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ii economist sunstouffville tribune saturday april 21 2001 17 total h advertising feature of the markham economist fashions in flooring whether its hardwood or laminate vinyl or ceramic berbers or cork choosing the right floor covering can be a daunting task once youve found the perfect floor covering it can add tremendous beauty and richness to your home in some cases it can even have a significant affect on resale values hardwood flooring adds elegance and warmth to most interior decors the term hardwood flooring actually refers to a range of flooring types that include solid wood engineered wood and wood laminates prefinished hardwood floors are the norm nowadays as opposed to the older finishedonsite floors while solid wood flooring strip plank and parquet remains as popularas ever engineered wood is fast becoming a preferred alternative for certain types of installations engineered hardwood floors are assembled from multiplelayers of wood- bonded together in a crossgrain fashion so that it wont expand or contract the result is a floor of superior strength and dimensional stability engineered wood can be installed above and below ground level and is less likely to be affected by changes in humidity as with laminate products many prefinished hardwood floors include aluminum oxide in the finished coats which provides a protective outer layer to ensure longer life what carpets are popular these days shags friezes hot sisals andjberbers continue to be k popular because they provide an attractive lowkey appearance with earthtones and blended colours says perry galanis manager at markville carpet in markham there is a strong demand for berber carpets which is a textured carpet with a looped pile construction surface it is suitable for high traffic areas the traditional hard twist carpet is always popular because of its versatility and durability these are virtually trackless carpets which resist vacuum marks and footprints they work well in high traffic areas such as living rooms and hallways an important consideration when purchasing carpet is the underpad make sure that the underpad has high density says galanis a high quality underpad such as hush puppy offers better impact resistance in the past five years laminate flooring has become a preferred substitute for natural wood marble or granite constructed with a plywood base topped with a layer of veneer laminate flooring is attractive versatile highly scratchresistant and is easy to maintain it creates a warm inviting look for almost any room in the home including the basement kitchen or family room not the bathroom laminate flooring is available in a huge array of styles and colours from natural wood grains to textured stone patterns textured surfaces and bevelled finishes are extremely popular the click system- isa new installation system for laminate and engineered wood flooring this is a unique tongue and groove profile which allows the flooring to slide then lock together the click system installation is up to 50 faster than a traditional glued laminate flooring installation continued on page 18 discount v b benjamin m moored paints v 5460 hwy7 markham i i hours monfri 77 sat 96 sun- sv vilo v mtm v j- tt 1 i k j j i