| Laminate flooring is a viable solution for using in new construction or in renovations. Floating floors with real wood surfaces, or wood, stone or tile patterns, have benefits not found in other flooring products. |
As a verb it means to bond together in layers, while as a noun, it refers to a material that is produced by bonding together layers of material. For flooring, “laminate” is a family of products in which a finish material is fused to a substrate. Laminates can resemble many things, including wood, stone (like marble, slate, or flagstone), tile, or a solid surface of color (though that’s usually saved for countertops).
You may be wondering why you would choose a laminate over a wood, tile or stone floor. There are lots of reasons!
- Cost.
- Environmental concerns.
- Health issues.
- Speed of installation.
There are some reasons to not choose a laminate floor too.
- Durability.
- Maintenance.
- Noise.
Before we delve into the pros and cons, let’s understand better what laminate flooring is and a quick review of its history.
Laminate flooring is typically made with an interlocking tongue-and-groove system that sometimes clicks together and sometimes glues together. It can be pre-finished at the factory or finished after installation. It can be installed on any surface and in any room of your house, including wet rooms like the kitchen and bath. Laminate flooring consists of four main laminated components. First, the decorative surface — wood grain or stone look — made of resin is based melamine or a thin slice of wood. In the middle is a moisture-, heat- and dent-resistant core. On the underside is a balanced backing that adds support. The top is a clear, wear-resistant finish, often of aluminum oxide, which provides the protection and stain resistance.
Laminate flooring has a hardness factor, assigned by independent testing labs, reported on an AC scale. The AC rating considers resistance to staining and cigarette burns, impact, abrasion, and thickness swelling along plank edges. You want either AC-3 or AC-4; AC-3 is made for heavy residential and light commercial use. AC-4, which is 60% heavier than AC-3, is rated for heavier commercial use but is also fine in homes.
Pergo, a Swedish flooring company, developed the idea of a laminate floor out of their laminate countertop business, in 1977, introduced it to Europe in 1984 where it has grown in popularity ever since. It was introduced in 1994 to the U.S. where it spread quickly. Now there are numerous companies manufacturing laminate flooring, though Pergo has become the household word for the product.
Durability is one reason to not choose a laminate floor. Laminate flooring is tough, but by its nature of being made of thin layers it’s not as durable as wood, tile or stone flooring. It can’t be refinished when it gets scratched and the scratches can’t be easily camouflaged. When a laminate plank is damaged it’s challenging to repair it, though with the repair kits you can get from the manufacturer it can be patched. In some cases, you can take the floor up and replace the damaged plank.
The cost of installed laminate flooring can be cheaper than wood floors, making it one good reason to consider. Speed of installation from start to finish is faster than wood floors. It’s because it comes pre-finished, removing the additional step of coating the surface with a protective seal, and because it isn’t nailed down. It can be noisy to walk on, sounding a bit hollow.
Environmental concerns are worth evaluating as well. Trees, though a renewable resource, are very slow growing, and using them for floors consumes quite a bit of natural resource. Laminate floors, on the other hand, use manufactured materials (often from scraps of wood, cardboard, or paper) which are more abundant, being gentler on the environment.
Health issues are still another consideration in purchasing laminate flooring. Some laminate floors are off-gassed at the factory, saving your home or office from the health-challenging fumes. The quality of laminate flooring varies, along with the contents. Some products are made with more urea-formaldehyde and high volatile organic compounds (VOC) ingredients while others are made with low VOC ingredients. If the off-gassing is handled at the factory, you are in better shape.
Is laminate for you? I enjoyed my laminate flooring, laid in the entry, kitchen, and bathroom. The present owner of that house says the floor looks great more than 11 years later, even after being subjected to men wearing hiking boots, to dogs racing through the house, and all kinds of weather conditions, showing that it can definitely be a durable surface despite its reputation as being fragile.
We are looking into the laminated wood look flooring for our bathroom. Is there a special kind just for the bath or will any kind do?
Hi Jan,
The answer to your question will depend on which product you buy. Some are not recommended for high moisture areas such as a bath room. Some claim that it’s ok to use in such an area. Just be sure to ask somebody knowledgeable where you plan to buy it at. You might also want to think about unfinished engineered hardwood so that you can put a waterproof sealer and polish on it yourself. You can also stain it whatever shade you’d like first.
Make sure that you carefully caulk around all
exposed edges of the flooring — under baseboards, around the toilet, etc. You don’t want any water to be able to get under the flooring.
We are renting a house with what I presume to be laminate flooring. A damp towel was left on the floor and now there is a whitish spot left where the towel was. Can this be removed?
Thanks,
Lisa
Lisa, white spots on “wood” surfaces can be challenging. You might try putting mayonnaise on the spot, letting it sit for awhile, and then gently wiping/washing it off to see how it changed the spot. It may just be a matter of letting the area dry out so the natural color can return.
Good luck. Let me know what worked for you.
Hi, my wife and I have recently put down laminate flooring in our basement. The only thing we are disappointed in is that when we alk on it, it seems to flex slightly in places. Is this common with laminate flooring or is there a design flaw during installation. Thanks for your input.
Hi Nick,
I would be my guess that the original floor wasn’t perfectly level as this is not a common flaw with laminate flooring.
Can I place another protective covering over my Trafficmaster laminate floor? If so what type would you recommend.
Thanks
Tony
Hi Tony,
I would think that Varathane would make a good product for your needs, however I would recommend giving the manufacturer a call to see what they would recommend so that your choice of products doesn’t void Mowhawk’s warranty. Their phone number is 1-800-2MOHAWK.
I want to put a small rug on my new Mannington Laminate flooring in our bedroom. What kind of backing can I use so the rug doesn’t slide?
Gena
Hi Gena,
You might want to wander over to the website of Natural Area Rugs and look at the padding they carry for area rugs – they hav emany good choices. Even if you dont’ buy from there, it will give you an idea of what kind of a selection to make. I would suggest their Premium Lock for hard floors.
Hi Flooring Lady,
I’m in a bind. I have about 600 sf to cover in a open design living room/dining room and I am on a tight budget. I was considering laminate flooring but I only have about $500 to spend. Am I being unreasonable? Are there other options? Carpet is out of the question with my cats and kids.
Thanks
Hi Melissa,
It’s going to be difficult to cover a floor as large as yours for $500 or under, but might not be impossible.
What kind of flooring do you have now?
If you’re planning on taking out the old flooring, then what kind of subfloor will you be dealing with?
Keep in mind, you’re thinking less than $1 per square foot. Depending on what you want to cover your floor with there may be other materials to consider – adhesive if you’re tiling, grouts, sealers, etc.
You can actually get self-stick vinyl tiles in this price range – look for clearance items. Shoot, I’ve even seen these at dollar stores!
Thanks for the response. I have seen some laminate planks for around $1/sf. How do I know if they are a good quality for a living room and dining room with kids and cats? What types of quality measures are used to tell one laminate plank from another?
Hi Melissa,
In general, you need to look at how many years the product is warrantied for – the more the better (usually) of course.
Cat’s aren’t generally much of a problem, dogs are more of a problem if their toenails aren’t kept clipped short. Cat’s don’t usually sharpen their claws on a floor – they prefer something more upright or rougher textured (think tree bark).
As far as types of quality measures used to tell one laminate plank from another – I’m not really sure what you’re getting at – I don’t understand what you meant by ‘tell one laminate plank from another’. Best thing to do is when you’re shopping, write down the products you’re interested in — manufacturers, line, color, etc. and look up the detailed specs at the manufacturer’s websites.
Hello Flooring Lady,
We recently installed laminate flooring and cannot get an answer to a question, even from the laminate manufacturer. Can rubber backed rugs be used or will they, over time, hurt the flooring? Also, it it necessary to have a rug pad under an area rug? Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Georgie,
I wouldn’t hurt the flooring per se, but you do have to be careful – not all rubber backing is the same! Some of them can get stuck to floor and then you have the nightmare of trying to remove what is stuck on without damaging your laminate’s finish!
Hello Flooring Lady,
I just installed a low priced laminate floor
in my apartment. I have not moved in yet, because last Sunday I spent about 6 hours there arranging furniture etc and became very ill. Lung pain, low grade fever…could this be an allergic reaction to the flooring? I have been airing out the apt every chance I get…will the fumes eventually go away?
Thanks Cindy
Do you know where to find laminate flooring that looks like old brick. Not the red fake kind with white mortar? Thanks
Hi Cindy,
I doubt it’s an allergic reaction to the flooring, but you never know. Most flooring products are trying to be as ‘friendly’ as possible now and manufactures are making more and more products with low or no VOCs. I don’t know what flooring product you bought or what kind of adhesive, so I can’t tell you if both are low/no VOC. The odor should dissipate before too long.
Hi Cydney,
Not being familiar with what would be offered in your area, no………. You could always go to your favorite search engine (mine’s google) and search for vinyl or laminate brick flooring – you should get lots of hits. Laminate would be a much better choice.