Children's laminate

If parents are making repairs in the children's room, then they will certainly face the problem of choosing a floor covering. In this article, we will look at the distinctive features of children's laminate.

Advantages and disadvantages

Of the variety of floor coverings, laminate is far from the first place, but not the last. However, it is better in comparison with parquet and linoleum - to prove this, below are the positive and negative aspects of such a coating.

Pros of laminate:

Decent price. Compared to parquet, the price of laminate is cheaper.
A varied selection. Thanks to the different colors, you can achieve an excellent imitation of wood flooring.
Simple installation. "Lock" fasteners during installation will ensure reliable fastening of the lamellas to each other.
High quality. Despite the fact that the laminate belongs to artificial multilayer materials, it is made according to European standards.
Excellent durability. Lamellas 31-33 class withstand various mechanical stress. They will never have dents or scratches.
Ease of cleaning. Cleaning is a pleasure with this surface.
Possibility to make underfloor heating. A warm base can always be laid under this surface.
Abrasion resistance. The texture and pattern on such a surface will remain for several years.
Sustainability to high temperatures.
Does not react with chemical elements.
Reliably imitates natural material.
Children's version with pictures is interesting and colorful - the variety of designs is limited only by imagination.

Negative sides:

Non-moisture resistant laminate lasts for a relatively short time - about 5 years.
A sharp or heavy object can damage the top coat.
Improper maintenance of the laminate may cause light, indelible stains - frequent wet cleaning damages the coating.
Proper installation does not guarantee normal operation. The fact is that the seams will be leaky anyway. And this means that moisture will periodically enter the holes, which over time will lead to the mobility of the lamellas, and the coating will begin to creak.
Water-filled non-moisture-resistant laminate will swell and need to be replaced.

Kinds

There are quite a few types of laminate.

Depending on the design, there are:

Classic tree. Initially, laminate flooring was made as an alternative to parquet. A well laid floor is in no way inferior to parquet flooring. Oak, maple or birch - the imitation is excellent.
Leather. Imitation of crocodile skin is quite an expensive pleasure. More suitable for office or living room decoration.
Metallic style. High-tech style is an innovation that is popular with teenagers. Metallic shine in everything and the absence of any decor is a distinctive feature that young people like. High-tech flooring is suitable for a teenager's room. It can also be used in the kitchen or living room.
Stone mood... The calm and cold-looking interior style is complemented by laminate, which does not give off cold to the touch, but, on the contrary, adds warmth and comfort to the feet. Suitable for rooms, living rooms, kitchen or bathroom.
Design option. This style differs from previous options in exclusivity and grace. There are a lot of colorful hues and unpredictable storylines here. The variety of models is so amazing that you can find anything you want: landscapes, a map of the world, the ocean, abstractness and even fingerprints. Children will also enjoy the most interesting specimens: laminate with geometric shapes, alphabet, arithmetic or heroes from famous cartoons.

Separation of the laminate according to the texture of the outer layer:

Classic style wooden surface. This coating is smooth. However, to emphasize the structure of the wood, dashes and dimples are applied to the top layer. They can even be seen with the naked eye.
Aged tree... The surface of such a laminate is distinguished by smoothed irregularities applied to it, because the tree ages over time in the open air. This is how the manufacturers imitate the state of the wooden structure.
Glossy look... It resembles boards that are richly varnished. The surface creates an atmosphere of cleanliness and comfort in the house.
Texture... The surface follows the texture of the wood. Embossed protrusions, which are slightly visible on the coating, help to verify this.
Relief composition... Imitation of the roughness of the wood component.
Natural composition... Imagine a wooden surface with 1-2 layers of varnish applied to it. Here you can see not only the pattern of the wooden structure, but also the porosity.
Shea tree... It is a matte laminate, richly coated with linseed oil. It is a smooth floor with no visible pores with even planks.
Waxed laminate... The product is presented in the form of a waxed board. There is a feeling of warmth and comfort.
Country... The surface of this type of laminate resembles a tree, as if it had been slightly cut off with a plane. A large relief appears, however, slightly smoothed. Suitable for country houses.

Difference in geometric shape:

Rectangular option. Most of the laminate flooring is produced in the form of boards 1.2-2 meters long. In principle, it is convenient if it is needed to cover a large room.
Tiled option. To create more complex compositions, manufacturers began to produce products in the form of square tiles. The cost of this option is more expensive than the previous one, but the installation is easier. And the substrate is not required.

Difference in load. This distinction will be discussed in a separate chapter of our article.

Splitting by connection:

Initially, the lamellas were bonded with glue. Then the manufacturers came up with a locking method of fastening. There are two types of this mount:

Lock Lock... The connection takes place due to a figured protrusion on one side of the board and a corresponding recess on the other. Installation takes place using the connection of this structure. For a reliable fastening, it is additionally necessary to tap the joint with a hammer with a rubber tip.
Click lock... The connection also takes place using protrusions. However, the technology is slightly different. You need to put one board to another at an angle of 45 degrees and slightly press the lock. Thus, the connection will take place in one click.

Marking

Any product is labeled. So, on the packaging of the laminate, you can see some letters and numbers.

There are two numbers on the package indicating the load capacity:

The first number indicates the purpose of the laminate: 2 - for residential premises, 3 - for commercial.
The second number indicates the load itself: 1 - light, 2 - medium, 3 - high, 4 - increased strength.

The abrasion level is also marked. It is designated by the letters AC and numbers from 1 to 5.

Also, the packaging is coded to determine anti-slip, or rather the type of surface:

SQ - glossy.
BS - matte.
SM - semi-matt.
PE is a slightly rough surface.
PR - wood imitation.

Colors and prints

Below are the optimal colors for a children's room floor:

Green. This is the best option for flooring a children's room. This color not only soothes but also refreshes. The child's nervous system will be fine.
Blue. This color calms the body and relaxes the muscle structure after a hard day. It also lowers appetite and dulls pain. Scientists have proven that in some cases, the blue palette helps to reduce the heat in humans.
Blue. It is a soothing color palette to help your child focus. Suitable for hyperactive children. However, with prolonged exposure, this color can cause depression.
Beige, gray or white - universal colors that will not be a bright accent, but will serve as a neutral background for other spectacular elements.

A wonderful combination of color palette would be a combination of shades of green, white and blue. Such an ensemble is unable to cause either aggression or irritation, but only helps to concentrate and contributes to good performance.

Fashion dictates the rules, and now the olive palette and light tones of beech, birch and pear wood are especially popular.

Children also like the floor with interesting patterns. This can be a continuation of the general interior in a pirate, school or cartoon style, drawings with animals: ducks, kittens, or calm soothing natural sketches.

The most common mistake parents make is choosing flooring in bright colors. This approach attracts the child's attention and prevents him from focusing on important business.

How to choose?

Buying a laminate for a boy's or girl's room is a responsible event. Therefore, his choice should be based on some principles, which are described below.

Strength... Pay attention to the strength class of the product. Wear resistance should be in the range of 31-33. This category of material will withstand the heaviest loads, and even more active games of kids.
Water resistance. The child will definitely spill liquid on the laminate, sooner or later. Therefore, protect yourself from unnecessary expenses and purchase a waterproof laminate. If you refuse such an option, then it is necessary to cover the butt and lock joints with a water-repellent compound.
Connections. Locks must have metal plates. Such a floor can be easily assembled by yourself and also dismantled.
Environmentally friendly product. Cheap products are poor quality indicators. This product should not be purchased as it contains harmful impurities. In high-quality panels, the content of wood species should be at least 80%, and the remaining components should be completely harmless.
Smooth surface... If you are purchasing products for a small child who is just taking the first steps, then the smooth surface will become a real insurmountable problem for him.

How to find out the amount of material required

There are only two laminate installation methods:

Castle method of laying.
Laying with glue.

Laying is usually done perpendicular to the window. But now they have learned to lay the material at an angle of 45 and 30 degrees to visually increase the space. However, this approach implies not a small consumption of the facing product. Before laying the laminate, you need to do the calculation work.

Instructions on how to properly lay the laminate can be seen in the following video.

This step involves calculating the required styling material. To do this, you need to know the area of the room with all its protrusions and the area of one laminate element.

Having calculated these values, you need to divide one area by another and round up. One package usually contains 8 boards, but it is better to check this on the store's website or in the store itself. Divide the result by the number of boards in one package and get the required number of boxes.

Do not forget about various incidents that can occur during installation. Stock up on extra 2-3 packs. When laying diagonally, the consumption of the laminate increases by more than 20 percent.

After purchasing the material, let it rest at room temperature for two days, after which you can start laying work.

Care

This material is very easy to clean. Drops of paint or crayon marks can be completely removed with a regular damp cloth. You can refuse additional cleaning agents - with such a floor you don't need them. There is one caveat: you cannot use sponges with a metal base - they will leave scratches on the floor surface.