Laminate flooring is one of the most popular flooring. It has many advantages, one of which is ease of installation. Even a layman will cope with this work. However, you need to familiarize yourself with all the subtleties of the process. If you make a mistake, the flooring will quickly wear out, a new repair will be required. How to put a laminate on a wooden floor will be discussed in detail below.
Material Features
Even a master without laying experience can correctly lay a laminate with his own hands on a wooden floor. However, before this, you need to consider in detail how this process is performed correctly. Laminate has a number of certain qualities. This is a multi-layer panel. Its decorative coating imitates natural wood.
The panels are interconnected using special grooves. These mounts are called locks. They are located on both sides of the panel. It is thanks to these connections that the installation of the laminate is quick and relatively simple. If such a need arises, most locking joints allow you to dismantle the coating.
Laminate, which is on sale today, differs not only in design, but also in strength class. The more people live in the house, the less susceptible to mechanical stress the surface should be. Before starting installation, you should also find out what qualities the material has.
Can a laminate be laid on a wooden floor ? The answer to this question is unambiguously positive. To avoid gross errors, you need to pay attention to the features of this flooring.
According to building codes, the humidity in the room in which the laminate will be laid should be 40-70%, and the air temperature should be 15-30º. Panels should get used to existing conditions in the room. For this reason, the laminate is removed from the packaging and laid out in the room. Here he must remain at least a day before the master can begin to install. Otherwise, deformations may appear.
Laminate is a material that is resistant to moisture. Therefore, it can only be installed in dry, heated rooms. Panels that are not afraid of getting to the surface of the water are also on sale. However, the cost of such material will be an order of magnitude higher. Joints even for this type of panel must be treated with a special sealant.
Installation requirements
How to lay a laminate on a wooden floor? There are certain installation requirements that are clearly specified in building codes. When creating such a floor covering, it is imperative to provide an even base. Otherwise, the panels will bend. Deformation will appear in the castle joints. Here, fixation due to vibration when walking on an uneven floor will gradually weaken. As a result, the floor will creak. Gaps may even appear between the individual panels.
Builders remind that the material is afraid of moisture. Therefore, you need to mount it on an absolutely dry surface. All building compounds that are under it should dry well. Also, no condensation should collect under the laminate. Therefore, high demands are put forward on the quality of the foundation.
Laminate absolutely does not tolerate deformations of the transverse type. Even if there is a solid base under the board, it will not be able to prevent the panel from breaking if there are voids under it. The weak point is the castle connection, since here the material is thinner.
The base must be properly prepared before installation. It is completely unacceptable that it had tubercles or dents. If the bulges under the laminate layer remain, they will press on the panel from the back. In these places, the decorative layer will be susceptible to abrasion faster than everywhere.
To determine whether the floors in a wooden house are even (under the laminate, the base should be perfect), a simple measurement can be made. You need to take the building level or a meter-long ruler. The tool is laid on the floor with an edge in different places. If there is a gap of more than two millimeters between the level and the base of the room, you will need to first level the floor.
Old boards need to be checked if they are strong enough. Rotten elements (when tapping make a dull sound), the bases must be removed. New boards are being installed in their place. The floor should not bend, have cracks, chips, bully. Therefore, old boards need to be restored using a grinding machine.
Styling scheme
There are a number of recommendations on how to lay laminate flooring yourself on a wooden floor. First you need to determine which styling scheme is suitable in a particular case. The laminate is mounted in the direction of the natural light source in the room. So the joints between the bands will be almost invisible. But this is not the only option. Specialists apply other schemes.
If it is required to economically spend material, it is recommended to choose a classic type of laying. It starts from the window. During installation, you need to move in the direction of sunlight. When the row reaches the opposite wall, the panel is cut off. The remaining piece is transferred to the beginning of the next row. This scheme is suitable if the trim is obtained not shorter than 25 cm.
You can lay the laminate on a wooden floor according to the principle of brickwork. In this case, the first row is laid out. The second line of panels is shifted half the length of the previous board. In this case, the base material will be as strong as possible.
Laying laminate boards diagonally looks more impressive. This option is similar to the classic one. However, the panels must be mounted at a 45º angle. The material consumption in this case will be quite large. The choice of installation methodology depends on the characteristics of the room, as well as the budget for the repair work.
Experts say that laminate flooring must be installed with an offset. Otherwise, the flooring will be fragile. Moreover, the next row should be offset from the previous one by at least 20 cm.
The amount of waste for each scheme will be different. This should be considered when purchasing material. So, with the classical scheme, it will be necessary to acquire material 5-6% more than the area of the room. This is the most economical type of installation.
If you mount the stripes staggered, the amount of waste increases. It is approximately 12-16%. Since this method of fixation provides increased strength of the base, it is used quite often.
The installation of strips of laminate with a diagonal slope looks impressive. The consumption of materials in this case will be significant. Waste is approximately 16%. If the room is long, narrow, their number increases.
Materials and Tools
Considering how to properly lay a laminate on a wooden floor, you should pay attention to the materials and tools necessary in the work. First of all, with the laminate, a substrate is also acquired. It can be of different types. The thickness of this material is selected in accordance with the type of flooring, as well as uneven floors. Sometimes you can do without additional alignment. The substrate is able to compensate for small roughnesses in the subfloor.
With the help of a special hammer, it will be necessary to assess the condition of the boards. Each of them is tapped, marking rotten, deformed elements. Instead, they will need to purchase new boards and carry out reconstruction. If the condition of the flooring is satisfactory, the grinding procedure is carried out.
This will require special equipment. Sanders are different. You need to choose equipment that allows you to achieve high quality surface planks. However, to acquire professional models is completely useless. This is an unjustified waste.
In addition, you will need to purchase wood putty. In our country, Tex construction products are in great demand in this area. It is made by a domestic manufacturer. The quality of such putty on wood meets construction standards, and the cost will be an order of magnitude lower than that of foreign brands.
You should also purchase a brush, roller. Considering the technology of how to lay a laminate on an old wooden floor, it should also be noted that it is covered with a primer.
Substrate
It should be considered in detail what to put under the laminate on a wooden floor. One of the required materials is a special substrate. She is able to level the floor a little, hiding the small irregularities of the wooden base. The substrate also serves as heat and sound insulation.
On sale are several basic varieties of substrates. They are made of different materials. This determines their operational characteristics and installation features. The substrate is also called underfloor heating. However, do not confuse this material with electric or water heating systems for the base.
Substrates can be made of natural (cork, fiberboard) or synthetic (polyethylene, polystyrene foam, polyurethane, etc.) materials. Some varieties of the substrate include bitumen.
A warm floor under the laminate on a wooden type of base is laid to reduce the negative consequences when bumps occur on the draft layer of boards. Also, the heat from the room will practically not go through the floor. This reduces energy costs in winter. Also, the steps on the laminate, under which there is a substrate, will be quieter.
The thicker the substrate, the more significant irregularities it can hide. However, with an increase in thickness, such an unpleasant effect as the forcing of the material appears. In this case, the laminate will loosen in the castle joints. Therefore, the substrate must be dense. Its thickness rarely exceeds 4 mm.
It is best to purchase cork and chipboard based substrates. They have high performance characteristics. The most well-known manufacturers of substrates in the Russian market are Quiet Stroke companies from Isoplaat. These are materials made on a natural basis. They can be used even in a children's room or bedroom.
Foundation preparation
There are several options for how to lay a laminate on a wooden floor. First you need to properly prepare the base. For this, a board evaluation procedure is carried out. If there are only a few rotten or deformed elements, you will not need to tear off the entire floor. Old boards are ripped off. In their place, new materials of appropriate dimensions are installed.
If the floor creaks while walking, you need to strengthen the shattered boards. To do this, they are additionally fixed with screws. Hats should not rise above the surface. They are recommended to be buried in the boards.
Next you need to grind the surface. In this case, greater accuracy is not needed, as in the case of parquet processing. Just remove the top layer to reduce the amount of bumps. After this procedure, all building dust, chips are removed from the base.
If there are small cracks, they are cleaned by treating the floor with putty on wood. The deepening places of the self-tapping hats also need to be covered with this construction mixture.
Mounting the laminate with your own hands on the wooden floor, primed boards. When the first coat is applied, it should dry well. After this, the primer is applied again. In some cases, the floor is so uneven that the listed actions will not be appropriate. In this case, drastic measures will be required. This will allow you to properly prepare the base before installation. In some cases, they mount new lags and create flooring from boards from scratch. This is necessary if the material of the rough base is significantly deformed, rotted. If the boards are in satisfactory condition, a “dry screed” is mounted on them.
Lag mounting
There is a special technique for putting laminate flooring on a wooden uneven floor. If the rough boards are rotten, significantly deformed, there is no point in restoring them. In this case, you will need to create a lag system from scratch. All old boards are dismantled. You also need to evaluate the condition in which the support beam is located. Some lags may require replacement. Part of the supporting structure can be left if it is characterized by a satisfactory condition.
Considering how to lay a laminate on a wooden uneven floor, you should consider the procedure for replacing the lag. If the base is severely deformed, there is no other way. The beam should be strong enough. Its diameter is 100 × 150 mm. Old and new logs are carefully treated with antiseptic impregnation. It is necessary to clean the base of the floor from various debris. On the prepared base lay waterproofing. It will be possible to install new lags on it. Their fixation occurs with the help of dowels.
The distance between each supporting beam should be about 60 cm. Insulation - mineral (basalt) cotton wool is laid in the gaps. This material is not subject to decay, burning. However, it requires the use of high-quality waterproofing. Therefore, saving on film is not worth it. Mineral wool will reliably retain heat indoors. It should be noted that this is an environmentally friendly material.
On the heater, the bars are filled perpendicular to the main lags. Plywood sheets will be mounted on top. Thanks to the transverse bars, this material will not bend. Fixation is carried out using metal corners. Further it is only required to level the floor with the help of plywood sheets. Their edges should fall exactly on the center of the lag. After this, the recesses left by the hats of the screws are treated with putty. Next, the substrate is laid and the laminate itself.
Dry screed
To level the base, a technique called “dry screed” can be used. In this case, the laminate is laid on plywood on a wooden floor. Sometimes instead of it, sheets of drywall are used.
To perform such an installation, you need to prepare not only plywood, but also slats for creating beacons, the construction level and damper tape. Also, during the work, self-tapping screws, waterproofing, glue will be required. As a heater it is recommended to use expanded clay.
Laminate on plywood on a wooden floor is laid according to a certain method. It is necessary to clean the floor of construction and other debris. If there are potholes, cracks and other defects in old boards, they are treated with putty. After it dries, the floor can be primed 2 times.
After that make the markup. It is necessary to determine with the help of a building (preferably laser) level the highest place in the room. From it, a projection onto the wall is made. This will be the level of the new draft basis. A line on the walls is created around the entire perimeter of the room at a given level.
Next, the floor is covered with waterproofing overlap. A damper tape is rolled out and fixed with a glue composition around the perimeter of the room. It will compensate for the deformation of wood due to changes in temperature and humidity.
Next, lighthouses are installed that are 60 cm apart. Between the lighthouses, a layer of expanded clay is poured and leveled. On top of the lighthouses stuffed sheets of plywood. They should be pressed tightly against each other, against the walls in the room. After the first layer is created, the second row of plywood is stuffed on it. Joints need to be done with offset to the middle of the previous sheet. Offset makes the base sturdy. Sheets are fixed with screws. On them you can line the substrate.
Castle connection
How to lay a laminate on a wooden floor? Before proceeding with its assembly, it is necessary to consider the features of the castle joints. The panels are fixed in three ways. They are due to the configuration of the locks.
In the first embodiment, the locks are fixed with glue. This option allows you to create a strong joint, which does not penetrate moisture. This connection is called a groove spike. Previously, this type of locks was used to create a parquet board. Glue is applied to both sides of the laminate. Then the panels are pulled together. This connection technique is often used for technical rooms. In them, the load on the floor will be significant.
Click distribution became more widespread. This is the same groove-stud mount, but located at an angle of 30º. When the panel slides down, the lock closes. Fixation is very durable, which allows you to quickly and efficiently lay the laminate on a wooden floor.
The third type of joints is the rather complicated Lock connection. To drive the key into a recess on the opposite side of the panel, it is tapped with a hammer. To dismantle this type of locks is almost impossible. Such compounds are extremely rare today.
Mounting
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Having considered the recommendations on how to lay a laminate on a wooden floor, you can perform all the work yourself. The result will be good. The flooring will be used for a long time.