Life in a civilized society requires adherence to many social protocols. One of these is indoor living. Home is what makes people human, in essence. But the times of simple dugouts and even shacks are in the past, at least for most. Now it is customary to create comfort in the house. This is correct, and you can achieve the result in a whole string of different ways. But it all starts with the basics - floor, walls, ceiling.
Now we will talk about the first one, because flooring is a very important aspect of home comfort. You can use a variety of materials, but the time of traditional wood and stone floors is a thing of the past. Just because it's too expensive. They have been replaced by more user-friendly coatings, such as laminate.
Popularity of laminate flooring
Even at the end of the last century, this coating was looked at as a cheap substitute for wood. This is not surprising, because the natural floor is expensive enough to show both the consistency and the taste of the owners. Now people are wondering what good laminate reviews will advise you to take, since not everyone can afford natural materials. It is used almost everywhere.
The latter is due to the fact that the quality of such a coating has greatly increased since its invention, so that now you can not be afraid of wiped places after a year of service. But now everything is measured by completely different criteria. So the question of which laminate is better to choose is gaining momentum.
Selection criteria
This material can be quite diverse, like the tree, in the image of which it was created. The selection criteria here are as follows:
- Manufacturer.
- Presence or absence of a pattern on the surface.
- Price.
- Wear resistance.
- Resistant to mechanical damage.
- Moisture resistant.
- Shock resistance.
It is with these factors in mind that you must decide what is a good laminate and what is not. The following will describe in more detail what you should pay attention to in a particular case.
Sustainable
This criterion was not included in the list, but it is also defining. If you plan to cover floors in residential premises, then you will have to decide which laminate is best for your apartment, then the environmental friendliness of the material will play its role.
The point here is that in order to reduce the cost of production, somebrands use phenol-formaldehyde resin. This material is quite harmful, since formaldehyde is constantly released from it. This gas can lead to severe poisoning, which is fraught with serious consequences - even death.
European brands are quite safe in this regard, since the content of harmful substances in the laminate is strictly controlled. So there are no differences from parquet in this regard at all.
How do you define sustainability?
To decide which good laminate to choose, you need to know if it is safe to use. To do this, you can heed these tips:
- First of all, pay attention to the smell. If a sharp and unpleasant smell appears during the opening of the package, this definitely does not speak in favor of quality. A slight smell of sawdust is allowed, but no more. If your nose smells chemistry, it is not recommended to use such a laminate in an apartment.
- You can immerse one record in water for twenty minutes. Again, if there is an unpleasant smell, then the use of such a coating will not be safe.
- Pay attention to the price - the cheaper the laminate, the less it meets the requirements. Such products can be found even in large supermarkets of building materials, especially if the supplier, not the seller, is responsible for your condition.
- If you are thinking about European flooring - what a good laminate to buy, then also look at the prices. If some kind is significantly cheaper, it ismay indicate poor quality. Everything is tied to the requirements for the material - in Russia they are lower than in Europe, which means that such goods can also be sold here. Despite the fact that the manufacturer can be fined for selling at home.
Wear resistance
Solving the question of which laminate is better to choose for an apartment requires some knowledge. This also applies to various classes of laminate. In total, there are four of them, at least related to this factor.
For apartments, the 32nd class is usually used - that's enough. However, you can also purchase the 31st, especially if you are not doing a major overhaul, but plan to change the design after some time. The 33rd and 34th classes for apartments are overkill. Indeed, they are extremely resistant to wear and tear, but they should not be used in a residential rather than a commercial environment.
How to determine the wear class?
According to what has already been said above, you can choose the model that suits you. But this choice is a little more complicated than you might think. The bottom line here is how to determine wear resistance.
Two factors influence: the time of the appearance of the first noticeable scratches, as well as the time of complete destruction of the protective layer applied to the laminate. The difference lies in the fact that different methods are used to increase these two indicators. The first involves the addition of corundum to the composition, and the second is simply an increase in the protective layer.
In this still whirlpool lies the devil - the technology of using corundum is quite expensive. But the appearance of the first scratchesmore important to the consumer. Thinking about which laminate is best for an apartment, pay attention not only to the class, but also to the price. More expensive models, even class 32, may be more stable than class 33.
You can not pay much attention to the thickness of the protective layer - it is always large enough. And in general, it is difficult to achieve complete abrasion in an apartment. It will take twenty years, if not more. Of course, this does not apply to the most "popular" places of the floor.
Strength and moisture resistance
Before deciding which is the best laminate for an apartment to buy, you need to learn a little about production technology. This coating is multi-layered.
The main material here is HDF boards. From above, they are covered with a pattern imitating a wooden surface and a protective transparent layer that guarantees wear resistance. Below there is only one layer - stabilization. There are more specific assembly methods, but they are not very common.
It is the HDF board that is responsible for moisture resistance, or rather, its quality. It all depends on the density of the material - the higher it is, the longer the laminate will last you. But we must not forget about the direct impact of the quality of such plates on the price. So you have to choose between saving and moisture resistance.
How to determine moisture resistance?
Unenlightened people may tell you that it's all about waxing locks. In fact, everything is quite different. This impregnation is made to facilitate styling and the absence of squeaks whensubsequent use. This practice is widespread, but it will not protect the laminate from moisture, at least it will not be the determining factor.
The main thing to pay attention to is the accuracy of laying and the geometry of the plates. The fit between them should be maximum, since the presence of cracks most often leads to trouble from moisture.
Also take a look at the quality of the locks - this factor also depends on the density of the HDF board. The stronger the connection provided by the lock, the longer the laminate will last.
The last of the moments is the presence of a water-repellent composition in the material itself. Manufacturers usually indicate its quantity in the technical specifications of their products.
It is worth remembering that all this greatly affects the price. This means that the more expensive the laminate, the higher its moisture resistance and impact resistance.
Design
Of course, in the question of which good laminate to choose, a significant place is given to design. This is not surprising, because the laminate is purchased specifically to imitate real wood, which means that it is required to meet this criterion.
Usually drawings of common tree species are used.
Of course, it is quite difficult to ensure that each plate has an individual pattern. Therefore, manufacturers usually include plates with several different patterns in the production.
Designer models are especially appreciated, so if you think which laminate is better to choose, then just author'soptions are great. The embossing repeats the structure of the selected wood up to absolute accuracy, but the price for such a purchase may surprise you unpleasantly.
How to tell quality by appearance?
The quality of such a coating is highly dependent on the repeatability of the pattern - the lower the proportion, the better the laminate will be. For a European manufacturer, the exemplary quality is six types of patterns for one set of flooring. If more is used, it means better product quality.
Domestic and Chinese manufacturers prefer a different proportion - three types of patterns for one type of board. In addition, on such a laminate there will be no knots, flaws and everything that makes a tree special. So you don’t need to count on much in the case of such a purchase.
It's not worth talking about author's models - they are always performed only on a qualitative basis. So if you're willing to pay when you see what a good laminate they offer you, don't worry about the quality.
You can also use relief - good models always have it. Embossing also implies roughness. True, if the laminate is glossy, it will be impossible to find out anything in this way, because smoothness is one of its main indicators.
Which laminate is better: reviews
Customer feedback on laminate is certainly an important factor when choosing a flooring. Indeed, who knows the material better than someone who has already used it?
So Europeanbrands have earned extremely positive recommendations. True, the negative side is still present - this is the price. Although there are quite budgetary and even economical models, this affects their quality.
Chinese manufacturers, in turn, turned out to be the same as they are usually represented. That is, the quality is quite low, however, as is the price of the product itself.
Which company's laminate is better?
Deciding here is quite difficult due to the number of brands of manufacturers. It also plays a role and the fact that the consumer audience for different brands is different. So, for example, Kaindl and HDM are premium brands that have a corresponding price. More inexpensive models are, first of all, Quick-Step, Wineo and Parador. If the price is a painful issue for you, then choose Alsafloor, Egger, Haro, Faus and Kronotex. There are also economical options - these are Tarkett and LaminatPark.
Determine which laminate is best, reviews will help the best. Despite the above recommendations, look at other brands, consult with consultants. The main thing here is not to rush, and then your floor will be reliable and beautiful for many years.
So, we figured out how to choose a good laminate for an apartment from well-known manufacturers and not only.
