No matter what the project you’re working on in the home, the floor is always going to be of primary importance. There’s no dressing it up; an uneven floor, one that creaks or moves underfoot is never going to be satisfactory, so, choosing or badly fitting the wrong floor can ruin the overall look of a room.
No Disguise for a Bad Fit
Unfortunately, a badly fitted floor can’t be disguised. You can cover it up, but walking on it will always give it away. So, if your floor is badly laid or doesn’t fit in with the overall style of your home, it will stand out. So what can you do to make sure fitting a new floor goes right?
There are any number of choices on the market today, including carpet, laminate and hardwood. One of the most modern and adaptable floor coverings is laminate.
Laminate used to be a second choice to hardwood flooring, however, that’s no longer the case. Laminate flooring is a popular alternative to hardwood as it has a number of advantages over the alternatives. First of all, laminate is cheaper, especially if it is a facsimile of rare exotic woods that are difficult to buy.
Laminate is also available in a stone finish, the advantage here is that it is light weight, warm underfoot, especially if your home has underfloor heating, and, like all laminate floors, can be laid on any subfloor quickly and easily. In order to fit the new floor perfectly, it’s vital to have a perfectly flat surface. If your subfloor isn’t quite flat then a levelling compound is required, it is usually spread within minutes and dries within a few hours.
Old laminate flooring wasn’t as durable as the flooring that is on the market today. You might remember the look of old, worn flooring that had faded and worn down in high traffic parts of the house, revealing the fact that the floor was strips of plastic. Modern laminated are far harder wearing than that and will last for many more years before they need renewing or replacing. When you’re buying your laminate flooring, it’s important to fit the best. Go to a reputable dealer and, if possible, have a home visit. Skilled and experienced floor fitters will be able to advise you as to the best laminate floor for you, price it competitively, and then fit it perfectly.