subject: Laminate Flooring: Keeping You Practical Yet In Style [print this page] With the unhealthy economic environment nowadays, it pays to be practical. Why spend more when you can spend less while enjoying comfort and exceptional style? In choosing the right flooring for your house, you go for a laminate floor. This features realistic impression of real hardwood, tile and stone with durable finish. This flooring will answer your need for cheaper yet artistic floor for your home. To help you decide wisely, here is additional information that you need to know about laminate flooring.
What is laminate flooring?
Also known as floating wood tile, laminate flooring simulates wood, tile or stone with photographic design under a clear protective layer. This is a practical, cost-effective and versatile solution for all rooms in your home especially in the high-traffic areas like the kitchen and living room. They are not just offered in wood plank designs such as natural oak or red oak, a wide range of colors and realistic stone, slate and tile designs with grout lines are also available. Aside from being more affordable compared to other flooring systems, laminate floors are easier to clean, resistant to damage and durable.
Laminate floor styles have dramatically enhanced with the advent of modern technology. The print layers look more realistic and got even better. An innovation called "embossed in register" has been added in the design which makes plank's surface to possess realistic graining and textures just like in natural flooring products. To give it the looks of many hardwood floors specifically natural oak and red oak woods, laminate wood planks now have micro-beveled edges. There's a lot more to know about it. You just have to learn more about laminate flooring and fall in love with its beauty.
Installation and care
Floating floor installation is applied in laying laminate floors. Therefore, laminate planks are not attached directly to the sub-floor. The planks are all locked together and float freely over the top of the sub-floor. Just like other flooring system, you have to make sure subfloor is level or else you will have problems of getting planks lock together. Experts also suggest that acclimating the planks to the room for several days prior installation will help avoid cupping and bowing planks.
To protect laminate floors from scratch over time, it is imperative to keep them clean from dust, sand particles and dirt. To avoid swelling or warping, you keep them relatively dry and wipe up immediately any spills. Nonetheless, some manufacturers equipped their products with water-resistant coatings. You can also place adhesive felt pads on the feet of furniture on laminate floors to prevent scratching. Moreover, you need not to tap laminate planks back together periodically when you use quality glue less floors with joining mechanism.
Tips on repairing laminate floors
You're finally there and all you have to do is repair the damage on your laminate floors. Here are some of the helpful tips.
a.For minor scratches, there are special and color-coordinating pencils that you may use to fill the scratches.
b.Colored filler touch-up products are recommended by manufacturer to repair gaps between plank seams. You just have to follow instructions for these products.
c.For deep scratches, chips and gouges, a special electric knife is used with colored burn-in sticks to repair these areas
So, go for more economical ways in beautifying your home! Visit the internet and learn more about laminate flooring.
