Laminate flooring is cheap and easy to maintain (Laminate Flooring)

Member Name: aksram

Product:	Laminate Flooring
Date:	09/06/09 (523 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, easy to maintain, looks good and shiny

Disadvantages: cold, noisy

We moved to our present house in 2004 when it was newly constructed. We chose the laminate floorings from a dealer in swansea who sold it for discounted prices. Our house builders mentioned that this was a newly built house and recommended that we use carpet to let the floors expand and contract for atleast 6 months. But we insisted on getting laminates because of added expenses to change later. We dont have any pets and didnt even have our child then but were still persistent on having laminates. Until today, the floors have stayed still and with constant mopping, it still has its lusture.

Advantages-
1) looks like wood but a lot cheaper
2) easy to clean than carpets especially spillage of drinks and vacuuming of hair
3) Easy to lay and remove
4) If maintained well, it looks new for years
5) Cheaper to clean- doesn't need special cleaning products

Disadvantages-
1) Coldish to walk on- especially during winters.
2) On first floors- it does make walking noises

Best buys at cheap prices-
- Ikea
- B&Q
- Floors to go

How to lay? (in short- refer to B&Q website for detailed instructions)
1) Make sure the surface must be dry, firm and level and choose a suitable laminate flooring for the selected room. Remember to open the laminates from packaging 48hrs before thw work i.e. 'conditioning'
2) Lay a suitable underlay- either polyfoam, combined or wood fibre board underlay
3)laminate flooring expands and contracts naturally so space needs to be left around the edges of the room. Allow approximately 10 mm between the boards and the skirting
4) Lay the first board with the short tongue against the wall. Fit your spacers between the wall and the board ensuring that the board is parallel to the wall
5) The next board should be laid end-on to the first board making sure that the tongues lock together. To lock the tongues, slide the board in at 30 degrees so that it slots-in when lowered.
6) Continue this pattern until you reach the end of the row. The last board will probably have to be cut to fit.
7) To strenthen the laminate, start the second row with half a board, then angle the long side at 30 degrees to lock the tongues. Press forward and downwards at the same time to lock into place.
8) After the full flooringis finished, remove the spacers around the outside, and cover the gap around the edge of the room with a matching laminate flooring trim.

Summary: Use laminates if you have pets or children.