to exterior doorways where
    threshold is less than ¾” above new floor.

Step Nosing – Used as a protective strip along the edge of a laminate floor in a room that “steps down” into another room.

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