Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is considered one of the best and therefore is very popular amongst millions of home owners in Long Island.

Laminate flooring is often implemented in offices and commercial premises. The process of producing laminate flooring is known as Direct Pressure Laminate (DPL) construction, which entails the fusion of four distinct layers including backer paper, high density fiberboard, decorative paper, and an overlay. These four unique components are examined more closely below:

Backer Paper

Backer paper is primarily used to serve as a bottom seal. This not only maintains the structural integrity of the laminate floor board as a whole, but also provides protection from any underlying moisture. A foam layer may be incorporated into this section as well to eliminate the need for additional underlayment. As such, backer paper is not only protective and prevents future deterioration of the laminate flooring, but also optimizes the acoustics of the panels when they are walked on.

HDF Board Or Core

The core or the central layer of laminate flooring is made from HDF or High Density Fiberboard. Some manufacturers also use MDF or medium density fiberboard. Both these are made from softwood fibers which are again broken down. They are combined with resin binder and wax. The panels are fused with the help of pressure and heat. HDF is considered better compared to MDF for production of laminate flooring. The flooring looks much better. Milling process is important as far as the HDF core making is concerned. The edges also need to be cut for specific profiles.

Decorative Paper

The next is decorative paper layer. This is to give shape to a high quality printed design which helps the laminate plank to get a distinctive appearance. The appearance could be a reproduction of wood, marble or stone. They can be made in different patterns and colors. The designs and patterns are left to our imagination and there are no strict guidelines to it.

The Overlay Layer

The overlay layer is the top layer of any laminate flooring. It helps in giving the laminate flooring that lustrous finishing. Apart from making the flooring look good to the eye it also has several other functions. The overlay layer is also referred to as the wear layer and it protects the laminate floor surface from minor wear and tear. It also protects it from scratches, scuffs and scrapes. These are mostly caused by shoes, furniture legs, shoes, pet claws and vacuum cleaners.

It could also offer protection from harmful ultraviolet rays which could lead to color fading. Homes often have big windows and many windows face either southwest or south. Hence, the laminate floor is often exposed to long periods of sunlight on a daily basis. This leads to ultraviolet absorption. This could result in fading which is also known as photo degradation.

To sum it up, the durable, good looking and easy to install laminate has to go through quite a bit of processing, grinding, and pressing before it takes a final shape.

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