Classes of resistance to wear of laminated plastic

Laminated plastic has many features which are taken into account by a customer when choosing it: it is picture, thickness and type of joint. In order to make laminated plastic with good sound isolation which fits the interior, is convenient in assembling serve long time resistance to wear must be taken into account.

According to the modern European standards there are 7 types of laminated plastic measured by resistance to wear, that is 7 classes. Their marking is done not by the straight gradation but with its peculiarities, which make gaps. Laminated plastic becomes more and more diffedernt, and who knows how far it may go.

In order to define the class of resistance to wear of laminated plastic it is subjected to three-typed abrasive impact: till emergence of scratches, till rubbing of the upper melanin layer for more than half or till its full rubbing. Registered amount of turnrounds during such testing relates to the allowed number interval according to the European norm (EN 13329), and such laminated plastic is given a class. There are two groups of classes of laminated plastic – covers for home use and covers for commercial use.

Younger classes of laminated plastic -21-23 – are intended for use in living premises. Term of life – app. 5-6 years, price is pleasant. Thickness of the board – 6-7 mm.

Class 21 – little used class with term of life for one-two years. This laminate will fit for bedroom, storeroom, but not more.

Class 22 – useful floor for medium home loads. This is living-room and children’s room. Such cover must be changed in 3-4 years depending on intensity of use.

Class 23 – the most popular laminated plastic of “home ones”. Not only prior but has almost pushed out its smaller ones. It may be placed in kitchens and corridors, even door steps may be fitted with such cover.

If you are interested in such laminated plastic which will serve for 6-7 years it is worth for you to pay attention to commercial classes of laminated plastic. They are 4 – from 31 till 34. If in a shop you find laminated plastic with the class 40 you deal with the goods the producer of which decided on a risky marketing course because by the European norms there is no class higher than 34, and it has been introduced recently.

Class 31 – commercial premises with low level of use. It can be a conference hall for seldom meetings, a waiting room, a discussion room. At home (bedroom or storeroom) it will stay for 10-12 years.

Class 32 – medium intensity of pacing. These are office premises. It is rather expensive but long term and popular material. In the office it will stay for 3-5 years, at home – 12-15 years. One may pace in rough shoes, the office chair will not harm it.

Class 33 – high intensity of use that is characteristic for shops. If one uses it at home it may stay for 20 years. Sometimes lifetime guarantee is given for it.

Class 34 - ultrastrong. This is novelty for clubs, restaurants, storehouses. Both beautiful and longterm. Naturally, stage of price will impress you, too. But if you are conservative and ready to change your floors in every 30 years it will be your most successful investment.

                           Surface of laminate.

 Surface of laminate that we can see includes two layers – melamine cover and paper with texture pattern. It is told just about them in this article.

 By the look surface of laminate can be glanced or frosted, homogenous or textured. By the feel – smooth and structured. Besides, some producers cover surface of laminate with antibacterial cover.

 We will tell you about the most widespread types of surface of laminate.

 Usual surface – typical cover of laminate with homogenous smooth layer with silky shine, at light there will be seen homogenously painted, through the whole square, lines imitating wooden pores.

 Natural surface – it is the same usual, but with pores in the cover which exactly repeat the pattern of wood which laminate imitates. Such cover looks fresh and quite resembles parquet.

 Textured surface has a little more difficult decor. Its upper layer repeats not only a pattern of the imitating wood but also with the help of different thickeners makes visibility of projective wooden fibers, the same as in the paper layer. Such cover completely imitating natural wooden board is also called “brushed”. If laminate renders stone surface texture will be corresponding visibility and tangibility.

 Relieved laminate on its surface has longish lines which do not repeat the pattern of wood or ceramic tiles, but evenly creates the outer structure of surface.

 The surface in the country style or rustic allows laminate to successfully imitate the manually made parquet – roughness and unevenness form fresh look of natural wood.

 Antiquated surface looks as boards which have been roughly processed by a metallic scraper and have stayed in the open for a long time and have been affected by the sun, water or cold. Their surface have become quite uneven, and even a scraper did not smoothed completely all changes. Such surface of laminate will completely repeat the pattern of the imitable old wood.

 Surface of laminate can also look as oiled boards. It shines and differs in frosting.

 Waxed surface also successfully imitates laminate. Mild and even shine is provided by ideal smoothness of “wooden” surface the pores of which are filled with oil.

Varnished laminate will look as expensive, cared parquet. Its surface can be evenly glanced or can have silky shine.

As one can see, variety of surfaces will allow you to create the necessary mood, comfort or style in a premise. Laminate is rich of such chances. 

                    Structure of laminate board

Laminate board of good quality by the feel and look often is the precise copy of parquet. The only difference will be lifetime of parquet and laminate covers, but on the condition of correct maintenance of parquet that will include regular covering with varnish or oil, polishing, scraping and other labour-consuming processes which will fill the house with sharp chemical smells. Who needs such inconveniences when qualitative laminate will serve 20 years and without similar crafts?

 Laminate successfully imitates wood of different species due to paper and furniture foil which act as decorative layer, as well as due to artificially made roughness and projections in melanine surface. Laminate can also imitate stone or depicts ceramic flags, or simply abstraction. But traditionally in the most cases laminate will look as the precise copy of parquet.

 We already mentioned about paper and melanine layers, but they are not the only ones in the structure of laminate. This floor cover contains 4 layers of different functionality:

 -the upper protective layer consists of melanine and acryl resin, it was that gave the title of the whole board. Lamina – it is thin plate, thin sheet. Correspondingly, laminate – it is floor cover protected by the thin sheet of melanine. Besides, layered structure of laminate allows comparing it with a layered pie. The upper layer protects against the impact of temperature, moisture, abrasion and other household impacts. Some producers cover all laminate board with thick polythene which contains dioxide aluminum or corundum. In such a way, maximum resistance to wear of laminate board is achieved.

 Resistance to wear is that determines the laminate class. The higher the results of Taber test the higher the class. Taber test determines the amount of turns of abrasive instrument till scraping of the protective layer. These data may concern not only full scraping but also partial, therefore it is necessary to ask the seller these data. Marking IP will mean the amount of turns till the first features of wear, FP – till full scraping. AT – it is average between IP and FP for the particular type of laminate.

 -decorative layer or texture – it is the specially impregnated paper or furniture foil with wood, stone or ceramic imitation. It is an aesthetic component which is significant in selection of laminate for ready interior. If parquet board that is made of fir or mahogany differ in price greatly, laminate – not greatly.

-middle layer of laminate, its natural base – it is pressed wooden plate of type HDF (wooden fibered plate of high density) or MDF (medium density). It is analogue to the well-known abbreviation DVP, in seldom cases DSP, but with additional indications of density of pressing. The thicker will be this layer the durable and lasting laminate board will be, as well as better acoustic insulation and less hollowness. Total thickness of laminate board will make from 6 till 12 mm.

-the lower layer – paper impregnated with resin or plastic. The function of this layer –to protect DVP or DSP from moisture, as well as to give additional hardness to the whole laminate board.

In such a way laminate panel is protected against moisture from up and down, but places of fastening still stay open for harmful impact. In some types of laminate which you will recognize by the greenish colour of ends, moisture resistant impregnation is issued through the whole surface.

Form of laminate board can be from square (30x30cm) till strongly extended rectangular length of which achieves one and a half meters. Selection of geometrical parameters differs depending on the producer’s company.