Laminate flooring is a great choice for your home. It is durable, low maintenance, and can be made from recycled materials. Plus, it offers a variety of styles and colours to match the décor of any room in your house. Buying laminate flooring can be a tricky process. With so many options and brands to choose from, it’s hard to know which one will work best for you. It’s important to find the right balance between quality and affordability. The cost of laminate flooring varies depending on size.
If you’re not sure how much you need or want to know the cost of installing laminate flooring in your house, take a look at this guide! We’ll break down everything you need to know about laminate flooring and give you some helpful tips for installation.
Buying laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is a popular option that offers an affordable, long-lasting floor with a wide variety of colours and patterns. It’s easy to install and is a great cost effective alternative to tiles or hardwood floors.
Laminate flooring is also one of the most eco-friendly options for your home. For instance, it has low VOC emissions, is durable, easy to clean, and relatively inexpensive.
However, laminate flooring does have some downsides. It is not as hard as solid wood or tile floors so it can be scratched and stained. If you’re looking for a more scratch proof product that will last longer than laminate flooring then look into investing in solid wood or tile floors.
Laminate and vinyl flooring is generally sold in packs per square meter. Each style of laminate flooring will come in different widths and lengths depending on the pattern and print you choose. This is due to the fact that laminate flooring is made to imitate the real deal. For example, if you opt for a marble or wood laminate, the layout of the floor panels will be designed to imitate the shape and size of those materials.
When it comes to buying laminate flooring we recommend that you allow for wastage. Wastage simply means that you will have enough laminate flooring for you to cut floor boards to fit into the corners and crevices of your space. This is true for all flooring choices, allowing wastage is a great practice.
Having a wastage allowance is a great benefit when it comes to:
- Installation mistakes
- Installing on imperfect floors e.g. rustic and real wood floors
The amount of wastage allowance you need will depend on the size of your space, however, the standard wastage allowance is 5%.
How much do you need?
The most important question to answer before buying laminate flooring is how much you need. It’s best for a homeowner to first determine the square footage of a room and then factor in the size of the flooring pack accordingly.
To calculate how much flooring you need you need to know just 2 basic things:
- Your room area in square meters
- The coverage of one pack of your chosen floor
For example: If one flooring pack covers a space of 2.3m² and your room measures 15m².
Then 15/2.3 = 6.5 or 7 boxes of flooring.
If you’re wondering how many square feet your room is, simply multiply the length of space in meters with the width of the space in meters.
Installing laminate flooring
Laminate flooring is the perfect choice for adding a new layer of beauty and warmth to your home’s interior. It’s easy to install, durable, and looks great in virtually any home. However, installing laminate flooring can seem overwhelming with so many different options on the market.
To make things easier on you, here are some helpful tips for installing laminate flooring:
For a seamless installation, we recommend leaving a 10mm gap around the perimeter of your space, this could vary from product to product so be sure to check the manufacturer’s instructions before going ahead with this step.
What’s great about laminate and vinyl click flooring is there’s no adhesive required. Lay your first board down and start your first row of floor boards going vertically down the length of the room.
There’s no need to worry about laying underlay. Vinyl click flooring comes with a non-slip underlay already fitted to each floor board. However, be sure to check the product spec of your panels to make sure as this may not be the case with every manufacturer.
Once you have laid one vertical row of floor boards, start on your second by repeating the same process and slotting the panels into the neighbouring row as you go.
Conclusion
Laminate flooring is a great option for those who want to stay within a budget and find a durable flooring solution. Ultimately, the most important thing is to find the right balance between quality and affordability to ensure that your home is comfortable and inviting.
