Laminated Flooring

Laminate Flooring Laminated Flooring was first manufactured in 1977 by a company in Sweden under the name Pergo. They only started marketing their newly invented Laminate Floors during the early 1980's in Europe and then the rest of the Flooring manufacturers and especially wood board manufacturers quickly caught up with this new and very promising type of flooring.

At first laminated flooring planks was manufactured with a tongue and groove fitting system which required the floor boards to be glued together and then strapped for a period of time to ensure neat joints on the floor. This type of flooring installation was time consuming and thus more costly.

Laminate Floors were first introduced into South Africa in the mid 1990’s from Europe with an above average cost compared to other types of flooring, like carpets, vinyl flooring and ceramic floor tiles which were the most popular and cost effective flooring types at the time. Due to the price of laminate floors at this time which was more in the region of some solid wood floors it was a slow mover and sales were below average with only a handful of flooring contractors and retailers specialising in laminate floors.

Laminate Flooring Click System – During the late 1990’s the laminate flooring industry was revolutionised by what is generally known as the click system where 2 floor planks can be joined together without the need for glue or curing time. This meant faster floor installation time, easier installation and DIY flooring which contributed to the mass production of laminate flooring and in turn to a far less expensive laminate floor than what was experienced during the late 80’s and 1990’s.

With the click revolution and increased demand for laminate flooring more manufacturers mostly in Europe and a few in America came on board which meant more variety in colours and textures and better quality finishes for the consumer.

Up to the late 1990’s nearly all laminate floors where manufactured in Europe and a few in America but the laminate flooring industry was in for another revolution after manufacturing of laminate floor boards began in China in 1997. It was only around the year 2000 that Chinese laminate producers started exporting and by the early to mid 2000’s there were about 3000 manufacturers of laminate flooring in China.

With China’s ability to source lower cost raw materials and labour the price of laminate flooring more than halved in some cases but there was a lack of quality in the early stages from most Chinese laminate flooring producers which in turn did not do any favours for the laminate flooring market, specially in South Africa.

Today some of the Chinese manufactured laminate flooring can be compared with some of the European manufacturers. Although there are still some very cheap products on the market that is a lesser quality, laminate flooring has come a long way and taken a big share of the flooring market all over the world.

Compare Laminate Floors, Quality and Price

Laminates Wondering why one laminate floor cost R100m2 while the next floor cost double the price or more, if it is a drastic price difference for the same type of floor board then the chances are good it is because of a quality difference between the products. Below are a few factors that influence the price you pay for your laminate floor and should help you making a more informed decision.

Quality or Grade of Laminate Floors

It is important to compare apples with apples here and there are different grading systems for laminate floors, from AC1 to AC5 or Grade 21 to 33 with the higher number being better quality, this will influence the price you pay, so you will pay nearly double for a AC5 than for a AC3. Below are a few factors that can influence the price of laminate flooring.

Protective Layer: This is what gives laminate floors its surface strength and mostly determine the AC or Grade rating of the laminate planks, see here for more details
Quality and rating of Laminate Floors.
Test done on laminate floors by the EPLF (European Producers of Laminate Flooring) include resistance against Stains, Fading, Fire, Burn and Formaldehyde Emission Levels, for more information about these test and to see who are members of the EPLF click HERE

Surface texture: Textured or wood grain laminate boards which looks more like the real thing is usually more expensive to manufacture, these planks are embossed with a pattern to mimic real or solid wood flooring.

Repeat Pattern: With the cheaper laminates you usually find a 1 in 3 repeat pattern which means every third or fourth laminate plank looks the same which is noticeable after installation where some of the more expensive products you might be looking at a 1 in 8 or even a 1 in 10 repeat pattern.

Locking System: The locking systems of some laminate planks are superior to others and these locking systems are usually patented and thus the manufacturer need to pay a fee to use these locking systems which add to the cost of production. Examples of a superior locking system could be a neater joint and that the boards can be uplifted and re-installed a few times without compromising the locking system. One of the most known patented locking systems are Uniclic

Core Board: The density of the core or laminate board which is about 95% of what the plank is made up of should be HDF (High Density Fibre Board), there are some laminate floor manufacturers that lower their cost by using cheaper board which is usually MDF (Medium Density Fibre Board) or somewhere in-between, these laminate boards dents easier than HDF.

Machining: Some products are machined better than others, make sure the laminate manufacturer or supplier can provide a list which is usually in their catalogue or on the box of the standards they guarantee on their laminate product. All laminate manufacturers differ but usually they have detailed information about the maximum height difference between connecting laminate planks (about 0.15mm), the maximum space difference between connecting boards (about 0.20mm) and the board straightness (about 0.30mm).

Direct Pressure: This is the most common method where the 4 layers that the laminate plank consist of get pressed together under pressure and high heat but then you also get High Pressure Laminates, this method takes longer and thus costs more, the top and bottom layers are done separately and then fused together again, the end result is a stronger and more durable laminate floor.

Other factors that influence the price of Laminate Floors

West or East: It is fairly common knowledge that the East can nearly manufacture anything cheaper than the West, when it comes to Laminate Flooring as specially China plays a major role here. Cheaper labour, energy, raw products, taxes is just some of the factors that can play a role to lower the cost of laminate floor manufactures in the East or China. Furthermore the exchange rate can also play a role here as Chinese manufacturers mostly sell their laminate floors in Dollars and the European manufacturers sell their floors in Euros.

Green Factor: How green the floor is can also have an impact on the cost of the floor as sustainable resources and low emission factories usually cost a bit more to run, make sure there are a “green” label on your laminate floor product. The most well known one when it comes to wood products are the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).

Laminate Flooring Accessories

Underlay: There are a wide variety of laminate floor underlays, the most common is the 2mm foam combined with the plastic damp proof membrane, here it is important to make sure that the plastic is made of Virgin material which will be a few rand more expensive per square metre. The reason for this is that plastic bags need to be degradable, this plastic gets back into the recycled plastic and that compromises the structure of recycled plastic and make it unusable as a damp prove membrane.

Profiles: There are a wide selection of flooring profiles on the market with the main difference being what the product is made of, mainly you get wooden, plastic and metal profiles. Metal is always a safe bet but not as attractive on the eye, the wooden laminted profiles has quality differences that you need to watch out for. You get MDF and HDF profiles and most wooden profiles in the South African market at the moment are MDF which is not as good as HDF but again the price of the HDF might be double of the MDF profiles. Some of the good quality profiles have an EPLF rating on it which indicate the quality, it is important to remember that the wooden profiles are not suitable for commercial application and are best suited for residential use.

Skirting: Most laminate skirting is made of MDF (Medium density Fibre Board), Plastic or Solid Wood. With skirting it doesn’t really matter that much as it will not get any traffic on it like the floor and the profiles. The MDF skirting usually match the floor board and are more expensive than your Solid Wood skirting like Pine and Meranti. The MDF and Plastic skirting usually needs to be glued to the wall and thus not suited for very uneven walls, with uneven walls you would be better off with solid wood skirting that can be nailed or screwed into the wall.

The above is a guideline for comparing the different laminate floors on the market.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate Flooring, Pros and Cons

Laminate Flooring has grown much in popularity over the last decade in South Africa and has in many ways nearly flooded the flooring market with a wide range of choices taking into account that there are over a 100 different brand names available in South Africa.

Although most of these floors are good quality and will give you great performance there are unfortunately also some that are below industry standards, generally you get what you pay for so if it’s cheap then make sure to do your homework on the Brand and it is always a good idea to ask for references where the same floor were installed a few years earlier.

Pros

Variety of choice – There are a huge variety of Laminate Floors available in the market from colours, different grains, surface textures, various plank lengths, patterns and new choices are being added yearly by the manufacturers.
Price and Looks – Laminate Floors are very affordable compared to Solid Wood floors, with most of the laminates looking very similar to your more expensive wood floors. This is possible due to the high resolution of print combined with grain and texture effects being applied to the laminate planks, making it look very authentic.
Fuss Free Installation – This is mostly due to the fact that laminate is a floating floor which means it doesn’t get fixed to the sub floor. In turn this makes it a good DIY product but also means that it is fairly quick to install with minimum amounts of dust and fumes and it is easy to remove should you want to replace it in the future.
Durability – Laminate Floors are very durable with features like scratch, stain, impact and fade resistance. Most Laminate Floors comes with an 8 to 15 year guarantee on average and if well looked after it will last even longer. Again you get what you pay for so make sure you buy from a reputable supplier.
Versatile – You can install laminate floors in nearly any part of the house, not recommended for very moist or wet areas like bathroom. It can also be installed on nearly any sub floor like concrete, wood sheets or plywood and vinyl floors, as long as the sub floors is even, low moisture levels and don’t give way under pressure or weight.

pro cons laminate flooring Cons
Like anything in this world each product including flooring has it’s up and down sides and so does laminate flooring.

Moisture – Most Laminate Floors are very susceptible to high moisture or water damage due to the High Density Fibre core which is made from. It is important to make sure that there are no moisture issues before installing a laminate floor and therefore it is not recommended to install laminate floors in bathrooms and care should be taken when installing over existing solid wood floors, as specially not recommended over parquet floors.
Excessive water use for cleaning can also damage laminate floors, it is recommended to only use a damp cloth for cleaning – do not use conventional mops and don’t spray cleaners directly onto the floor but rather onto the cloth and spills should be cleaned up immediately.
Installation – Although laminate flooring are a fairly good DIY product it is difficult for most novices to get a perfect installation and there are a few ground rules which need following otherwise you might end up throwing your money in the water. If you have one and a half right hand then it is recommended to get a reputable installer, www.sawlfa.co.za is a good place to start as they have a list of accredited installers.
Repairing Your Floor – There are two sides here, the first is that due to being a floating floor it is fairly easy to replace a plank if damaged. The down side is that it needs replacing where with solid wood it can be sanded and finished again, you get a laminate repair kit which works well on a one tone colour but if the plank has colour variations then it is usually quite visible.
Expansions – Laminate Floors expand and contract and although not as much as Solid Wood it needs a expansion profile between rooms or if the length or width of the room is more than specified by the manufacturer (Usually between 8 to 12 metres in the length and 6 to 8 metres in the width). So if you have a large area then you might need to split the floor by using an expansion profile and to most people this is an eye sore.

Conclusion
In our opinion the Pro’s outweigh the Cons by far when it comes to laminate flooring and as with most floor coverings each has its down sides. If you decide on laminate flooring then get a quality floor and a good installer, in addition to this it is very important that the correct cleaning methods are used and your floor will be well worth the money.

Article by www.FloorsOnline.co.za

SAWLFA Laminate and Solid Wood Flooring

SAWLFA South African Wood and Laminate Flooring Association

UNDERSTANDING LAMINATE & SOLID WOOD FLOORING

The flooring market is full of terminology and manages to confuse even the most informed people in the trade, SAWLFA thought it would be valuable to you to try and make the process of buying flooring simpler.

Full details of all SAWLFA members are provided on the web site www.sawlfa.co.za. Or by contacting Sandra, the full time secretariat of the Association on telephone 011-4552822 or sawlfa@mwebbiz.co.za

Installing wood or laminate flooring in your home can be a risky business if you choose the wrong supplier or quality. Not all floors are created equal and as these types of flooring has become extremely popular as an alternative to carpets or ceramic tiles, it has become necessary to identify, test and classify floors especially on their resistance to wear and to relate this to recommended usage.

There are well over a hundred different brands of flooring on offer in South Africa. Many of these products are of excellent quality and will last for many years. However there are a disturbing number of instances where products do not meet the advertised performance levels, causing serious problems for the consumer.

Unscrupulous importers inflate their product capabilities. Rogue flooring sales people and installers give verbal guarantees that are seldom honoured and even run away with the customers deposits.

The South African Wood and Laminate Flooring Association was formed in 1998 in an attempt to safeguard the interests of the consumer. It does this in three ways:

All applicants are screened before being admitted. Members are required to meet minimum set performance levels and adhere to a code of ethical conduct.

Importer members are required to provide the Association with detailed product specifications verifying their quality claims. Test results from a bona - fide authority such as the South African Bureau of Standards or a European testing facility such as the EPLF (European Producers of Laminate Flooring) are compulsory.

Installers are encouraged to undergo a SAWLFA competency test to verify their ability. (To check if a member is accredited please ask the installer for his badge, this should have their full name, picture and the SAWLFA logo.

Former SAWLFA Chairman Peter Geyer says that people should be wary of buying the lowest priced product. Your bargain may turn out to be very expensive in the long run!

Several years ago flooring manufacturers in Europe devised a grading system for the different qualities of laminate flooring. Products are primarily graded by their resistance to surface wear caused by abrasion or foot traffic. There are basically five different grades or Abrasion Classes

(AC1 to 5). AC1 being the softest or least wear resistant and AC5 being the hardest/ most durable. One should always enquire about the grade or class of laminate flooring before placing an order. Generally speaking grades 1 & 2 should be confined to areas of low use like bedrooms. Grades 3 & 4 are suitable for use anywhere in the home and 5 is mainly used in high traffic restaurants and busy shops.

Wood and laminate flooring products may also vary in their resistance to swelling and fading their density and joint strength. Reputable suppliers will offer full disclosure on all these product features, in writing.
Most problems with flooring products occur as a result of poor installation. It is worth paying a little more to have your flooring installed by a trained team. SAWLFA, in conjunction with the South African Bureau of Standards, have published standards which deal with the general principles of installing solid wood as well as laminate floors. These guidelines are available to the public and should be strictly adhered to by installers.

Apart from providing consumers with access to accredited members, SAWLFA also offer a consultancy service to assist in disputes that may arise. For a small fee, SAWLFA will conduct a thorough technical evaluation of the problem and provide an unbiased opinion. Members are expected to abide by its findings. At present this service is only available in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban but will be spread to other cities in the near future.