Laminate is a type of flooring that combines a beautiful type of natural tree, good technical and operational characteristics and affordable price. To choose the most suitable look among the variety presented on the market, you should first determine the room for which it is intended. After all, you must admit, the load on the laminate in the living room of a private apartment is incomparable with the loads in the office. Therefore, first of all, you need to decide whether you need a household or commercial laminate. They are distinguished by class -resistance classes. The higher the class, the better the resistance of the coating. To designate classes, graphic icons are also used – houses with figures of people.
The second indicator, which should certainly pay attention to – moisture resistance. After all, some types of laminates suffer significantly if they are in rooms with high humidity. At the same time, practice shows that classes 31-33 laminates without noticeable negative consequences withstand contact with water for some time (several hours).
The next important indicator is the thickness of the laminate. It can be from 6 to 12 mm. The thicker the material, the higher its resistance to impacts and sound insulation. For household use of 6-7 mm is enough. But only on condition that the rough, basic floor is high -quality. If you doubt it, it is better to take a laminate a little thicker – it will be more reliable and laying a thicker laminate is easier than its thin species.
Many manufacturers make special sound -absorbing layers on the wrong side of the laminate. This significantly increases the comfort of the operation of the floor. The main thing is to remember that the correctly selected and laid laminate does not creak, walking on it is convenient.
And another significant parameter (especially if there are children in the house) is the environmental friendliness of the material. Carefully control that the level of formaldehyde does not exceed permissible norms. There is no laminate without formaldehydes at all, in small quantities it is also contained in a natural tree (it is formaldehyde that provide a “wooden” smell).