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Laminates are extremely durable and are great for homes with a high degree of foot traffic. Children and pets add significantly to traffic in a home. Laminate flooring is incredibly easy to maintain. Most of today’s laminates are also made featuring a click-together tongue and groove system which makes them far easier to install than other flooring types. In addition, laminate flooring is designed to be installed as a floating floor, which means laminate can be installed anywhere in your home.

Laminate Construction

Essentially all laminate floors are composed of three layers:

The Surface Wear Layer

The Core

Backing

. 

The surface is typically made of an extremely tough-wearing protective finish with a printed photograph adhered to the clear surface. The wood appearance commonly found with laminate floors is a photograph applied to a melamine laminate layer.

The core board or "carrier board" is made up of a variety of materials depending on the manufacturer. Most manufacturers use high-density fibre board, or HDF, which is a durable engineered wood product which resists moisture. Other laminate cores are a high-density wood particle core, which is better at absorbing glue at the joints than HDF.

The backing board varies from a paper layer to a full plastic laminate layer depending on manufacturer. Laminates featuring a plastic of melamine backing are more stable and may be better against potential water damage than those with paper backings.