Living in a civilized society requires compliance with many social protocols. One of these is indoor living. Home is what makes people people, in fact. But the days of simple dugouts and even shacks are in the past, at least for the majority. Now it is customary to create coziness in the house. This is correct, and you can achieve the result in a whole series of different ways. But it all starts with the basics - floor, walls, ceiling.
Now we will talk about the first, since flooring is a very important aspect of home comfort. You can use a variety of materials, but the time of traditional wooden and
stone floors is a thing of the past. Just because it's too expensive. They were replaced by more convenient coatings, for example, laminate.
Laminate flooring
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 solvency and taste of the owners. Now people are thinking about what a good laminate flooring they will advise to take, since not everyone can afford natural materials. Use it almost everywhere.
The latter is due to the fact that the quality of such a coating has grown significantly 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 is which laminate is better to choose, everything is gaining momentum.
Criterias of choice
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.
- The presence or absence of a pattern on the surface.
- Price.
- Wear resistance.
- Resistance to mechanical damage.
- Moisture resistant.
- Impact resistance.
It is with these factors in mind that you must decide which laminate is good and which is not very good. It will be described in more detail below what is worth paying attention to in one or another case.
Environmental friendliness
This criterion was not included in the list, but it is also determining. If you plan to cover the floors in residential premises, then you have to decide which laminate is better to choose for the apartment, then the environmental friendliness of the material will play a role.
The point here is that to reduce the cost of production, some brands use phenol-formaldehyde resin. This material is quite harmful, since formaldehyde is released from it on an ongoing basis. This gas can lead to severe poisoning, which can lead to serious consequences - even death.
European brands in this regard are quite safe, 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 to determine environmental friendliness?
To decide which good laminate to choose, you need to find out if it is safe to use. To do this, you can listen to these tips:
- First of all, pay attention to the smell. If a sharp and unpleasant smell appears during the opening of the package, this clearly does not speak in favor of quality. A slight smell of sawdust is allowed, but no more. If your nose teaches chemistry, it is not recommended to use such a laminate in an apartment.
- You can immerse one plate in water, which is enough for twenty minutes. Again, if an unpleasant odor appears, 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 construction products, especially if the supplier, and 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 a species is much cheaper, it may mean its poor quality. Everything is tied to the requirements for the material - in Russia they are lower than in Europe, which means that here you can also sell such goods. Despite the fact that for the sale at home, the manufacturer can write a huge fine.
Wear resistance
Solving the question of which laminate is best to choose for an apartment requires some knowledge. This also applies to various classes of laminate flooring. In total, there are four of them, at least related precisely to this factor.
For apartments, the 32nd class is usually used - this is enough. However, you can 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 an excess. Indeed, they are extremely resistant to wear, but it is not worth using them in a residential rather than commercial premises.
How to determine the wear resistance class?
According to what has 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 the method for determining wear resistance.
Two factors have an effect: the time of appearance of the first noticeable scratches, and also the time of complete destruction of the protective layer deposited on the laminate. The difference is 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 quiet pool there is a devil - the corundum technology is quite expensive. But the appearance of the first scratches is more important for the consumer. When thinking 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 special attention to the thickness of the protective layer - it is always quite large. Anyway, to achieve complete abrasion in the apartment is difficult. It will take twenty years, if not more. Of course, this does not apply to the most “popular” gender spots.
Strength and moisture resistance
Before deciding which good laminate for an apartment is better to buy, you need to learn a little about production technology. This coating is 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, which guarantees resistance to wear. Below there is only one layer - stabilization. There are more specific assembly methods, but they are not very common.
It is the HDF plate 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. But we must not forget about the direct influence of the quality of such plates on the price. So you have to choose between savings and moisture resistance.
How to determine the moisture resistance?
Unenlightened people can tell you that the whole point here is the impregnation of castles with wax. In fact, everything is quite different. This impregnation is made to facilitate styling and the absence of squeaks during subsequent use. This practice is widespread, but it will not protect the laminate from moisture, at least such a procedure will not be a determining factor.
The main thing you should pay attention to is the accuracy of laying and the geometry of the plates. Their fit between them should be maximum, since the presence of cracks most often leads to troubles from moisture.
Take another look at the quality of the locks - this factor also depends on the density of the HDF plate. The stronger the connection provided by the lock, the longer the laminate will last.
The last point 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. So, 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 simulate a real tree, which means that it is required to meet this criterion.
Commonly used patterns of common tree species.
Of course, it is rather difficult to achieve 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 the author’s options will fit perfectly. Embossing repeats the structure of the selected tree up to absolute accuracy, but the price for such a purchase can unpleasantly amaze you.
How to determine quality by appearance?
The quality of such a coating strongly depends on the repeatability of the pattern - the lower the proportion, the better the laminate will be. For a European manufacturer, six types of patterns for one set of flooring are an approximate quality. If used more, it means better product quality.
Domestic and Chinese manufacturers prefer a different proportion - three types of drawings for one type of board. In addition, on such a laminate there will be no knots, blemishes and all that makes a tree special. So you don’t have to rely on much in the event of such a purchase.
It’s not worth talking about the author’s models - they are always performed only on a quality basis. So if you are willing to pay when you see what a good laminate is offered to you, do not worry about quality.
You can also use the relief - good models always have it. Embossing implies roughness altogether. True, if the laminate is glossy, it will be impossible to find out in this way, because smoothness is one of its main indicators.
Which laminate is better: reviews
Customer feedback on laminate flooring is certainly an important factor when choosing a flooring. Indeed, who can know the material better than the person who has already used it?
So, European brands have earned extremely positive recommendations.
True, the negative side is still present - this is the price. Although there are quite low-cost, and even economical models, but this affects their quality.
Chinese manufacturers, in turn, turned out to be the same as they usually represent. That is, the quality is quite low, however, like the price of the product itself.
Which company laminate is better?
It is difficult to solve here because of the number of brands of manufacturers. Also plays a role and the fact that the consumer audience of different brands is different. For example, Kaindl and HDM are premium brands that have an appropriate 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.
To determine which laminate is best, reviews will help 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.