What Are the Different Types of Laminate Flooring?

Shopping for a new floor can be quite strenuous, as you have to think about the various points like the style, design and the most important is whether it is fitting your budget or not. A laminate floor is one such floor covering that suits best when it comes to durability, maintenance and the cost. It is a good option if you have kids, pets or if you have guests coming over often. Another advantage of laminate floors is that it can be used almost anywhere in a home that includes some areas where you cannot use hardwood flooring. They are long lasting floors that are resistant to high wear and tear; to dents, they do not fade or stain easily.
Laminate floors are considered the best alternate to carpets and hardwood flooring.

Laminate floor installation is quick and the most simple, you don’t have to worry about adhesives or give it any drying time. They use the click lock technology, so it is easy to remove any planks from anywhere in the room if you think there is a repair. Laminate floors are easy to care for; all you will need is to have a dry mop and damp mop. Sweeping the floors regularly and damp mopping is all that is required to keep your laminate floors look like new for years.

The variety of laminate floors available in the market might get you confused, so we will give you a briefing about the laminate installation types and also the surface finish of the various laminates available.

First we will talk about the 3 installation methods:

Click–lock technology: Now-a-days most of the laminate floors use the click lock method. It is easy to install and you will not need any professional help and it is an inexpensive installation method.

Glued laminate: In this the joints have to be glued together. It will be stronger than that of the click lock method but the installation cost is high and it is a time taking procedure.

Pre-glued: In this method, there is a layer of glue that is already applied. You will need to apply some moisture before joining them together. Not a recommended process as it can be very messy for a DIY project and expensive if a professional is doing the job.

Types of surface finishes available in laminate:

Smooth: This finish gives a plain, smooth look which somewhat reminds you of hardwood floors. You can choose whether you want high, medium or low gloss finishing.

Textured: Some varieties come with a textured finish which does not exactly match with the grooves but you can be fooled into seeing a surface grain.

Hand-scraped: This gives an antique look to your floors. This process was used only on hardwood floors but given the advancement in technology, it is an option available for laminate floors.

Laminate floors have a lot of advantages and they are a great choice and are available in any style that you are looking for and are reasonably priced. All you need to do, to look after your laminates is to follow a few steps on a daily basis like placing door mats near doorways to reduce the amount of dirt from coming in, use floor protectors to protect your laminates from scratching and wipe up any spills immediately.