Laminate, everyone knows it and many have it at home at home as flooring. However, very few people know how a laminate floor panel is constructed, which indicates the quality of a laminate or how sound insulation works. Often there is also the question of how the laminate floor with a floor heating or how the floor may be cleaned. If you lay your laminate flooring yourself, you have to decide whether to click or glue the panels together. Previously, however, you are spoiled for choice: “Which of the many decors available should I take?”. Parquet is less durable and more expensive compared to laminate. However, if you do not want to forego the flair of a wood look, there are numerous wood decors available.

How do you determine what laminate flooring is made from and the quality of laminate flooring.

Here are the 5 most important quality criteria of laminate.

For the layman, it is often difficult to evaluate laminate flooring and decide which is the right one for your needs – but this assessment is extremely important! Therefore here are the 5 most important quality criteria of laminate:

1. A thickness of the laminate

Decisive for the durability and thus the lifetime of a laminate is the strength of the panels. Laminates are available with thicknesses of 6 to 12 mm. Our offers currently range from 7 mm to 12 mm. The higher the strength of the soil, the more resistant it is. 7 mm can be sufficient for homely demands.

2. The thickness of the wear layer

The top layer of the laminate determines its abrasion resistance – after all, this is the layer on which you actually go, although you see through it the decorative layer. Depending on the thickness of this wear layer, the laminate is assigned to different usage classes:

Living area:

NK 21: moderate use, eg guest and bedroom
NK 22: normal use, eg living, and dining room
NK 23: heavy use, eg hall, and kitchen
Commercial area:
NK 31: moderate use, eg conference rooms
NK 32: normal use, eg offices
NK 33: heavy duty, eg department store floors

3rd optics

High-quality laminate floors have an elaborate wood grain, which looks deceptively similar to that of real wood flooring and gives the floor a structure. In addition, they have a good decorative layer design, so that the pattern is true to life.

4. Resistance to moisture

In the past, poor moisture resistance was the problem of many laminates. This has gone down today because this can be improved by better joints and especially impregnations. Our laminate is therefore impregnated at the edges.

5. Environmental compatibility

A laminate can have various environmental and health effects. Therefore, they should pay attention to appropriate quality seal – our floors are awarded the Blue Angel.

Construction of a laminate floor

How the panel is made and the exact structure is not important to the term “laminate”. Laminates can, therefore, be produced in different production processes. By laminate is meant only a layered arranged and provided with a binder material.

Basically, the structure of a laminate panel is as follows:

The top layer forms a highly durable cover layer, for example, made of melamine resin. After all, the floor has to endure a lot like cigarette butts, penny heels, rolling desk chairs and more. The second layer determines the appearance of the laminate. It consists of a decorative paper that is printed in one of the numerous designs described. The next layer holds the panels together and is the backing layer. It ensures that the laminate is dimensionally stable and pressure-resistant. As carrier layer, for example, an HDF board or a plywood board in question. The carrier plate is provided with a tongue and groove profile or, in the case of glueless laying, with a click system. The underside forms the counter-pull, which ensures that no moisture can penetrate from below into the laminate.

The uppermost layer forms an antistatic, scratch-resistant wear layer. This is followed by an abrasion- and wear-resistant acrylic resin layer with corundum and, as a third layer, the impregnated décor paper. With glue layers, the upper layers and the counter-pull are connected to the carrier plate (HDF plate). No matter what the structure may be, laminate floors are characterized by their small thickness of about 8 mm and thus low lying properties. For self-makers, even without great craftsmanship, they are therefore very well suited.

Laminate floor on underfloor heating

If laminate flooring is laid on a floor heating system, it used to only work with a hot water system. Meanwhile, there are also special electric laminate underfloor heating systems on the market. But for both types of installation, the information provided by the laminate manufacturer should be observed. An important basis for laying on the underfloor heating is the 0.2 mm PE vapor barrier for moisture insulation. In addition, a footfall sound insulation with low thermal resistance should be selected. Therefore, ribbed cardboard should be used instead of foam fleece since it has a lower heat transfer resistance. The entire setup should not exceed 0.17 K / W. Experience has shown that the heat transfer resistance at professional execution with vapor barrier, ribbed board and 8 mm laminate floor at 0.11 K / W.

Laminate floor and soundproofing

Great importance in the laying of laminate flooring comes to the sound insulation. Especially in multi-family houses, one is often the triple steps of a woman dressed in high heels lady in the apartment delivered over one and close to despair. But even within your own home, a noise level that spreads through the laminate can become very uncomfortable. Against the high-heeled shoes helps a footfall sound insulation. The is to get a relatively well under control with a, laid under the laminate floor, 2 mm thick foam fleece, a ribbed cardboard or a Dämmkork. It is relatively difficult to reduce the room sound. The laminate has to swallow the sound. Laminate is now being offered on the market, which is equipped with a soundproofing layer on the underside and reduces the footfall within the apartment.

If you’re interested in getting laminate flooring installed in your home please read more and check out our main laminate service page.