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Flooring Questions? |
One of the fastest growing types of flooring today are floating floors. These have gained popularity mostly because they are much easier for a homeowner to install themselves. If you are considering buying a floating floor you should be sure to understand them before doing so. The flooring professor will give you information and resources so you can make the right choice!
First and foremost, the most common reason is how easy installing floating floor can be for the average homeowner. Some other considerations are for example that most floating floors can be installed over nearly any flat and secure surface. some examples are... ceramic tile, concrete slabs, vinyl flooring, and it can also be installed where there is a slightly higher moisture content. Another of the benefits of using floating floors is that the floor boards are connected to themselves, not the sub floor making the whole floor move independently as one "Unit", thus the seams between the floorboards are less likely to open up and any movement is only shown around the edges of the room which is hidden by the baseboard or 3/4 round molding on top.
When floating floors first came around they were laminate floors. Laminate flooring is a composite material with a plastic laminate top layer and is usually about 5/16 to 3/8 inch thick in total. Although they were the first, they are now by far not the only version of floating floors. a list of the floating floors we have used is:
A composite core board with a picture and top plastic laminate wear layer compressed together under pressure. This product offers a variety of board widths today as well as a huge choice of qualities, colors, textures, and "looks" you can find much more in depth information on this type of floating floor in our laminate flooring section.
A layered engineered floor made up of usually two layers of wood cross grained in a "plywood" fashion and a finished layer made from usually between 1/8" and 3/16" of real hardwood in whatever species is selected. These boards usually come in widths of 7 1/2"-8" in width and are usually 7' to 8' long, they are available today in many species, colors and varieties. For more in depth information on Floating (longstrip) wood floors please visit our Wood Flooring section.
This type of wood flooring is similar to longstrip, but usually will will be individual planks (similar to solid hard wood flooring). it will also usually have more layers that make up the base of the product than longstrip will, and the board lengths can be random, or up to 4 feet long as a general rule. Recently many of the engineered wood floor manufacturers have included an option to install their product with the floating method (traditionally it has been installed with staples or was glued to the subfloor. For more in depth information on engineered wood flooring please visit our hard wood flooring section.
A composite core usually with a cork backing of about 1/8 to 1/4" and a top cork finish layer of about 1/4" to 3/16" and in most cases it has a urethane or varnish wear layer on top. The planks are often 3' long and 12" wide. For more information on cork flooring please visit our cork flooring section
yes, that's right! One of the most respected manufacturers of linoleum flooring today has introduced a floating version of their fabulous product! it comes in several colors and consists of a composite core with a linoleum top layer. They are available in 1'x3' planks and are easy to install. For more information on linoleum flooring please visit our linoleum floor section.
AGAIN That's right! This is not a mistake! There is a unique product available that installs like a laminate but is ceramic tile. This product consists of a core with real ceramic tile attached. it comes in several colors, there is real granite available in a couple colors also. it has an innovative grout system and this product is very easy for the do it yourselfer to install. For more information on this product please visit our laminate floor section (even though it isn't really laminate flooring).
As you can see there are many floating floor options available today. please carefully explore the pros and cons of the type of floating floor you are considering buying before you make your decision. No matter which type of floating floor you choose to purchase (if any) we know you will find The flooring professor the invaluable tool you have come to expect to make the right choice!
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