Laminate is not wood, nor is it a floor, it is a floor cover made of chemicals and composites. Imagine a photocopy of real wood chemically bound to particle board or cheap composites. Made with synthetic materials or very thinly sliced pieces of wood, laminate equals replica. Made to look like wood grain by using a method similar to printing a photo, i.e. designed to fool those not paying attention.
What Is Wood Laminate?
So, in simplest terms, you print a layer of wood-colored plastic and then adhere it to a composite wood substrate like particle board. Laminate manufacturers use a wide range of materials including dangerous chemicals. The chemicals used in manufacturing laminate are dangerous and they are the fastest growing component of our landfills.
What is a VOC?
Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes. Some are harmful by themselves, including some that cause cancer. In addition, they can react with other gases and form other air pollutants after they are in the air. Furthermore, because it contains toxic VOCs like formaldehyde and takes decades to disperse, laminate is a health risk long after replaced.
Laminate and single use floors
These compounds continue to produce VOCs after they are in your home. Formaldehyde was found in a major retailer laminate a few years ago. Sixty Minutes did a shocking story, they promised to do better. However, the main manufacturers of this material are in China and Vietnam. Standards, for end products shipped back to the U.S. are nonexistent. For more about this issue contact us today.
The best part about the SYP Direct philosophy, it is so easy; “One House, One Floor”. We have grown our business organically with referrals and repeat business. Old school customer service, personal and without any sales pressure. In fact, most of the time we are validating what you already knew but because of all the nonsense you hear when shopping for a floor you begin to think; “is laminate just as good as real wood”? […]
The goal of an investment is much different than that of a product; an investment is a durable good. Does anyone remember the phrase planned obsolescence?
Green, eco-friendly floors are about longevity Our company offers homeowners the power to choose an investment versus a product. The difference? An investment increases in value when a product is designed to wear out and then replaced. One outlives the house, the others on average, about 7 years. So I ask, which is the green floor? But wait don't you cut down trees to get real wood? Yes, once and it does not involved any [...]
Allergies affect as much as 30 percent of the adult population in the U.S. and about 40 percent of children. Hypoallergenic means a product contains few allergy-producing substances known as allergens.
Sustainable timber, i.e., timber that has been harvested and replenished which may occur naturally or farmed. ‘Sustainable Forestry’, however, involves more than just planting a tree when you cut one down. Sustainable timber management or forestry means doing no ecological damage to the surrounding environment. Plant a tree To those who want to help stop Global Warming- buy a real wood floor and plant a tree. Healthy, sustainably harvested timber creates forest that become more [...]
Why do people buy ‘single use’ floors? (A product designed with planned obsolescence ridiculous promises and useless warranties.) LVT MARKETING- Waterproof- Lifetime Warranty-and Luxury in the name. Homeowners buy it because the marketing is amazing and frankly trying to find real wood wears them out over time. Hand it to the majors, they've created a repeat customer product line; a new one about every decade or so. The industry is a mess everyone wants fake [...]
Reclaimed or salvaged? What is the difference between reclaimed and salvaged? If you were in the flooring industry someone might say $15 a square foot, and they wouldn't be far off. So, if you're shopping for reclaimed oak or heart pine it's important to know what you're looking at it's important to know where it came from or its provenance. Salvaged Heart Pine Accent Walls Salvaged is something like an old floor being taken up [...]
Laminate is not wood, nor is it a floor. A photocopy of wood and a temporary floor cover, best define laminate. Laminate is made with synthetic materials or very thinly sliced pieces of wood.
Why Are VOCs Still Used? What a great question? The answer is that very few of us know they exist in almost everything manufactured for mass merchandising. Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) can be used to produce products and created as biproducts. VOC's can be harmless; they can be dangerous but the majority of just the "unknown" as is not enough information to make a determination. Paint, wood-finishing products, lacquers, hydraulic fluids, petroleum fuels, adhesives, pesticides, [...]