Laminate flooring can give you the feel and appear of a genuine hardwood surface with the added benefits of easy installation, larger sturdiness, and reduced upkeep. Rooms that see lots of traffic are the best location for laminate flooring. Laminates are designed to hold up under the type of abuse they’re likely to see from children, pets, spills and all the other things that occur in a busy home.
Many laminates are so well made nowadays that it can be hard to grasp 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 an incredibly hard 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 making 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 type of DIY laminate flooring is best for you the most important thing to consider is the level of traffic the floor will see. One of the most important benefits of using laminate flooring is its durability. Thanks to 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 are not attached to the plywood subfloor but instead interlock above it.