Which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33?

Among the flooring, laminate is now the undisputed leader. It is durable, hygienic, affordable, and a variety of textures and colors allows you to develop individual design solutions for any interior. However, the buyer sometimes becomes stumped when he finds out that the flooring belongs to one or another class. Which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33? Read about it in our article.

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Laminate advantages

Laminate is a multilayer coating. The layers are pressed, which gives this material its remarkable qualities:

• wear resistance;
• durability;
• environmental friendliness;
• excellent heat-insulating qualities;
• good sound insulation;
• ease of installation;
• ease of care.

Important! These qualities are characteristic of all classes of material, but the larger the number, the more durable the coating and the less it suffers from moisture and mechanical stress. It depends on the method used in the manufacture of the material.

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How to make a laminate?

This type of coating consists of several layers:

• lower;
• average;
• decorative;
• overlay.

The main layer is the middle one, it determines the heat and sound-proofing qualities. It is the thickest one and is made from wood-particle or wood-fiber board, to which special plastic is added to the manufacture of high-class materials. The bottom layer is of purely technological importance; it serves as a buffer between the floor surface and the middle layer. For its manufacture, paper treated with special resin is used.

Important! You can also find a laminate with a cork bottom layer, as well as polystyrene or made of aluminum foil.

Decorative - the one on which the drawing. For its manufacture, paper is most often used. It is rather thin, but the appearance of your room depends on it. Finally, the overlay is a protective film. As a rule, it is made of acrylic resin, which, among other things, is a good antistatic. It is she who protects your floor from mechanical influences, protects from burnout and pollution.

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How is a class defined?

On the marking of the laminate usually there are two numbers indicating the class. They appear for a reason. This material, before getting to outlets, is subjected to very thorough testing, which consists of many points. Marking is a kind of material passport that allows the buyer to quickly navigate.

The most rigorous testing consists of 18 points. It is such studies that the European Standards Association conducts before giving the right to the manufacturer to launch new material into serial production. But in order to determine how much a particular batch meets the standards, a less stringent test of seven indicators is used:

• abrasion resistance;
• resistance to water;
• attitude towards pollutants;
• indentation resistance;
• smoldering resistance;
• attitude to the movement of furniture;
• attitude to the movement of furniture on casters.

Important! The class is set to the lowest value.If in all respects the laminate corresponds to class 34, and only one - 32, the certificate will contain 32, and nothing else.

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What categories are there?

A few years ago, six classes of laminate could be found on sale. In some cases, the number 2 was the first, in others - 3. Now the material with the “two” in the certificate can still be found in retail outlets, but it was removed from production almost everywhere, although it was such a laminate that was originally intended for residential premises. But it wears out very quickly, does not like moisture very much and after a few months loses its attractive appearance. So the laminate of classes 21.22 and 23, if it suddenly comes across to you, can be laid only in rooms where there is very little walking.

The “double” laminates lost their popularity because with a very small difference in price, materials with the first number 3 turned out to be much more reliable. Now on sale you can find four classes of this laminate, originally intended for public buildings:

• 31;
• 32;
• 33;
• 34.

If the first digit indicates which rooms the material is intended for, then by the second you can find out its quality - thickness, moisture resistance, attitude to mechanical stress, etc.

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How long should I expect?

The thinnest material is marked 31. Of course, it is suitable for residential premises. The coating, where the number 34 is in the certificate, is intended for buildings where a lot of people come. This is the most durable of the existing laminates, it is designed for twenty years of intensive use. True, it costs much more than others.

The most reasonable combination of price and quality is the laminates of classes 32 and 33. In public buildings they are used where there is a moderate number of visitors - in offices, hospital wards, school classes. In the apartment, such material can be laid everywhere - from the living room to the kitchen and the corridor. They are slightly less stable than those that belong to the 34th class, but are also able to serve faithfully for several decades. For comparison, the service life of 23rd grade material is no more than six years.

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Laminate 32 or 33 class - which is better?

Initially, material marked 32 was intended for public spaces with low traffic. If 200-300 people pass through it every day, such material can last about ten years and at the same time maintain an attractive appearance and all other qualities. He will not have time to wear out, but during this time you will probably want to make a new repair. The overlay has a thickness of 0.2-0, 4 mm.

Class 33 laminate is even more resistant to various influences. It can withstand:

• 500 visitors every day;
• bright sunlight;
• 15 years of operation.

The improved properties of class 33 laminate appeared due to the use of an additional layer.

What do they look like?

Laminates 33 and 32 classes have a lot in common:

• they are made using similar technologies;
• they have an interesting and diverse design;
• large thickness of the middle layer;
• reliable upper and lower layers.

Very often, a high-quality laminate is designed “for parquet” or “for logs”. Materials of lower quality with such a pattern were not produced. But there are options for natural stone, and with fantasy ornaments, and plain - in short, there are a lot of opportunities to show your design abilities.

Important! As for the middle layer, both the one and the other material have it from 7 to 11 mm. Understanding which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, one must understand that the material of class 32 can also be thick, but in some of the test indicators it is inferior to 33.

Differences

Despite the fact that these materials are extremely similar, the price difference is considerable. Class 33 laminate costs about twice as much as for some reason it got the marking 32. This is due, inter alia, to the presence of an additional protective layer in the coating of a higher class.

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A bit about other classes

Thinking which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, you need to consider other options for comparison.

31st grade

Class 31 laminate can be very high quality! Based on the features of testing, you can find material with excellent thermal protective properties, but slightly less resistant to abrasion, or vice versa. It costs less than its counterparts, although in comparison with materials of class 32 the difference is not very significant.

Important! This coating has been used in intensive use for about five years, but in an apartment, especially where people do not wear street shoes very often and don’t move the piano every day, they can lie for much longer and not lose their properties.

The thickness of the base layer is from 6 to 10 mm, that is, by this parameter it is not very different from its more high-class counterparts. The overlay has a thickness of 0.2 mm - slightly less than that of 32. This is a quite high-quality material, moreover, relatively inexpensive.

34th grade

As for the 34th class, it is rarely used for home decoration. The reason is simple - it, of course, is very durable and resistant to negative influences, but costs more than the others, and the price difference can be very significant. Moreover, if it is put in an apartment, the use of this material does not give any tangible benefits.

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Where to lay it?

If you do not want to buy the same type of laminate for the entire apartment, do not forget to think in advance in which room you can lay the material of one or another class. So, which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, for living rooms?

Bedroom, children and living room

Boots or boots rarely go into these rooms. Therefore, it is quite possible to lay a floor from a laminate of 32, 31 and even 23 class:

• mechanical impact is negligible;
• there is no great danger of spilling oil and paint on the floor;
• most often in these rooms people walk in soft slippers or even barefoot, with the exception of the living room, where guests go in smart shoes, but this does not happen every day;
• no differences in humidity and temperature.

Therefore, the strength of the coating does not play a special role, especially when you consider that even the cheapest and low-quality laminate is designed for several dozen people to walk on it every day, at least.

Important! It all depends on how many years you plan to make the next repair - for ten years, such coverage is definitely enough, and during this time you will get tired of the material, and you want something new.

Kitchen

In this room, temperature and humidity changes occur periodically. Therefore, the stronger the floor covering, the better. In addition, even very neat housewives periodically drop something or spill onto the floor, so fat spots here are a fairly common occurrence.

And this means - the laminate should be:

• thick enough;
• well tolerating bumps and falls of heavy objects;
• neutral to detergents;
• as moisture resistant as possible;
• resistant to temperature extremes;
• insensitive to neighborhood with hot appliances.

Important! That is, choosing which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, it is best to buy material where the number 33 is in the certificate, or even 34. You can, of course, put 32 and 31, but that's how lucky. It may turn out that the coating will tolerate moisture well and have excellent soundproofing properties, but it will be unstable to mechanical stress. But what can not be done in any case is to lay the material, in the designation of which the first digit is 2.

Hallway

This room differs from all others mainly in the fact that people in street shoes often come here. Of course, residents of many city apartments sometimes arrange on their floor something like an additional hallway and leave their boots, bicycles and roller skates there, but not everyone has such an opportunity.

Since a lot of dirt forms in the hallway, the floor should be of the highest quality:

• durable;
• well tolerate moisture and detergents;
• well tolerate the movement of heavy objects and other mechanical influences.

Temperature differences in this case do not play a big role, but cleanliness, including using water and detergents, is much more common than in other rooms. Therefore, the best laminate for the hallway is 33 classes or even 34.

Bathroom

Laminate is not the most popular type of floor covering in the bathroom; tiles are often used. But laminated panels are also periodically used, especially if the bathroom is large and you want to give it an interesting look. From all other rooms, the bathroom differs primarily in increased humidity, and a high concentration of water vapor in the air is a constant phenomenon. Therefore, it is possible to lay only the most durable material, which tolerates such conditions without serious consequences. Therefore, when deciding which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, the preference is clearly in favor of increasing the value.

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A few words about additional criteria

When buying a laminate, pay attention not only to the numbers in the certificate. There are several more options that can significantly simplify or complicate your life. In the documentation (or on the packaging) you will certainly find more numbers that indicate:

• thickness
• density;

You will find letter signs there, which can also tell a lot about the qualities of the material.

Thickness

The thickness of the plate, even for a laminate of the same class, can be different. Sometimes it ranges from 8 to 12 mm, and this, you know, is a significant difference. Therefore, pay attention to the exact value of this parameter.

Density

The packaging also indicates the density. A good laminate with markings starting with the “three” has a density of at least 850 kg / m3. If you wish, you can calculate it yourself, if you suddenly do not find it in the documentation. In addition, you can see the abbreviations on the packaging:

• NDF;
• MDF.

The first means that the material is made according to European or American standards, the second - according to Russian. In the first case, the density, ceteris paribus, will be higher.

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Two words about the manufacturing method

In the documentation for the laminate, you can find many more interesting and not very clear characters. For example, these abbreviations are:

• HPL;
• CPL
• DPL

They can talk about the manufacturing method. In particular, about pressure:

• The HPL marking indicates that the overlay and the decorative layer were first pressed under high pressure, then the base and the lower layer were glued to what happened, and then sent back under the press. If you see the numbers 33 or 34 in front of you, then somewhere alongside will be the abbreviation HPL.
• If you see the CPL marking, then - in front of you is a laminate of 31 or 32 classes. It is also made at high pressure, but using a belt press.
• Laminates, the marking of which begins with the “deuce”, were made using DPL technology, that is, all layers were pressed simultaneously.

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Stock footage

So we figured out which class of laminate is better - 32 or 33, and what other values ​​accompanying this characteristic should be paid attention to. We hope that with this information you can now easily choose the perfect flooring for your bedroom, living room, hallway or bathroom.