laminate flooring - a cheap alternative to real wood flooring

Laminate flooring became very popular in the late eighties early nineties and swept the nation who went on a laminate floor frenzy.

The first laminate floors did not have a click system but a standard tongue and groove which meant that all the boards needed to be glued together.

Laminate floors were available from most high street stores including Ikea, Allders, House of Fraser and others.

Three strip laminate was the original flooring look and the floors were finished off with beading around the edges.

Now there are numerous styles of laminate floors including planked effect, V-groove (bevelled) boards, tile styled laminate and even fully waterproof laminate called Aquastep.

The aqua step laminate is made completely from plastic meaning it is completely safe with water and will not swell or chip. It has click together fittings making installation simple.

All laminates now come with the click fit system which means that DIY installation is simple.

Although many people tend to trade up to real wood flooring when renovating laminate floors are still a reasonable choice for many.