LAMINATE FLOORING

The closest thing to having a hardwood floor is to have a laminate floor instead. Made of pressed wood fibers and and resin, this construction makes an extremely sturdy and durable pressed wood board.

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Although it acts and feels like hardwood, it is about half the price and is even less expensive than carpeting. It won't fade in the sun, the upper wear layer of melamine withstands scratching, and it will even resist stains. Best of all, the tongue and groove edge construction makes laminate flooring installation easier than installing hardwood, and since it it is considered a floating floor and doesn't need to be physically attached to a subfloor, no glue, mastic, nails or screws are needed either.

"Laminate flooring was invented in 1977, and sold under the name Pergo. The company is now a subsidiary of Mohawk flooring, and they are the most widely known laminate flooring manufacturer."

Warehouse Direct Flooring has a large selection of laminate flooring patterns to choose from. Our expert staff will help you to decide if laminate flooring is right for your needs, and as the leader, in flooring solutions and service, you can count on our installation experts to get the job done right. Please see our portfolio for some of the many installation jobs we have completed, and how beautiful they look.

Laminate Flooring Benefits

Although it is not true wood flooring in the conventional sense, it does have a lot of wood flooring benefits as well as vinyl and poly composite benefits too. For example …

VERSATILITY

With many different grain, natural stone and ceramic patterns to choose from, laminates have some of the most versatile printed patterns in the flooring industry.

HEALTHY

Laminate floors are resistant to mold and bacteria. For even more protection, laminate floors can be coated with allergen resistant coatings to make them even safer.

STAYS IN PLACE

Because it is a floating floor, it can expand and contract due to temperature or moisture differences, and it won't buckle or snap at the seams.

INSTALL OVER ANYTHING

You can install laminate flooring over almost every other flooring material, except carpeting. You can even install laminate over real wood flooring or laminate flooring too. That gives you options for installation that are unheard of with any other flooring material.

LAMINATE FLOORING INSTALLATION

It is one of the easiest of the wood flooring substitutes to install yourself.

RESIST STAINS AND SMUDGES

The melamine outer coating resists stains and makes them easy to wipe up with a damp cloth. It also resists smudges from shoes, boots or other rubber or plastic soled shoes too.

EASE OF CLEANING

Vacuuming, damp mopping and sweeping are all you'll really need to do in order to keep the flooring clean. That makes the ease of laminate flooring cleaning one of the best reasons to have it.

Also, always check for laminate flooring discounts which could be a real savings benefit for your budget.

Laminate Flooring Disadvantages

Laminate flooring isn't right for everyone, so here are some things to consider when choosing.

Unnatural – Many types of flooring attempt to mimic natural hardwoods in appearance as well as performance. Laminates do a good job in the appearance category, but when walking over it or feeling it with your hands, it quickly becomes obvious that this is a man-made and not a natural substance.
Laminate Flooring vs Hardwood – Hardwood is supposed to be hard, but laminates are even harder, and not in a good way. Even cork or other padding doesn't soften up a footstep on a laminate, like it would if it was real hardwood flooring.
Formaldehyde – Many of the chemicals used in the production of laminate flooring are made of formaldehyde. This is a known VOC substance, and as such, laminates release these fumes into the air.
Replacement Only – Once the wear layer has worn through, a laminate cannot be refinished and it must be replaced. Because of the nature of the tongue and groove edges, this can be a very tedious and time consuming job.

IS LAMINATE FLOORING RIGHT FOR YOU?

Your budget might be the the biggest decision maker when it comes to deciding on laminate flooring. Laminates provides many of the same advantages of hardwood floors, it looks good, laminate flooring cleaning is relatively hassle free, and if properly taken care of, it will last for decades. Stain resistance and spills can be cleaned up as good as, or better than on a hardwood floor, and if you have kids or pets, laminate floors will resist scratching or gouges more effectively than wood flooring will.

If you are in the market for wooden flooring, consider that a modern laminate floor looks nearly as good as real wood flooring does. If you plan on doing the the installation by yourself, or if you need a flooring option that you can put over vinyl, wood or even another laminate, and your budget is a concern, then laminate flooring may be exactly what you are looking for.

Laminate flooring is one of the first of the modern flooring options, and it is still one of the cornerstones on the flooring market to this day.

For questions about styles, service and or installation quotes, please contact us at Warehouse Direct Flooring. We can answer your questions about laminate flooring vs hardwood, laminate flooring installation, laminate flooring cleaning and even discount laminate flooring. Just remember, Warehouse Direct Flooring has been serving the Monterey Bay and Silicon Valley areas for more than 25 years, and our experience, staff and installation experts are second to none.

Leading the Bay Area in Beautiful Floors