5 Worst Mistakes People Make When Choosing Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is becoming more and more popular all around the world. It provides a very unique and durable floor that is not only easy to clean, but also very resistant to scratches. A little vacuuming or sweeping will do. These floors are also catchy, affordable, attractive, durable and easy to install. They provide a variety of color, design and style. Choosing the best laminate flooring is crucial.


Here are the 5 worst mistakes people make when choosing laminate flooring:
Before delving into the mistakes, let us clear the confusion between laminate, solid hardwood and stone flooring. Well, the three look similar, but they are quite different. In simple terms, laminate floors can be seen as photographs of hardwood floors. The other laminate layers are made up of medium or high density fiber boards, which help in absorption of footfalls and other impacts. It also has elements of vinyl tiling and engineered flooring.

5 worst mistakes people make when choosing laminate flooring:

1. Trusting only board thickness
Many people tend to go for thickness ignoring quality. It is advisable to go for thick flooring, as it adds strength to the locking system. However, look out for the material and method of manufacturing to get a glimpse of the quality. Extremely cheap laminate is likely to be defective and is more likely to buckle, absorb stains, and warp. Go for laminate with UV protection. This ensures that it does not fade when exposed to sunlight.

2. Ignoring the health of your home
Only buy laminate that has not been manufactured using melamine resin, which releases formaldehyde after installation.

3. Failure to understand your specific needs
Some people do not have the slightest idea of the style they want to go for. To know the appropriate style, browse magazines, look at your home’s art, and create a planning notebook where you write what most appeals to you. Fill online quizzes and interactive guides. Select the best color of high gloss laminate for every room. A color wheel helps you determine the colors that can go together and those that clash. It is important to add photos of your furnishings, artwork and other items will help you choose the most appropriate design for your laminate flooring.

Just because some laminate flooring is thicker or more expensive, it doesn’t mean that it will withstand spills, heavy foot traffic and stains. Failing to understand your foot traffic will make you purchase the wrong type of laminate. For less foot traffic area, for instance, the bedroom, go for AC1 rating board. If for a high foot traffic area, choose AC 5 rating board. Higher AC rating numbers means that the product is designed to withstand normal everyday use. It is important to note that most residential flooring is rated at AC 3. This means that the product has been proven to be durable against normal residential traffic.
The flooring supplier should be able to tell the AC rating the product was tested under.


4. Buying exact fitting boards
People tend to buy boards that exactly fit the floor surface. Your board should be 3 to 4 inches bigger.
This ensures that if any mistakes are made during measurement, you need not have a patch at the end of the flooring. When measuring rooms for laminate flooring, it is advisable to remove the baseboard and trim.
It is measured in square feet. To determine the size of a square or rectangular room, multiply the length by the width. You can look up how to measure circular rooms online.

5. Failing to understand the warranty
Most people do not take time to understand their warranty. Most 10 year warranties do not apply for commercial installation. The installation must also be done according to stipulated guidelines for the warranty to be applicable. There are manufacturers who provide warrants for commercial installation. Reputable suppliers should provide warranties as well as guarantees for their products and services. They should offer delivery guarantees, manufacturer warranties, and a strong dedication to customer service. Read through testimonials to determine a company’s reliability.

Some helpful tips
It is advisable to invest in a high quality, well-known brand for high gloss laminate flooring. This way you are sure that in the event of replacement, planks will still be available in future. Low quality companies tend to go out of business, thus their replacement planks become unavailable. If your laminate floor gets deep scratches, you can go for touch-up sticks from some manufacturers. It is also important to create a budget and stick to it.
Measure the room’s square footage, and go for home decorating styles and color schemes which are appealing.

This way, you are likely to avoid the most common mistakes people when choosing flooring, and choose high quality material. Buying boards that are designed to attach tightly with each other and stay in level once installed is also a great idea. Ensure that you counter check each plank before purchase, making certain that they have the correct style, color and pattern. Blisters or bumps in the wood could be seemingly minor, but they could become a bigger problem over time. It becomes very difficult to replace a damaged or defective plank after installation. You will not get any refunds for laminate installed when defective. If you notice a problem even after opening 3 boxes of laminate, installation should stop and the material provider contacted.

Accessories
It is important to note that when purchasing laminate flooring, there are accessories that come with it. Underlayment. You can purchase a roll of underlayment and lay it down before installation.
You can also buy laminate with an attached underlay, which makes installation easier.

Adhesives
Most laminate floors do not require adhesives, thanks to the lock systems. Should you come across one requiring the use of glue, go for silicon. It is a strong adhesive and it remains flexible. As you can see laminate flooring is one of the best flooring options. It has great design. It can actually look like hardwood, and has a variety of design and textures.To make it more comfortable, you can add rugs. After making the best choice when purchasing, you can only complement it with hiring a reputable company to do the installation- one which will not cut corners or have any hidden charges. This way, you can make your home elegant, beautiful and valuable.