In general, the thicker a laminate floor, the better it is in quality. So, if you are planning to install a laminate floor in your home, you should look for the thick laminate material. There are many advantages and disadvantages of laminate flooring.
A big advantage of laminate is that it is hardly isolated and fits so perfectly over a floor heating because the heat can happen. In addition, laminate is very durable and easy to care for; it is sufficient to regularly wipe or vacuum the floor and occasionally wipe it with a damp cloth.
Another advantage of laminate lies in the large selection of decors and the different price ranges. So, anyone can install the laminate floor in any price range.
An advantage of laminate is the ease of installation. Almost all laminate floors can be combined with click systems. Their edges are specially milled, the tongue and groove are usually placed at an angle and snap into place when the newly attached element is pressed down. Glue is no longer necessary for the installation. Many manufacturers advertise that they can dismantle their floors during the move and take with them.
However, the laminate floor doesn’t come with advantages only. There are also many disadvantages which you need to know.
So, what are the most obvious disadvantages of laminate?
Without underfloor heating, laminate is very cold under the feet, because it insulates heat. So, laminate floors without integrated insulation need a footfall pad.
The laminate floor can’t be refurbished. Small quirks can be concealed, but they can’t be sanded out, as the backing material otherwise appears.
Furthermore, it is advantageous to pay attention to a patented click system when purchasing click laminate. Here you can be sure that you have the floor well laid and do not have to be annoyed about problems that often occur with a laminate of inferior quality. Anonymous suppliers in the low-cost laminate sector do not always have the necessary knowledge to produce good click laminate, or the quality of the laminate suffers from the aggressive price policy. The best or most stable click systems have a high-density fiberboard as a carrier material.
So, these are a few advantages and disadvantages of laminate flooring. If you want to ignore these, there are more material and elements to consider for flooring. If you can up your budget a little bit, you can invest in an engineered wood floor. The basic difference between laminate and engineered hardwood is in quality. The quality of engineered wood is higher than the laminate flooring. It lasts long and has a higher resale value than laminate flooring. But if you have a budget constraint, you can always choose laminate floor over engineered wood.
