Laminate
Laminate is the ultimate cost-effective option for homeowners wanting to install flooring on a budget. Suitable for all rooms in the home apart from bathrooms, it is versatile, practical and easy to install. Laminate floor does not fade, which means that even in sunlit areas it will retain its original features for years to come.
Compared to hardwood floors, laminate is a less expensive alternative, which is ideal for sellers looking to increase the visual appeal of their home, without committing to a costly investment.
Engineered Wood
Engineered wood flooring benefits from the natural beauty of real wood, combined with the hard wearing durability of a multi-layered construction and a choice of three installation methods; secret nailed, glued down or floating.
Solid Wood
For the premium finish, solid wood flooring provides unbeatable aesthetic appeal, while also providing robust performance in high traffic areas, such as hallways and living rooms. Solid wood is a great long-term investment and can easily cover the initial installation cost of the floor, enabling faster sales and higher house prices when it comes to resale.
How to fit laminate flooring
Once you’ve chosen the style of flooring and measured the size of your room it’s time to get down to business.
Let the packs of laminate flooring acclimatise for 48 hours in their unopened packaging in the middle of the room they are to be installed.
Preparation
To lay laminate flooring you need a smooth and flat sub-floor. On existing wooden floorboard subfloors, nail down any loose boards and check the level is no greater than 2mm per 1 metre. New concrete subfloors must be sufficiently dry with a maximum moisture content of 2.5 per cent.
Remove existing floor-coverings such as carpets. Damp floor coverings such as linoleum can be left in place if in good condition.
Roll out the Polyfoam Vapour Control underlay across the width of the room and trim to suit.
Laminate flooring is installed as a floating floor; it must not be fixed to the subfloor and must be installed with a minimum 10mm expansion gap around the full perimeter of the floor to allow the floor to both expand and contract freely.
Cut door frames to allow the floor to fit under and always stop the flooring at doorways and cover the gap with a suitable threshold.
Lay your boards
Lay your boards in the same direction as the longest straight wall, or for a square room lay them in the direction of the sunlight. If you have matching flooring in an adjacent room, lay them in the same direction for consistency.
Last but not least
When you’ve finished laying the boards, remove the expansion gap spacers and either fix new skirting board to wall, or if existing skirting boards were left in place, use a cover strip such as White Scotia fixed to the skirting and not the floor to cover the expansion gap.
Maintenance tips
A properly maintained, laminate floor will last for years. Follow these simple tips to keep your floor looking and performing its best.
● Sweep or vacuum regularly and when necessary clean the floor with a proprietary cleaner suitable for laminate flooring. Always use a well wrung out mop and dry immediately.
● Remove liquids from the floor as soon as possible.
● Use a dry mop for cleaning and regular maintenance.
● Use wheelchairs / castors with soft rollers suitable for laminate flooring.
● Use protective floor pads on furniture and chair legs and non-slip matting under rugs to protect the surface.
● Place effective doormats at all external doors to remove grit, sand and water from shoes. Never...
● Use a wax or varnish coating on Laminate Flooring. This includes wax impregnated cleaning cloths.
● Allow excess liquid to remain on the floor.
● Drag furniture or heavy objects across the floor
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