laminate
Laminate Flooring: An Attractive Alternative To Hardwood Floor
Explore the maximum range of contemporary flooring solutions before you make up your mind to go for a type. For example, they may be wood flooring, hardwood flooring, bamboo flooring, and laminate flooring, among several other varieties. Choose the one that is a better fit and trendy at the same time.
Durability, suitability, adaptability, and, of course, affordability are the primary concerns for the persons who are planning to give their floors a modern and divine look. If they keep focusing on only hardwood flooring, or bamboo flooring, it is necessary for them to look into the worth of laminate flooring too that can precisely value their investment. This flooring variety has proven to be incredibly durable and bears similarity in terms of looks with hardwood. Most interestingly, making a difference between them from their apparent visibility is next to impossible.
Despite the fact that laminate looks like hardwood, this flooring product does not involve any wood component! It is manufactured by mixing several materials under high pressure. This production process gives them a durability and resilience that actual hardwood is simply devoid of. Most laminate floors have a moisture resistant layer too and this enhances the longevity of the floor. So, if durability is your primary concern, then you could find no better flooring option than that you find in laminate variety. Does it sound to be disbelieving? Then, try it for a smaller space first and check the difference!
Again, when it comes to the construction of the top layer, laminate type excels other types too. A resin-coated cellulose compound is applied over their photographic representations and that helps protect surface appearance. This makes cleaning much easier as opposed to the cleaning process required for the hardwood floors. To clean the latter type of flooring needs their owners to be aware of the cleaning process to the full. Otherwise, the chances of damaging floor finishes like getting scratches, or water moistness, are quite higher. Flooring experts, therefore, suggest buyers to go for the laminate flooring solutions when they intend to install such floors in a high traffic area or on the floor of a bathroom or of a kitchen. In such places, laminate flooring products would fit most suitably.
Budget is a big factor for interior decoration. Affording to an unforeseen budget can be an absurd idea for most of the people who desire to get their commercial or domestic places renovated or decorated with modern flooring products. To the great relief for all of them, laminate type might give them the solution to cut the bills without bringing any major changes over the overall appearance. Everyone must agree with that laminate is simply much less expensive than solid hardwood floors. Furthermore, such products do not require refinishing when other types do once in a while.
If you are a do-it-yourself (DIY) fan, you will be enthused to learn that laminate flooring is the easiest way to get it done. Such products snap easily together while providing you …
Laminate Flooring As an Alternative to Other Types of Flooring
Whenever it comes to decorating a home, everyone wants to make their home look as good as possible. They also want their style and creativity to show through on the projects they undertake. Every part of their home should show a unique pizazz and flair that cannot be matched anywhere else. One of the most difficult decorative choices to make in a home is what types of floors should be used in which rooms. Nowadays hard wood and tile seem like they are the way to go. However, laminate flooring looks realistic and is able to offer several advantages that these floors cannot.
The first advantage is in the maintenance and upkeep department. Hard wood is extremely delicate. There are only certain products that can be used on it, and even then it can only tolerate a small amount of it. Even if these rules are followed perfectly, there is still no guarantee that they will not need to be restained or varnished at a later date. Tiled floors have grout in between them that always seems like it needs to be cleaned and no matter what gets done to it, it still never looks like it did whenever the tiles were first installed. However, laminate flooring is able to tolerate chemicals that hard wood cannot. And, whenever it comes to grout, there is no problem because there is not any. The grout that appears on the laminate is a realistic representation of grout and cleans just as easily as the rest of the floor.
Second is durability. It pretty much goes without saying that wood floors are not very durable. Everyone does their best to protect them from those chips, dents, and scratches that occur so easily. Special pads on the bottoms of furniture and not allowing any woman visitor to walk across in her high heels are just a couple of the preventatives so many have taken. Tiling is more durable than wood; however, if something heavy such as kitchen ware or furniture is dropped on it while moving, the tiles will crack. Laminate, however, is extremely durable. Unlike tile, it will not crack if something is dropped on it. While with extreme force it may be possible to scuff or tear it, it is still able to resist much more than wood flooring is able to resist.
Whenever it comes to decorating a home, everyone wants to pick out things that look decent and are affordable. Laminate flooring fits both of these. It provides the appeal that hard wood and tile provide, yet is cheap enough to not break the budget. This allows a homeowner to also spend time and energy into perfecting other parts of the home while still being able to be proud of the work they have put into their new floors. The many different patterns and styles allow homeowner to express their creativity in a room and create something that is truly unique and different.…
5 Ways To Refresh Your Home On A Budget: Buy Laminate Flooring And More
Day in and day out, your home serves as sanctuary, pit stop, storage facility, and entertainment venue. It can also get stale, outdated, and even threaten your health. Drapes, pillows, upholstery, and carpets can harbor dirt, dust, grime, and insects that cause respiratory and other health-related problems. These textiles can also cause bad odors to persist. Refreshing your home, both literally and figuratively, is easier and more affordable today than ever before with cheap Pergo laminate flooring, inexpensive accent pieces, live plants, a few buckets of paint, or some new curtains. Each of these redecorating activities can be done by the homeowner with a minimal investment of time and money.
Instead of hiring contractors and disrupting your home and bank account, refresh the appearance and improve the healthfulness of your home by replacing old window treatments, adding new accent pieces, or buy laminate flooring. Painting walls and replacing cabinet hardware can also result in an affordable, do-it-yourself home improvement project with lasting benefits.
Give Hardware A Hand
Cabinet hardware is easy to replace, affordable, and there are many styles from which to choose. Your kitchen and bathroom cabinets can go from dreary and damaged to smooth and elegant with just a few turns of a screwdriver. For a bigger effect, the faces of the cabinets, drawers, and doors can be refinished or painted at the same time. Very often, stripping off old paint reveals beautiful natural wood grain that has been well preserved and looks lovely with nothing more than an application of sealant!
Strike A Pose
The artwork and accent pieces found in a room can completely alter its personality. Throw pillows, live plants, statuary, and art can turn a chaotic mess into a stylish showplace without breaking the budget. Family photographs in simple frames, layers of colored stones in a glass vase, or a living aquarium can provide affordable renovations to the look and feel of practically any room in the house.
Coat With Color
Painting the walls of a room is an inexpensive way of changing the decor and creating a completely different atmosphere. Painting does, however, require an understanding of the risks of lead found in old paint. Keeping safety issues in mind, the colors selected can generate any mood or style the homeowner chooses.
Window Wonders
Homeowners can also redecorate a room affordably with window treatments, such as drapery, shades, sheers, and blinds, just to name a few. There are many online sources available that offer a wide range of window treatments, allowing homeowners to select or create their very own style using materials that suit the interior decor of their liking.
Build A Solid Foundation
A home’s foundation is its primary source of strength and stability. In the same way, flooring protects us from the outside world, it provides a smooth surface for feet and furniture, and it sets the tone for the style of the room. Flooring also plays a major role in a family’s health. Ratty, old carpeting can harbor dust mites, …
How Does Laminate Flooring Stack Up Against Real Wood?
There are both advantages and disadvantages when comparing laminate flooring with hardwood flooring. Both of these materials are excellent for any home, however they are also very different. First, let’s examine wood floors and why you might want them in your home. Wood floors are classic, traditional, beautiful and with the right maintenance, can last a lifetime. The problem is that wood flooring requires buffing and refinishing to maintain its beauty.
On the other hand, laminate flooring does not require this kind of maintenance. And, when compared with how difficult it is to install wood floors, laminate definitely comes out on top. The majority of laminate floor choices can be snapped together like puzzle pieces, without the need for glue or nails. Even if you’re not handy with tools you can lay one of these floors in a matter of hours. And, you can walk on your new floors immediately after they are put down, you don’t have to wait. These floors are durable, and are coated with space age crystal clear finishes for strength and shine.
You’ll be amazed at how authentic these floors appear when made to look like wood, stone and other flooring materials. Some laminate is textured and even sounds like the actual material it looks like when walked upon. And with a good installation job, no one but you will realize your floor is laminate, it might for example look identical to exotic teak or sophisticated mahogany.
There are just so many different choices. Whether you like wood, stone, cork, bamboo or some other material, your floor can look exactly as you like. Many flooring choices are made to appear seamless. Some are tiles, some are strips and some are planks. What you should choose depends upon your particular household needs.
Laminate flooring is easy to clean and care for. All it requires is a sweep and damp mop. There are affordable cleaning products made for this type of material. Another benefit is the vast selection you’ll find when shopping around for this type of floor. There are hundreds of different laminate flooring choices from numerous manufacturers, many of which are household names.…
Secrets To Installing Laminate Flooring On Top Of Floor Tiling
There are many people who want to change the way their flooring looks, especially if they have old style tiling. This is when laminate flooring is the perfect way to go ahead. It is very simple to install one on top of the other one by simply laying the flooring over. Any person can do it as a weekend DIY project.
However there are some things you need to know before installing it, so you get the best job for your home flooring. Maybe the most important aspect is to adjust the actual temperature for your floors and the room level of humidity. The room temperature should be anywhere between 68 and 85 degrees. Also the best humidity level should be between 45-65%. Anything above or below that will warrant using a humidifier or dehumidifier for regulating it.
When it comes to actual installation, you need to take off the molding and then check that the tiles are all dry, clean and level without any extra bumps. If you feel any bumps on it, you can level it using leveling cement so that you have a smooth surface ahead of you. The next step is to rollout the floor underlayment avoiding the edges from overlapping. This should exactly match the size of the room.
The step on laying the laminate flooring is usually done from left to right and spacers can be used to keep the spaces, or gaps that are between the planks. The space for expansion should be around 1/4 inches. The firs plank should be laid by first placing the plank right against the wall. The second plank should be 1/3 of the size of the first to give your flooring a nice alternate plank look that is so popular nowadays. The third plank will easily be able to connect the first plank right at the end to be locked in place the right way. Then you add the next (fourth) plank that will connect to the end of the previous one to be locked in place as well. Basically this will be the base upon the rest of your flooring will be built further.
What you really need to pay attention to though is to ensure that the very last row is exactly the same with the initial one. Also create a 1/4 inch space between the plank and the wall for expansion. Once you replace the trim, your laminate flooring is readily installed upon the old tiles.…
How To Fix Your Laminate Floor
Even though a laminate floor is extremely durable and is created to be able to withstand a high amount of foot traffic, from time to time it needs to be fixed. There may be nicks or scratches that need repaired or perhaps an entire board needs to be replaced. Many laminate floors will buckle or peak and this may be what the problem is. No matter which one is causing your laminate floor to look less than perfect, there are ways that you can fix the floor yourself.
You will need to purchase a laminate flooring repair kit and have that on hand. You will also need a hammer, screwdriver and the laminate flooring. The repair kit can be purchased at a local or large hardware store. Bring along a sample of your laminate so that it matches perfectly.
The easiest fixing would be the nicks and scratches. You can simply read the instructions on the repair kit and easily eliminate those unsightly scratches.
If you need to replace part of the laminate flooring boards, you will need to do more than just read repair kit instructions. Using a screwdriver or a hammer, loosen up the molding around the floorboard. Be very careful to not damage the molding because it needs to be put back once the floor board is replaced.
The next step is to remove the floor boards that are beside and that lead up to the board that needs to be replaced. Once you have taken up the board to be replaced, simply click the new board right into it’s’ place. After the new board is correctly positioned, the other floor boards that were taken up first can then be put back in their places. It is then time to hammer the molding back in it’s’ place. Pound it carefully to avoid accidentally harming the molding.
If you have the peaking or buckling problem, you need to reduce the tensions of the boards. The age of the boards and the weather can expand the flooring and that is what causes the buckling. Once again, it is necessary to take out the molding with a hammer or screwdrivers. Do this carefully and save it because it will need to be put back down. Then take out the spacers from the original installation of the floor. These are the units that give support between the wall and laminate board.
To replace the old ones by putting in much smaller ones. Then very gently, push down on the peak. If the peak does not go down right away, don’t panic. The floor may just need to settle on its own and without any force from you. It will have to expand by itself at some point. Then you need to carefully put back the molding by using the hammer.
If there is a gap that has formed between the boards themselves, this will also cause the buckling or peaking. In this situation you will need to put larger spacers in …
Where To Find Discount Laminate Flooring
Whether you are remodeling your home or building a new home you will inevitably have many decisions to make regarding the kinds of materials to use. And if you are like most homeowners one of your main objectives will be to save as much money as possible. One of the best ways to make sure your costs are as low as possible is to use discount laminate flooring.
Many people are very happy with their decision to save money on this area of their homes as no one can usually tell the difference between this type of floor and hardwood. If you are unsure about using this cheaper alternative, visit some stores to see what kinds are on the market. There are many different shades to choose from so almost everyone can find something they like.
Home improvement stores are great places to do some research on the different types. Even if you decide not to purchase from these stores shopping around to compare styles and prices will mean you can get the best deal on what you really want. Another way some people go is to buy their materials online.
A benefit to purchasing anything online instead of from a traditional store is that you may be able to get a better price. Some people may be hesitant to do this because they will not be able to see the product before it arrives. Remember that you can visit stores to see similar products or sometimes even the same product in person before you buy them online.
One of the great benefits of this kind of material instead of real hardwood is that it is easier to take care of for many people. Besides being a cheaper alternative, it will also save you time while cleaning. If water is spilled on it, there is no chance that it will be damaged unlike real hardwood.
These materials are also easily installed with a little practice. Even if you are not a professional, if you are doing other household repairs or installations, you should have no problem doing this as well. For those of you not quite so inclined to take on this project remember that there are many options for contractors who would be happy to do this job for you.
Using discount laminate flooring is something every homeowner should consider when replacing this part of their home. This is especially true if saving money is at the top of your list. And without even trying you will have great looking floors as well.…