Are you struggling to figure out why laminate flooring is so cold in your home? This thorough laminate flooring guide can explain why.
By now, the chances are that you’ve noticed laminate flooring gets colder compared to carpeted, vinyl, and even wooden floors. In recent years, laminate flooring has continued to grow in popularity, primarily for its affordability and durability. Nonetheless, to truly enjoy and make the most of this type of flooring in your home, you want to understand its characteristics.
Part of this includes understanding why laminate flooring can get so cold. After all, this factor plays a significant role depending on your climate. We’ve broken down this exhaustive guide to help you understand exactly why the temperature of your laminate flooring may get lower.
Why Is Laminate Flooring Cold?
Laminate flooring gets cold, particularly due to air leaks, drafts, and poor insulation in your home. With an unfinished foundation or basement, cold air can easily enter through the smaller leaks from the exterior of the home.
Its temperature-absorbent material makes laminate flooring even colder than other flooring types. This, in turn, makes it easy for cold air to get absorbed from under the floor and basement, especially if you haven’t installed drywall on your concrete walls.
However, cold air doesn’t only move from the bottom of your house. During the cold winter season, exposed laminate flooring can easily get cold simply because of the low temperatures outside.
With inadequate indoor heating, warm air tends to rise from the bottom of the room, with cold air replacing it. Therefore, the cold air comes in contact with laminate flooring, getting absorbed into the material along the way.
Factors That Contribute To a Cold Laminate Flooring
We’ve offered a more in-depth explanation of key factors that play a role in turning laminate flooring cold;
Unfinished basement
An unfinished basement is the most common reason why laminate flooring in many houses becomes cold. This is because an unfinished basement will leave crevices and leaks between the ground and the first floor. The space left allows cold air to easily seep through, coming in contact with the under-floor part.
Construction
In addition to the basement alone, the construction of your home, particularly the foundation, can cause the laminate floor to get cold. If you have set up a stem wall or slab foundation underneath your flooring, it increases the chances of it getting cold. This is because, with this foundation-style construction, concrete (which tends to stay cold) will be directly adjacent to the laminate floor.
Climate
Laminate flooring is going to get cold during the colder winter season. Nonetheless, the magnitude of how cold the floor gets varies based on different factors, including how insulated the floor is.
Cold air from outside can easily seep into your home through windows and door crevices during the colder season. As it gets colder outside, warm air rises while cold air goes down to the floor, causing the laminate floor to become cold as well.
Will Cold Laminate Flooring Make My House Cold?
Laminate flooring can make your house colder if (the laminate floor) is cold. This scenario is obviously more common in the winter season when the floor is more likely to get cold due to very low temperatures. Without an adequate heating system and insulation, the laminate floor can easily cause temperatures inside your house to drop.
Does Laminate Flooring Require Climate Control?
Laminate flooring requires climate control. Generally, laminate flooring can be installed in a cool or warm room. However, you want to avoid significant temperature changes. This is because extreme temperature changes can be detrimental to the laminate material.
Rapid temperature changes, particularly low temperatures, can cause laminate flooring to expand and contract when the temperature increases. In turn, this causes the laminate flooring to curl and peel over time, causing irreparable damage.
During the cold winter season, laminate flooring is more likely to contract instead of expanding during the cold winter season due to the low temperature. Moreover, low temperature can also increase the likelihood of moisture build-up, leading to massive water damage on the laminate flooring. This will inevitably lead to your laminate flooring moving. So, it’s probably not a good idea to leave laminate flooring in the cold for long.
How Do I Keep Laminate Flooring Warm
Laminate flooring turning cold may not necessarily cause damage to the flooring. However, it may render your home a little uncomfortable. The good news is that there are several measures you take to mitigate the issue of laminate flooring getting wet or at least reduce the severity of the low temperatures on the flooring. Here are the most commonly effective measures to take;
Under Flooring Heating System
An underfloor heating system is the most effective way to keep your floor warm during the cold season. Most laminate flooring materials are radiant heat friendly. The best part of using an underfloor heating system is you can adjust the temperature settings to suit your needs, climate, and environment you are in.
Moreover, an underfloor heating system plays a complementary role in supporting your home’s overall heating system. It helps to keep the entire home warm during the cold season. However, the downside is the high investment and running cost. You should expect your gas bills to spike a little.
Heater
If an underfloor heating system is too expensive to invest in or run, you can opt for a room or space heater. A room or space heater will keep both the room and floor warm. Plus, you will not be spending hundreds on gas bills.
Alternatively, an HVAC vent will do. You can simply set up the vent in a cabinet or wall, allowing it to blow warm air directly across the laminate floor. So, even without a heater, the HVAC vent will offer adequate floor heating.
Practice Climate Control
Climate control is still crucial whether you use an underfloor heating system or a regular heater. You want to avoid significant temperature changes, from hot to cold and back again. This is because big temperature changes can affect the structural integrity of the flooring.
The flooring contracts and expands as the temperature changes from cold to hot and back. This causes it to curl, peel, and even pop out of its position to cause permanent damage. The best way is to identify the ideal temperature for the laminate flooring you have in your home (check the manufacturer’s manual) and maintain that.
Use Floor Mats and Rugs for Insulation
The simplest way to insulate your laminate flooring is by using rugs and floor mats. Setting area rugs across the house can help trap most of the heat on the floor, preventing cold air from seeping in. Floor mats complement area rugs as you can position them in different walkways in your home.
The best part of using floor mats and rugs is that they can also help increase the overall temperature of the house. They are also inexpensive and pretty easy to maintain (washable/can be vacuumed). You can also as an alternative, install carpets on top of your laminate floor and remove them when you feel like it.
Combine Different Textures and Décor Accessories
This method doesn’t only help insulate the room and floor. The items you use can also double as décor, elevating your home’s aesthetics. Some of the common elements to add include soft lighting and throw blankets.
Furthermore, you can replace blinds with fuller, heavier fabric curtains. When it comes to furniture, replace leather and plain wooden/metal furniture with fabric/upholstered ones where you can. For example, your sofas, ottomans, and dining chairs can be made with upholstery.
Keep Winter Debris Out
Winter debris getting into your house will not only cause abrasive or water damage to the flooring. It can also turn your laminate flooring cold pretty quickly. Winter debris includes ground grit and even ice-melting rock salt.
You can easily keep debris out of your house with regular cleaning. If you find yourself entering your home with soiled boots, don’t wait till the next day to clean up the mess you make!
Conclusion
Ultimately, the climate control measures in your home are what determine if the laminate flooring will get cold or not. Investing in proper heating equipment and preparing your home for the cold season can help with climate control.
Nonetheless, these measures alone are not enough to keep laminate flooring warm if the construction of your house is not proper. You have to ensure your home’s basement and underfloor areas are adequately insulated. Do this, and you won’t have to worry about your laminate flooring at home getting so cold.