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Transform your home with cost-effective, easy-care laminate flooring

House of Broadloom offers tips on using laminate to extend your renovation budget
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Laminate is one of the flooring industry’s heaviest hitters.

After its introduction in the 1970s the first “floating floor” products were slow to gain traction in the market. But with the addition of a “click” system that eliminated the need for adhesives, laminate quickly became one of the fastest growing product categories to hit the flooring world. By the late 1990s and 2000s new and varied patterns started emerging and today’s laminates offer everything from tile visuals to rich and rustic wood floors.

“The realism that some of the manufacturers have been able to achieve is unbelievable,” says House of Broadloom Flooring Specialist Larissa Herbert, emphasizing that many modern products are hard to differentiate from real wood.

“They can be stunning. As our printing technologies improve, so can the imaging on laminate. Laminate is just that - a picture that is applied to an HDF (high density fiber) core, then sealed with a top layer which gives you the scratch resistance or AC (Abrasion Class) rating.”

Laminate is rated on durability by a standard AC Rating from 1-5:

  • AC1 - very light use - guest rooms, bed rooms, low traffic areas
  • AC2 - Moderate foot traffic
  • AC3 - Heavy home traffic - suitable for most areas in your home
  • AC4 - Very heavy traffic - light commercial use
  • AC5 - Commercial traffic - suitable for any area

“Most of what we carry is rated either AC4 or AC5. These are laminates that will withstand the test in your home.”

When you shop laminate options at House of Broadloom, you will see that ever product has this rating on it. “It's important to look at these ratings and to understand where these are best used in your home,” says Herbert.

When in doubt, the House of Broadloom Flooring Specialists are on hand to help you choose the best products for your home and family.

Durability: Traditional wood floors can be scratched, dented and scuffed, whereas laminate flooring offers a much more durable surface making them. “This makes laminate ideal for high traffic areas and busy family homes, and helps keep that ‘new floor look’ even longer,” Herbert says.

Manufacturers are continually improving the product core of laminate to provide a water-resistant factor. “That was the biggest "flaw" with laminate”, Larissa explains. “If you spilled and didn't wipe it up quickly, the liquid could cause the product to swell and delaminate. And no one wants that!” Flooring manufacturers have developed different methods of improving the durability of their laminate products, including new coatings and a ‘soaked in’ core. “This provides peace of mind, knowing that if an ice cube gets lost under your cabinets and forgotten, it’s not the end of the world!”

Easy Maintenance: Laminate is one of the easiest to maintain floor coverings out there. No fancy cleaning products required.  The click system makes it easy to install but if you prefer, House of Broadloom professional installers are on hand to complete the job quickly, properly and neatly.

Budget Friendly: Laminate can be a cost-effective way to completely transform your home. At an average of 8mm to 12mm thick, laminate is a more stable product and much more forgiving when it comes to minor imperfections than vinyl, which requires a near perfect substrate to be installed over. Installing laminate over existing substrate can help stretch your renovation dollars.

If you’re looking for new flooring in Sudbury, or are curious to learn more about laminate flooring options, visit the specialists at House of Broadloom. They offer a range of products to suit every budget and design. “Everything from clean oak and maple visuals, to more rustic barn board appearances in a range of colours and textures”.

Visit House of Broadloom 68 Lorne Street and learn more online here.