Discount Laminate Flooring Guide

With the introduction of Pergo flooring, many consumers jumped on the bandwagon to place laminate wood flooring in their homes. Since that time, a great number of companies have introduced this type of flooring into the marketplace. Now it’s an especially opportune time to install this type of flooring in your home or office because you can obtain it for reduced and discounted prices. Many retailers on the Internet offer discount laminated wood flooring.

In addition you have a varied selection of brands from which to choose from including the well-known brands of Pergo and Armstrong. Other brands offering discount laminate wood flooring include Allegra, Alloc, Baltrio, BHK, Bruce, Shaw, Shawmark, Horizon, Harmonic, Wilsonart and Witex to name a few.

Benefits
Definitively, discount wood laminate flooring is a flooring installation that has the natural look of wood. However hardwoods are not used in its manufacture. Instead its look of natural wood has been facilitated by the use of computer technology. In fact, it’s hard to tell the difference between any of the varieties of discount laminated wood flooring and floors made of actual solid hardwoods. What’s nice about adding this type of flooring in your home or office is that it’s strong and lasts an extremely long time (approximately 20 years on average). It can also take the punishment of excessive foot traffic and is easy to clean as well. Simply use cleaner designed for this type of flooring and apply to a dry mop to clean the floor. That’s all there is to it.
What is the best discount laminate flooring for your particular needs? Let’s first take a look s to how laminate flooring is made.

Construction
Most homeowners choose DPL laminate flooring for their homes. DPL stands for Direct Pressure Laminate. This particular laminate flooring is comprised of three layers of molded fiberboard. High Pressure Laminate or HPL flooring is constructed with five layers of fiberboard material. The HPL flooring is stronger than DPL flooring and can withstand the abuse of a lot of foot traffic and still look good after many years of wear. Naturally HPL flooring is higher priced as a result. Nevertheless, DPL flooring is adequate for most households and because of its lower price is the preferred choice among most consumers.
The center core of the majority of laminated floors is from six to twelve millimeters thick. This statistic applies primarily to DPL floors as HPL has a slimmer core although it’s been proven to be stronger than flooring processed by the DPL method. Any good discount wood laminate flooring is also manufactured with chemicals that provide for water resistance as well.
Laminated wood flooring is also engineered with strong joints that can withstand the weight and pressure of average-sized furniture. For heavier items, you might want to consider flooring with a locking system that is made of aluminum which can withstand more voluminous loads.

Review the Warranty
Before purchasing any laminate flooring, look at the guarantee or warranty attached to it. The warranty should address such issues as gouges, durability, fading and stains. Also look at the number of years of wear the warranty covers as well as the number of years covering any defects in the workmanship.

Quality and Variety
When you purchase laminate flooring at discount prices you are not abandoning any type of quality for price. There are a variety of patterns you can choose from that will fit almost any type of decorating theme. Not only can you choose from dark, light or natural laminates, you can select from about any kind of natural wood look that you can think of. For instance, some of the “woods” available include ash, birch, cherry, hickory, maple, oak, pecan, walnut, mahogany, acacia, and cypress as well as exotic “woods” such as bamboo and teak. As you can see, you can pick a laminate floor designed with your personal tastes and preferences in mind.
Given the above information, search the Internet and make some comparisons before you buy. Laminate flooring is one of the best items to include in the home to add value, beauty, ease of maintenance and long-lasting reliability.

photo credit: Djenan