Laminate Flooring is a wonderful alternative for someone who is looking at updating the flooring of their house with an attractive, cost effective flooring solution. Having said that, here are six reasons why:
1. Generally speaking, laminate flooring is cheaper than many other flooring options. Other options include genuine wood flooring, carpet, ceramic tiles and vinyl. Hang on you may be saying – I thought vinyl was the cheapest. Actually with the advances in technology, mid to high end vinyl flooring is more expensive than laminate floors. In fact, many supermarkets have started laying vinyl floors that look exactly like genuine wood flooring.
The other options of carpet, genuine wood and ceramic tiles are usually more expensive than laminate floors unless they are of low quality. Laminate floors can afford to be less expensive and still look genuine. This is because photographs of the wood type being copied are used as the top layer of the laminate floor. It must be noted that this type of laminate floor is different to engineered flooring that is also made of layers except with a top layer of genuine reclaimed wood – hence engineered flooring is more expensive than regular laminate floors.
2. Because laminate flooring uses a photograph of the wood it is emulating, your flooring can appear to be any type of wood. This include oak flooring, pine, bamboo, cork, mahogany or any other type of wood or flooring that you can think of.
3. You can install laminate flooring yourself without too much trouble. It takes about a day to install a laminate floor in a standard size living room. If you are handy around the house, you will already have the tools necessary for installation and if you don’t , your neighbor will. It’s just a matter of following the instructions. Also being able to install it yourself, negates the need to hire a flooring installation professional thus saving you more money.
4. Laminate flooring is made from several layers including MDF or plywood. These layers have been pressed and bonded together increasing the overall strength of the laminate flooring. It therefore resists scuffing, marking and general damage.
5. Laminate flooring is easy to clean. Just a quick run over with the vacuum cleaner will do the job. Occasionally it is necessary to mop with water and a gentle floor cleaner. Also if you have babies, it far surpasses carpet as any mess created can be easily wiped from a solid laminate floor whilst carpet will probably require a steam clean to remove baby stains.
6. Finally, if you are using glue-less laminate flooring, it can be easily taken up again if you wish to change update the flooring down the track or you want to move the floor to another smaller room.
