Precautions To Prevent Cracking In Laminates
Are you renovating your new house? And want to go for digital laminate sheets for your walls? Then guess what, you are making the best choice. Digital laminates are the most suitable choice for every arena of the house. Be it your bedroom, living room, bathroom or kitchen, digital laminates suit every place. Unlike other conventional methods of home makeover, digital laminates are incredibly budget-friendly. It gives you the best look without making a massive dent in your pocket.
But there are a few things you have to keep in mind before laminating your home. We often see a digital laminate cracking from the surface. Digital laminates might crack after a while if you don’t take the necessary precautions. Although it can be puttied and repainted, surely the designer laminates will lose their authentic charm. And also, why would you want to do extra work when you can easily prevent them. There are plenty of reasons why this happens and how to avoid that. Here are a few precautions you can take to avoid the cracking of a digital laminate:
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Leave A Sufficient Gap Between Two Laminates.
Laminates are not made of plastic. So, changes in the weather and humidity percentage in the atmosphere can cause them to expand or contract, which creates pressure between two laminates, ultimately resulting in the cracking of the laminates. Therefore make sure you leave a gap between two laminates so that the pressure doesn’t arise. The gap should be at least 2mm. This gap gives the laminates sufficient space to expand, and the laminates will not overlap.
Don’t Hammer Nails On The Laminates; Go For Drilling.
A lot of us likes to accentuate our walls will pictures and paintings. And why not? They look stunning when you incorporate them appropriately. And hammering nails onto the laminates can cause cracking of them. When you hammer an iron nail on the laminates, it creates a forced pressure, resulting in cracking. But that doesn’t mean you can not hang your pictures and paintings. Of course, you can. Instead of hammering nails, go for drilling. Drilling doesn’t create any pressure, so the laminates do not crack.
Make Sure The Edges Are Smooth.
When a laminate sheet is cut using a blunt object, it weakens the corners, which cracks easily under little pressure. You need to make sure that there is no fine crack or hairline crack at the edges or corners. An initial hairline crack can result in the cracking of the whole laminate. Therefore, ensure that you use a sharp saw to cut the laminate. To confirm the edges are smooth and even, take sandpaper and rub the edges to smoothen them out.
Put The Laminates At The Site At Least Two Days Prior To The First Day Of Work.
As already mentioned, changes in the humidity of the atmosphere can cause the laminates to change their size and shape. If the changes happen after installing it, then that might result in cracking. So the best way to avoid that is to put the laminates on the worksite at least 2days prior to the day when the work starts. Along with this, try to flatten the laminate completely. So for that, keep the laminates between two-ply boards.
Use High Pressure Laminates.
Well, we all know there are numerous types of laminates available in the market, starting from scratch-proof, stainless, even fire retardant. So, the best laminate to prevent cracking is using high pressure laminates. Mostly a laminate cracks when it becomes unable to take the pressure, so the most suitable laminates are to use the high pressure laminates. They can take up high pressure effortlessly. However, this might not be full-proof because there is a specific pressure limit that they can bear. It can not take unlimited pressure. So it’s better to follow the above precautions as well.
Cracks in the laminates do not look good, especially if it is decorative laminates. They are supposed to be sleek and clean. Precaution is always better than cure. If you take all the necessary precautions beforehand, your laminates will last for years, and you do not have to renovate them again and again. Renovating every year or so, might put pressure on your pocket. And moreover, it becomes very exhausting to do so. If you make sure all the above precautions boxes are ticked, then your laminate will last a long time without having a hint of a crack.
Do not worry about it anymore. You know what to do at this point. All you have to do right now is just take the safety measures and chill out. See your imagination and dreams turning out just the way you want them to in front of your eyes.