LAMINATE FLOORING

Laminate flooring represents the most significant flooring entry in the past twenty-five years.

The product we know today as laminate flooring was originally developed as another possible use of high-pressure melamine laminate. This occurred in Sweden in the early eighties. A product was created with a base of several layers of paper impregnated with special resins which were pressed together under high pressure into a highly wear resistant composite material. The decorative paper determined the design. The finished laminate was then glued onto a carrier and cut into sections with extremely exact dimensions.

Decorative laminate was a product that was widely used on kitchen countertops, tables or wall paneling, but obviously not as yet for floors. This clearly created an opportunity, but a flooring application brought new technical challenges. The initial concern to be solved was the wear factor. It is obvious that floors are walked on and therefore suffer a lot more normal abuse than furniture or counter tops. A laminate floor clearly had to be more durable. A reinforced laminate that was approximately ten times stronger than counter tops was created and the first flooring began to be sold. As research grew, the relative strength of flooring laminate increased dramatically to at least twenty times that of countertops. Important parallel developments were also taking place during these early days. Packaging was one. Wood flooring at the time was normally sold in long strips of approximately eight feet and installed only by a skilled professional. Laminate flooring was different right from the beginning. It was packaged eight planks to a carton that was approximately half this length (about four feet). The easy to handle carton was fairly lightweight and could be transported by car or in an elevator with ease. Its carton contents equaled approximately twenty square feet (two square meters). Because of these revolutionary factors and ease of installation, a large do-it yourself market was created in Sweden that exists today. In fact, over ninety percent of laminate flooring in Sweden still is self-installed!

Reason For Acceptance There are several reasons why the no-glue flooring is a better choice. The most obvious being the ease of installation. No-glue flooring is by far the easiest to install. You simply lay down your underlayment, and the floor gets laid on top of it locking together using no glue. Most consumers, even with little or no experience, can install these floors themselves.

Aside from the ease of installation, there are some important technical benefits to using this type of flooring. Whether you are installing the floor yourself, or having it professionally installed, if you use the no-glue flooring, there will be a lot less chance for something to go wrong during the installation. With glue together floors, you have to use straps to get the joints tight and for them stay that way until the glue dries. You also have to make sure that the floor is running square as you are doing the install. With no-glue flooring, it is almost impossible to go out of square because if it started to, the flooring would not lock together. Since there is no glue used, there are also

The final success ingredient (and an important one) is in the aesthetics of the floor. In the beginning virtually all the floors replicated were wood species. Why? Simply because these patterns were desired by the public. As laminate flooring grew in popularity, other looks were introduced, including marble and stone. One of the interesting aspects of laminate flooring is that the designs are limited only by the imagination of the producers. This has resulted in a product that is now recognized by the design and decorating community for its ability to create an atmosphere of great beauty along with durability.

Into North America Laminate flooring crossed the Atlantic to North America in the early nineties and was brought quickly to the market. The results of this introduction surpassed even Europe. The North American consumer discovered that she could have a product of beauty with incredible wear and unmatched stain resistance. American and Canadian kitchens quickly became the primary room for laminate floors. Our consumers found out that virtually nothing could stain this beautiful floor, nor would sun or ultraviolet cause fade; and wear patterns were a thing of the past. And yet there were more discovered benefits. The resistance to indentation from heavy objects or shoes was far greater than popular existing wood or vinyl floors. The floor was incredibly easy to clean - vacuuming or damp mopping are needed. There is no need for waxing or stripping of the old wax buildup. The retailer enjoyed unexpected ease of stocking and servicing. Dye lots, found in ceramic or textile, are non-existent in laminate flooring. This retailer benefit also assured the consumer of exact match in tone and color, even if additional matching flooring was purchased and installed a year later!

Besides importers, US and Canadian manufacturing operations began to produce the product. Laminate flooring was on its way to another success. North America took to this new category of beautiful flooring with its remarkable qualities in unparalleled numbers. Today, laminate flooring continues its remarkable growth. Virtually every room of the house, including bathrooms is benefiting from a laminate floor application. The commercial marketplace is now exploring the aspects of laminate flooring for its demanding situations.

The above material is provided as an information service. Lou urges you to consider all prudent options prior to beginning a home improvement project or repairs, including checking with home improvement professionals in your area, and local building codes.