I've just bought 6.6 sq metres of bargain-priced laminate flooring
(Floormaster) from B&Q in their sale. It cost only £27 to do the whole
kitchen! It looks brilliant, and they promise it's for 'Heavy Domestic
Use' (AC3). I really can't see how I could justify paying any more for
so-called 'superior' types at around £10, £15 or £20 per metre. Mine
cost only £3.96 per square meter, including VAT. Get down there before
they sell out! I'm not limited to spending £27, plus a bit of
underlay, but what on earth would be the point of paying more? It's
guaranteed for 10 years and I'm confident it will last a lot longer
than that.

But I need to make sure it's waterproof for the areas around the
kitchen sink and washing machine. I placed a teaspoon of water on both
the top surface, and then the bottom surface of a board. These have a
plastic-like coating and proved to be totally impervious to the water.
Brilliant! If the board ever gets hit with deep scratches, I'll touch
up the scratch with resin to restore the waterproof coating.

The only other way that water can get into my floor is through the
thin cracks between the boards. I'll seal-off the perimeter with
silicon. I note that Floormaster do a 'superior' model of laminate
flooring which they claim is water resistant for bathrooms and
kitchens. The composition of these two types of boards only appears to
differ, according to Floormaster's layer by layer diagram, by the fact
that the main layer is water resistant in the 'superior' model. I
guess it needs to be. The main layer is made of particle (chip) board
and looks like blotting paper on mine, and most other laminate
flooring boards I've seen.

So I intend to apply wood protector fluid around the edges of the
boards, hopefully to make the particle layer almost as waterproof as
in Floormaster's 'superior' version. I'll use the clear type of wood
protector which should just soak in via multiple coatings. I could
even dip the ends in a tray of the liquid. This liquid won't sit on
the surface, but will soak into the particle board. When it is dry
(after several weeks), I may add an additional (surface) coating of
water-resistant fence paint (with wax) and finish off with silicon
sealant when I lay the floor and make the joints.

Likewise, it's possible that Floormaster apply their water-proofing
treatment after making their 'super' version of laminate flooring. If
it was applied before the layers are glued together, then the
treatment might make the layers less likely to bond together.

Regards
George