What is Laminate?

Laminate flooring is composed of three main parts: A protective coating over the top, the photographic or printed patterning, and the fiberboard backing that comprises the majority of the planks. QGC Laminate comes in ¾” think planks and some of them will come with a built-in pad on the back side. Laminates are installed on the same tongue-and-groove principle as hardwood flooring, and are firmly glued down to avoid shifting and chafing. Unlike vinyl flooring Laminates will require the use of an underlayment, and a moisture barrier is a good idea. Some of our Laminate flooring will come with a built-in underlayment for ease of installation and prep. Make sure to level your flooring before installation – an unlevel subdeck will damage your floor, so make sure it’s flat, even, level, and free of lumps and bumps. 

Pros: Laminates are durable, long-lasting, scratch-resistant, and easy to install. They’re also the least expensive of the flooring varieties we carry, and will be slightly more pleasant to walk on than the vinyl flooring. Laminate is made of fiberboard predominately, so it’ll retain heat a little bit better than LVP or tile would. Laminates also tend to have a softer look, and are not rigidly textured which some people prefer. 

Cons: Laminates are not waterproof. We recommend this flooring for any living space except those rooms with plumbing such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry areas etc. This flooring is a lot more durable than other options, but can still be damaged if heavy items are dropped on or dragged across the surface.

Care: To clean your laminate floors, simply sweep regularly and wipe up spills as they happen. If you’d like to do a deeper cleaning over your floor’s surface a dry mop such as Swiffer is your best bet. If you need to get some serious gunkage off of the surface, use a pot scraper or bamboo dish scraper and gently buff it away. Don’t use harsh chemicals or abrasives – it’ll damage the wear layer and the photographic/picture layer of your floors.