Laminate is ... Laminate: description, characteristics, types, stacking technology and recommendations

Laminate is, perhaps, the most popular type of flooring for today. He comes from Sweden, where he was invented at the end of the last century. Due to its attractive appearance, relatively low price and simplicity of packing, it quickly spread all over the world and gained popularity.

Laminate - the younger brother of a parquet board?

For the first time faced with the repair, you can easily calculate the laminate a kind of wooden cover. And all because of the aesthetic surface, which usually imitates valuable wood species. Many of those who are only going to put a laminate on the floor of their home, consider it a kind of thin, and therefore cheaper, parquet board. However, if they can be called relatives, then only very distant.

Parquet board is made of solid wood. It has a layered structure: the lower strata are made from cheaper coniferous varieties, and the surface is made from noble and expensive wood. Laminate also consists of several layers, this is also due to its name, because in Latin translation "laminated" means "layered". But the whole tree does not even smell. In fact, laminate is a thick fibreboard, on which paper is glued with the texture reproduced on it. That's why there is a noticeable price difference between the laminated flooring and the parquet board, not to mention the parquet floor or the array.

Structure of the material

However, because of the lack of solid wood in its composition, laminate does not cease to be a high-quality and beautiful coating, which, if properly selected and installed, will last for many years. This is due to its multilayer structure, where each layer plays a role.

The lowest layer, of which the laminate consists, is a thick paper impregnated with resin or paraffin. It serves to protect the structure from curvature and moisture. The main layer of the "pie" is the most durable variety of fiberboard, called HDF. It provides the main characteristics of the plate - strength, stiffness, moisture resistance, unchanged geometry. The next layer is a film or paper with a pattern printed on the surface. Its only, however, very important function is decorative. A resin film, melamine or acrylate, which protects the laminate from external influences and emphasizes the depth of the texture, is applied over it.

The total thickness of the coating depends on the base layer and varies within 6-12 mm. The thicker the laminate, the higher its strength.

Strengths

Before finally deciding whether to put a laminate on the floor of your apartment, you should familiarize yourself with the features of the material. Among them there are many advantages:

• A decent appearance, a little inferior to more expensive flooring ;
• A large selection of decor - you can implement any design idea;
• Prevalence and affordability;
• Ease of installation, no need for additional processing (cycling, impregnation with varnish);
• Good performance characteristics - strength, resistance to abrasion, mechanical damage, burnout, temperature changes and fire;
• Long service life with the right choice, styling and care.

Are there any shortcomings?

Laminated cover has its drawbacks. First of all, it is a fear of moisture, especially at the joints of plates. Therefore, the floor of the laminate is not very suitable for installation in wet rooms.

It should also be taken into account that the substrate for the laminate requires careful preparation, which is often referred to as the minus coating. To ensure that it has long served and pleased the eyes, the differences of the rough floor should not be more than 2 mm per square meter. Otherwise, the fastening of the boards can break, and soon a gap is formed in this place.

In addition, the material reflects and resonates sound well. This is partly compensated by the substrate, but even when choosing the best one, the laminate will still be quite noisy. For example, the fall of the cutlery will be accompanied by a ringing metallic clang.

How about environmental friendliness?

There is an opinion that laminate is not a very useful material for health. Indeed, as part of its basis, there is formaldehyde, which refers to toxic substances. Its entry into the air can cause diseases of the respiratory organs and other deplorable consequences - it is established that this toxin has a carcinogenic and mutagenic effect on our body. However, according to European standards, formaldehyde in a laminate is contained in permissible concentration and does not cause harm to health. By the way, it is also in a wooden massif, and in an amount comparable to that of a laminate.

Depending on the content of formaldehyde, the so-called emission class E1, E2 or E3 is assigned to the laminate. Also there is a laminate of the emission class E0, in which there is almost no toxin, but it is much more expensive than its counterparts. The content of harmful substance in the product of class E1 is minimal. In classes E2 and E3, it is more, respectively, 3 and 6 times, so they are not recommended for use in living quarters. However, almost all the laminated coating of well-known manufacturers belongs to the category E1, so you should not be afraid. Modern laminate is absolutely suitable for use in living rooms, even in children's rooms.

But it is important to know that when the coating is heated to a temperature of more than 27 ° C, formaldehyde begins to be released into the air! True, before such a state, laminate floor heating is unrealistic under normal conditions. But if you want to use it together with the heating systems of the sexes, you must be vigilant!

Laminate classes and application

Laminate - a material that is used everywhere: from living rooms to industrial premises and sports facilities. Obviously, different operating conditions imply different requirements for its characteristics. According to the European standard EN 13329, the laminate is divided into classes.

The lowest performance in classes 21-23. At present, such coverage is no longer produced, as it is recognized as not sufficiently strong. He was replaced by class 31, designed for easy home use, for example, in the bedroom or living room.

Classes 32 and 33 have about the same characteristics, except that the latter has a slightly higher resistance to abrasion and resistance to impact. Both of these classes are suitable for installation in residential areas, which are subject to increased stress, for example, in hallways and corridors, not to mention other rooms.

In offices, shops, hotels and other public places with great patency it is recommended to put the most durable and abrasion-resistant laminate (class 33, 12 mm thick). Today, the class 34 is also on the market - it is the most wear-resistant coating, ready for extreme loads. However, such a laminate appeared quite recently, and not all manufacturers have mastered its release, so the choice is limited.

Decorative variety

Since wood is considered to be a traditional flooring, it is wooden laminate: oak, ash, maple, walnut, birch, bamboo, wenge (yes, this is a tree, not a color). Especially popular today is the texture of oak, and all its shades: from milky white to black and brown. But this choice is not limited to: there are coatings simulating ceramic tiles, marble, granite, quartz, graphite, sand, as well as leather of exotic animals.

The most common laminate format is a board with a length of 125-140 cm and a width of 18-19 cm. Such dimensions are optimal from the point of view of appearance and convenience of work with the material. In addition, you can meet narrow and wide boards of standard length, and also elongated - more than 180 cm. A special group is a laminate-tile, imitating a tile, granite or marble. Its elements have a square or rectangular shape and correspond to the popular sizes of floor tiles (one or more units).

Connection types

Initially, there was a glutinous laminate, but today it is no longer met. The slats of a modern laminated cover are fastened together by means of locks, which are numerous. Today, their bulk is based on click technology, but you can also find the type of lock lock. In either case there is a spike in the end of one bar, and in the end of the other there is a groove, and the difference between them lies in the method of locking the lock.

At the lock type, the spike enters the groove straight, and to close it, you need to hit the end of the bar with the mallet. The click technology is considered more modern and allows you to disassemble the laminate if necessary. Tiles with a spike enters the groove not directly, but at an angle to the horizontal of the floor. When you press it from the top it snaps into place and the lock closes.

An improved version of the click-type click connection is a 5G mount, which allows you to fix the bar at the same time by the length and width. There are other modifications of this technology, slightly different from each other. Each manufacturer tries to improve the connection type of laminate panels and patents its own development.

Laminate flooring and warm floor - is it worth it?

Laminate flooring on a warm floor - is it possible? Modern manufacturers say that yes. Moreover, they began to mark with special symbols those models of a laminated covering, which by the coefficient of thermal resistance, resistance to overheating and other indicators are suitable for laying on top of heating systems. Optimal option for use in conjunction with the laminate is the infrared warm floor, made in the form of a film. It is laid directly under the laminated coating, does not require the device any additional layers, quickly and evenly warms, does not overheat and economically spends electricity.

However, the above is only true if the floor is properly operated. It is worth considering that the laminate without consequences can withstand heating to 28 ° C, but when it reaches 30 ° C, its deformation is possible. In addition, we recall the formaldehyde and its property to stand out in the process of heating! So we recommend to re-think, is it worth a warm laminate of possible negative consequences? In extreme cases, the thermostat should be adjusted so that the temperature of the coating does not rise above 27 ° C.

Installation of laminated flooring

First of all, it is necessary to prepare a qualitative foundation for the laminate flooring. This issue deserves a separate consideration outside the scope of this article. Neglect preparation of the rough floor is not worth it, because it depends on the result of work and the durability of the coating.

The technology of laying a modern laminate on an even surface is quite simple. First, the substrate is laid under the laminate - foamed polyethylene film, sheets of expanded polystyrene or roll cork. The role of the substrate is the damping of the load, sound and thermal insulation of the coating.

Laminate is stacked from the window, starting with the most noticeable corner in the room. The boards should be placed perpendicular to the plane of the wall on which the window is located. The covering is laid in a floating way, that is, without contact with the walls. On the perimeter of the room with the help of special wedges are left deformation gaps of width 0.8-1 cm. If you lay the laminate close to the wall, there is a great chance that it will expand from the heat and swell at the corners.

The first row fits, starting with the whole bar, the last board is fitted to the length. The second row starts with the board cut to half, then the overall pattern of the floor will be the same as the brickwork. This layout of the laminate is basic, but not the only possible. Straps are joined together row by row, forming a beautiful coating. The last row of boards, if necessary, is adjusted to the width. When the laminate is laid, it can be walked immediately. In the future, it is enough only to maintain the beauty of the floor with proper care.

Laminate is a good compromise coating that will provide a modern look and does not get too hard on the owner's pocket. At the same time it is comfortable and easy to operate, and also durable and durable. Together with ease of laying and a variety of models, laminate is rightfully taking the lead among the materials for finishing the floor.