From The Protective To The Backing Layer: Purposes And Capabilities

By Author: Kathy Carbone
Total Articles: 18
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In previous years, many people thought of flooring components as massive pieces of rock, timber, or tiles being cemented to the pavement. That meaning has long been changed with the invention of light laminated flooring during the late 1970s. With these flooring components, you just saved yourself some bucks on floor tile cement and sticky putty.

Laminate floors, which are also called floating wooden tile in the United States and Canada, were made by a Swedish flooring company in 1977, a testament to their practice of placing laminate on several materials since the beginning of the 1920s. During that time, the pieces still required adhesives to be put in place. It was not until 1996 that a new type of laminate flooring was created—a type of flooring that didn't require bonding cement. A typical laminate flooring item consists of 5 layers, certified by the North American Laminate Flooring Association.

Defense layer: This layer at the topmost surface is the "laminate" component of this flooring product, safeguarding the floor from scratches as well as spills. The ultra-thin film is basically a low or high-gloss ...
... transparent layer made from aluminum oxide, the very same chemical utilized in developing aluminum metal. Think of this as the plastic film for a booklet.

Decorative layer: Just under the first laminate is the decorative layer where the design of the flooring is placed. Suppliers claim it's a plain picture of a template printed on multiple sheets of paper packed in with melamine resin. The aesthetic layer gives the laminate flooring its aesthetic appeal, allowing suppliers to come up with unique designs of this flooring.

Substrate core: Made from high-density fiberboard, the interior of the laminate flooring provides laminate flooring its toughness. The fiber board is designed like a jigsaw puzzle, as a lock and click system places the floor covering pieces firmly. Laminate flooring floats above the outer surface to allow it to expand and conract when it becomes warm or cool in a certain place. A small (1-10 millimeter gap) is required in between the floor coverings and any kind of fixed structure such as walls—this makes it possible for the flooring to adjust without being hindered.

Backing layer: A melamine resin backing layer on laminate wood flooring helps make the floor stable and resist dampness. Resin is typically used for the backing layer, although other layers such as plastic and paper are available. Once the resin increases in size or contracts, it will connect the flooring to the surface, sticking to it like epoxy despite hallway traffic.

Underlayment: Required for any installation of laminated wood flooring Tampa has to offer, the underlayment may also function as a dampness shield. For further details on the layers of laminated wood floor coverings, you could go to the Association's website at NALFA.com.