In the interests of consumer education and a deep concern over the amount of lies and deceit currently being fed to customers by unscrupulous and under-educated flooring vendors, Rhoms Timberworld has prepared this page of relevant information in order for people to learn the basics about laminate floors. All information has been referenced from the websites of the European Producers of Laminate Floors website, together from their members.

 

LAMINATE FLOORS IN FOCUS:

 

Laminate floors are one of the most popular floor coverings because of their easy to clean and healthy properties. They need looking after like any other floor covering. In the last decade, laminate floors have become floor covering trendsetters.

 

Whilst the cheaper floors are generally thinner ( 6mm) a much bigger volume of basic 7 and 8mm floors are sold . More expensive floors offer texturing, V-groove and other refinements.

 

 

WHAT DO I BUY ?

 

There are thousands of different flooring products available today which are guaranteed to confuse most consumers. In order to assist consumers in forming a comparative decision, most European manufacturers conform to the European classification system which enables one to determine which application any particular floor is suited to. Different areas of the home suffer more traffic than others – the passageway is usually busier than the lounge which is busier than the bedroom.

 

There are 6 usage classifications in general use:

 

Class 21,22,23 which refer to light, medium or heavy domestic application and for example are represented by symbols such as this one which indicates a heavy duty domestic floor:

 

 

         

Class 31,32 or 33 refers to light medium, heavy commercial applications and are represented as:

 

         representing a low use commercial area such as a small office, meeting room, small shop, etc.

 

 

          representing a medium use commercial area such as a offices, waiting rooms, boutiques

 

 

           representing a heavy use commercial area such as a department store, large offices, public buildings etc



UPLOAD CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM CHART FOR LAMINATE FLOORING

 

 

                              

Factors measured to determine these application categories include resistance to cigarette burns, resistance to chemicals and stains, impact resistance, moisture absorption, adhesion of the overlays and abrasion resistance. Abrasion resistance is also quoted separately on a floor according to new European standard EN 13329 and 5 standards have been set – Abrasion Class (AC) 1, AC2,AC3,AC4,AC5. Typically Abrasion class 1 correlates to a Class 21 floor, AC2 with a Class22, AC3 with a Class 23 and 31, AC4 with Class 32 whilst AC5 ranks with a class 33 floor.

 

FLOOR MANUFACTURE

 

Most laminates are made of a series of a top layer of decorative paper (the wood look) and a melamine overlay ( the wear surface); a core layer of High Density Fibreboard; and a stabiliser layer of impregnated paper.

 

 

 

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1. Overlay / wear surface and decor paper 2. HDF Core 3. Stabilising or balancing layer 4. Tongue & groove or click joining system

 

 

 

A laminate floor is thus 90% wood – it is not plastic.

A laminate floor is thus 90% wood – it is not plastic.

 

A laminate floor is thus 90% wood – it is not plastic.

 

A laminate floor is thus 90% wood – it is not plastic.

 

 

 

 

 

FASHION TODAY

 

Laminate floors are no longer just pictures of 3- strips of wood. They can indeed be 3-strip looks but today trend towards the single strip or plank look. Floorboards vary in width, length and are often installed at random to negate the regularity seen so often.

 

Textured finishes range from standard textured patterns to today’s look of synchronized patterns which match the wood grain shown, further increasing the authentic look. This season has even seen laminate floors develop the antique textured look which has been all the rage with the solid and veneered floors.

 

The addition of V-grooves on two parallel or all four sides of the board further gives the look of a genuine solid wood floorboard.

 

Registered embossing where the overlay grain pattern of the wood matches the decor is a more recent offereing whilst handscraping takes the laminate floor to the look of real wood.

Tiled floors have recently become popular in certain markets – today they become textured with a slate feel and one can even felt he grouted joint.

 

 

 

DIY

Laminate floors are easy to install yourself – the click joining systems were developed to make it easier for the DIYer to install floors himself. The original length of the floorboards (1.2m) was determined by the size of a car’s boot so that a DIYer can carry his own floor home in his car. Ask your retailer to demonstrate to you the easy installation. All you require is essentially a saw and a pencil but for best results, follow the individual manufacturer’s instructions.

 

DO’s

 

Put them anywhere in the home that is not subject to excessive dampness. We recommend at Rhoms that you spend as much as you can afford in the living areas whilst in the bedrooms, especially children’s rooms, use a cheaper floor as its functionality is comparable but these rooms are not ‘show’ rooms.

 

Clean them daily – they only require sweeping or vacuuming daily

 

 

DON’Ts

 

Put them in the bathroom

Use a domestic rated floor in a commercial application

 

KITCHEN’S

Refer to manufacturer’s recommendation – install in kitchens under advice and read the guarantee to see if kitchens are excluded as some do. Make sure you use Dr Schutz's seam sealer or equivalent product on all joins as there is a lot of mositure form spillage and cleaning in the kitchen.

 

UNDERFLOOR HEATING

 

 

The core of laminate flooring is a high density fibre (HDF) board, made from wood fibres. The physical attributes of this HDF board are the same as a wooden plank. The flooring material expands and retracts slowly with changes in humidity and temperature. The increase of temperature for a water underfloor heating, once you switch it on may be 2 degrees Celsius per hour, i.e. relatively slow and steady. This increase in temperature allows the flooring material to expand naturally, but slowly as well (expansion joint at the edges necessary). Contrarily, there are electrical heating systems that can increase its temperature by 20 degree per hour, which may cause any wooden material to crack. Furthermore, a water heating will have its highest temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius, while some electrical heating can get up to 60 degrees Celsius and more. These temperatures would stretch the expansion capacities of the wooden material too far.

 

You can use an electrical heating (or any other underfloor heating system) with our flooring, if the heating is controlled prudently (slow increase in temperature, maximum temperature). However, the manufacturer cannot warrant the functionality of its laminate flooring with any type of underfloor heating systems, because there are hundreds of different types on the market. Please refer to the manufacturer of your underfloor heating system, whether it is compatible with wooden flooring.

 

CLEANING

 

Cleaning laminate floors is easy:

·Sweep or vacuum the entire floor daily to remove sand and grit

·Wipe any stains or marks with a damp cloth

·If you need to wash the floor, use the hottest water you can find and a squeeze sponge mop. Add a little proprietary cleaner – it smells nice and some have anti-static qualities, and wipe the floor. If the water is really hot then it evaporates rapidly, ensuring that no residual water remains on the floor.

·That’s it – nothing else is required to keep your floor in its original condition other than making sure that you have a dirt catching mat at all outside entrances onto the floor to help catch sand and grit.

 

 

Hopefully these few notes will dispel some of the falsehoods that are fed to clients and cause confusion. By offering a wide range of flooring products, Rhoms Timberworld tries to offer its clients a flooring solution to match their colour needs as well as meeting budgetary constraints.