Laminated Floors for Big Timber Fans on Small Budgets

When first introduced in the late 1970s, laminated floors were seen as a rather poor substitute for genuine wooden planks. Although substantially more hard-wearing and much simpler to care for than natural timber, it needed a couple of decades of technical improvements before these synthetic substitutes were able to gain the widespread popularity that they have managed to achieve today. From the tip of the fairest Cape to the Tropic of Capricorn and in all other parts of South Africa, including the cities and towns of Northern Gauteng, both home and business owners are now finding that these far cheaper boards are able to outperform their timber counterparts in every way.

Modern laminated floors provide those who were formerly devotees of natural wooden flooring with the promise of a product that is only a fraction of the price of a genuine oak or walnut installation. Furthermore, these incredibly tough composite boards also have the potential to last a lifetime, yet in return they will only need the bare minimum of routine care and maintenance. For the big fans of timber, who may be limited to a small budget, this is nothing less than the perfect solution to their dilemma.

The development of high definition digital photography has now made it possible to create more lifelike products. The pattern layer in these laminated floors is now able to simulate the grain patterns of any natural timber species with flawless precision. The result is a surface that will require the closest scrutiny in order to identify it as anything other than genuine wood.

An additional spin-off of this technology is that the product is no longer limited in terms of the type of surface that it is able to replicate. Rather than mahogany or cherry wood, purchasers can now deck their Northern Gauteng homes and offices with boards that are able to simulate the appearance of marble, limestone, slate or just about any type of material that one may think of. Though laminated floors that feature colour-tinted grain patterns may not be to everyone’s taste, they can be useful to meet certain décor needs and are also now available from some sources courtesy of digital photography.

An MDF or HDF core layer provides the necessary rigidity, while a backing layer acts to stabilise and protect against rising damp. It is, however, the uppermost or wear layer of tough resin that is responsible for the incredible resistance to scratching, scuffing and denting that cannot be matched by natural wood and also for its ease of maintenance. Top Carpets and Floors in Middelburg and more than 120 South African locations are the nation’s laminated floors experts.