Today, one of the leaders among floor coverings is a laminate. Consumers give him preference due to a number of positive characteristics:
- Laminate is a durable coating on which there is no trace of falling heavy objects, scratches, dents from furniture wheels;
- the operation of the laminate does not require special efforts, it does not need to be looped and polished, like a natural parquet, it is enough simple regular wet cleaning ;
- thanks to modern technology, the laminate looks practically no different from natural wood. Manufacturers have learned to copy not only the texture and type of wood, but also to roughen the surface ;
- laminated floors are warm, harmless and waterproof;
- Well, the main advantage of laminate floors is that they are very easy to install. Thanks to the Click-2-Click lock connection (latch), even lay people can fasten the boards and assemble a level floor. In addition, if necessary, the floor can be disassembled.
Laminate thickness. Laminate Board Classification
The thickness of the laminate serves as the basis for its classification. There is a laminate with a thickness of 6 to 12 millimeters. Typically, the following classes of laminate boards are distinguished:
- 21 - for rooms with low walking intensity (bedrooms and pantries);
- 22 - for rooms with average walking intensity (children's rooms, dressing rooms);
- 23 - for rooms with high walking intensity (kitchens, corridors, hallways, nurseries for older children).
- commercial floor laminate
- 31 - for areas with low operational load (reception, negotiation);
- 32 - for areas with an average operational load (offices);
- 33 - for areas with high operational load (shops).
The thickness of the laminate for the home is 6-8 millimeters, for commercial premises - 8-12 millimeters. Laminate boards of classes 21 and 22 are practically not found in Russia. Some manufacturers give a laminate of class 33, provided that it is used in domestic premises, a lifetime warranty. A class 34 board has recently appeared, the thickness of such a laminate allows it to be used in places with a special load: airports, train stations, dance classes, car dealerships.
Laminate flooring
Installation of a laminate flooring is not possible without the use of a special substrate for the laminate. The substrate performs several important functions:
- thanks to the use of the substrate, the irregularities that are most likely to be present on the concrete screed are smoothed out ;
- the substrate reduces noise and provides good thermal insulation. The thickness of the laminate with the substrate provides good sound insulation, and the greatest noise absorption can be achieved by using a substrate under the laminate of cork material;
- the substrate protects the flooring from technological moisture that may remain in the concrete base of the floor.
The recommended thickness of the substrate for the laminate is 2-3 millimeters. A thicker substrate can sag at the joints of the laminate boards, which will lead to a violation of the integrity of the floor covering.