How to choose a laminate flooring?

Plinth is an important element in decorating a room. With it, you can seal the gap between the laminate and the wall. They also cover unevenly cut wallpaper or not fully painted wall. Such a small element as a plinth can change the impression of the laminate or the room as a whole.

Before you lay the floor, you must remember that the laminate is a floating material. In order to avoid problems, a gap is left between the laminate and the wall. Otherwise, the material may rest against the wall and swell, forming bumps along the entire perimeter.

In order to hide the gap between the laminate and the wall plinth is needed. It can not be fixed to the floor. Mounts need to do only on the wall.

When choosing floor baseboards you need to knowthat the laminate combined plinth of materials such as wood, plastic or MDF:

• Wood baseboards are made most often from alder. Less commonly used pine and oak. In the manufacture using a solid array or veneer. Before choosing such a plinth, you must remember that they are not bent at all.

In rooms with rounded shapes they will not fit. And when you try to lay this do not on the plane, formed a gap. This element of the interior is characterized by good durability and environmental friendliness. The cost is high, while without treatment it is affected by moisture. Only the processing of paints and varnishes will protect parts from moisture and prolong their service life.

When choosing, it is also worth watching that there are no chips or protruding fibers on the surface. If they are, then the part is made either of poor quality or of poorly dried wood.

• Plastic baseboards are made of PVC. This option is considered the easiest to install and maintain. It is not necessary to handle paint, it is very easy to clean, has a beautiful appearance. Often such parts imitate wood, less often other surfaces. The main advantage is low price.The main disadvantage is the fragility and inability to transfer mechanical loads and impacts.

• Laminated plinth consists of MDF covered with film. Such a plinth has an average price. It has good moisture resistance, but serves less plastic analog. Much less often due to the characteristics of materials, price and incompatibility with laminate, aluminum or ceramic products are used.

The choice of the size of the plinth often depends on the height of the room. In tall and spacious rooms you cannot put thin and narrow details - they will spoil the geometry of the room and the whole interior of the room. In such a room is better to put parts with a large width. In small rooms or in rooms with low ceilings, it is best to use a plinth 5-7 cm high.

Often the question of installing skirtings confuses people.

It becomes difficult to choose the right color and the right material:

• If the goal is to choose the most budget method, then the choice will be made in favor of plastic products. Due to the fact that manufacturers make plastic of any color that imitates many materials, problems with the combination of baseboards and the floor will not stand.It is also worth considering that in such products there is a cable channel in which you can hide all the wires.
• When choosing a natural option in the room will be installed wooden parts. They have high density, beautiful appearance and high price.

An intermediate option would be the choice of plinth from MDF. Very often the color of such an element is chosen not under the floor, but under the wall. Such plinth laid in the bathroom, in combination with tile. Such products have high moisture resistance relative to analogues. However, they have the shortest service life.

Laminate flooring is not rigidly bonded to the subfloor. It is also worth considering the fact that with an increase in humidity or a change in temperature, the laminate can expand.

The technology of installation of the plinth to the laminate has its own characteristics:

• From the styling tool will be needed: a tape measure, a saw, a drill, an electric screwdriver and a cross screwdriver.
• The most important thing that you need to know before installation is that the baseboard cannot be fixed to the floor covering. Otherwise, as the laminate expands, both the plank and the laminate can warp. Therefore, it is necessary to fasten parts only to the wall.

• Now the installation of slats on the wall is done using clips. There is a large selection of such fasteners, differing in strength and price. When choosing expensive and high-quality fasteners, you can be sure that when replacing the old plinth with a new one, you will not need new clamps.

The procedure for installing the baseboard in this way is very simple and consists of three stages:

• Holes are made and plastic dowels are inserted into them.
• Self-mounted clips.
• On the clips snap slats.

If, however, tighten the hardware too much, deformation of the parts may occur.

There is another option with which you can fix the baseboard on the wall with your own hands - using screws or dowels-nails. The method is used only for plastic or MDF parts. However, this option is not practical.

Laminate has been installed for several decades, and plastic parts can wear out. Replacing the plinth, fixed with a screw or dowel, is considered less accurate. In addition, on the wall there will be many ugly holes from hardware.Begin installation preferably from the corner of the room. It is necessary to move clockwise.

With the help of these tips, you can easily mount the baseboards.

The color of the plinth and the color of the laminate should be in the same range.

The choice of color of both elements will depend on the chosen interior of the room:

• If you want to slightly expand the boundaries of the room, it is necessary to choose light colors. The color of the plinth is no exception. Their main drawback is the march of parts.
• With dark floors and light walls, you can choose a light plinth. But before that it is necessary to think over all the details on the compatibility of colors.
• Now such a move is gaining popularity as the choice of dark baseboards in a room with a light floor. Hue plinths, according to the designers, should match the color and shade of the furniture in the room. Then such a plinth will look spectacular.

Usually the baseboards are bought together with the laminate together, in the same store. So you can accurately choose the desired color, shade and drawing details. If the plinth is bought last, then when buying them it is best to have a piece of laminate with you for the exact selection of the desired shade and texture.

The simplest and most successful variants can be considered as such, when the color of the floor covering and the plinth completely coincides. Also, their color is not selected on the laminate, and on the wallpaper, but much less.

When ignorance or the complexity of the choice is better to take a light or white baseboard - it is much better combined with different types of interiors. Dark is more often combined with dark rooms.

The variant with the selection of parts to match the color of the door and trim. With this method, you can also create a single composition. Bold design moves allow you to create a unique pattern in detail. But such situations are rare, because there is a great chance to make a mistake with color, and instead of decorating a room, you can get a spoiled interior and a sense of room geometry.

Laminate, like any floor covering, requires a beautiful frame. Therefore, the plinth is ideal.

For information on what type of floor plinth to choose, see the following video.