Early European aristocrats displayed their horses’ training in equestrian pageants[citation needed], but in modern dressage competition, successful training at the various levels is demonstrated through the performance of “tests”, prescribed series of movements ridden within a standard arena. Judges evaluate each movement on the basis of an objective standard appropriate to the level of the test and assign each movement a score from zero to ten – zero being “not executed” and 10 being “excellent”. A score of 9 is very good and is a high mark, while a competitor achieving all 6s (or 60% overall) should be considering moving on to the next level.

via Dressage – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

…laminate flooring and insulation tape!!….

haha but any old wood will do the job!! Your local scrap yard may have some you could use!

Dad was going to throw away the laminate flooring we had left over, but I stopped him and made these…..

Adding some wooden poles at the bottom soon so they can be put in the ground.

Cheapest set of 8 dressage markers I’ve seen are about £20…I made mine for a total of £3!

via Dressage markers made from… – New Rider Message Board.

Follow my easy steps and you too can have these beautiful plaques for your home.

via Recycled Laminate Floor Planks.

Mahogany Natural Angle What is Piano Finish Laminate Flooring?

One such innovation in recent years has been the piano finish laminate floor. Take a look at this video featuring Co-Founder Rob Banks, who talks a little bit about this variety of laminate flooring. He’s got his salesman’s hat on in this video, just because it was a part of our product announcement series. But in it, you get to see how this line of laminate floors got its name. Take a look:

As Rob points out, the piano finish laminate floor is so named because of its high-gloss finish – not unlike that of a grand piano, one might say. At this point in the evolution of modern flooring, laminates are not simply measured by how practical they are, and how well they mimic a natural surface on a superficial level. It’s measured by artistry, too. This is one of the gaps that piano finish laminate floors seem to fill; a practical floor with a touch of class.

via What is Piano Finish Laminate Flooring?.

Click engineered HDF core flooring is the latest in flooring technology, giving you a real layer of premium wood or bamboo that’s attached to a high impact resistant HDF core. These click wood floors or click bamboo floors are designed to float over most subfloor types and made for floating floor installations. An underlayment is used (which is either made of foam, rubber, a combination of both or even cork underlayment) which provides comfort and insulation, and in some cases, the underlayment is already attached. That makes for a simple one-step installation that do-it-yourselfers all over the country have fallen in love with.

You can find these floors with exotic wood veneers, bamboo veneers and even strand woven bamboo veneers. The natural wear layer’s surface is usually protected by a similar finishing system to other wood floors. The better ones you’ll find are finished with a water based and solvent free surface protection system that is very eco-friendly and durable.

This type of floor is perfect for use as kitchen flooring because it’s very easy to clean and provides a higher degree of comfort than do most other hard surface floors. And if a quality underlayment is used, like cork, it becomes a functioning system that acts as both an insulator and an acoustical barrier.

When shopping for floors like these, take into consideration how they’re made and who made them. HDF core products require adhesives and lower quality chemicals can produce emissions. That’s why it’s important to confirm that a reputable manufacturer made the floor and every precaution was taken to protect both the environment and your family. If made correctly, click engineered HDF cores are environmentally friendly, durable, easy to install, easy to clean and have more benefits than one can shake a stick at. They’re also pretty affordable and an excellent alternative for carpet, vinyl, laminate flooring or even regular hardwood floors.

They’re available in a wide variety of exotic and natural finishes, can have beveled or eased edges and from the surface, can simply not be distinguished from hardwood or bamboo floors. You can even have stranded bamboo veneers that are perfect for high traffic areas.

Before you make your final decision on flooring, check out the new super floor and see if it will work for your situation. In all likelihood, it will be just right for your particular circumstance and you’ll find the perfect style for the room where you need new flooring installed.

via The New Super Floor | Floor Du Jour!.

“Underlayment quality is a major issue in today’s industry,” says Erik Arnold with Foam Products Corp. “NALFA certification gives great credibility and upholding to our product’s reputation and track record for unparalleled performance.”

Tino Couto from TORLYS added, “TORLYS laminate flooring is already certified by NALFA. It is a valued certification and was a logical step for us to pursue for our underlayment. It gives our customers peace of mind and assurance when buying our state-of-the-art products.”

In order to earn the NALFA Certification Seal and the quality that it represents, a laminate underlayment product must pass two tiers of demanding tests designed to evaluate its performance. Tests include but are not limited to impact sound, airborne sound transmission, compression deflection, thickness, and moisture vapor transmission. Underlayment products that successfully pass testing are outfitted with the NALFA Certification Seal. Builders and homeowners can identify the seal and rest assured the product they are choosing meets and/or exceeds the highest level of industry standards set forth by NALFA.

“It is great to see the constant support from top manufacturers in the laminate underlayment industry,” said E. C. “Bill” Dearing, president of NALFA. “By continually submitting product lines for the rigorous testing conducted by NALFA, Foam Products Corp. and TORLYS are not only showing their support for industry standards, they are also showcasing the quality of their brands. We applaud them for their efforts to seek NALFA Certification on their products.”

The NALFA Certification Seal can be located on the manufacturer’s Web site, marketing materials or promotional materials as well as the product packaging itself. By identifying the seal, builders and homeowners will know they are selecting a product that is long- lasting, durable and capable of meeting the highest level of standards within the laminate flooring industry.

via All About Laminate Flooring.

Laminate flooring is quite possibly the best all-encompassing package for your decorating dollar and perfect for busy families who want low maintenance flooring. Check out this impressive list of benefits:

1. Laminate flooring is extremely durable

Protected by a tough external layer and resin coating, a laminate floor is much stronger, and more scratch-resistant, impact-resistant and longer lasting than any hardwood, vinyl, or carpet. It’s virtually resistant to dogs, cats, kids and even high heels.

2. Laminate flooring is stain, fade, and moisture resistant

Most laminate flooring manufacturers offer extensive warranty protection against stains, fading, and moisture damage. Hardwood floors, on the other hand, are subject to wood grain staining, fading in sunlight, and can scratch and dent easily.

3. Laminate flooring is easy to clean and maintain

Laminate’s superior stain and moisture-resistant surface coating makes spills and other messes easy to handle. This special surface doesn’t require waxes or varnishes to keep it looking great.

4. Laminate flooring is easy to install

The introduction of glueless laminate floors revolutionized ease of installation in the industry. Not only are the flooring sections smaller, designed to interlock, and easier to work with, but laminate floors can also be installed over most non-textile existing subfloors. In this “floating floor” method of installation, the laminate floor is laid or “floated” over the existing subfloor without being glued to the surface. This saves considerable time and installation cost. Moreover, laminate floors are easy to un-install and replace quickly and easily when it’s time for a style update.

5. Laminate flooring is economical

Not only is laminate flooring generally less expensive than other hard surface floors to start with, but when its durability and longevity are considered, it becomes a particularly economical choice.

6. Laminate flooring offers a variety of styles

While many laminate floors simulate the authentic look of hardwood or stone, the possibilities for new styles and colors are limitless. A variety of color tones and patterns enable you to match the floor with the exact mood and style of your room, whether it’s rich and elegant or cool and contemporary. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the availability, realism and quality of today’s laminate floor styles.

7. Laminate flooring is environmentally friendly

Laminate flooring is made from wood and wood by-products, and does not involve the harvesting of rare or endangered trees.

via All About Laminate Flooring.

In earlier days laminate floors were downright boring! Same old look. Sure if you wanted a butcher block looking floor, laminates were the way to go. After a few years I began to lose interest in doing installations for two chief reasons; they were extremely sensitive to moisture, and a pain to install using glue. Often the edges would swell because of the glue after installation regardless of what was done. More than likely a case of too much glue but the manufacturers insisted on a liberal amount, that in effect would seal the edges.

Photos below are laminate floors! I hadn’t looked at these floors for years and the changes are really noticeable! Not only has the construction improved, but they are less resistant to moisture while offering hardwood like appearances.

This actually looks like a hardwood floor with pillowed bevels. It’s so deceiving but there are not any bevels at all. The boards are however, contoured and highlight the scraped look. Brand line name is the Quick Step Country Collection.

Quick Step laminate floors are by far the best in the industry in my opinion with Wilsonart Laminate coming in a close second. Chances are if you talk to any laminate installer that has handled numerous brands, these two names will be at the top of the list. Today all laminate floors are glue less with many trying to copy Quick Step’s patented locking process.

Installation of this floor was not the easiest according to our installer, but it sure looked cool when completed. Add the Quick Step underlayment and it feels almost feels like a solid hardwood floor providing the sub floor is flat. I notice it but many of our showroom visitors don’t. Four out of five are also surprised they are walking on a laminate floor and not hardwood.

“This is a laminate floor?”

Another snapshot I have(below) shows a Wilsonart Laminate with a micro bevel edge look, called Burnished Maple in the Red Label Hand Scraped Line. Laminate floors today offer random length strip 3 inches wide all the way up to seven inch wide, one face planks that really do look like hardwood floors. There are several types of bevels, exotic looking floors in more unusual species such as Wenge, Elm, Brazilian Chestnut, and Doussie to name a few. Bamboo laminate? Yup, it’s available too.

Want the aged look…no problem. Wire brushed? That too. Designs are becoming a close runner to hardwood while quality is going up the scale for the leaders in the industry . Sure I see it all the time, 99 cent laminate floors everywhere. They do have their limitations so don’t expect them to perform as well as a quality laminate floor. Retail prices are generally in the five to six dollar per square foot range for the ones shown above.

Would I put laminate floors in my home? Sorry, I’m a hardwood flooring bigot, but I’m sure costs would impress many that want to save a few dollars a square foot if they are seeking a hardwood lookalike.

via Laminate Flooring Trends 2007 ~ Hardwood Flooring Blog – Up To Date Articles, Pictures.

Regularly sweep, dust and mop your laminate floors.

Wipe up all spills right after they happen.

Remove surface stains with a cleaner approved by the manufacturer.

Tough stains can be removed with a clean cloth and acetone (nail polish remover).

After mopping, sop up excess water with a clean dry cloth.

Add floor protectors to the bottom of heavy furniture and under chair and table legs.

Place rugs and areas mats in spaces that receive the most foot traffic.

Use color-coordinated pencils recommended by the manufacturer to fill in scratch marks.

Use an ice scraper to remove things like wax and gum.

Use a floor cleaning kit made specifically for your floor’s finish.

Laminate Flooring Care – Don’ts

Never lacquer, polish or wax laminate flooring.

Never drag furniture across the surface, lift it up and move it.

Don’t use abrasive (harsh) cleaners, soap-based detergents or steel wool when cleaning.

Don’t attempt to sand or refinish laminate flooring.

Don’t use a vacuum with a beater bar.

*A beater bar is hard bar located on the revolving brush roll which helps push the roll away from the ground in a quick “beating” motion.

via Laminate Flooring – Care and Maintenance – a knol by Writers at FindAnyFloor.com.

High quality laminate products are not only durable, they also look just as beautiful as a natural wood floor. You want to make sure you prepare the subfloor properly before you install radiant heat. Another benefit of having laminate flooring is it can be installed below concrete radiant heated flooring. This means you can have it in a basement and on the first floor and still keep a consistent flooring flow in your home.

Laminate Electric Radiant Floor Heating

Nuheat electric radiant heat For an electric radiant heated floor with laminate over it, you have two options. Option number one involves using thinset to adhere the mat to the floor. A brand name that uses this method would be Nuheat. After the electric radiant heat mat is placed onto the thinset, you have to cover up the mat with another layer of thinset over the top. This coat has to be smoothed out very flat. Next up, you place the vapor barrier and underlay. Finally, install the floating laminate flooring over the top.

The next option takes a lot less labor. There is no thinset involved with this method. Once the concrete floor, or subfloor is clean and ready, you roll on the electric radiant heating mat. A product that uses no thinset would be ThermoFloor. Once the electric mats are placed on the floor, its time to put down the vapor barrier and underlay. Finally, the floating laminate floor can be put in place.

Laminate Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating

A product that explains some of the requirements for correctly using laminate for a hydronic (water) radiant system is Shaw. When heat is directly applied to any product, there could be some expansion or contraction throughout the year. In order to minimize problems right away, make sure you plan for success.

Minor gaps may occur during the heating season, but here are a few tips to avoid bigger problems when using hydronic radiant heat. To properly install laminate floors, make sure the wood floor isn’t too moist before installation (less than 14%). If you are placing laminate on concrete, there should be no moisture during any season. Humidity levels should be less than 35% or more than 65%, and the temperature should be between 60 degrees F, and 80 degrees F for the installation.

Advantages of Laminate Radiant Flooring

- A comfortable warm and smooth floor even in the middle of winter.

- No heated air blowing around dust, dirt and debris into the room. The warmth quietly radiates from the floor up.

- Can be used for electric or hydronic radiant heat systems.

- Expands and contracts less than a wood floor does with radiant heat.

Disadvantages of Laminate Radiant Flooring

- Some people still prefer real wood over laminate regardless of the benefits.

- Hard to install under a pre-existing laminate floor.

- Laminate radiant floor heating systems don’t provide immediate warmth if the system has been off for an extended period of time.

Is Radiant Heat right for your Laminate Floors?

Whenever you start a new flooring project, make sure you investigate radiant heat. Laminate is a fantastic product for floors, and it works very well with radiant energy systems. For smaller projects, go with an electric system. If you are redoing all the flooring, or involved with new construction, install a hydronic system. Laminate radiant floor heating is a very versatile system. You will be pleased with the energy you save and the incredible feeling of a warm floor. For more information about laminate flooring underlay and installation tips visit Carpentry Tips and Tricks.com – Laminate Flooring Underlay

via Laminate Radiant Floor Heating.