Choosing a floor covering is one of the mandatory stages of interior design. It needs to be beautiful, durable, and pleasant to the touch.
Linoleum is considered outdated, parquet looks great, but upsets the price. Staining the floor is cheap, but unreliable. Therefore, choosing a good laminate is a good option for a living room or a common room. This floor covering combines excellent appearance and increased wear resistance. The main thing is to carefully study the characteristics.
How to choose a laminate: the main thing
When buying laminate flooring, first of all pay attention to its thickness. The latter is up to 12 mm on average: the higher the index, the stronger the product and less creaking. But for domestic premises, a thickness of 6 mm is enough, if other characteristics are also taken into account. Among the important details: environmental friendliness, wear resistance (classes 32, 33, 34 are popular), convenient locking and matching the interior.
Let's talk about the characteristics in more detail, and also consider the features of the coating.
Advantages of laminate flooring
Laminate is a multi-layered board. The basis is fiberboard or chipboard, paper is used for the decorative layer, the bottom layer consists of melamine, and a thick (up to 0.5 cm) layer of acrylic resin completes the composition.
The laminate board consists of 4 layers:
-Lower: the base (the base layer consists of chipboard and determines the thickness of the product);
-Decorative (patterns are applied to it);
-Protective (thick acrylic resin film that prevents mechanical damage, moisture penetration, and contamination).
-The quality of the plaque depends on each layer. Therefore, it is worth choosing laminate only from manufacturers with a good reputation.
The advantages of such coverage include:
noise/sound insulation;
moisture resistance;
high level of fire resistance;
resistance to detergents;
easy to care for;
resistance to deformation;
easy installation and the ability to replace fragments;
anti-slip coating.
The purpose of laminates is to decorate any room, create a cozy or business environment. In order for the floor covering to please for many years, when choosing a product, you need to take into account some technical features of laminates.
Marking the range of materials in the stores is diverse.
The coating differs not only in pattern, but also in structure, thickness, class, and type. To choose a good laminate, you need to disassemble the labeling on the package.
E1 means that the product is environmentally friendly. The numbers next to the letter E are the purpose of the coating. The number 2 means that the material is intended for residential premises, the number 3 — for commercial. The second digit after the letter E indicates the wear resistance class. The higher the number, the higher the class.
There is absolutely no need to choose a wear resistance class higher than the room requires. The "the more expensive the better" approach will have a negative impact on the budget. It is almost impossible to determine the quality by eye, so you need to look for manufacturers with a good reputation and positive feedback from customers.
Classification by thickness
To choose the right laminate thickness, consider the nuances of using the room. The product gradually wears out not only from mechanical damage and washing. Dust, dirt, and sudden temperature changes can also shorten the service life of the laminate. If you plan to walk indoors in shoes (corridor) or move furniture often, you will need a high class.
The thickness: of the material is 7-14 mm. The higher the score, the less likely the boards will creak. It is believed that the thicker the material, the stronger the coating and the better the quality — but this is not the only important characteristic. It is only important that the thickness exceeds 6 mm. This is quite enough for residential premises.
The strength: also depends on the condition of the floor itself. It is necessary to carefully prepare the surface — an unevenness of more than 2 mm will be detrimental to the material. On a flat, properly prepared surface, the coating will last a long time, provide sound insulation and warmth.
To prevent squeaking, a natural cork backing is installed. It insulates floors, isolates the room from noise, and increases the service life of the laminate. A substrate made of artificial materials is also suitable, but its noise insulation characteristics are lower. In addition, with a substrate made of artificial materials, the probability of creaking floorboards increases.
Interior designers use different classifications of laminates. However, most often the characteristics of wear resistance are taken into account. The floor covering is selected taking into account the expected load and operating conditions.
Classification by wear resistance
To choose a laminate for durability, pay attention to the following figures:
Class 21. It is suitable for rooms where no one walks, for example, for the space under the bed or table. It has low operational properties. It will last 2-3 years if the rules are followed.
Class 22. It is used in rooms with low traffic. It does not tolerate loads well, is unstable to mechanical influences. The service life is 4-5 years.
Class 23. The leader among inexpensive laminates. Such a coating fits in the hallway, in the kitchen, in the living room. The service life is determined by the operating conditions, on average it is from 5 years.
Class 31. It has good performance properties. It is suitable for a room with medium traffic. For example, it will last up to 15 years in the bedroom, and in the office it will become unusable in two or three years. A coating of this class tolerates the effects of household chemicals, temperature changes, and frequent washing. It is not recommended to put such laminate in a room with high humidity.
Class 32. It is characterized by high wear resistance and moisture resistance. This is a great laminate for the kitchen or hallway. The coating is not afraid of moisture. It does not suffer damage from falling dishes or other heavy objects. It is easy to install, looks great, has good noise reduction and sound insulation. Despite the fact that it is resistant to moisture, it is still better to apply a different coating in the bathroom. Class 32 is multifunctional and has an affordable price. Suitable for residential premises, offices, hospitals, schools
Class 33. It exceeds other types in price, but in terms of its characteristics it is significantly ahead. This coating is designed for high loads. Even in the school gym, it will last for more than 20 years.
In addition, there are a number of other advantages:
anti-slip coating;
resistance to aggressive environment;
environmental safety;
reinforced lock connection;
the ability to replace a fragment or a board;
does not require additional substrates;
large thickness — from 12 mm.
It does not require an additional layer of substrate or complex equipment of the lower layer, which greatly simplifies installation.
Class 34. Almost eternal material. It is used as a floor covering for rooms with high traffic and high loads. It perfectly tolerates the effects of moisture, temperature changes, household chemicals. It does not lose its original appearance and performance characteristics for up to 30 years. It is popular in high-traffic offices, municipal institutions, industrial and commercial premises.
At the moment, 32, 33, 34 classes are popular, although they were originally produced for commercial areas. People appreciate these classes for a long period of operation, and they are happy to put them in residential premises.
Fasteners
If you do not know which laminate is better to choose, pay attention to the fastening of the boards. There are two types of them: lock and glue. The locking type of fasteners is simple, convenient, and easy to mount yourself. In this case, you can replace a worn or broken board at any time. The second type is gradually leaving the market, as it is not practical enough due to the inability to mount small fragments.
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