How to lay a laminate on a wooden floor and other surfaces?

People who have reached the construction of their own house before the stage of laying the floors, already see the moment when they sit in a bathrobe and slippers on the rug by the fireplace and will drink tea. And pulls, leaving all the cases, to run to the market to buy these attributes of home comfort. Well, slippers - a thing you need on the farm, you can always come in handy, but what better place to choose a carpet? Natural too expensive, artificial are impractical. Or maybe you do not need a carpet at all? Have you tried to beat dust out of them? Only one cleaning agent can be spent on a fortune. So, if you dream of a cozy, high-quality and beautiful flooring, be sure to pay attention to the laminate.

Laminate flooring

What is this material? How to lay the laminate? The floor covered with such material will look very beautiful. In addition, it is an environmentally friendly, completely harmless product manufactured by the construction industry. We have to do this accent, and then only hear: "Chemistry! Chemistry! "As a coating on the floor, this material began to be used from the late seventies of the twentieth century and since then, constantly improving, is finding more and more fans around the world.

Today laminate is sold in standard packages of 6-12 panels (lamella) in each. The main dimensions: width 185-195 mm, length 1260-1380 mm, thickness, depending on the class, from 6 to 12 mm. Constructively consists of three main layers:

• Upper, wear-resistant;
• Inner layer of MDF;
• The lower protective layer.

In addition, each panel is equipped with special mounting locks, which makes it possible to make a cover in the form of one monolithic construction. How to lay the laminate floor, you learn from the article.

Types and classes of laminate

First of all, let's talk about the species. To date, laminate is produced in three basic versions. Few? Believe me, this is enough with interest, because each species has a rich range of all possible color variations, plus a patterned number.

1. The first one is a panel laminate based on MDF. Available with two versions of the lock. Basically the pattern imitates all kinds of wood.
2. Vinyl - self-adhesive laminate. There is a patterned variety not only under the wooden texture, but under any classical ornament.
3. The third common type is laminate art. It has the same locking system of fixation as the panel system. Basically imitates all kinds of parquet floors.

The manufacturing companies divide the laminate into four classes of wear resistance, which are indicated on the packaging with the letters: A, B, C, D. The first three classes are used for household use in houses or apartments. The fourth is an office class. It is stronger, but it also costs more. Do not think that classes A, B, C are bad. Simply the production takes into account both the number of hours of continuous operation, and the number of people directly operating the coating. So the strength of the first three classes will last for 30 years.

Why choose a laminate

Truly popular, any material becomes when imitators appear. Have you heard about the texture of the wood? "Specialists" wood scratches with metal brushes - they imitate the laminate. In addition to accurately copying the wood of the pattern, the laminate panels also have another advantage - they allow solving other household problems. About carpets and dust has already been mentioned, about saving on detergents too. And the ants at the dacha will not bother anymore, because the lock is not allowed inside. And the most valuable is that laminate trees help to save - and Christmas trees, and pine, and cedar with a birch tree. Let them better in the woods sway, and under the feet and the laminate will lie down.

Application area

The whole point is that laying laminate initially in the construction is much easier than during repairs and alterations. If you immediately planned it as the main floor covering, then the foundation will do the corresponding. Qualitatively, and most importantly, exactly made the foundation (concrete or wood) - this is half the work on the device of the floor.

Considering such material properties as wear resistance, moisture resistance, non-adherence to temperature changes and ultraviolet (does not burn out), many began to replace the laminate with old existing coatings. This material is perfectly mounted on old coatings. You can lay the laminate on the linoleum. Also it is put on a tile, a wooden board, a parquet. All your apartment, the whole house without exception, can be covered with a laminate. Industrial enterprises, office offices, children's institutions, public places are also intensively applying this coating.

The self-assembly of the panels, thanks to the glueless, locking system of connection is quite simple, the main thing is to make it correctly. How to lay the laminate on a wooden floor, linoleum and other bases, you will learn from the material below. All the work on the laminate coating can be divided into three stages: preparation, laying, completion. The laying itself is divided into two more sub-sections: the litter of the substrate and the assembly of the panels themselves.

Base

The substrate for the laminate should be flat. To achieve this during construction is easy. If the floor is cement, it can simply be filled with a self-leveling mixture. If the base is wooden, then you need to lug the bed evenly, blackboard, or better - thick plywood.

Another thing is to lay the laminate on the linoleum or other old covering when the repair is under way. Rip it, if it is not completely rotten, do not! Just align the cover. Concrete base try to polish, it will not work - it is necessary to level. Clean, treat with a primer, take any tile adhesive and level the floor according to the level. Before laying the laminate on a wooden floor, also check to see if you need to replace a board, squeeze the creaking, finish the sticking nails. Large mounds need to be cut and sanded.

The tiled floor must be repaired on the basis of the replacement of bat and ringing tiles. On linoleum it is necessary to seal cracks and ruptures, to patch holes. Before laying the substrate under the laminate, again wipe the room from dust and debris.

Substrate

The choice of substrate, if there are no recommendations in the annotation to the laminate itself, should be paid close attention. The first task of this seemingly secondary material is to extend the life of the chosen laminate. The substrate protects against deflections and deformations, it is a soundproofing agent, protects the lower coating layer from erasure and exposure to moisture. Well, of course, thermal insulation - although it does not heat up too much, but will not let out heat. Of what to choose?

1. Foam is the most popular because of its cheap form of substrate. Quite frankly, it does not have a particularly suitable thickness, and it's not very convenient to lay it in two layers, especially to inexperienced owners.
2. Propylene with reflective foil. A little better, because, at least, reduces the heat consumption. Just make sure that the coating - exactly the foil, and even the colored film can slip.
3. The queen of the substrates is cork. Does not bend, does not make noise, does not rot, does not steam, protects heat. Knowing what the substrate is made from, it is also not a pity for money. And the run-up to a thickness of 10 millimeters convinces.

After you have measured the area of the room and finally chose the type of substrate, it's time to lay it down before laying the laminate on the wooden floor. It can be stitched immediately to the entire floor, and can be partially, as the laminate is laid. How to lay the substrate under the laminate? We fixed one edge against the wall and slowly advance, making a plot behind the plot. Thus, the substrate is less dirty and does not interfere.

Laminate laying

Let's see how to properly lay the laminate floor. Its size and role material does not play. The type and type of panels, too. We will consider the general rules of styling. The first thing to do is bring the laminate home, open the boxes and cut the cellophane packing. Then for a day you can go for a walk, and the laminate in the meantime will get used to the climatic conditions of your home. Walking, think about what kind of stacking is right for you. There are few options, only three: along the room, across and diagonally.

Diagonal laying of panels

How to lay the laminate diagonally? This method of laying the most difficult, it should be noted separately. If you decide to mount the panels yourself and do not have the experience, it's better to drop it right away. And you will not do the work, and the material will be translated. The main difficulty is in the calculation and trimming of the end panels. And specialists get 5-10% overspending, and you yourself have to buy twice as much material. But if you still decided and chose the diagonal way of laying, you will have a tremendous effect. With this method, the room itself visually increases.

Lamella connection

With any laying method for a laminate of any kind along the edge of the room, it is necessary to leave an operational gap between the wall and the panels. For this purpose, pegs with a thickness of 5 to 10 millimeters are suitable. Now take two panels and connect the ends to the lock, then the next panel. When it came to cutting, do not rush, do not mix the sides and cut the lock. Next row, start with the halves of the lamellae and fold the tape again. If the strip is not very long, then completely incline it into the lock of the first tape and press down. If necessary, tap lightly on the panel until a characteristic click occurs.

Long distance mount gradually, it is better with the assistant. We bring the assembled row at a small angle, also raise it and insert it into the castle. You should get a wave - on the one hand, the cover, on the other - an elevated row. Do not put in or get a loose seam? In no case do not hit hard, do not squeeze the locks. It is better to disassemble once or twice and add up in a new way. The first two rows give direction, adjust the spacing from the wall. You can already see from them - a right angle in the room or not. Therefore, pay special attention to their installation. Then everything is simple - add the next page and go!

Installation of vinyl laminate coatings

If you do not know how to lay vinyl laminate flooring, read on. The technology of mounting this material has its own peculiarities. First of all, you need to comply with the temperature regime. The temperature should vary from 15 to 25 degrees. Instead of locks, the vinyl laminate has a self-adhesive tape, so you need to handle it carefully so that it does not get dirty. The same requirement and to the bottom - it should be perfectly clean and fat-free.

Artistic Laminate

First of all, the panels of artistic laminate have slightly different, enlarged parameters. So how to lay artistic laminate? Installation is identical to the installation of material from MDF. It will only be necessary to select a pattern or pattern, and the displacement of the rows is specified by the manufacturer (30 centimeters).

Tools Used

Of the specialized tools for laying a laminate you will only need a roller for vinyl and a hair dryer. All the rest must be found in every household. Roulette, a pencil and a square you have, a rubber can be borrowed from neighbors, and relatives probably have an electric jig saw or a parquet saw. A lug and wedges can be made from scraps of laminate. And do not forget to sharpen the knife.

Understand how to lay the laminate on a wooden floor? Then, perhaps, and all about the installation of panels. You can add only one thing - if you for some reason laid the laminate floor on an uneven floor, it's okay. Just disassemble it and fold it back on an even level base. The finishing touch after laying the laminate will be the installation of skirting around the perimeter of the room and the door near the door. Having done all this, take care of the wet cleaning, and only after it comes the time to slip the slippers, put on a robe and sit on the sofa near the fireplace to enjoy an excellent floor covering.