Parquet board or laminate - what to choose

Regardless of how much you plan to spend on repairs, you need to approach the choice of flooring very seriously and balanced. This is a difficult task not only because the comfort of the residents depends on the quality of the floor, but also for the reason that it sets the character of the entire interior and forms its perception. It has long been proven that people are more likely to look under their feet than up, and therefore it is necessary to make it so that your guests have something to admire underfoot. But the task is to choose a parquet or laminate, because both coatings are quite beautiful ...

Parquet and laminate - general characteristics

The modern building materials market offers a lot of flooring options that are excellent in characteristics, texture and color. But today we are only interested in one question: “Which is better - a parquet board or laminate?” Nevertheless, these two types have many “varieties”, which also differ and require knowledge of the matter. Faced with such diversity, you can easily get confused and make the wrong decision. One simple detail will help to understand the situation - the purpose of the future room.

Depending on the operational load of the room, the appropriate finishing materials should be selected. So, for the bathroom, a moisture -repellent strong floor is suitable, which can not be said about an expensive wooden floor. For the kitchen, the requirements are similar, only there it will constantly fall on the floor, to drip an accidentally spilled tea, coffee or sauces ... Not all wood will withstand such a “barbaric” appeal.

So, let's figure out what rooms a parquet board is suitable for? Traditionally, the living rooms, work cabinets and home libraries are decorated with parquet - it fits perfectly into a similar interior and creates the right atmosphere where you can relax or focus on learning folios equally well. The parquet board looks great in a room trimmed with a natural tree, or furnished with wooden furniture. If you want to put a parquet in the hallway, keep in mind that this is a high -cross -country sector, so you will need frequent wet cleaning, and the boards will lose their original appearance quite quickly. For this reason, it is best to use laminate in the hallway.

If you want to transform the children's room, you should understand that here you need to focus on heat and wear resistance. It is possible that the baby wants to draw on the floor, spill the juice, get it with paint, etc. The laminate will perfectly cope with these tasks, provided that a carpet or any other warm coating will lie on top of it in the gaming zone. You can also make warm floors with heated, but this is another topic.

The bedroom should have a special floor covering that would protect from cold and extraneous noise. Ideally, for this purpose, the floor made of cork wood was suitable, but this pleasure is not available to everyone. As an optimal alternative for spacious rooms, you can put a laminate. As for a more modest quadrature, it is better to cost a parquet board that imitates a piece parquet, provided that it will be in harmony with furniture and decoration.

Parquet board - characteristics

The parquet board consists of many thin layers of wood, glued together with special glue and located perpendicular to each other. Thus, the incredible strength and stability of the material to changes in geometry is achieved. The highest (front) layer is represented by any valuable and expensive wood of wood. Its minimum thickness can reach 0.5 mm, and the maximum - 6 mm. Basically on the market you can find products with a thickness of a “valuable” layer of 4 mm.

There is a special classification of a parquet board in the number of dies:

1. Single -lane - looks in the form of an ordinary wooden board and looks good in large rooms. However, such a “ordinary” board is quite expensive, since it is made of wide stripes of expensive wood. The standard width of such a board is 137 mm. You can also find single -lane boards with chamfers along the edges. This allows you to create an imitation of seams and the feeling that the floor was covered with an expensive coating of a massive board.
2. Double -lane - is a couple of wide strips laid with solid stripes or divided into modules. Due to the large width of the product, the room acquires a solemn, if not a pompous look, so two-lane boards are suitable for classic interiors.
3. Three -lane is the most popular option that can be found in ordinary houses and apartments. The parquet board consists of three lanes located parallel to each other. As a rule, the strips are divided into small segments, and not laid with continuous long stripes. With the help of a three -lane board, you can create an imitation of the parquet drawing "Deck", which fits perfectly into any room.
4. The four -lane - a parquet board, which is produced from wood waste. It is characterized by too narrow stripes, which is why it looks rather colorful. Such a parquet is suitable for decorating a country house - it creates a cozy home atmosphere.

In order to have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe advantages and distinctive features of the parquet and understand what the parquet board is better than the laminate, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between the rocks of wood, from which the most important “front” layer of material is made:

• oak is a classic option for decorating rooms. It is characterized by pleasant "warm" shades from yellowish-coffee to dark brown. It is characterized by high strength, and if it is damaged, it is easy to restore;
  
• ash is an elastic and durable tree of various shades (light yellow, dark brown or black). The core is often irregular in shape, so ash is often chosen for its interesting drawing;
  
• cherry is a parquet board of amazing beauty with a pinkish tint. One of the main advantages of this wood is a homogeneous velvety texture;
  
• beech-strong wood is reddish-yellow. The peculiarity is that under the influence of direct sunlight, the beech slightly changes color, becoming more brownish;
  
• yatoba - exotic wood mined in the valleys of the Amazon. Its strength is so high that a lot of efforts are spent on processing. Yatoba Parquet board turns out to be very durable and is distinguished by a warm shade;
  
• wenge is a very popular material in African countries. This is heavy wood of dark brown color, which has high resistance to pressure and not afraid of moisture. Not afraid of pests. Perhaps the parquet from Wenge could even be put in the bathroom.
  

Summing up, you can identify the following advantages of the parquet board:

• naturalness;
• environmentally friendly material;
• high strength;
• the possibility of repeated grinding (update);
• ease of installation without gaps;
• the base can be any;
• thermal insulation;
• noise insulation (depending on the wood breed).

Unfortunately, the parquet also has its drawbacks:

• high price;
• environmental factor - a product made of natural wood requires a large amount of raw materials, therefore, deforestation of forests and rare breeds increases;
• features of coating care - damp only with special funds for parquet;
• the risk of scratches;
• it is afraid of moisture (if the neighbors are flooded with the parquet, the neighbors will have to restore such a floor “from zero”).

Laminate

The word "laminate" is translated as "multilayer coating", thereby completely justifying its nature. The upper layer of the laminate is made of special polymer substances that create a transparent high -strength protective environment and allow wood to remain beautiful and unharmed for a long time. The second layer is decorative. It is made in a special printing house, where a variety of drawings are created, often repeating the texture of valuable wood of wood. Then lies the main layer of hydrophobicated fiberboard and a water-repellent craft paper.

The laminate can be divided into three types according to the degree of load:

1. High - for public and residential premises.
2. Medium - living rooms, libraries, children's rooms.
3. Light - cabinets, bedrooms.

Each of the types of laminate is characterized by its own decorative layer. The most common option is an imitation of a wooden surface. Such a laminate is more like a high -quality expensive parquet with a clear pattern and properly located wood pores. Its surface resembles a tree covered with varnish or grated by wax.

There is also a texture laminate, on the surface of which are specially provided for irregularities in the type of natural wood fibers. This view is very similar to parquet due to a synchronously executed pattern. The relief laminate is characterized by symmetrically executed by longitudinal irregularities that do not repeat the pattern.

Today, a special type of laminate with a large smooth relief is gaining popularity that imitates a tree manually treated. Such a coating will look great in a country house or emphasize eco-style in the interior.

The advantages of the laminate:

• preservation of forests - waste (wood chips) is used for the production of laminate;
• protected from exposure to parasites, rotting;
• resistant to moisture (can be laid in the kitchen);
• does not scratch;
• does not split;
• does not require cycles;
• ease of care (can be washed by any means);
• a large selection of drawings and textures;
• resistant to ultraviolette;
• acceptable cost.

By the way about the cost - it may vary depending on the strength of the product. So, there is an incredibly strong laminate that can last you almost eternity without leaving a single scratch on the surface. Therefore, the cost can be considered a “floating” advantage, since it is difficult to choose between expensive laminate and parquet board from a rare tree breed.

Laminate disadvantages:

• if you still managed to put a scratch, then it will be impossible to close it up - it is necessary to change the segment;
• to cover below grade 31, protection against damage is required - on the legs of cabinets, tables and beds, you need to install special protective "socks".

Here, perhaps, are all the disadvantages of the laminate. It can be seen that this is more modern material, but nothing can be compared with natural wood, even the highest quality imitation.

Judging by the reviews, the laminate and the parquet board are gaining an almost equal number of adherents, but recently more and more people are inclined to choose a laminate. The fact is that the ecology of the Earth is declining, raw materials are growing, and people need more practical and universal things that would last more than one year. However, the choice remains for you - prefer a luxurious classic or rely on practicality.