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		LAKE CABINET & FLOORING, INC. Laminate Flooring
On this page What are laminates Durability What's Hot What to look for		If you're not familiar with laminate flooring, it's time to familiarize. At Lake Cabinet & Flooring we carry the latest in construction, style, and design in laminate floors Featuring the best laminate floors by Mannington, Wilsonart, and Quick-Step. These floors offer lasting beauty and easy maintenance. If you want the look of wood or ceramic tile without the worry of scratching, denting, or don't want to clean those grout joints or the feel of a cold floor, laminate might be best for you. Laminate flooring also works great for remodeling projects because it can be directly installed over most existing floors other than carpet. Stop in and let us show you which one is best for you. From an economically sensible laminate floor, under two dollars per square foot, or a lifetime guaranteed product, we have it all. We can help you choose from our three different lines on display in our showroom with hundreds of colors and patterns. If you're after a quality installation or are thinking of installing it yourself, a laminate floor could be right for you. Please contact us today for more information. Check out our Great Deals page to see the latest specials and promotions in laminates! (note: you may click on the underlined links above to visit each manufactures home page.) Please visit our CARE page to learn how to properly maintain your floor.
		Tip - Be careful of all the low end laminate floors being advertised by manufactures you (and I) have never heard of. There are many imported laminates that sell as low as around one dollar per square foot. Many claim to have a 10 year warrantee or even more. Most of these floors are absolute junk. Low end, direct pressure laminate. And who are you going to call if you have a problem or warrantee issue ??? Good luck calling China ! We are not knocking all low end laminates. They can have their purpose. Say for example if your selling you home next week. We even offer some laminates at that price. And they are low end. However our brands are industry leaders not off the wall imports. Anyway, most lower end laminates chip, dent and wear very easy. (Come into our showroom were you can see a high end high-pressure laminate that has been down ten years and looks 5 times better than a lower end laminate down for a year. Cheap laminate floors become even less of a "bargain" when you pay to have them professional installed. If your looking for a good lower cost laminate we suggest Wilsonart Dou-Link. I would classify this as a mid level product that can save you money and still perform to a reasonable satisfaction. Also Wilsonart is American company that stands by it's products.
		Laminate flooring offers exceptional durability for active areas! Whether you are remodeling or building a new home laminate floors have become a popular choice for active areas in many homes. Originally from Europe, laminate flooring has quickly become a major flooring category in North America. Consumers will find availability and wide selection of designs and colors are easy to find in flooring stores. Laminate floors are incredibly durable, easy to care for and come in a wide variety of realistic stone and wood flooring designs. If you love the look of real hardwood but are concerned with the upkeep than laminate floors are the answer. If you are concerned with tearing up old flooring or are budget-minded than laminate flooring may be a great choice for you. Laminate flooring manufacturers use sophisticated, computerized technology to create realistic designs that are well protected by a tough outer coating that is impervious to most stains, spills, burns and extremely scratch-resistant. These floors come in both planks and tiles and can be floated over most substrates including concrete slabs and existing floor coverings. For the do-it-yourself homeowner most laminate floors have a specialized, glue-less, tongue and grooved locking system that makes installation a snap! No messy glues to apply and easy to fix, in case you make an error while installing. Laminate flooring textures offer the realism of hardwood graining and natural tile etching. You can choose from natural colors, dark wood grains as well as warm or cool color tones to compliment any room decor. Many hardwood plank designs are offered, including rare, exotic wood species. Stone and tile patterns will give you the elegant look of tile, but without the concerns about grout cleaning or cracking tile. Laminate floors are never secured directly to the subfloor, instead they are floated over the subfloor. This allows laminate flooring to be used over a wide variety of sub-floors, including wooden sub-floors, existing floors and even concrete slabs. Laminate floors are meant to be floated over a variety of sub floors and never secured directly to any substrate. In other words, the laminate flooring just lays on top of the sub floor, which can be wood, concrete, or an existing floor. This allows the laminate flooring to expand and contract freely as the room environment changes. Laminate floors come in planks and squares of various sizes and shapes. All four sides of each plank have a tongue and grooved edge for locking them together. Many brands of laminate flooring no longer require the installer to have to apply specials glue at the joints. Laminate floors with glue-less locking systems have become extremely popular. There are also laminate floors which have the glue pre-applied along the tongue and the glue is activated by damp sponge. The tongue and grooved edges of these floors are also pre-sealed at the factory to help prevent moisture from attacking the inner core structure. Special polyurethane underlay is laid down prior to installing laminate flooring. This helps the floor to float freely over the top. Some more expensive under-layments are available for reducing sound transmissions and restricting moisture from wicking up.
		What's Hot Stop in and see Mannington's Revolution line of laminates that have a hand scrapped look of natural wood and beveled edges. You will be amazed!
		What to look for: Today there are many laminate floor brands out there. For the last 15 years or so flooring companies and laminate manufactures have jockeyed to get there piece of the pie. In the long run some of the cream has risen to the top. Buy name brand, if your not selling your house next week don't mess around with the names that your don't know or haven't been around. Here are 4 major parts of a laminate floor and what to look for. The top surface or ware layer - This is the part of the floor you use and is the most important in determining the scratch, dent and wear resistance of the floor. There are two types of top surface laminates out there. High Pressure and Direct Pressure. High pressure laminate is similar to your countertop laminates with added aluminum oxide in the top surface to increase it's wear resistance. Direct pressure is typically not as durable but are very in quality from manufacturer to manufacturer. Wilsonart laminate's Classic and Estate lines are high pressure. One small limitation of high pressure is that the texture is a bit more limited when it comes to things like hand sculpted appearance or beveled edges. The core board - This is the part of the floor that gives it its strength & thickness. Look for a core board of MDF (medium density fiber) with small fine chips not large pieces and chunks. Larger cheaper sub-straights tend to change shape with humidity changes faster and are less stable. Also many laminate brands have treated the core board for moisture resistance which is always a plus since flooding is the number one cause of damage to laminate floors. The backing- This is the part of the floor that faces down and gives the floor stability and moisture resistance. Look for a flooring that uses a laminated back instead of a paper back. This will improve the tension on the back of the plank or tile and keep the product more stable. Paper and un-backed floorings tend to peak and curl faster. Some laminate floors come with an attached foam and moisture barrier back. Although there are fast and easy to install we prefer the sheet under-layment for better moisture blocking. The locking mechanism- This is what brings and keeps the individual piece together. We recommend that you use a tried and trusted brand to make sure your floor will go together and stay together.