What is the difference between parquet and laminate

The most reliable and durable coating of rough concrete screed is a thick and long wood board. The unique texture in it is combined with a decent service life, which, with proper care, is about 100 years, and starting from $ 45 per m2 price tags. It is the latter that often becomes the reason to turn our eyes to cheaper substitutes, which are sometimes impossible to distinguish.

Parquet

This is the same array, only in the form of small bars. This approach made it possible to reduce the cost of flooring due to the possibility of processing knotted trunks unsuitable for the manufacture of lengthy building materials. After all, to create a bar with a length of 15 to 90 cm, a width of 3 to 12 cm and a thickness of only 15-25 mm is easier than choosing a board with dimensions of 200 * 20 cm.

The appearance of the parquet is influenced by the species of wood used in its manufacture. The cheapest will be knotty material of varieties AB and C from the local one, and the most expensive will be “higher” or “extra” from imported exotic wood. The size of the bars also affects the final cost - the larger they are, the higher the prices ($ 20-32 per m2).

Parquet belongs to the category of expensive piece materials. Therefore, they sometimes try to replace it with a multilayer cheaper analogue, in which only the front decorative surface is left of a natural tree. And although “piece parquet” is indicated on the price tag, this analogue does not have the durability and wear resistance characteristic of the array.

Laminate

A striking example of the progressiveness of the modern woodworking industry. Under the base panel is a stabilization structure - melamine impregnated paper. The “boards” are based on a thick layer of compacted fine-grained chips bonded with synthetic resin - an HDF board. The color and texture of the finished product is met by thick paper with a pattern applied to it. And the outer coating of this "cake" is a transparent protective layer. The final wear resistance of the laminate, which is indicated by two numbers, directly depends on the thickness and quality of the overlay:

• the first - destination, is divided into household (2) and commercial (3);
• the second is strength from the smallest (1) for places with low traffic, to high resistance to abrasion at very high loads (4).

It should be understood that the stronger the laminate, the more expensive it is. Price tags are limited to a range of $ 4 to $ 50 per m2, while certified products cost from $ 8-12.

Parquet board

Another layered “pie”, different from the previous naturalness. The front side is made of thin (from 2 to 6 mm), coated with oil, varnish or wax of wood. Underneath it is a base of plywood or cheap wood up to 9 mm thick. The wrong side is represented by a compensation layer, also made of wood. A characteristic feature of such a board is the mutually perpendicular arrangement of fibers in adjacent balls, which helps to preserve the geometry during operation and to prevent deformation of individual elements of the floor covering. Price range: $ 20-50 per m2.

Key differences

Laminate looks very similar to its natural counterparts, but it does not lend itself to cosmetic repairs: if any of the lamellas is damaged, it will have to be completely replaced. Therefore, experts recommend buying it with a small margin. Parquet and board in this regard are more profitable - not only are they more durable, but they can also be updated as necessary. This process is called looping and involves the discovery of deeper layers after removing 1-2 mm of the “tired” and contaminated surface, which is then re-treated with protective agents.

Installation of a laminate flooring and a board is much easier than assembling requiring gluing to the parquet subfloor. And they don’t need polishing, which compares favorably with the last option. The panels assembled from lamellas or boards visually practically do not differ from each other, but they have different moisture resistance and the ability to absorb sounds - in this regard, natural wood wins. Under the laminate, it is necessary to lay a soundproofing substrate.

Under the parquet it will not be possible to lay the “warm floor” system; it is more prone to deformation than analogues due to temperature or humidity. Another advantage is the absence of toxic substances in the structure of the bar. Thanks to this, owners can be sure of the environmental friendliness of their floors - you just need to choose the right adhesive and protective compounds. But in the manufacture of boards or laminate unscrupulous manufacturers can use toxic substances. For this reason, before purchasing these materials, you must familiarize yourself with quality certificates.