Laminate Floor Styles

If laminates looked fake the last time you checked, it's time to check again. Today's laminates are looking better and better, and often can't be identified until very closely examined.

Because of the growing popularity of laminates, manufacturers are creating an increasing array of traditional, rustic, and exotic wood designs, as well as countless options for stone tile designs. Many even have the dimensional texture of the real thing.

Although some of the most popular laminates have rustic or historic wood grain patterns, the best sellers over the last couple of years have been the natural stone look-a-likes, particularly slate and tumbled tile varieties.

Installation Types
Laminate floors come in four varities, based on the method of installation.

Glueless Laminate Flooring
No mess, glueless installation makes these floors quick and easy-to-install.

They come in a variety of ceramic and wood designs and colorations.

Some manufacturers offer a real, hardwood veneer instead of a printed top layer. These floors look amazingly real.

Glueless floors come in both planks and squares. A thin, plastic underlayment is needed to seal out moisture from below.  This underlay helps the floor float freely over the subfloor.

You may also choose to add a vapor barrier or noise reduction underlay before installing the laminate flooring.

Laminate Flooring with Attached Underlay
These floors are the same as the glueless laminate floors described above except that they have an attached underlayment to reduce noise levels.

Glued Laminate Flooring.
These floors are the original laminate floors that require a special formulated glue to be applied to the tongue and groove of each plank.

Once the glue is dried, the planks are almost impossible to pull apart. These floors are offered in both planks and squares.

Pre-glued laminate flooring.
These floors create no mess because the glue is already applied to the tongue and grooves which makes these floors quick and easy-to-install.

A thin, plastic underlayment is needed to seal out moisture and prevent the glue from sticking to the substrate.

Moldings

Laminate moldings affect the overall style and give your room a beautiful finished look.

Moldings are important because they cover the space that is allowed for the flooring to expand and move naturally on top of the subfloor, and they also help with the transition to adjacent floors.

Most manufacturers offer coordinating moldings for all styles and colors for any laminate flooring you choose.

However, be aware that moldings for laminates are slightly larger than their wood or ceramic tile counterparts.

The Step Down Stairnose is a coordinating piece providing the proper transition for all the steps in your home.

A Reducer Strip is the transitional piece the installers use to connect the laminate with another type of floor covering such as vinyl, thin ceramic tile, or low-pile carpeting.

An End Molding or Carpet Reducer is used as a transition from laminate floors to different flooring surfaces when the reducer does not allow enough height, such as with high-pile carpet or thick ceramic tile.

T-Molding is commonly used in doorways to join two laminate floors in adjoining rooms. It's also recommended when making transitions from a laminate floor to another floor that is approximately the same height.

Finally, a Quarter Round may be installed wherever the laminate floor meets the wall or baseboard.