Laminate flooring in Wigan

Supplied and fitted

Laminate, in plain English

Laminate has a reputation earned in the 1990s that the current product does not deserve. The ranges we fit from Quick-Step, Meister, Finfloor and Berry Alloc are embossed in register — the surface texture lines up with the printed grain, so the knots and the grain you can see are the ones you can feel. At floor level, in a real room, they read convincingly.

The choice that actually matters is water. Standard laminate has a fibreboard core, and if water sits in a joint it will swell and the board is finished. So for kitchens, utilities and cloakrooms we fit the waterproof ranges, which use a treated core and sealed joints and are warranted against spills sitting for hours rather than seconds. Putting standard laminate in a kitchen to save a few pounds per square metre is a false economy we will talk you out of.

The other thing people underspend on is underlay. It is a floating floor, so the underlay takes out minor sub-floor irregularities, provides acoustic insulation between storeys, and in the right specification doubles as a damp-proof membrane. A good laminate on thin underlay feels hollow and noisy. We would rather move budget from the board to the underlay than the other way round.

Best for: Busy family rooms, rentals, and anywhere the budget matters but the look still has to hold up.