When choosing laminate floor coverings always go for a quality product like Armstrong Swiftlock laminate flooring so that you can be sure of a beautiful finish for your floor. You might think that you would save money by buying cheap laminate but the difference in the final result will be like chalk and cheese. The Swiftlock laminate floor will have a sheen and beauty only equaled by expensive hardwood flooring whereas the cheap laminate flooring will look like a plastic coating you attached to your floor.
Swiftlock brand is owned by company Armstrong which has has good reputation for producing all kinds of quality flooring and you can trust them to stand by the 25 to 30 year guarantee that they offer on their laminated flooring.
Swiftlock laminate takes its name from the system of clicking and “locking” the laminate planks into place which needs no glue and creates a “floating floor”. You will find you can cover your whole floor very quickly with this system (although you will still have some tricky areas to fit around doors which you will get with all systems). If you are fairly capable in working with wood in jobs around the house you should have little difficulty in installing your floor.
Laminate : flooring for everyone!
If you are thinking of buying Swiftlock Plus bear in mind that separate underlayment provides better sound absorption and moisture protection than flooring with an attached underlayment layer so consider if this is a the best choice for you.
Once installed a Swiftlock laminate provides a surface that is extremely tough as well as beautiful. The uppermost layer uses aluminum oxide to create a stain and scratch resistant surface then the various layers of each plank are fused together during manufacturing using extreme pressure to create an extremely stable surface that is resistant to warping and peeling even when wet. This means that you can use some Swiftlock laminate flooring even in places such as bathrooms and kitchens as well as conservatories which are unsuitable for solid wood flooring. Always check the product details before buying to make sure that you are buying suitable flooring. In any case, if you are installing laminate in an area which gets wet you need to seal around the edge of the floor with some kind of sealant for extra moisture protection. In a bathroom you need to use a glued seam (not floating) installation method to prevent water from seeping between the seams and causing the wood base to warp.
You will be used to seeing laminate floors which look like wood but while you are looking at the many options for wood-look flooring, both wide and narrow plank, offered in the Swiftlock range, you might also like to consider the natural stone look flooring which resembles materials such as traverine tile, marble and slate flooring. You may have dismissed these materials as being outside your price range but by installing Swiftlock laminate floors you could have the look for fraction of the price and without the cold feel that you often get with natural stone (or the tendency for everything to smash into smithereens that is dropped on it). Whether you prefer wood or natural stone, the designs are so realistic that they are difficult to distinguish from their natural counterparts.
