Door Designing With Decorative Laminates
August 24, 2017Interior Cheats with High Pressure Laminate Sheets
September 26, 2017Laminates are undoubtedly the most demanded material when it comes to prettifying your furniture. Be it wardrobes, tables, floors, or any other furniture, a good laminate brings life to that furniture, as well as the house.
There are many laminate companies in India, however, as a consumer, we look for the cheapest. In the mind-set of looking for the cheapest laminate, we often do not pay attention to the quality of the laminates. Laminate manufacturers in India know about the preference of their customers and thus, they focus on making the cheapest rated laminate, rather than a reasonable priced laminate with good quality material.
It is important for a consumer to not fall in the trap of the laminate manufacturers in India that sell low quality laminates, as these laminates do not last long. On the other hand, they can lessen the life of your furniture as well. Hence, it is all the more important to do a good quality check of your laminate. Here are some quality checks that you must do before buying a laminate:
- ABRASION RATING:
It is essential for a consumer to check the Abrasion Rating (AC Rating) before buying a laminate India. It is advised not to buy a laminate of AC1 and AC2 ratings as these are low quality laminates. AC3 rated laminates are advised for general residential use while AC4 rated laminates are advised for a house with higher foot traffic i.e. a house with small children and pets. AC5 and AC6 rated laminates are advised for commercial purposes, for e.g. a gym, office, stores etc.
- DIRECT OR HIGH PRESSURE MATERIAL:
Before opting for laminate companies in India, it is important to ask the salesperson whether the laminate is made of a direct material or a high pressure material. The high-pressure material is a new technology based laminate and is a better quality one too. The price of a high pressure laminate is slightly higher than the direct one, but the life expectancy is much higher. Hence, it is advised to buy a high pressure laminate rather than a direct material one.
- THICKNESS OF A LAMINATE:
The thickness of a laminate is amongst the most important checks that you must do before buying a laminate. While buying a laminate for the floor a thickness of 6mm or more is advised. On the other hand, while buying a laminate for wardrobes, tables etc. a thickness of 3mm to 6mm would be the best. If you wish to buy laminate for a piece of furniture that is not used frequently then a thin laminate may be bought.
- GAPS OR UNEVENNESS:
It is very important to check if there are gaps or unevenness once the laminate has been installed. Make sure you ask for a sample before buying from laminate manufacturers in India to check for gaps or unevenness. A good quality laminate would not leave any gaps and create a flat surface, while a cheap quality one would always leave gaps somewhere or the other. If the salesperson refuses to give a sample, then make sure you look at the laminated furniture or floors inside the store.
- NATURAL OR MACHINE MADE LOOK:
As mentioned earlier, a sample must always be asked, and if the salesperson does not provide a sample then the laminates on the store furniture or floor must always be looked at. In either ways, it is important to check whether the laminate gives a natural handmade look or a machine made look. The natural looking laminates must be preferred over machine made looking ones as they are of a higher quality. It is not necessary that the natural looking ones are handmade. They are mostly machine made but they do not look like one, so that should not be a criteria.
All these quality checks must always be done so that you are not fooled by the laminate manufacturers in India. An accomplished company will always sell you a good quality product at a reasonable rate, and that should always be what a rational consumer should demand. So don’t run behind low rated laminates, and start paying attention to the quality of laminates, so that you don’t have to face any problem in the future, and that your laminate has a higher life expectancy.