Laminate Flooring Buyer's Guide

By Author: Naresh Shah
Total Articles: 43
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Laminate has become a popular choice in the world of flooring for its durability and low cost.

Reasons to consider laminate flooring

Laminate flooring looks like hardwood or stone, but its price is exponentially less. Also, it does not have the required maintenance that hardwood has. A homeowner gets the look of hardwood floors without the cost to install or the cost of upkeep.

Laminate flooring is an easy way to update the look and style of your home. Removing shag carpet and replacing it with easy to install laminate is a quick way to give your house a facelift.

Most laminate flooring is able to be installed directly over the existing flooring. With the exception of removing carpet, installing laminate is virtually preparation free.

Laminate flooring is excellent to use in high traffic areas because it is very durable and scratch resistant. However, it is important to know the intended purpose of the purchased laminate. If it is recommended for lighter traffic, it would be not be good to use in the kitchen. Aside from that, the premium laminates are made for significant use and are even more ...
... durable than hardwood.

Reasons to not use laminate flooring

Laminate flooring does no absorb noise well. When walking across the floor, it carries a loud, hollow sound. Also, laminate flooring is not very visually warm.

While laminate flooring increases a home's value, hardwood increases it even more. Homebuyers know when they see the real thing, and they would prefer hardwood over laminate.

When buying laminate, it is impossible to customize the color or the sheen of flooring. There may be many different options, but with hardwood it is always possible to sand and stain to an exact preference.

Since laminate is still relatively new, how it holds up in humid conditions and under different wear and tear still remains to be seen.

Recommended Types of Laminate

Many different reasons exist to purchase from a variety of flooring. Considerations should be made for glued laminate or floating glue-free laminate. Glueless is better at being water resistant than a tongue and groove glue free laminate. Also, when considering laminate for use in a bathroom or kitchen, it would be good to look for paraffined waxed joints because the flooring is even water repellant.

Also, contemplate the core of the laminate. The acoustics of a thicker core are more like wood with a less hollow sound.

Recommended Brands

Laminate flooring is becoming more widespread with many different companies from which to choose.

Pergo is the most well-known and comes with a warranty that is from 15 years to lifetime. It runs $1.50 to $4.00 per square foot. Amtico has a variety of patterns and textures. Amtico uses a Tap & Lock Connection system. It runs from $1.75-$5.00 per square foot. Armstrong has two different lines of glueless flooring. It runs from $2.00 to $6.00 per square foot. Quickstep has 11 different collection styles and offers square replacement tiles. It runs $2.00 to $6.00 per square foot.