Laminate Flooring

You’ve hear the term for years, but you’re still unsure what a “Pergo” floor is.  First, let’s clarify the name:  Pergo is to laminate floors as Kleenex is to tissue.

Laminate floor?  Pergo?  What?

Laminate floors have been popular in Europe for decades, but have only been in the North American market for since the early ‘90s.  Pergo was the first brand to be marketed here in the US, and now is a household name synonymous with laminate floors, although now almost every major hard surface flooring manufacturer has its own line of laminate.  Shaw, Armstrong, Mannington, Bruce—all manufacturers of today’s laminate flooring.

So what is a laminate floor, anyway?  It’s simple, yet brilliant in its simplicity.  A laminate floor is a hard surface floor covering consisting of a fiberboard core, a computer-generated image of hardwood (or ceramic or stone) and a melamine plastic wear layer.  The tongue and groove installation lends itself to floating installation, and the laminates being produced today simply “snap” or “click” together, with no nails or adhesive required.

There are many advantages to this installation method.  Rarely is the removal of old/existing flooring required, except of course if you’re replacing carpet.  The sub floor or substrate does not have to be perfect to accommodate a floating floor.  It’s quick and easy to do—perfect for the weekend warrior.

Laminates require an underlayment, or pad.  Some styles have this attached directly to the planks while for others the pad is a separate product and a separate step in the installation process.  If being installed directly on concrete or below grade, a moisture barrier is required.

While not bullet proof, laminate is the closest thing out there to a perfect floor.  Laminates are durable and aren’t subject to scratching like a hardwood floor, and are a snap to clean compared to ceramic, natural stone or vinyl.  Unlike carpet, you won’t wear a traffic pattern in a laminate, and it doesn’t stain.

Once I held the wear layer of a laminate up to an open flame.  Nothing.

Like everything else is this world, there are good, better and best qualities of laminate, and you get what you pay for.  Some of the features that determine the quality are structural, such as the thickness of the product, the thickness of the wear-layer, the type of locking mechanism and whether the pad is attached.  Some of the features, however, are aesthetic, such as texture on the surface, number of colors and pattern repeats in the decorative layer and the edge treatments.

It is a misconception that laminate is less expensive than hardwood.  It certainly can be less expensive, as it’s not uncommon to find a base quality laminate starting for under a dollar per square foot; some hardwood species and styles far exceed even what the most expensive laminate will run.  But as you move up the quality scale, you’re looking at prices similar in some cases to hardwood.   The thing that makes a laminate more economical is the ease of installation and the fact that material and labor or any additional floor preparation are rarely needed.