I want to lay laminate floor.Can anyone suggest which quality to go for.I heard qucikstep is the best.Any help
Question:I want to get laminate floor laid on my lounge.I donot know where to start.Is it better to go for 2 or 4 grooves.Is it better to go for quickstep or any other brand.Which type makes the room look bigger - 9 cm wide or 15 cm wide.I prefer beech color since the room would look brighter rather than dark shades.Is it better to go for varnished beech or steamed beech.Kindly advise.In quickstep they have 700 ,800 and 950 ratings.Will there be a big difference in them .for a 16 sq m room ,how much would it cost for someone to lay it for me.ANy help/suggestions would be welcome.
Answers:
There are many brands of quality laminate. Pergo was the first brand introduced in this country, so it's the name that first comes to mind. Quite frankly, I quit carrying Pergo in my store many years ago, when they aligned themselves with the "big box" retailers.
Quickstep is a good brand, as well as Tarkett. The best brand of laminate on the market today is Wilsonart. They have many different styles, several price points.
As far as making a room look larger, it comes to a matter of the pattern you select. The way laminate is constructed is...on the bottom you have a layer of melamine, then a solid core, then a PICTURE of wood, and lastly another layer of melamine. The boards of laminate themselves are usually the same size; however, it's the PICTURE of the wood on top that will help. You will find styles in 3 strip, 2 strip, or one strip. Meaning - that if you're looking at a 3 strip floor for instance, on that one board, you will see three rows of wood. On a two strip, on that one board you will see two rows...etc. A larger room can handle the larger one strip look, while a smaller room, would look better with a 3 strip. A two strip is always a good choice. You're correct in sticking with a lighter color, but don't get too light, you do want the room to have some warmth.
Don't skimp on the underlayment. A heavier underlayment, such as Quiet Walk, will help eliminate the hollow, clicky, plastic sounds you get with a cheaper underlayment.
Labor in FL runs $1.85 a square foot to install laminate. I hope you can do the conversion to sq m.
Pergo is my favorite laminate, floating floor system, and there are other manufacturers that make a decent product, but where I live, Pergo's the most popular. Product availability and cost totally depend on where you live, from my experience. I've been installing tile, hardwood, and stone floors for 40 years now, and about 20 years now since laminate floors first came onto the market, and have never heard of Quickstep laminates, but that only means that some product brands are regional and that particular brand has not become popular in my area yet. Probably the best thing you can do is Google search a laminate installers forum and ask questions of installers in your area for this kind of info. Good Luck
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