What is Laminate Flooring?

Laminate flooring is a high-density base with a photographic image of wood printed on the surface and coated with a hardwearing acrylic lacquer. More information on laminate flooring...

While it imitates the look of wood, laminate floors are durable and resistant to dents, scuffs, and stains. Laminate flooring is easy to install, inexpensive and can be used in any room of the house. This type of flooring material is especially ideal for high-traffic areas in your home, such as: hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, family rooms, and etc.

At first, it is usually hard to spot the difference between hardwood and laminate floors. Its natural appearance of wood grain patterns is a really thin layer of photographic image under highly resistant, tough protective film that is glued and pressed to a high-density backing board. There are two ways this flooring material is made:

High-Pressure Laminate (HPL): a two-step process in which the photographic image paper, protective film and core materials are joined by using heat and pressure; then the layers are adhered to a high-density fiberboard backing piece. Materials created by this process have more layers and glued surfaces, and are proven to be more stable over time. Learn more...

Direct Pressure Laminate (DPL): a process in which all layers are joined in a single pressing. Materials created by this process, are usually more thinner and work better where transitions between different flooring materials is needed, such as: laminate floor meets a tile, carpet, or vinyl floor. Learn more...