Where laminate is the smart answer
Not every room needs the premium floor. Bedrooms, studies, upstairs living, rentals between tenants, a first home being renovated in stages — laminate covers them in a convincing oak or blackbutt look for roughly half the money, and modern AC4 boards shrug off chair castors and dog claws better than their price implies. Getting the budget rooms done well is often what pays for the engineered boards downstairs.
The two rules of buying laminate
First: the AC rating is the product — AC3 for quiet rooms, AC4 for the household's main traffic, AC5 if it must take punishment. Second: water discipline — standard laminate's core swells if soaking wet, and a swollen joint is permanent. The water-resistant ranges buy forgiveness, not immunity. Follow both rules and laminate is a decade-plus of easy floor; ignore them and you've met the reason the category has critics.
Installed the same as our dear floors
Cheap boards don't excuse cheap installation — if anything they forgive less, being thinner over subfloor sins. Same process as every floating floor we lay: levelled substrate, proper underlay, real expansion gaps, undercut jambs, skirting or scotia finishing the perimeter, and the offcuts leaving with us. A modest board laid straight beats a premium board laid carelessly, every time and in every room.
Common questions
Do you supply the boards, or can I use my own?
Either. We supply quality AC-rated ranges and bring large samples to the measure, or we install boards you've already bought — same prep, same finishing. The fixed written quote itemises supply, installation and any subfloor work separately, so you can see exactly what you're comparing.
Is laminate any good, honestly?
Good laminate, yes — the wear surface is actually harder-wearing against scratches than many pricier floors, which is why rentals and busy family bedrooms suit it. The reputation damage came from bargain boards and wet mops. Buy AC4-rated or better, keep water sensible, and it performs.
Laminate or hybrid?
Price and crisp looks: laminate. Waterproofing: hybrid, no contest. If the room ever sees a wet floor — kitchens, entries, laundry runs — the step up to hybrid is worth making. Dry bedrooms and living rooms, laminate's value is hard to argue with.
Can laminate go in kitchens or bathrooms?
Bathrooms: no. Kitchens: only the water-resistant ranges, with honest expectations — standing water is still the enemy. This is the main place we'll steer you to hybrid instead, because a swollen joint line isn't fixable, only replaceable.
How long will a laminate floor last?
A well-installed AC4 board in a normal home: 10–20 years of presentable service. It can't be refinished, so its life is its wear layer — which is also why we leave you labelled spare boards for future repairs.
