What is Laminate Flooring?

Laminates are flooring products manufactured to look like real wood or tiles, they are basically a photographic reproduction laminated onto a core board made up of HDF, MDF or chipboard.

The board is made up of 4 main parts:

1. Resilient, high abrasion resistant laminate overlay
2. Decor (wood or tile effect) paper
3. Core layer (HDF/MDF/Chipboard, products vary)
4. Base Balancer

Laminates come in many styles, 3-strip Parquet, 2-strip or 1-strip Plank ‘Wood’ and ‘Tile’ effects are just some of the types available. The choice grows wider as manufacturers start to introduce classic Herringbone patterns and even plain colour wash effects.

Most laminates are laid as a floating floor onto a suitable underlay, and cannot be used as a structural or load-bearing floor.

They are usually installed as a Glue-less or Click system although some manufacturers still make Glue together products. The Click systems help to make laminates quick, easy & practical to lay, particularly if you are considering installing your own new floor.

Some laminate ranges incorporate the Uniclic joint system which is considered by many to be the simplest as it makes difficult places such as under door frames much easier to complete without the need for specialist tools.

Laminates are very durable but they cannot be sanded and re-sealed as you can with Engineered Real Wood or Solid Wood flooring, small scratches and chips may be repaired with filler kits.

Most manufacturers’ guarantees for laminate flooring do not cover installations in wet or high humidity areas such as a bathroom, although most laminates do have some inbuilt resistance to moisture they cannot be fully classed as ‘waterproof’. However, many people do use laminates in their bathrooms with great success.