Until quite recently, most UK homes have featured carpet throughout. However, laminated wood floors have become very popular in recent years and for good reason – it looks good, is inexpensive, can be easily installed, is easy to care for and is guaranteed for life. Essentially it gives you the look of solid hardwood flooring which was traditionally associated with expensive larger properties. Laminated flooring though can be bought at a fraction of the price and the without the expense of professional installation. There are extensive ranges of laminate designs and popular finishes include English oak, Rustic French oak, Antique oak, Beech, English Cherry, Maple, Birch, American Pine, Walnut, American Black Walnut, Norwegian Maple, Chestnut and Nevada Larch. However, these days you can also get more funky designs as well, including stonework and tile finishes. So whatever ‘look’ you’re going for in your house, whether it’s contemporary and minimalist, or a more traditional style, there will be a laminate design which will be perfect for your needs. Another benefit of laminate flooring is that is increasingly seen as the flooring style of choice by many people, and many estate agents will say that it is definitely a selling feature of any home.

Laminates in kitchens and bathrooms
Until recently, laminates were not recommended for use in ‘wet’ areas like kitchens and bathrooms. But the quality has improved so dramatically over the last few years, that there are now products available that can be used in these most important rooms of the house – and they still carry a lifetime guarantee (or a twenty year guarantee for the bathroom). This new generation of laminates is being snapped up by homeowners who love the versatility of having them – easy to clean and lovely and warm underfoot.

Installation
Unlike traditional solid wood flooring which needs an expert carpenter to lay it, laminate flooring is very easy to install. With help from a fact sheet, anybody (even somebody who wouldn’t class themselves as a DIY-er) could make a good job of it. The flooring has been designed to make installation as easy as possible, and it because it just ‘clicks’ together, once started, a room can soon be covered. Therefore, if you’re looking to do a quick and spectacular transformation of a room, laminate flooring is definitely a good choice.

Laminate flooring: what is it?
OK, some technical information. Laminate flooring is made up of four layers – a base layer which stabalises the product, a second layer which has an HDF core, followed by a photographic paper image of the finish (oak wood planks for example) and then finally, an extremely hardwearing and durable laminate coating. The thinner the laminate (from 7mm) the cheaper it is, but all products these days are hardwearing and offer a lifetime guarantee or twenty year guarantee when specifically designed for the bathroom.

So whether you’re choosing a floor for a family home that you intend to live in for a long time, or refurbishing a property for rental or sale, you can be assured that laminate flooring is a good choice.

At first glance, it can sometimes be difficult to spot the difference between hardwoods and laminate flooring. The Laminate Flooring takes on the look of traditional floors while offering you easy installation and lasting durability. The look that appears to be a natural wood grain design is actually a thin layer (a photographic image) of decor paper under the resilience of a tough protective film that is glued and pressed to a high-density backing board. Laminate Flooring comes in an assortment of wood effect styles and shades, as well as ceramic and stone options.

Laminate flooring advantages are the easy installation, as well as its versatility easy maintenance and hardwearing layers, it also makes this floor an inexpensive option to give you the look and surface feel of the real wooden floors

Majority of Laminate Floors fit together with a clicking system. This is an extremely easy and fast way to fit. Also this makes it an easy option for the D I Y fan. Once the floor is correctly fitted you are able to walk on it straight away.

When you are laying Laminate Flooring over a concrete sub-floor you will first be required to lay down a (DPM) Damp Proof Membrane. This helps protects your Laminate Boards from moisture, and is usually around 5mm in thickness. Over the top of this you need to lay a foam underlay that helps even out any minor irregularities in the sub-floor, also it will act as a sound absorption.

Laminate Flooring has seen a massive growth in the past few years. Laminate has been around Europe for around 15 years.

How Laminate is graded.
Apart from the different warrantees that the manufacturers offer the other details to look for are the standard load and traffic categories. These are broken into two different categories and are as follows:-

Residential

Class 21 – Moderate loads, ideal for bedrooms etc.

Class 22 – Normal loads, ideal for living rooms etc.

Class 23 – Heavy loads, ideal for anywhere in the house (Bathrooms will be stated on individual products)

Commercial

Class 31 – Moderate loads. Hotel Rooms. Meeting Rooms, etc.

Class 32 – Normal loads. Offices, Waiting Rooms, etc.

Class 33 – Heavy loads. Large Offices, Shops, Public Buildings.

Connect Flooring Maintenance
Connect flooring is ready to use as supplied with a hard surface. You should not apply or use wax, polish or varnish. Do not clean the floor with impregnated clothes as these contain oil-based products, which will leave a residue on the floor. This residue will allow dirt to stick to it and make cleaning of the floor very difficult if not impossible.

Regular Dry Maintenance
You can clean the floor as often as you want with a soft brush and pan and the Richard Burbidge Active Dry Fibre mop. Connect flooring is manufactured specifically with this in mind, regular wet cleaning is totally unnecessary and can make cleaning harder and damage the floor.

Occasional Wet Cleaning
Depending on the degree of dirt and dust and the area of use your floor can be cleaned once a month or as little as once a year. Before wet cleaning remove as much dirt and dust as possible as described for regular dry cleaning. Use the Richard Burbidge floor cleaner dissolving 1 cap of cleaner with 5 litres of cold water. Always use a well wrung out cloth out even if you think there will not be enough water. Start at one end of the floor and once finished start from this opposite end and clean a second time, finishing in the original starting spot. By mopping a second time you will achieve a better distribution of cleaner as your mop or cloth may have had too little moisture towards the end of the floor during the first application. Rinse the floor by using a mop or cloth in cold water only again making sure the cloth or mop is well wrung out. Finish by wiping the floor with a clean dry cloth. Do not use other cleaners as these may contain abrasives, which can damage the floor.

Maintaining The floor
To keep the floor looking its best relative humidity should be between 55 to 60% and room temperature between 15 to 20°. Always remove liquids from the floor as quickly as possible, never use too much water during occasional wet cleaning and use effective doormats at all external doors to remove dirt, sand and water from shoes. Protect the floor form impact and scratching by using felt pads on the bottom of all furniture and chair legs. Never use wax, polish or other on Connect flooring and clean only with Richard Burbidge Floor cleaner, do not use other cleaners that may contain abrasives. Wheelchairs and castors should be made of soft rubber suitable for laminate floor use, if they are hard rubber do not use as thy will damage the floor.

What underlays do l need?
For all ground floor installations including both concrete and timber floorboard subfloors use the Richard Burbidge Polythene underlay and Richard Burbidge Connect foam underlay. The polythene underlay acts as a vapour barrier and prevents moisture from penetrating the backface of the flooring. Connect foam underlay helps level out the subfloor, reduces levels of sound, aids impact resistance and takes stress off the joints during and after installation. For first floor installations such as bedrooms over normal domestic areas such as living rooms and kitchens use the Connect foam underlay. For rooms over ground floor garages use both underlays, polythene first followed by the foam underlay. Woodfibre underlay is normally only necessary to level uneven wooden subfloors and should be used inconjunction with polythene and foam underlays.

How soon after purchase can l install the flooring?
Before installing Connect flooring it must be acclimatised for 48 hours in it’s original packing in the room it is to be installed. Stack the flooring flat in the centre of the room. Never stack the flooring on it’s edge or in the corner of a room or against an outside wall.

Can l fix Connect flooring directly to the subfloor?
No. Connect flooring should only ever be installed as a floating floor. It should never be fixed to the subfloor by fixing onto battens or gluing.

Why do l need an expansion gap?
Connect flooring is manufactured mainly from natural materials such as wood fibres. Because the humidity of the room can vary, it is essential that the floor has an expansion gap of at least 9mm around the full perimeter of the floor. The floor must be able to freely expand and contract on ALL sides. If the floor is installed against a restriction such as a door-frame, hearth or staircase riser, when it expands it will do so back on itself leading to ‘peaking’ joints and in extreme cases a bouncy effect as if there is a volume of air beneath the floor.

Do l need to have an expansion gap between rooms?
Yes, it essential that you leave an expansion gap across a door threshold/archway. Each room can have it’s own humidity and temperature that can differ from room to room. Never continue the flooring through doors and room thresholds. When installing in more than one room leave an 18mm expansion gap between the two floors (9mm for each floor) and cover the gap using the floor to floor threshold.

Can l use flooring in a bathroom?
Some of our Connect ranges can be used for bathroom installations. Extra care must be taken when using due to the increased risk of water damage. Make sure the bathroon has adequate ventilation and a relative humidity of 50 to 60% and a temperature of 15 to 20°C. The floor should be installed as normal, with both polythene and foam underlays and a minimum expansion gap of 9mm. All expansion gaps should be filled with a flexible bathroom silicone sealant which can then be covered with skirting or suitable coverstrip. To protect the floor from water damage use a drip mat when getting in and out of the bath and wipe up any water immediately. Under no circumstances should the toilet, bath or sink pedestal ever be screwed directly through the laminate flooring to the subfloor. As the floor must be able to expand and contract freely correct installation is to fix the pedestals to the subfloor and then install the flooring. The expansion gap around the pedestals can be covered using a coloured flexible bathroom silicone sealant.

Does the term laminate flooring include engineered wood products? What about real wood planks? If not then what are the differences between these three products?

Although all three are flooring materials, real wood flooring materials are made out of wood only, cut from trees, these are available factory finished or raw.

Engineered wood flooring material, this is often mistaken for laminate flooring material, but it is not, and the technical process that both materials undergo explains why.
The first layer and core of engineered wood flooring is commonly made of maple, oak or cherry. But the overall product is fortified with the use of technology coupled with better urethane adhesives.

Engineered wood products have become more popular than solid wood planks because they cost less, and they provide the same look, and can easily be re- sanded and re- finished unlike some solid wood planks. As for the installation of engineered wood flooring it is like laminate flooring as it can be stapled, free floated or glued down, which is not the case for real wood flooring.

What is laminate flooring materials composed of. Most quality laminate planks have three layers, with high density fiber board at the core. The first layer is usually clear and made of melamine plastic material that is fused to the core with the use of heat. Todays laminate flooring material can easily handle spillage, stains, chips, dents and scratches.

The second layer is called the design layer. It contains the image of ceramic tiles, stone or wood imprinted on high quality photographic paper. Some manufactures use a fine surface of wood for this layer.

For the better quality laminate flooring materials, expect to find a third layer, which gives the laminate added sturdiness and strength. The thickness of a laminate floor is not an indication of its quality, more attention should be given to the materials used and the process it under went and the pressure applied.
As to the third layer, melamine is more stable than paper, and has the ability to bring the boards back to their original position. During production all three layers are fused together with the use of intense heat, making them stronger and dense.

Laminate floors can easily absorb noise, this is because a padding material is generally placed under the laminate material. Wooden or wood floors do not have this option.
When real wood or engineered wood floors lose there luster, for maintenance they can be polished back to their natural state. Where laminate floors are concerned, you can purchase touch up and chip repair kits. You can also replace the damaged plank, hows that for maintenance.

Change of weather and heavy traffic do not change the quality of the design of laminate flooring. This makes it ideal for heavy traffic areas such as kitchens, dinning and living rooms.

On the other hand great care has to be taken in deciding where to place wood floors, the sun, rain, spillage and excessive traffic can effect the look of real and engineered wood flooring, causing discolouration over time. And while it is true that you can polish and wax wooden floors, you do not have to do a thing with your laminate flooring.
Inevitably, the choice of purchasing engineered wood flooring. Real wood flooring or laminate flooring , lies with you.

Engineered wood flooring has its own special merits. But laminate flooring materials have come a long way from being inferior substitutes. Todays laminate flooring materials have benefitted immensely from superior technology and state of the art processes. The consumer has a wider range of realistic designs, from stone, wood and ceramic to choose from. Laminate floors are durable, easier to maintain, install and repair, compared to the other two products.

When you plan for your floor, consider the quantity of traffic, the desing you want and also your finances.

With laminate flooring you will have the pleasure of aesthetically pleasing floors that also fulfil all you needs. We at flooring mania hope this information was helpful to you .

Underfloor Heating General Information

Richard Burbidge Connect flooring can be installed on top of ‘low temperature hot water’ underfloor heating systems only. It cannot be installed with electric floor heating or storage heaters. If you are in any doubt as to the suitability and compatibility of your underfloor heating system with laminated flooring please check with you underfloor heating supplier and/or manufacturer.

Richard Burbidge Lifestyle flooring is not recommended as suitable for underfloor heating installations.
Connect flooring should be installed as normal, as a floating floor with a minimum 9mm expansion gap around the full perimeter of the floor using the appropriate Richard Burbidge polythene and foam underlays with the exception of wood-fibre underlay which is unsuitable for use with underfloor heating.

Installation instructions for Connect are detailed on the back of flooring labels contained in every pack of Richard Burbidge flooring and must be used in conjunction with these instructions.

The subfloor must be structurally sound, clean, level and thoroughly dry. Boards should be left for a minimum of 2 days to acclimatise.
Concrete base floors

The type of concrete floor and the method by which it was installed when combined with the floor heating, must comply with the instructions of the suppliers of both the concrete and underfloor heating.
To obtain an even temperature over the whole floor area, the maximum distance between the heating elements must not exceed 30cm. The depth of the pipes should be defined by the underfloor heating suppliers.

The concrete must be sufficiently dry, maximum 1.5 % CM method, before the laminate flooring is installed. Wait a minimum of 21 days after the concrete floor has been laid before switching on the floor heating, and run the floor heating for at least 14 days before installing the laminated flooring, in temperature increments of max 5oC. Run the heating at 50 % capacity for 14 days and 100 % for the last 2 days.

Underfloor Heating

The heating system should be switched off before installing the flooring. The maximum floor temperature should be 18oC. After installation, wait at least 24 hrs before switching the heating back on. This should be done in increments of 5oC daily, to a maximum contact temperature of 28oC. Please note that the maximum hot water temperature should not exceed 50oC.

Always reduce and increase the temperature in increments at the end and beginning of the heating season/period.

It is important that the relative air humidity is not too dry during the heating period/season. At 18-22oC (64-71oF) there should be a guaranteed relative humidity of 50%. If necessary a humidifier should be installed.

A pre-heating report should be drawn up, following the advice and instructions of the system/heating installer. This should be kept for future reference. During the heating season open joints between panels can occur and this must be accepted.