Laminate flooring (Laminate Flooring)

Member Name: Tracy_1127

Product:	Laminate Flooring
Date:	21/08/08 (589 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: looks nice, easy to clean, quick to lay, inexpensive at the time

Disadvantages: chips, can get cold

A few years ago when laminate flooring was popular we were doing up our house. Originally I wanted laminate flooring in both the large bedrooms and the living room but we only did the two bedrooms and decided a carpet would be warmer in the living room.

We bought our laminate flooring from United Carpets and it cost us about £150 for the two rooms so it was pretty cheap then but I don't know how much the price has increased since.

Ours is a pine effect and after reading about how we needed to leave a gap around the edge of the room so the wood could expand we got busy. We first laid hardboard over the floorboards for a smoother base then put insulating layers of foam on top of this. Then came the laminate flooring.

The planks must be sawn down to various lengths so they are staggered and the joins do not line up so there's plenty of sawing to do! Also the planks are supposed to slide together in tonge and groove style but we found they needed more help than just sliding, we had a block of wood and a hammer and tapped down the edge of each plank.

The last few planks are more difficult too, there's not enough room for you to work so they're really hard to snap into place.

Some people glue their planks together but we didn't and ours haven't come apart. There's also some edging you can buy that goes on top of the planks and joins the skirting boards so you cover the gap you have to leave. We used this in one room and in the other we had new skirting boards so just slotted those over the top.

You can also buy repair kits which are like felt tips in the appropriate colour and when you chip the flooring you colour it in to hide the damage. We have a few chips on ours and I don't walk on it in high heels for obvious reasons!

Initially I bought a swiffer which is a flat head on a handle and you attach either dry cloths to pick up dust or wet ones to wash the floor but I soon realised this was an unnecessary purchase. I sweep ours with a normal sweeping brush and wash it with a damp mop, not sopping wet, just damp. This keeps it clean and dust free.

Spills are easy to clean from laminate flooring and it's nice and cool underfoot in the summer but in the winter we put rugs over most of ours in our bedroom as it can get cold. I also think it doesn't help much in the winter with regards the temperature of the room, it's not as insulating as carpets. Alot of people say laminate flooring is warm but it's not really and I'm glad we went with a carpet in our living room.

It does look nice however, really opens a room up and even with rugs on it is a very clean look. It isn't difficult to lay and depending on the size of the room and how many are helping you could have it in place in a day.

Summary: Very fresh looking flooring