What class of laminate is better for apartment 2

Today, there are a variety of flooring available for sale, but laminate is very popular. This is due to many factors. If you decide to mount such a floor in your apartment or house, you should decide on the class of material. Decide what flooring characteristics you need. So, let's talk about which class of laminate is better for an apartment (31, 32 or 33) and how they differ.

How to determine

Manufacturers produce flooring not only for domestic (or household) use. Laminate is used in office and other premises with high attendance. Therefore, this coating is made with different characteristics.

Each class of laminate is different:

• wear resistance (ability of panels to withstand a large number of visitors);
• ability to withstand heavy bending loads (from furniture and other items);
• resistant to sunlight;
• strength;
• the presence of antistatic properties (this is especially true in office space with a large number of electronics);
• moisture resistant;
• the presence of anti-slip properties.

In accordance with these indicators, the class of the laminate is determined. In office and commercial premises, materials that are more durable and resistant to adverse effects should be used, so the commercial and household laminate is different.

What classes exist

Before you decide on what class of laminate to choose, you should know what they are. The European Manufacturers Association has developed a scale on which the material is divided into classes. There are several “subtypes” of such flooring. They are denoted by two numbers. So on sale you can find a laminate labeled 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 34.

The first number indicates the recommended use area of ​​the panels. If there is a two, then the laminate is designed for domestic use. The number three indicates that the panels are better suited for commercial premises.

The degree of resistance to abrasion and load indicates the second digit. The higher it is, the greater the load is able to withstand the laminate. In accordance with this, it is possible to approximately determine the guaranteed service life of such a coating. If you install household-type panels with an easy level of resistance to stress (the second figure is 1), then the lifetime will be at least two years. Laminate with a high degree of wear resistance (the second figure 3) is guaranteed to last up to 6 years.

Guaranteed service life from manufacturers is an approximate indicator. As a rule, the time of reliable service panels is much longer.

Choice for residential

Most often, laminate is installed in apartments and houses with a class of 21–23. What kind of laminate to choose will depend on the room and your financial capabilities. Cheaper panels of class 21 are designed for low permeability. This floor will serve well in the bedrooms. But its service life rarely exceeds six years.

Class 22 is a bit more expensive, but also has greater resistance to abrasion and loads. Such laminate can be laid in the living room, common room, nursery or office. In those rooms where the average attendance.

For corridors and kitchens is better to choose the 23 class. This material is quite resistant to abrasion, loads, and to the influence of aggressive media.

Many experts recommend in all rooms to mount panels more resistant to wear. Of course, class 23 laminate will cost more, but its service life is noticeably higher. This will allow you to save your money and strength in the future.

Commercial laminate in the home

For office and commercial premises manufacturers produce more durable laminate. For example, a class 31 material is able to withstand significant loads in office space for 2–3 years. And if the second digit in the classifier is even higher, then the service life increases significantly.

As practice shows, a laminate of class 31 installed in residential premises lasts for 10–12 years. The apartment and the house are not so many guests, and therefore the load on the floor is less.

Of course, panels with a high degree of protection against wear are more expensive, but the difference itself is not very big. Laminate 23 and 31 class differs in price not too much, but the service life is almost an order of magnitude. Therefore, if you want your floor to hold as long as possible, you will have to spend a little money.

Higher class panels (32, 33 or 34) will last even longer in a residential area. But since their cost is already significantly different, they are used in apartments and private houses much less often.

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