For further operation and high-quality installation of flooring, a substrate is necessarily laid under the laminate. Many experts recommend a coniferous substrate. It is made most often from wood or spruce needles, in rare cases from pine. What it is? What are the features and advantages of the material?
Characteristics
Coniferous substrate has the following quality characteristics:
- effectively dampens floor vibrations;
- eliminates base errors;
- protects locks from destruction for a long time;
- contributes to the preservation of heat in the room;
- It has excellent noise protection.
Based on numerous reviews, the coniferous substrate under the laminate is well cut with a knife and makes it possible, due to its different thicknesses, to raise the laminate in height comparable to tile. Also, the material perfectly absorbs moisture and protects the floor covering from it. But it is worth noting that the material has a different thickness. The scope of its application will depend on this. You can not use an overly thin or, conversely, a thick model.
Advantages
A coniferous substrate is always laid under the laminate and is an auxiliary material. It has the following advantages:
- Excellent sound insulation performance - if you lay a laminate on the floor without a substrate, you will hear noise while walking. This is due to the fact that the laminate has a small thickness and becomes a sound transmitter during floating installation.
- Makes the floor surface perfectly smooth - even if a concrete screed was made before installing the flooring, small defects always remain, which can be eliminated with the help of the substrate before laying the laminate. It will give the surface maximum evenness.
- Excellent level of water absorption - exposure to moisture negatively affects the quality of the laminate. Negative effects can be avoided thanks to the coniferous substrate, which absorbs water well and protects the coating from negative effects.
- Provides an excellent thermal insulation layer.
- In the manufacture of coniferous substrates, only natural material is used, which is completely safe for the human body.
- For mounting the substrate there is no need to use special tools, it is very easy to lay it, even an inexperienced master can cope with such a task.
disadvantages
According to reviews, the coniferous substrate for the laminate has not only advantages, but also disadvantages:
- It has a specific smell, which manifests itself only a few days after installation.
- It is not recommended to use a coniferous substrate in rooms with a high level of humidity, since mold can form on its surface, which will have a negative effect on the human body.
- High price.
- Before laying the substrate, be sure to make sure that it is completely dry. Otherwise, after some time, mold may form on it.
Another disadvantage is that the coniferous substrate is delivered to customers in sheets that are packed in film. After opening, often the sheets have a curved shape, because of which they can not fit snugly to the base.
Dimensions
When choosing a coniferous substrate, it is necessary to take into account its dimensions, which have a direct impact on its cost. When choosing, it is necessary to proceed from the degree of unevenness on the rough floor, since a certain thickness can only cope with the indicated unevenness on the surface.
According to reviews, a substrate for a coniferous laminate of 3 mm can be used only in cases where there are minor defects on the floor. With roughnesses of 1 mm, a substrate with a thickness of 4 mm can handle.
What to use for minor defects? If there are bumps from 1 to 2 mm on the floor, then a coniferous substrate under the 5 mm laminate is suitable. How to eliminate irregularities in 3 mm? A coniferous substrate under the 7 mm laminate can help you with this.
But these are far from all varieties. In some construction stores, you can find a coniferous substrate under a 5.5 mm laminate. Reviews about it are quite contradictory. After all, it is between 5 and 6 mm, and it is not always possible to qualitatively align the defective area.
In order to understand which coniferous substrate for a laminate is better, in each case it is necessary to take into account the recommendations listed above. It is worth choosing one that matches the roughness of the rough floor.
Where is it better to use it?
Since, according to reviews, the coniferous substrate under the laminate has high quality characteristics, it can be laid not only under the laminate, but also under parquet, linoleum or carpet. At the same time, it is able, even in some cases, to perfectly replace the more expensive, cork.
Most often, it is the coniferous substrate that is preferred where significant screed defects are observed. Currently, only two types of materials are able to cope with height differences on the basis of the floor. It is coniferous and cork.
Which substrate is better?
The advantages of the coniferous substrate under the laminate are obvious, but, despite this, it is slightly inferior in quality to cork. There are certain points that must be taken into account when choosing:
- Cork substrate differs from coniferous only in qualitative characteristics, and significantly exceeds in cost. Therefore, before making a choice, you need to evaluate your financial capabilities.
- The only indisputable advantage of the cork substrate is that fungi and mold never form on it. But if the waterproofing is correctly and qualitatively arranged in the room, then such problems will not have to be encountered when using a spruce substrate.
When choosing, it is necessary to take into account the pros and cons of a coniferous substrate for a laminate on a par with cork. Only a thorough analysis of all the nuances will help make the right choice.
Every day on the construction market there are more and more manufacturers who offer different substrates for the laminate. Nevertheless, only a few companies have been indisputable leaders for a long time.
Steico Underfloor Backing
According to reviews, Steico Underfloor spruce laminate flooring has excellent soundproofing characteristics. It perfectly dampens the sound while moving around the bottom of the floor. It also has good thermal insulation properties, copes with moisture at the highest level, but is still afraid of mold. The substrate of this manufacturer is realized in the form of plates and is considered an ideal option when laying under a laminate on a wooden floor. Due to its characteristics, such a substrate is often used in private households. The company is considered the leader in the production and sales of coniferous substrates.
The cost of one square meter of this material is about 180 rubles.
Leroy Merlin backing
Coniferous underlay for laminate flooring from the well-known manufacturer Leroy Merlin deserved much positive feedback. In the reviews, buyers say that it has a good value for money. Since such a substrate is subjected to special processing during manufacture, it effectively acts as a capacitor. It differs in excellent operational characteristics, despite the fact that it is much cheaper than the previous version.
Isoplaat
Another well-known manufacturer of spruce laminate substrates is Isoplaat. The material is characterized in that for a long time it can retain its shape and not be deformed. In addition, it perfectly absorbs noise and can be used as an insulating material, which prevents the laminate from cooling. Ideal for repairing old floors. It also has a relatively low cost.
You can buy such material at a price of 80 rubles per square meter.
Styling features
Everyone can cope with the installation work on laying the spruce substrate, since there is nothing complicated in the process. Its installation does not require certain knowledge and skills, as well as special equipment. The only thing that is necessary is to observe elementary rules, which ensure high-quality installation.
Be sure to install on a rough floor. First you need to thoroughly clean it from debris, dirt and dust, as even minor foreign objects can further ruin the quality of work. If the floor has irregularities, then it is best to cover it with sheets of plywood or pour a new screed. In addition, the floor must be waterproofed.
To lay the substrate, you need to purchase a tape measure, pencil or marker, as well as household scissors. Immediately before laying, it is necessary to bring the substrate into the room and let it lie down for several days so that the material can adapt to operating conditions.
Laying the substrate should be relative to the laminate at a right angle. For convenience, sheets should be marked out. Only then can you start slicing them. So that the joints between the individual plates of the substrate do not coincide with the joints of the lamellas, the first elements to be laid must be cut at a certain angle - 45 degrees. Between the wall and the material, a compensation clearance is necessarily left. After laying this material, you can proceed with the installation of the laminate.
Consumer Comments
Over the entire existence of the coniferous substrate under the laminate, many opinions have been formed. Some consider it to be the best and distinguished by excellent performance and quality characteristics, others, on the contrary, claim that it becomes unusable in a short period of time, as it is susceptible to mold.
In each individual case, it will be up to everyone to decide which substrate to purchase, depending on their preferences and financial capabilities. What remains indisputable is that the coniferous substrate is considered an environmentally friendly material, and if it is correctly placed, then mold will never form on it. Also, the undoubted advantage of such a layer is users believe that some manufacturers make it to order. Everyone has the opportunity to purchase a convenient and non-standard option, depending on the required size, to simplify the installation process.