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Laminate
Flooring Glossary
Acclimation - The 48-hour time period when
unopened packages of laminate flooring should be placed in the center
of the room where they are to be installed. The acclimation process allows the flooring to
stabilize to the room temperature; failure to do so can result in
the boards shrinking (creating gaps) or expanding (creating peaks).
Clic2Clic – Kronotex USA’s specially
developed tongue and groove joints that make it possible to snap
the individual planks together with a simple “click.”
Once joined, the planks form a single, fixed unit. |
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Door Jam Saw – Used to cut away a portion
of the door casing, allowing laminate planks to slide underneath.
End Molding – Used to make a transition between
floors of unequal heights. Examples: either wood or laminate to
carpet or vinyl.
Expansion – The floor’s reaction as
it responds to the room temperature and humidity. As temperature
or humidity rises, laminate flooring planks expand outward, which
is why the expansion gap is a critical part of laminate flooring
installation.
Floating Floor – A floor that is not nailed
or glued to the subfloor. Kronotex laminate floors maintain their
structure and stability from their expertly designed tongue-and-groove
Clic 2 Clic locking system.
Laminate Flooring – Extremely durable flooring
comprised of four layers: a stabilizing under-layer, a dense fiberboard
core, a decorative paper layer containing the wood grain or tile
design, and a clear, protective wear layer.
Main Light Source – The main light source
of a room is often the sun coming through the main window in a room.
Laminate flooring should be installed parallel to the main light
source in a room to create the most flattering look.
Pull Bar – Installation tool used for tightening
the tongue and groove joints.
Quarter-Round Molding – Used to accent the
transition and cover the gap between the floor and the baseboard.
Especially useful for retrofitted floors where the baseboard is
typically not removed.
Reducer – Used to make a transition from
a laminate or wood floor to ceramic tile, thresholds and cabinets.
Spacers – Small triangular plastic pieces
used to maintain the required expansion gap around the laminate
floor, allowing room for expansion.
Stagger – When installing laminate flooring
planks, you should stagger the joints by using a two-thirds length
plank to start the second row and a one-third-length plank to start
the third. Repeating the same stagger throughout can call attention
to the joints by creating a floor-wide pattern. Staggering planks
more randomly helps the joints submerge into the hue and grain of
the surface.
Stair Nosing – Used to provide a finished
look to stair risers.
Subfloor – The floor laminate planks are
to be installed on top of; generally wood or concrete. See installation
instructions for subfloor preparation.
T-molding – Used to transition two floors
of the same height, typically between rooms or in an entryway. Also
used as an expansion joint for floors installed in larger sized
rooms.
Tapping Block – A hard plastic block that
is placed against the edge of a plank and used to tap end joints
together.
Tongue and Groove – the edge profile found
on laminate flooring planks to allow fastening together without
the use of glue or nails.
Underlayment – Pad installed above the subfloor
before laminate planks are installed. The underlayment pad provides
sound dampening and levels out minor imperfections in the subfloor.
Vapor Barrier – A polyethylene film used
to prevent moisture damage from concrete subfloors.
Wall Base – Also called a baseboard, it is
used to make the transition from floor to wall in almost every installation. |
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