Alternative to Hardwood: Where to Install Laminate Flooring
Composite materials are a popular choice for home flooring. High-quality laminate flooring, specifically, is in demand among homeowners for its durability and affordability.
Long Wearing and Cost-Efficient Floors
Laminate flooring is made from wood pressed together via high temperatures, making it resistant to wear and tear, scuff, and scratches. High-quality laminate flooring has wood grain textures that mimic hardwood, giving you an elegant looking surface.
You get all these benefits for an affordable price. Laminate installation costs less than half than hardwood.
But before you go ahead and replace your floors with laminate wood, know that this material also has its cons. For one, laminate flooring doesn’t offer good water resistance. So, make sure you only use them in rooms where there’s not a lot of moisture.
So, where can you install laminate wood floors?
Bedroom
Laminate wood is a good, cheap alternative if you want hardwood floors in your bedroom. But this material can be noisy and hard to walk on. You can install an underlay to make the laminate comfortable and quiet underfoot.
Bedrooms with wide windows also benefit from laminate flooring. Too much sunlight fades the color of hardwood floors, causing discoloration. Simply apply a top coating with UV protection to prevent fading on laminate floors.
Living Room
This flooring solution comes in different styles, ensuring that you can find a design that matches your home’s theme.
Laminate wood is an ideal flooring solution for your living room since this is a busy area. You’ll need durability to withstand damage caused by heavy foot traffic – a quality offered by laminate wood.
Many living rooms also receive plenty of sunlight, so UV protection is a must if you want to preserve the floor’s appearance.
Kitchen
Poor-quality laminate wood won’t be able to repel the moisture common in kitchens. Liquids, such as oils, meat juices, and others, can penetrate the material and into the substrate. This can result in bubbling on the floors.
But you can fortify your laminate flooring to withstand kitchen moisture. Diligent maintenance and cleaning also prevent liquids from damaging the floors.
You can pretty much install laminate wood flooring in all areas in your home, except for the bathroom. Laminate flooring can only withstand small amounts of moisture, not standing pools of water. Instead, choose non-porous materials like porcelain, ceramic, vinyl, or natural stone.
Remember to choose high-quality laminate wood flooring. You’ll know if the item is subpar if the wood grain looks fake, instead of mimicking the natural strokes on genuine wood. Low-standard ones will easily deteriorate, which will only cost you more in the long-run.
Durable Laminate Wood Flooring
Main Street Kitchen & Flooring offers a variety of laminate wood flooring options in Irvine, CA. Spills, scuffs, and pet scratches don’t leave marks on the surface, giving you pristine floors for a long time. Apart from providing durable laminate wood, we guide customers throughout the entire process of redoing your floors – from conceptualization, design, to installation.
Visit Main Street Kitchen & Flooring’s showroom today at 3031 S Main St, Santa Ana or call us to know more about our laminate floor options.