What is a laminate, know almost everything. However, it is important to know the answers to all questions related to it, because there are quite a lot of them. When deciding the question "how to lay the laminate yourself," you must first determine the amount of material. To do this, you need to determine what the surface area on which it will lie will be. Buying a laminate, it is important to consider that in the process of work will inevitably be waste, which is 2-4% of the total floor area. But that is not all.
Solving the question of how to lay the laminate yourself, you need to decide on the method of laying. There are three options: transverse, longitudinal and diagonal. The latter option may cause an increase in the number of waste to 15-20%, which is not always appropriate. Everyone must decide for themselves which way to choose, because each of them has advantages and disadvantages. The most common method is laying perpendicular to the wall on which the window is located. This method minimizes waste, and also makes the seams less noticeable.
If we talk about how to lay the laminate yourself, then we can say that it's not so difficult to do it. Simply, there are a number of rules that should be observed, which will give a beautiful coating that can last as long as possible. First of all, it is necessary to observe a sufficient clearance between the door and the future floor. The base of the floor must be firm, clean, dry and even. Suppose the difference is not more than three millimeters per square meter. Only in this case, you can count on a sufficiently long service coverage, exclude creaking, buckling and deflections. If the floors meet such requirements, then the question: "How do you lay the laminate yourself?" - will not be too difficult to solve. The best foundation is concrete.
If the floors in your home with heating, you should choose a laminate, which has the property of heat resistance - this can be determined by a special icon on the package. If the coating is likely to get wet, a vapor barrier must be laid from below. If we talk about what to put under the laminate, then it is appropriate to say about the substrate used when it is impossible to eliminate some irregularities. It will also serve as a soundproofing.
There are special types of substrates, as well as finished laminate with a substrate. You can use foam polyethylene, cork, expanded polystyrene and other materials. The thickness of any kind of substrate should not exceed 2-3 millimeters. At greater thickness, the connecting locks may break.
Laminate is laid in rows so that the length of the last plate in the row is not less than 20 centimeters. Otherwise, the first plate should be shortened. The laminate is sawed on the front side by means of a tool with small teeth. On each package there is an instruction for assembling the floors from this material, so there should not be any problems. When assembling the first row, special wedges should be installed between the cover and the wall. The second and subsequent series should be fixed with their help. After the entire floor has been laid, you can install skirting boards and thresholds.
To preserve the appearance of the coating, the felt pads must be placed under the feet of the furniture.