What is laminate floor?

Answer 1

To make it simple is is a synthetic man made material with embossed photographed to look like real wood.

below is a excerpt from the below link

http://www.laminate-flooring-store.com/

Laminate flooring is a great new type of flooring that was introduced into the United States in 1996. Pergo was the first brand to be introduced and they in fact were the inventors of laminate flooring. Laminate is made of three basic layers:

SURFACE WEAR LAYER & PATTERN CORE BACKING The surface wear layer is typically made of aluminium oxide. The pattern of the flooring is a photograph applied to a melamine laminate. Since you can photograph literally anything the patterns for laminate flooring are endless. The most common patterns are wood and stone looks. The core board is made of a variety of things depending on the manufacturer. The core has the tongue and groove applied to it for a tight fitting floor. The backing board again varies depending on who made the floor but it ranges from a paper layer to a full plastic laminate layer. No matter what people tell you, the back layer is there to balance the floor. Those with a laminate backing may be better against potential water damage than those with paper backings. Laminate flooring is a very durable flooring and the average warranties cover wear, staining and fading. Some others offer moisture warranties. One sound bit of advice is to read the warranties for yourself and decide what value they offer to you. This exciting new category in flooring is available at iFLOOR.com check it out today.

Answer 2

Home Depot and Lowes have a great selection of laminate flooring in their stores.