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The Anatomy of Laminate Flooring |
Laminate flooring is durable, comfortable to walk on, easy to clean and maintain and easy and quick to install. It has become a very popular choice for kitchens and sometimes whole house flooring. It is especially nice for kitchens due to its scratch resistant surface and also for its water resistant nature of interlocking panels making spills and drops no big of a deal.
Laminate comes in a large variety of patterns and colors including tile. It is usually comprised of 4 layers:
The top layer is hard wearing thin film like layer that is designed to take the brunt things. It is hard enough to resist scratches and can be made from a clear melamine that is also water proof or resistant
The next layer from the top what gives the floor its look. This layer is a digital image imprint that can really be just about anything. They range from barnyard wood to oak to ceramic tile patterns
Third from the top is what is commonly called the core material. This material is often HDF (high density fiber) board. You may be familiar with MDF (medium density fiber) board. It is sold in abundance in most home renovation stores and used for many many projects. HDF is one up from MDF and is much harder to.
At the bottom of most laminate flooring is the backing usually made from melamine like the top layer but not clear and much thicker comparatively. It provides a moisture barrier from the bottom up and also helps to stabilize the planks.
When laminate flooring first came out it was usually glued together. Almost all of it comes with an interlocking tongue and groove system which makes installation fast and easy for even beginner DIY types.
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