So, be honest: how often do you walk in to someone's home that just got a laminate floor installed, stop, and say "Oh my god what is that !?". Okay, so no one does that, but I bet you're wondering now! Not many people think about flooring and laminate is not exactly new, so most really do not give a lot of thought as to what they're made of. However, there are always those of us that are curious so, if you are one of them, keep reading.
What's The Difference Between Laminate Floor And Pergo?
Let's get this out of the way: Pergo and laminate flooring is the same thing. You have to respect a brand that is a household name in an industry so competitive as flooring, but Pergo really is nothing more than a laminate floor brand. People tend to start calling things by their brand name, since that's what's mostly advertised, but calling laminate floors Pergo is akin to calling all sodas Coke or Pepsi. So, when someone says they have Pergo, you know that what they are really saying is laminate flooring, but I would not point that out since some people will just argue the matter.
Laminate Floors Are Not Real Hard Wood
But, at the same time, they kind of are. Although they are not hard wood, and there are ways to tell as much, there are some higher quality floors that you really must get down there with a magnifying glass to really be able to tell. There is, to be sure, real wood mixed in there as laminate flooring is based on a wood chip composite material, but that does not really tell you the whole story. If you can not tell if the floor is real wood or laminate, use your knuckles to knock on it. Laminate will give off a plastic sound tick, and wooden ones are more of a thunk or thud.
Laminate Floors Are Designed To Look Like Hard Wood Floors
In essence, a laminate floor is a picture of a hardwood floor, only pasted on to a much more hardy material. Laminated flooring excels at surviving the same conditions that make owners of hardwood floor hiss through their teeth in consternation. Scrapes, scratches, and scuffs are still possible, but much less likely, and a lot easier to repair if needed. In homes where there is a lot of kid or pet traffic, real wood floors are really becoming outdated and cumbersome by comparison.
Laminate Floors And Traditional Lamination
Yes, they are both derivatives of the same process, called lamination. Most people think that lamination is basically the act of putting some paper in some plastic, but that's a very watered down definition. If you were to put plastic around your cell phone and either glue the plastic or seal it with heat, you would have laminated your cell phone, which would be either ridiculous or hilarious, depending on the circumstances. In the case of laminate floors, the plastic surrounds and protects a photograph of wood which then sets, amusingly enough, on a base of wood chips. The result is almost all of the benefits of hard wood floors with few of the drawbacks.