Parquet board or laminate - what to choose

Regardless of how much you plan to spend money on the repair, it is necessary to approach the choice of flooring very seriously and weighed. This is not an easy task not only because the comfort of tenants depends on the quality of the floor, but for the reason that he asks the character of the entire interior and forms his perception. It has long been proven that people are often looking at their feet than upstairs, and therefore you need to do so that your guests have something to admire. But the task is to choose a parquet or laminate, because both covers are pretty beautiful ...

Parquet and laminate - General characteristics

The modern market of building materials offers a lot of options for flooring, excellent in characteristics, texture and color. But today we are interested in only one question: "What is better - a parquet board or laminate?". Nevertheless, these two species have many "varieties", which also differ and require knowledge of the case. Faced with such a variety, you can easily get confused and take an incorrect solution. It will help to figure out the situation one simple detail - the appointment of the future room.

Depending on the operational load of the room, you should choose the corresponding finishing materials. So, a water-repellent durable floor is suitable for the bathroom, which can not be said about the road wooden floor. For the kitchen, the requirements are similar, only there on the floor will constantly fall the food, drip the inadvertently spilled tea, coffee or sauces ... Not every wood will endure such a "barbaric" appeal.

So let's figure it out for some premises a parquet board fit? Traditionally, the parquet decorate living rooms, workers offices and home libraries - it perfectly fits into a similar interior and creates the necessary atmosphere, where you can relax or focus on the study of foliants. A parquet board looks great in a room with natural wood, or furnished with wooden furniture. If you want to put a parquet in the hallway, keep in mind that this is a sector with high permeability, so frequent wet cleaning will be required, and the boards will lose their original appearance pretty quickly. For this reason, in the hallway it is best to use laminate.

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

The bedroom should have a special flooring, which would protect from cold and extraneous noises. Ideally, the floor of a cork tree was approached for this purpose, but such pleasure is not available to everyone. Laminate can be put as an optimal alternative for spacious premises. As for a more modest square, it is better to do with a parquet board, imitating a piece parquet, provided that it will be harmonized with furniture and trim.

Parquet Board - Characteristics

A parquet board consists of a plurality of thin layers of wood glued together with special glue and perpendicular to each other. Thus, the incredible strength and stability of the material to changes in geometry is achieved. The topmost (facial) layer is represented by any valuable and expensive wood. Its minimum thickness can reach 0.5 mm, and the maximum is 6 mm. Mostly on the market you can find products with a thickness of the "valuable" layer of 4 mm.

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

1. Single-band - it looks like a regular wooden board and looks good in large rooms. However, however, such a "ordinary" board is quite expensive, because it is made of wide strips of expensive wood. The standard width of such a board is 137 mm. You can also meet single-band boards with chamfer around the edges. This allows you to create a simulation of seams and the feeling that the floor is eliminated by an expensive coating of a massive board.
2. Two-band - represents a pair of wide slats laid by solid stripes or divided into modules. Due to the large width of the product, the room acquires a solemn, if not a pompous kind, so two-band boards are suitable for classic interiors.
3. Three-strip is the most popular option that can be found in ordinary homes and apartments. A parquet board consists of three bands located in parallel to each other. As a rule, the planks are separated into small segments, and not fit with solid long stripes. With the help of a three-band board, you can create a "deck" parquet pattern imitation, which fits perfectly in any room.
4. Four-band - parquet board, which is produced from wood waste. It is characterized by too narrow strips, because of what it looks pretty Pestro. Such a parquet is suitable for the design of a country house - it creates a cozy home atmosphere.

To have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe advantages and distinguishing features of the parquet and understand than the parquet board is better than laminate, you must be able to distinguish the wood of wood, of which the most important "facial" layer of material is made:

• oak is a classic option for the design of the premises. It is characterized by pleasant "warm" shades from the yellowish-coffee-free to dark brown. Differs 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 kernel is often irregular, so ash is often chosen for its interesting drawing;
  
• cherry - parquet board of amazing beauty with a pinkish tint. One of the main advantages of this wood is a homogeneous velvety texture;
  
• beech is a durable wood reddish-yellow. The peculiarity is that under the influence of direct sunlight, the beam slightly changes color, becoming more browned;
  
• yatoba is an exotic wood produced in the Amazon valleys. Her strength is so high that the processing takes a lot of effort. Parquet board from Yatoba wood is obtained very durable and is distinguished by a warm tint;
  
• wenge is a very popular material in African countries. It is heavy wood dark brown, which has high pressure resistance and not fearing moisture. Not afraid of pests. Perhaps the parquet from Wenge could be put even in the bathroom.
  

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

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

Unfortunately, the parquet has its drawbacks:

• high price;
• environmental factor - a natural tree product requires a large amount of raw materials, therefore, the deforestation of forests and rare rocks increases;
• the peculiarities of the coating care are only special means for parquet;
• the risk of scratching;
• the moisture is afraid (if the apartment with a parquet is flooded with neighbors, to restore such a floor will have "from zero").

Laminate

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

Laminate can be divided into three types by degree of load:

1. High - for public and residential premises.
2. Medium - living rooms, libraries, children's rooms.
3. Easy - Cabinets, Bedrooms.

For each type of laminate, its decorative layer is characteristic. The most common option is imitation of a wooden surface. Such a laminate resembles a high-quality expensive parquet with a clear pattern and properly located in the wood. The surface of it resembles a tree covered with varnish or grated with wax.

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

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

Advantages of laminate:

• preservation of forests - waste (wood chips) is used to produce laminate;
• protected from the effects of parasites, rotting;
• resistant to moisture (can be treated in the kitchen);
• does not scratch;
• not split;
• does not require cyclovka;
• easy to care (you can wash any means);
• a large selection of drawings and textures;
• resistant to ultraviolet;
• acceptable cost.

By the word about value - it may differ depending on the strength of the product. So, there is an incredibly durable laminate who can stop you almost eternity, without leaving a single scratch on the surface. Therefore, the cost can be considered a "floating" advantage, as it is difficult to choose between expensive laminate and parquet board From a rare tree of wood.

Disadvantages of laminate:

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

Here, perhaps, all the minutes of laminate. It can be seen that it is more modern material, but nothing compares with natural wood, even the highest quality imitation.

Judging by the reviews, the laminate and the parquet board are typing almost an equal number of adherents, but recently more and more people are inclined to choose a laminate. The fact is that the ecology of the land comes in decline, the prices of raw materials grow, and people need more practical and universal things that would serve not one year. However, the choice remains for you - prefer the luxurious classic or make a bet on practicality.