Laminate flooring was introduced in Sweden in the mid eighties. It spread to USA in 1994 and proved an instant success. By mid nineties laminate flooring reached Asia-Pacific regions also. Now it is one of the most preferred choices of American people.
The term laminate flooring is basically a European use. Since Pargo brand was one of the first brands to be introduced in USA, people there often refer to laminate flooring as Pargo flooring. Those looking for materials looking like wood but available at a lesser cost have found the solutions in laminate flooring. Notwithstanding the low cost, laminate flooring is strong, durable and elegant.
Its installation is also easy. It is popular because it can project looks similar to real wood, tiles and stones. Laminate flooring earlier used glue for sticking together and such fixing could be used only after the glue was allowed to dry for a day. Now use of glue being no longer necessary, laminate flooring can be installed at a short time and used soon after installation.
Laminate flooring offers various benefits the main being low cost, wood like look, easy installation and longevity of the flooring. It gives same kind of glamour to floor as wooden flooring which is far more costly. It often becomes difficult to establish difference between wooden flooring and laminate flooring. Laminate flooring has surpassed real wood flooring in strength and durability.
Manufacturers now offer long years of warranty starting from minimum 10 years. Another benefit is the ultraviolet resistivity of this flooring that keeps its colour and design protected from the onslaught of sunrays. Laminate flooring therefore does not fade easily saving a lot of cost towards maintenance.
The choice of designs in case of laminate flooring is many and varied. This is because the designs are basically images printed on papers providing wide scope for varieties of images. Lower installation time makes laminate flooring more useful in office situations where quick fixing is vital. Cleaning the floor was never as easy as it is for laminate flooring. It can be cleaned by simple mopping with brush that hardly costs anything.
It is a matter of debate whether laminate floor can substitute for real wood flooring. A floor made of real wood would cost up to 25% more compared to the cost to be incurred for laminate flooring over the same area. While the debate loses relevance once this large price difference between the two types are considered, it cannot be denied that wood would be the best choice where price is not a deciding factor.
We are coming to that later. The design variety achievable in laminate flooring is significant and that often tilts the choice in its favour. On the strength front, laminate flooring can withstand more footfalls and does not get dented as easily as wooden flooring. However all said and done, the very long period over which a real wood floor can last and develop and the ability of wood to be refinished for getting back the new look make wood flooring superior to laminate flooring.
Once refinished the real wood flooring becomes just as new and the process can be repeated. Laminate flooring on the other hand cannot be refinished once it gets worn out and has to be replaced with new. The resale vale of wooden floor can only increase thus ensuring for the consumer recovery of the extra cost spent on it. As the engineered type of wood flooring using plywood closely resembles laminate flooring, the American people often tend to confuse this engineered wood flooring with European style laminate flooring.
