 What happens when hardwood flooring meets your kitchen countertop?? Laminate Floors !!
The same technology used on your countertop has been adapted for your floor. And due to its core construction, it can be used worry-free in wet areas of your home...like your kitchen, baths and laundry rooms.
Laminate floors offer a variety of styles (including ceramic-tile looks too) with tremendously easy maintenance and cleaning ability. Come check out the latest flooring trend.
At Flooring Xpress, we developed and use an internal rating system for every product we purchase. Many manufacturers put their own ratings on their products, but they often use different criteria which makes it hard to get an apples-to-apples comparison as a consumer.
 When we rate laminate flooring, there are 3 basic product characteristics that we look at: Wearlayer, Core Construction, and Backing. Additional or unique characteristics – such as green-treating or snap-installation features - are also taken into consideration and may increase a product/s rating. It must be understood that just because we give a Platinum rating (highest level) to a particular product, it doesn't necessarily mean that it scores highest in all 4 of these base characteristics. We balance all of these factors, add our experience, and then give a rating that reflects the overall makeup of the laminate.
WEARLAYER:
The wearlayer is the top portion of the laminate that covers and protects the decorative print surface (which creates the "look" of the laminate) of the floor. It is constructed in a very similar fashion to laminate countertops in kitchens and uses melamine resins which provide the strength and durability of the product. Newer sophisticated manufacturing techniques also are able to create a "textured" feel to the wearlayer which minimizes slipping. Additionally, some laminates utilize Aluminum Oxide chips in the wearlayer to provide increased resistance to stains and wear.
 CORE CONSTRUCTION:
Most laminates utilize a core structure of HDF (high-density fiber) board, particle board, or plastic. At this core level is where the tongue and groove system exists that all laminates use to interlock the planks during installation. The quality of materials and tongue-and-groove construction determines the rating. Many higher rated products use sophisticated methods to prevent moisture from absorbing into the core, which would cause expansion and damage to the floor.
BACKING:
The backing of a laminate will be either plastic, HDF, particle board, or in some cases paper-based. While it would seem unimportant to worry about what's on the bottom of the product – since it doesn't get seen – the backing is very important as it can add or takeaway from the structural integrity. Even though laminate is not a wood product, a form of warping can occur if the backing is not substantial. As such, paper or lightweight backings rate low while a HDF or plastic backing will rate higher.
|
|
|
