Laminate Flooring
What is laminate flooring?
Laminate flooring is also called "floating wood tile". It is a multi-layer synthetic flooring product fused together in a lamination process. Laminate flooring simulates wood or stone with a photographic layer beneath a clear protective layer.
Why laminate?
Laminate floors are popular among DIY homeowners as they are reasonably easy to install and come packaged as a number of tongue and groove planks that can be clicked into one another, and sometimes with a glue backing to further ease installation. The laminate floor "floats" on the sub-floor with a foam or film underlay which provides moisture and sound reducing properties. A small 1-10 mm gap is requred between the flooring and the walls to allow the flooring to expand without obstruction. Baseboards can be installed after the flororing is complete for a neater finish. Laminate flooring has grown significantly in popularity because it is a cheaper, easier alternative to hardwood flooring.