Is it worth laying laminate flooring - pros and cons: my wife said that his spirit would not be in our house

If you want to figure out whether it is worth laying laminate flooring in an apartment, you turn to the sales manager of a local store for help, and he immediately finds a lot of pluses, but forgets about the minuses. Plus, the benefits of laminated planks are taught so implicitly as if it's the perfect material. However, there are still serious drawbacks.

Benefits of laminate

Attractive appearance

It is on the external attractiveness that marketing promotion is built. For relatively little money, we get an imitation of expensive types of flooring: parquet, natural stone, ceramic tiles, etc.

Affordable price

This advantage is relevant when it comes to imitation of exclusive expensive natural coatings. Such a laminated board, as a rule, will be of a high price segment, but in relation to the original material it will become cheap.

As for the budget laminate, commercial types of linoleum surpass it in many ways.

Large selection of textures

This advantage draws the line under the previous two pluses. The assortment of hardware stores has such textures as Tyrolean oak, rosewood, Japanese sophora, etc. It is hardly possible to find natural wood of these species in our latitudes.

Ease of installation

Manufacturers often say that everyone can assemble the slats with their own hands. They easily snap into the lock. It is enough to follow a few simple rules and everything will work out.

Disadvantages of laminate

In practice, many marketing gizmos start to fall apart like a house of cards.

Demanding foundation

The idea that laminate flooring can be easily laid with your own hands is crumbling. After all, we need to ensure the surface evenness is close to ideal. Manufacturers' tolerances are only a few millimeters. Not everyone can achieve this alignment result.

“Take a thicker backing,” say the managers. The solution is, of course, working. But it works 8 times out of 10. Yes, the thick backing smooths out irregularities. In this case, the floor from the laminated board begins to "play" when walked on it. First, the seams diverge across the lamellas. Over time, the locks can wear out - gaps appear in the perpendicular direction. The plus turns into a minus.

Squeak when walking

Lamels creak when rubbing against each other in the locks. This happens in two cases:

• to compensate for the unevenness of the floor, a too thick substrate was taken;
• bought a budget laminate with substandard locks.

Yes, these disadvantages can be avoided. But the advantage with a low price goes into the background.

Low moisture resistance

In the most prominent place of the packaging, manufacturers like to glue all kinds of marketing stickers that hint at the moisture resistance of the material. At the same time, in the operating instructions, they add in small print:

If water gets on the surface of the laminate flooring, it must be quickly removed by wiping it dry.

If water remains on the surface, it gets into the locks. The material is soaked and swollen.

This is the main disadvantage due to which we refuse to use laminated flooring in a new apartment. Three children and you can't keep track of everyone. We spilled tea, water in the process of drawing, overdid it when watering flowers and did not notice in time - khan pol. The only laminate option we are considering is quartz. He is not afraid of water by definition and this is not his only plus.

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