Castle laminate: laying principle and visible advantages (24 photos)

Laminate flooring is the most advanced flooring of the last decade. Manufacturers offer numerous varieties of this material, both in design and in overall dimensions. Every year, the technology for the production of this flooring develops, a vinyl laminate with a castle connection, which is characterized by unprecedented moisture resistance, has appeared on sale. He competed with a quartz-vinyl laminate, which became a continuation of quartz-vinyl tiles. This material is characterized by high wear resistance, moisture resistance and original design. Despite the variety, all types of castle laminate have a simple installation technology. Anyone can do the laying, and the final result of the work is always impressive with its magnificent design and perfect surface geometry.

What is a castle laminate?

Laminate was originally created according to the prototype of a grooved floorboard with a spike-groove system. Its presence made it possible to connect the boards practically without a seam, creating monolithic surfaces that are most convenient to use. The only drawback of such floors was their sensitivity to temperature fluctuations and high humidity. Another notable disadvantage was the high cost of flooring made from exotic woods. To get rid of all these problems helped synthetic materials, characterized by stable geometry, moisture resistance, a diverse design. The problem area of ​​the laminate was the adhesive system for connecting panels. It required a lot of attention during installation, and the laid laminate did not differ in a long service life. The seams diverged, water got in, the base swelled and the flooring lost its appearance.

To minimize problems with laying, a lock connection was called for - a simple tenon, which had to be lubricated with glue and waiting for it to set with the groove surface, was replaced with a milled design. Thanks to its complex shape, the spike snaps securely into the groove that is equally complex in shape. This is reminiscent of a key that fits only one lock, so the system got the name lock.

Advantages of Castle Laminate

Simplified installation of the castle laminate is not the only advantage of this type of flooring. Among the main advantages:

• high rates of work;
• lack of “wet” processes during installation;
• the possibility of self-installation without attracting qualified personnel;
• variety of collections;
• availability of moisture resistant coatings in the assortment;
• high quality connections;
• extended service life;
• affordable price;
• the presence in the range of exclusive collections.

You can use the castle laminate in any room and commercial premises. It is only necessary to correctly select the material, guided by the rules for choosing a floor covering, depending on the wear resistance class.

Types of castle systems

It is easy to lay the castle laminate, thanks to the original fixing system, which allows you to reliably connect the panels to each other. Despite the apparent simplicity, developing a lock for a laminate is not easy. Leading manufacturers of flooring spend significant amounts of money on this, and the results of work must be patented.Many companies prefer to use such patented designs, but at the same time deduct significant amounts from copyright sales for laminate flooring. The laminate's own castle compound is a privilege for industry leaders.

There are several systems of locks, the most popular are:

• Lock is the first development on the market that provided a simple and effective connection of panels; during installation, the panels are laid one after the other and the stud is driven into the groove. The shape of these elements is such that when wedging the spike is securely fixed in the groove, while one panel cannot be disconnected from the other without breaking the lock;
• Click is a more advanced system, the shape of the spike and groove is such that one panel must be inserted into another at an angle of 45 degrees and latched, pressing it to the floor. Such a floor covering can be disassembled and reassembled again, since the locks do not break;
• 5G - the original locking system, characterized by reliability and ease of fixation. For this, there is a special “tongue” at its end that attracts panels in width and length to each other;
• ProLock - Pergo lock system, triple fixing and additional lock protection with specially developed water-repellent compounds;
• Uniclick - a system developed by Belgian engineers from Quick-Step, installation is carried out at an angle of 30 degrees, while the quality of the laminated floor is ideal.

Egger, Balterio, Classen, Witex, Tarkett developed their own locking systems; they differ not only in the shape of the spike and groove, but also in strength characteristics, moisture resistance, and quick installation.

Types of Castle Laminate

Manufacturers produce household and commercial castle laminate of all wear resistance classes. This allows you to choose products for a city apartment, country house, office, shop and shopping center. In the assortment of panels of different lengths and widths, there are collections reminiscent of parquet in size, and there is a laminate that is not inferior in size to a massive floorboard. All this allows you to create an original drawing on the floor, imitating the palace halls or the floor of the village hut. Thanks to this, designers can work with this flooring to create a variety of styles in the interior.

Manufacturers offer dozens of types of laminate, the surface of which imitates the rarest types of wood. At the same time, the cost of the material of one brand practically does not differ: the flooring “rosewood” or “merbau” is sold at the same price as “pine” or “birch”. In addition to natural wood, a laminate can imitate stone or ceramic tile.

The ease of laying the laminate and its aesthetic qualities was quickly appreciated by consumers, this flooring was used in all rooms of the house, except for the bath and the bathroom. The material is based on the HDF panel, it is characterized by high moisture resistance, but nevertheless it slightly swells with constant contact with water. For a castle laminate, this is critical, since, first of all, the panel fixing system fails. Attempts to treat the castle with water-repellent impregnations made it possible to develop collections relevant to the kitchen - rooms with high humidity. With constant contact with water, such locks still lost their properties over time. This led engineers to pay attention to a material such as polyvinyl chloride.

Linoleum is produced from vinyl, which attracts with its excellent moisture-resistant characteristics. PVC laminate is not inferior to it, the basis of which is created from this polymer material. To reduce the cost of production and reduce weight, the main plate has a honeycomb design. It can easily withstand the weight of a person, but is afraid of point impact loads. You can use PVC laminate in the bathroom, the bathroom and the kitchen, on the outdoor terraces and near the pools.

The insufficiently high characteristics of the moisture resistant laminate were eliminated with the advent of the quartz laminate. It appeared on the basis of quartz-vinyl tile, an original material consisting of 80% quartz sand, particles of which were connected by PVC. The tile was distinguished by high strength, ability to withstand shock loads, and the decorative layer was protected from mechanical damage by polyurethane. This tile pleased practicality, but it was difficult to install. The material has turned into highly specialized products that only professionals could work with.

Manufacturers managed to combine the advantages of tile and laminate, so a quartz-vinyl castle laminate appeared, the laying of which became available to any home master. These panels can be laid not only in shopping centers, but also at airports, train stations and production workshops. Laying quartz vinyl laminate does not differ in technology from the installation of conventional panels based on HDF.

Castle laminate is a practical, aesthetically attractive material offered by suppliers in a wide price range. You can choose these products for budget repairs of the "Khrushchev" and the exclusive decoration of a fashionable mansion. The manufacturers' assortment includes moisture resistant types of castle laminate that can withstand water leakage in the bathroom. All this makes this type of flooring the most popular in the market of finishing materials.