Laminated doors and selection rules

The choice of laminated doors is always a crucial moment. And it depends on the room, you should always think about how suitable the doors for the kitchen are laminated or for the bathroom.

After all, before you make a purchase, you need to thoroughly understand and know the device of the laminated door and its positive and negative qualities. Therefore, today we will understand what laminated doors are and where you can put them.

Laminating film

Laminated doors, what it is, let's decide right away. Laminate or, as it is also sometimes called, laminatin, is nothing more than a film.

She covers various items and products. This article focuses on laminated doors.

So:

• Laminate has several types and classes, it depends on the durability of the coating. The film coating can be simply a paper layer with a special impregnation made of synthetic resin. This type of laminate is called melamine film.
• A higher quality, and therefore a more expensive version of the laminating film is made of polyvinyl chloride and is called PVC.

Attention: The most reliable coating can be considered a two-layer laminate. The quality of all three types of film is very different, as is their appearance.

• For doors, film is a significant factor. Studying reviews about such doors on the Internet, they find absolutely contradictory information. Some people are absolutely sure that such doors are moisture resistant, others say quite the opposite.
• Also contradictory reviews about the durability of such laminated doors. Someone reports about the excellent stability of this type of door to damage, and someone writes that very quickly after installation, the door lost its appearance, and the first scratches appeared on it. You might think that some people are mistaken when giving feedback on laminated doors, or deliberately confusing, but in fact everything is much simpler. The quality of the film covering the door is the reason for such different reviews.
• An interesting moment is the comparison of laminated doors and “PVC doors” (see Which doors are better than PVC or laminated: we make an assessment). Usually, PVC is presented as better-quality doors, but this question is incorrectly posed, or rather not correctly. The thing is that the doors with PVC coating are also laminated, and the question should be put about the quality of the covering film, and not how different the doors are. Of course, the quality of PVC film will be higher than the quality of paper.

Laminated film differences

The choice of laminated doors must begin with the correct selection of the film. It can be of different quality.

To facilitate understanding of the difference between the different types of laminating film, it is worthwhile to familiarize yourself with them and get to know their main indicators.

So:

• The laminating film having a paper basis. This type of coverage is the cheapest. This film is very thin, no more than 0.2 millimeters and therefore, in the first place, extremely short-lived.
• Doors with such a coating quickly lose their appearance, as they can fade under the influence of the sun, wrinkle from contact with water, and, of course, they absolutely do not tolerate household chemicals.
• The coating of these doors with a film (masking) occurs usually by gluing the film to MDF.
• Doors with such a coating are sometimes referred to as kashirovannymi by the name of the technique of their coating. Nowadays, many people no longer consider laminating doors to their lamination, and there is some truth in this.
• Film made from multi-layer paper impregnated with melamine resin. This type of laminating film has a higher quality and price. Due to its impregnation, paper receives some of the properties of plastic films and is sometimes referred to as multi-layer plastic.

Warning: This coating for interior doors is long enough without losing its appearance, and can move some household chemicals. These doors have a disadvantage caused by the presence of melamine resin in the composition of their coating. The fact is that this resin is considered toxic. And, as a result, the film made with its use is poisonous, although the danger of the coating itself has not yet been scientifically proven.

About the harmful properties of the film

Information about the toxicity of the film is still at the level of rumors. Despite this, the probability of such quality in this type of laminating film should be taken into account.

Manufacturers of laminated doors now offer both doors covered with one type of laminating film, as well as models with combined laminating coatings.

What is filled inside the laminated door

In view of the fact that laminated doors are the cheapest version of the doors on the market, their inner part is made of inexpensive materials - wood waste. They can be used chipboard, MDF (see MDF laminated doors: whether to take) and other fractions.

So:

• The framework of such doors, as a rule, is made of very cheap wood, usually it is pine.
• In such a framework, panels of wood waste are mounted. The cheapest laminated doors have a honeycomb filling. It is a cardboard construction made in the form of honeycombs.
• Another type of filling of such doors is a sheet of extruded polystyrene foam.
• Variants can be combined. Regardless of what the filling at the door, it is almost always from the cheapest materials, when compared with a wooden array.

On the video in this article you can see it all with your own eyes.

Pros and cons of laminated doors

Such products have their advantages and disadvantages. Before making a purchase, you need to take it off.

The main advantages

This design certainly has a lot of advantages. But there are drawbacks.

Attention: The main thing should be determined with the humidity in which they will be. The durability of the whole structure will depend on it.

• The first indisputable advantage of such doors is their low price. But what makes her so known now;
• Securing trees. This happens because the wooden array is not used in these doors. Trees for them are not cut down on purpose, but wood waste is used;
• Low weight laminated doors. In view of the fact that the vast majority of laminated doors contain a honeycomb inside, they are light in weight. If the door is light, it is possible, if necessary, to remove it from the hinges on its own, and also it will not hit the box with a strong gust of wind, damaging it;
• The moisture resistance of such doors is very high if PVC film is used (with high-quality vacuum seaming) or higher grade. If the laminating film is paper - you can forget about the moisture resistance of the door;
• Laminated doors are perfectly washable. If the door covering is high quality, not paper, it is very easy and quick to wash the door. The price of such doors is quite high, and this reduces their cost advantage;
• Sufficient, good resistance to a point force on the door leaf. This door advantage only applies to high-quality models with a PVC lamination film or a two-laminate laminate. If such a door with a force to push a piece of metal, there will be no dents.
• Plus, you can also assume that you can easily install the door or dismantle the entire structure. And it does not take much time.

Cons of laminated doors

Listing all the advantages of laminated doors, you should pay attention to their disadvantages. Unfortunately, these doors have a number and disadvantages.

So:

• The minus of laminated doors, not related to their quality, is their lack of prestige.
• Lack of variety in door designs. This quality of doors can be considered a disadvantage, but you can not. Many people even like the door. Soon, this conditional flaw will disappear altogether, as more and more companies begin to produce more complex models of laminated doors.
• Damage to the laminating film, such as swelling and cracking. Cracking of the film does not mean the crack that appeared on the film itself, but its divergence at the junction points. It is there that cracks or cracks appear. The swelling of the film is due to its detachment from the base material of the door.
• Low mechanical strength of laminated doors with a cardboard base. These doors almost never have the proper strength. This is a fee for their ease. Doors of this type can be very easy to punch. Yes, and hand to do it is quite possible. Doors with a frame made of wood waste (DSP) is much harder, but stronger. These deficiencies can not be attributed to them.
• Low environmental friendliness of laminated doors is another disadvantage of them. Despite the fact that manufacturers of laminated doors always declare absolute environmental friendliness of all materials, they will never be equal to natural wood. Since the inner part of the door and the film covering it have different synthetic impregnations, you should not expect that they will fill the room with the smell of freshness. The main evaporation of chemicals comes from the inside of the door and, despite the fact that lamination gives almost complete impermeability, odors penetrate the room through a hole in the lock or handle. However, speaking of this lack of laminated doors, it is worth mentioning the moment that wooden or veneered doors are varnished, and it is also a chemical substance.
• The inability to repair laminated doors. Repair of interior doors of all kinds is very difficult. It is difficult to carry out the work so that traces of damage are not visible. In this case, repair the laminated door simply will not succeed, except for some very rare, exceptional cases.

What is important to know when buying a laminated interior door

Good manufacturers of laminated doors are very serious about the final quality of their doors. As a rule, these doors are manufactured on European equipment that meets all requirements, and only quality materials are used.

Despite all this, the buyer may still face a poor-quality, poor door. In order to avoid such an unpleasant situation, the consumer should know what to buy information when purchasing.

So:

• First, the buyer needs to know what the door is covered with. Very much depends on the quality of the coating.

Attention: If it is the cheapest of laminated paper, even if it is very dense (it is a special paper of increased strength used to cover the doors), you should not count on durability. The paper coating after a very short time begins to peel off from the base. It is extremely easy to scratch, and to wash it without harm to the appearance of the door is almost never possible.

• The only thing that is good in doors with such a coating is their extremely low price. When in salons customers are offered to purchase an unusually cheap interior door, it is worth waiting for that it is with such coverage, and therefore it is pointless to demand special durability from it.
• All that has been reported in this article on laminating film relates to a coating called bilameral laminatin. This polymer film is particularly durable, does not change its color and is not scratched. The doors cover it with a special technology, and therefore the film is securely glued and does not peel off over time.
• The most expensive and, most importantly, durable and durable material for coating doors is a laminate of continuous pressing or CPL plastic. This door lamination coating is particularly durable and wear resistant. It is because of this quality that doors with such durable coating can be used in public places, where their operation is very far from careful.

First of all, before buying it is important to determine the design. After all, it can be quite different. Look at the photo and pick up. The instructions on the door should also be studied. Pay attention to what moisture they can transfer and how reliable it is. After that, you can make a choice.