Laminate installation is a "snap"

How is Wood Laminate Flooring Made?

How can laminate flooring resemble hardwood , ceramic and stone so closely you ask?  The answer lies in the process by which laminate flooring is made. Laminate floors consist of four components that are bonded together:The top layer is a durable wear layer, providing...

What are the Advantages of Laminate Flooring

Laminate Wood Flooring looks good and is made to resemble the look of wood, stone or tile. Its durable because it resists scratches and stains.  Laminates can be priced perfectly to suit your needs. There are many reasons why a laminate wood floor may be your best...

Laminate Flooring Formaldehyde Concerns

Formaldehyde testing This article was written by Lee Phillips of Professional Testing Laboratory, the premier flooring testing lab in the country and an affiliate of LGM and Associates. It was instigated by the recent 60 Minutes expose on formaldehyde in laminate...

Advantages of laminate flooring over hardwood flooring

One obvious advantage is that of price; laminate flooring is typically half the cost of traditional hardwood flooring. Sometimes the savings are even greater, depending on the types of flooring in question. Additionally, laminate flooring is designed to be easy to...

How-to Install Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring has the look of hardwood flooring.  You do not need to spend hours maintaining your laminate floor vs hardwood flooring. Also, laminate flooring installation is not difficult. You can install your own laminate floors without  hiring a...

Laminate Flooring – Tough and Durable

Laminate flooring combines natural looking designs with a tough, durable finish and can be used in almost any area of the home. Laminate floors also offer realistic designs and can replicate the characteristics of the popular handscraped hardwood floors.  See our...

Rustic and Whitewashed wood laminate flooring by Armstrong, Bruce

Hand scraped. Bleached and whitewashed. Rugged rustic. The new Premium Laminate Collections from Armstrong and Bruce offer almost any surface treatment to help you achieve the overall visual you are seeking. Achieving extraordinary wood visuals with uncanny skill and...

Laminate Flooring Buying Guide

Laminate flooring has become ever so popular and its construction advanced. There are very few reasons why you should not install laminate flooring in your home or even your place of business. Deciding on the right laminate flooring  is a major...

Is Laminate Flooring easy to install ?

Most people who buy laminate flooring do so because they want hard flooring, but can’t afford solid hardwood flooring. How does laminate flooring compare to wood you ask? Is it a pretty good alternative and you might say ‘you get what you pay for’? It all depends on...

Sliding Laminate strips

From one of the creators of direct-pressure laminate (now the industry standard) and the patented Uniclic locking system (that revolutionized the industry) comes the QuickStep Linesse Collection featuring UniLink technology, the latest in flooring innovation.Linesse...


Technology plays a pivotal role in advancing business, but only about once every generation is an entire industry is affected by an innovation. Such was the case in the flooring industry in the late 1990s when mechanical locking systems were introduced into the laminate segment. This innovation has not only turned the laminate category upside down by eliminating the need for glue during installation, but it also is starting to make waves in other categories, such as wood and ceramic—and there are systems available that can even transform laying carpet into a glue-free job. But it all started with laminate flooring, and it is this category from where the bulk of innovation continues to come.

 

The two biggest brands in mechanical locking systems are by Mohawk’s Unilin division (Uniclic) and Välinge Innovation. While both license their patented systems to a majority of laminate manufacturers around the world, there are other patented systems in use. Glueless godsend Glueless flooring is relatively easy to install. You simply lay down the underlayment, and the floor gets laid on top of it locking together using no glue. Aside from the ease of installation, there are some important technical benefits to using this type of flooring.

 

Whether a consumer installs the no-glue floor or has it professionally installed, there is much less of a chance for something to go wrong during the installation. With glue-together floors, installers use straps to get the joints tight and for them stay that way until the glue dries.

While laminate flooring no loner needs to be nailed or glued down to the subfloor, it is recommended that in wet environments, such as bathrooms where water might sit on the floor for extended periods of time, the individual laminate pieces are glued to one another. Special glue provided by each manufacturer seals the edges of the exposed hardboard core to prevent moisture infiltration.

 

The gluing process during installation is important because too much glue can cause the flooring pieces to loosen. Not enough glue can allow water to enter the fiberboard core. And if water gets into the fiberboard problems will arise. The flooring will swell and not return to normal when it dries. Finally, allow the laminate floor to settle for at least 24 hours, especially in the wet areas where you’ve used glue.