Do you like the look of hardwood flooring, but you can’t afford the time for maintenance or the premium price tag? Do you enjoy the aesthetics of tile or stone but don’t want the cold feel? Then laminate flooring is the perfect choice for you. At Preferred Flooring, we carry laminate flooring from two of the top brands on the market, Mohawk Flooring, and Mannington. Talk to a flooring expert today to find out if laminate flooring is the right choice for your next home renovation project.
Laminate flooring features a unique construction. A very high-quality sort of photograph of the desired flooring type is placed on top of several layers of plywood or core board, and then the entire plank or tile is covered in a durable clear coating of melamine. There are two construction methods for laminate flooring, the more common Direct Pressure Laminate and the more durable High-Pressure Laminate. Laminate flooring also ranges in durability on an Abrasion Class rating of AC1 to AC5.
The beauty of laminate wood flooring is you can achieve any wood grain look for a relatively low cost. The high-quality scans used to create the laminate flooring are diverse enough that you won’t notice a repeating pattern, and they can mimic any type of wood. This means you can achieve the appearance of expensive ebony for a similar cost to something like poplar or oak. There are usually several different board widths to choose from. There are also different laminate wood flooring finishes to choose from.
- Smooth Finish: Creates an almost completely flat surface with very little definition, even between the floor planks.
- Had-Scraped Finish: These planks feature unique abrasions and dents to make the flooring look like a carpenter actually worked on them.
- Natural Wood Finish: This finish is designed to make the floor look and feel like it is fresh out of the lumber mill. It features a minimal amount of polish and smoothing.
- Soft Scraped Finish: This finish is designed to make the laminate flooring look like it has aged and been used over time.
There are several different installation methods for laminate flooring. Mohawk Flooring and Mannington almost exclusively use the click-lock system. This installation system is simple and convenient. The planks are designed to slot together and lock into place without the need for glue or any other adhesives. The lack of adhesives makes installation a lot less messy. However, the most significant benefit of the click lock system is that you can correct mistakes. Individual planks can be easily rearranged and replaced if they get damaged. This versatility is part of what makes laminate flooring an excellent choice for your home.
Jason Zappia, the owner of Preferred Flooring, has been part of the flooring trade since he was 17. For over 15 years, we have provided top-quality products and exemplary customer service. Contact us today to discuss your project and get help from our design team. The Preferred Flooring showroom is located in Breeze, Illinois. We are locally owned and operated and proudly serve St. Clair, Clinton, Madison, and Bond Countries, including Breese, Troy, Highland, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Freeburg, Nashville, St. Rose, Trenton, New Baden, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Shiloh, Swansea, Belleville, and Collinsville, Illinois.