How to choose a good laminate: what to look for when buying?
When choosing a floor covering, any average homeowner faces a ton of problems. Why just go through all the options, evaluate the disadvantages and advantages of each and, finally, dwell on one thing! In the process of all this mental research, the choice of our compatriots often falls on the laminate - visually it is very similar to natural parquet, but it is in a more affordable price category. In addition, the laminate has many advantages inherent in natural parquet flooring. It is characterized by durability, strength, resistance to mechanical stress, ease of installation and subsequent care. However, despite all these positive qualities, the buyer of this product is not immune from disappointment. In most cases, this is due to the choice "at random" of any product you like, without considering its characteristics. So what should you pay attention to when choosing a laminate?
Operation class as an indicator of reliability
First of all, the eye of a picky buyer should fall on the packaging of the laminate, where the class of operation is indicated in the form of a two-digit number. This characteristic gives an idea of the stability of the product to mechanical stress and pressure, that is, it shows how long the laminate begins to “age”, that is, creak and break. Class of operation varies from 21 to 33.
Choosing a laminate of 21-23 classes that are designed for home use, you knowingly doom your floor to a short-lived life. The service life of such a laminate is 1-5 years, even if you blow dust off it and walk on it on tiptoe. It’s no good! Therefore, we strongly recommend that you even purchase a laminate for a city apartment, originally intended for public buildings with increased load (for hotels, offices, shops), that is, with an operation class from 31 to 33. This laminate at home will serve you faithfully 20 -25 years.
White laminate can have a different texture, externally as close as possible to natural material. We will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of such a coloring of the material in the article:https://floor.expertexpro.com/en/pol-pokritiya/laminat/laminat-belyiy-dub.html.
Laminate Sheet Thickness - Behavior under Load
Ideally, the thickness of the laminated plate should be 8 mm. A compromise in terms of cost reduction may be the choice of a laminate with a thickness of 7 mm, less is not desirable. The fact is that it is the thickness that affects the ability of the laminate to withstand the load.
A thin floor can break under a massive wooden sideboard or whatnot, therefore it is advisable to take into account possible loads and not save on this characteristic. In addition, the thickness of the laminate also affects its thermal conductivity, that is, the thinner the floor, the “colder” it is. This is under normal operating conditions. But when using warm floors, everything is exactly the opposite: the heat from the heating element will not be able to easily overcome the laminated barrier of large thickness, so the heat consumption will have to be increased.
Plate density
The basis of the laminate is an MDF board, on the surface of which a polymer film is applied. With a low density of MDF, even a significant thickness of the product will not save it from fragility.The optimum density of a reliable laminate is from 850 kg / m3 or more.
Coverage of neutral shades harmoniously fits into almost any interior, regardless of the chosen design. The gray color of the laminate on the floor can brighten a dark room and will be an excellent solution for many styles of the room. Read about examples of using light material here:https://floor.expertexpro.com/en/pol-pokritiya/laminat/seryiy-laminat-v-interere.html.
Chamfer - beveled edge
Over time, when cracks begin to form between the laminate boards, the presence of a chamfer allows you to hide these consequences of operation and make the gaps almost invisible. In addition, even a small amount of moisture entering the laminate without chamfer leads to swelling of the floor covering, which is very noticeable even at a distance.
The chamfer minimizes these visual imperfections and even a significant deformation of the joints becomes invisible to prying eyes. Even after flooding the floors from the laminate with a chamfer, as a rule, it is enough to dry the coating and re-lay it without replacements in order to completely eliminate the effects of moisture.
Choose the type of connection
The connection of the laminate can be adhesive and castle. The first method is not popular, so in construction stores you are unlikely to find a laminate with an adhesive joint, and finding glue for it is not an easy task. A more common is a laminate with a castle connection, called quick step, which can easily be laid independently. This is its huge advantage over adhesive bonding, the technology of which can only be carried out by an experienced specialist in the construction team.
Black flooring is infrequently used in living quarters. When choosing such a palette, you should carefully familiarize yourself with all the pros and cons of such a solution. We will help you learn about this in a special material:https://floor.expertexpro.com/en/pol-pokritiya/laminat/chernyiy-laminat-v-interere.html.
The castle connection, in turn, is also divided into two types:
- Click (collapsible locks)
- Lock (latches)
Click locks are located at an angle of 45 °, they are easily connected and working with them does not require any skills - everything is extremely simple. Moreover, laminate sheets with a click-lock can be laid on not perfectly even bases (small curvature and a drop of about 3 mm per 1 linear meter are allowed). It’s impossible to lay the panels with lock-locks on a curved base, so the floors will initially have to be very carefully aligned in level. Therefore, if you are planning lay laminate yourself, it is better to give preference to products with click-locks. They are more expensive than paintings with lock-locks, but do not require any professional skills during installation.
And finally, I want to give a little advice: when choosing a laminate, in no case do not save on quality. Remember that even the slightest mistake you made when choosing this flooring can spoil the general appearance of your comfortable apartment, violating its harmony and style.
Yuri 
Vitaliy 
Oksana 
Marina
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