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Laminate Flooring
The Pros and Cons of Installing Laminate
Flooring in the Kitchen
By Mark J. Donovan
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Recently my wife and I
updated our kitchen flooring and chose laminate
flooring. We decided upon laminate flooring due to
a couple of key reasons. First, laminate flooring
is fairly easy to install yourself. Laminate
flooring is designed to float on top of the
subfloor and as a result laminate flooring pieces
simply snap, or interlock, together.
As with any flooring
material, some prep work is required before
installing laminate floors.
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Sometimes the subfloor needs to be repaired or leveled, and in the case of
laminate flooring sometimes a separate foam pad may need to be installed on
the subfloor, depending upon the type of laminate flooring you choose. But
besides these basic preparation requirements, installing laminate flooring
is relatively straight forward.
| The second
reason we chose laminate flooring is that it is an extremely rugged flooring
material. It is nearly impervious to scratching and dings, and in a kitchen
where plates, glasses, silverware, and pans are frequently dropped we decided
laminate flooring was a better choice than wood, tile, or vinyl flooring. The
previous kitchen floor was vinyl and it had many scars from dropped items. |
Photo by Mark Donovan |
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With
all flooring there are pros and cons. With laminate flooring there are two
cons to be aware of.
First,
laminate flooring is constructed via a hard plastic like top surface that is
extremely resistant to scratching. Below this top layer is a print, such as
a wood or stone print. Below the print is high density fiber board. Finally,
the bottom layer is constructed out of a backing material, sometimes a foam
backing material, that helps protect the flooring from moisture.
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If water penetrates the
edges of the laminate flooring the fiber board can
swell and result in permanent damage to the
material. Consequently laminate flooring must be
installed on a low moisture subfloor and liquid
spills should be cleaned up promptly.
| The second
slight negative about laminate flooring is the sound you hear when you walk on
it. It has a hollow sound as you move across the floor. This I believe is due to
the fact that it is a floating floor. Sometimes people argue that laminate
flooring is fake wood flooring. This may be one of the reasons why laminate
flooring gets this criticism. Though the sound is a little odd, after awhile you
do get use to it. |
Photo by Mark Donovan |
When
installing laminate flooring it is important to make sure the subfloor is in
good shape. Make sure that it is smooth and free from ridges or valleys. If
necessary apply a self leveling compound to smooth out the subfloor.
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We also
found it best to remove the kitchen cabinet toe boards and the baseboard trim.
After installing the flooring you can install new baseboard trim and trim the
toe boards before reinstalling. These two tips really help in making a beautiful
new kitchen floor.
We are
extremely pleased with the look of our new kitchen floor. The laminate floor
has really helped to spruce up our kitchen, and we are confident that it will
withstand the test of time compared to vinyl, tile or wood floors.
For help on new home construction,
see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s
Home Construction Contractor Bid Sheets.
Home
Construction Contractor Bid Sheets
will
help ensure that you find and hire the right home building contractor
for your next home improvement, remodeling, or building project. In
addition, they will help to ensure that your home improvement project is
completed on time and on budget.
Related Flooring Information
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