Laminate floors come in either planks, or squares and are designed to replicate real flooring materials, such as wood, stone or ceramic tiles. These floors are actually several different layers of various materials that are sandwiched together to form each plank. A printed film gives the floor the look of a real wood, or tile and is protected by a tough, durable wearlayer. The resins used in the wearlayer are said to be almost as hard as diamonds and provides unsurpassed wear and stain resistance.

The inner core, which is generally made from high-density fiber board is used to form the tongue and groove. The core is also the base that all the upper layers and the backing material are fused to. Some manufacturers treat the inner core with melamine resins, or water-resistant sealers to help protect the inner core from moisture.

The planks are usually fused together in either a one, or two step process. In the two-step process several layers are first glued together and then these layers are combined with the remaining materials and than glued and fused into a plank. This method is called High Pressure Laminate (HPL). The other method is where all materials are fused together in one step. This is called Direct Pressure Laminate (DPL).

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Laminate floors offer many benefits for homeowners, including:

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• Exceptional durability

• Easy clean surface

• Superior stain resistance

• Superior fade resistance

• Can be nstalled on all grade levels, even below grade

• Can be installed over many different types of subfloors, including concrete slabs

• Glueless locking systems for the do-it-yourself homeowners

• Great impact and indentation resistance

• Exceptional realism at affordable costs

• Easy to replace latter on, if desired.

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