Laminate is a new version of flooring, but during its existence it managed to gain popularity. The material has high performance and is easy to install. Using the installation instructions, you can carry out the work yourself, even if you do not have the appropriate skills in the field of decorating.
Floor Leveling Patterns
Is it possible to lay a warm floor under the laminate - this question is often asked by home masters. You can be sure that such work is permitted, but it is important to check whether the rough surface is suitable for this. It may have certain irregularities, but for every 2 m 2 they should not be more than 2 mm. If the slope is 4 mm per 2 m 2 , this floor is not recommended for laying laminate and further use of furniture. Otherwise, there will be a skew that will cause the cabinet doors to not close.
When preparing the floor, you must use the technology based on the materials in its basis. If this is an old concrete pavement, then it must be thoroughly repaired. Cracks should be expanded and filled with mortar, and the recesses filled with a self-leveling mixture. At the final stage of preparation, the floor must be sanded and filled with screed. If a wooden coating is used as a rough surface, it is necessary to first replace failed boards. Alignment is permissible by plywood. Cement screed is usually primed, and plank or plywood coatings are ground with special equipment. All types of floors are washed and vacuum cleaned before installing the laminate.
Laying the substrate and insulation
If you wondered how to lay the laminate on the floor correctly, you should remember that it is important to exclude contact of the material with the surface that releases moisture. It is necessary to carry out the installation of additional layers, which will be responsible for the absorption of moisture and prevent the formation of condensate. These layers are usually a diffusion membrane or 20 mm polyethylene. The sheets spread with an overlap of 20 cm, they are connected together with adhesive tape.
If you are interested in how to lay a laminate flooring correctly, then you should know that you will also need to waterproof the surface. This issue is especially relevant if installation is carried out on a concrete base. When there is gravel or crushed stone in the concrete floor, and the floor itself was laid on a sand-cement screed, waterproofing is simply necessary, as is the case with monolithic flooring and factory slabs. The lifetime of the concrete floor is not of particular importance, since the material can release moisture, whether it is old or new. If you install a waterproofing layer, the laminate will not become deformed, and it will not need to be affected by varnish.
Laying laminate on linoleum
On which floor the laminate is laid, you know. It can be concrete, and linoleum, and wood. To begin the installation of panels you need to heading from the window. There should be a gap between the wall and the laminate by installing spacer wedges in these places. The clearance gap must be 10 mm wide. It is necessary for the expansion and contraction of the material with differences in humidity and temperature.
If you are wondering how to lay the laminate on the floor, you should follow the instructions. It says that after mounting the first row, you should trim the short element. If the workpiece is longer than 50 cm, it is placed in the second row, minimizing the amount of waste. Elements of the second row should be applied to adjacent dies at an angle of 45 ˚. The last plate is installed using a clamp, which will allow to maintain a stationary state.
To protect the deformation gap when laying the laminate after installing the panels, plinths are installed. Under them, you can lay wires and other communications. The thickness of the substrate will depend on the thickness of the panels. For example, for 9 mm elements, the substrate should not be thicker than 3 mm.
Tool preparation
If you were wondering how to lay the laminate on the floor correctly, you should take care before starting work on the availability of appropriate tools, among which are:
- construction knife;
- hammer;
- roulette wheel;
- pencil.
To ensure even installation, you will need a level and a building corner. You may need a hacksaw or electric jigsaw, which will allow you to cut panels, bars and baseboards. With a pencil, you will place marks on panels and walls. For ease of installation, you can purchase a set for laying laminate flooring.
How to connect panels
If you wondered how to lay a laminate on the floor with your own hands, you should familiarize yourself with the possible ways to connect the panels. There are several ways to do this. Some dies have special latches that allow you to insert the comb of one board into the next panel. It is necessary to act in this case by inserting elements horizontally or vertically. In order to achieve higher reliability during docking, glue the parts to be connected with glue and tap them with a hammer.
On sale you can find a laminate with double locks, in which the crest of one panel not only fits into the groove, but also snaps with little effort. This connection option is more reliable and does not provide additional mounting. The glue method has recently been applied less frequently. This technology involves pre-treatment with glue and bonding the sides.
Various mounting methods
After leveling the surface and buying all the tools, as well as having decided on a suitable system for connecting the dies, you can start laying them. If you want to know how to lay a laminate on a warm floor, you should familiarize yourself with the methodology, which states that installation can be carried out with a serial connection of boards. This method is called deck. It is suitable for all types of laminate, and differs from curly in simplicity of work and material saving. This does not require complex calculations and frequent cropping.
If stacking is carried out piece by piece, then the algorithm of actions will be different. The first panel must be installed so that the lock faces the master, while the comb faces the wall. Wedges should be installed between the panels and the wall for clearance. The second panel joins the 2nd. There should be no gaps or differences in height between the combined dies. It is important to ensure that the longitudinal edge is at the same level. To connect along the shared edge of the panel, they are inserted at an angle, and then brought to a click by clicking. Vertical and horizontal end locks are connected.
In the first row, the trim of the last panel is set. If stacking is done in rows, you will need to follow these steps. The first row is assembled from panels with a trimmed ridge. The castle must be facing itself. The first row does not have to be near the wall. The 2nd joins it, and after it is attached to the wall.
To form a deformation gap, wedges must also be installed. The following rows are installed using the same technology. Under the door frame, the floor covering is started so that there is no gap between the jamb and the floor. The racks of the box for this are sawn up to the thickness of the laminate in the lower part. If a pipeline passes through the floor, then in the place of its passage, a hole should be drilled 2 cm larger than the diameter of the pipe. This will ensure free floating of the floor with differences in humidity and temperature.
Is it possible to lay laminate on a wooden floor
If you wondered how to properly lay a laminate on a wooden floor, then first you need to find out whether it is possible to carry out such work. The panels are united only among themselves, and there is no need to fix them to building structures. If the installation is carried out in a floating manner, the floor will lie on a draft basis, allowing it to narrow and expand. It will not prevent the laminate from changing its geometric parameters with differences in humidity and temperature.
The laminated board has such a design specificity, which allows you to do without glue. Thus, we can conclude that laying a laminate on a wooden floor is possible. If there is a new plank floor, it is necessary to check the fastenings and update the loose fasteners by drowning nails or self-tapping screws into the floorboards. Slots can be filled with wood glue or foam. If necessary, the surface is cycled.
If you are interested in how to lay a laminate on a wooden floor, then you should also familiarize yourself with the technology, which involves the use of a rough coating with structural violations. This basis will have to be finalized. If the floorboards bend, the lag system can be strengthened by installing a beam or replacing the boards with thicker lumber. It happens that it is easier and more profitable to lay on top an additional row of boards, which will be similar in thickness. They are arranged crosswise with respect to the previous layer. The latter measure is acceptable if the rough floor with a laminate and a substrate does not take too much from the height of the ceiling.
If you are interested in how to lay a laminate on a wooden floor, then you should know that such a rough surface can also be leveled with plywood, as well as by lining pieces of roofing material under the logs. You can use for this purpose the glassine, folded in several layers. An alternative solution is the acquisition of a designer from Knauf, which provides for a set of fasteners, plywood sheets and supports.
Features of laying laminate on a wooden floor
It is better not to cover the wooden draft base with hydro- and vapor barrier, which will impede ventilation. Under such layers, condensation harmful to the wood will accumulate. But if there is a desire to insulate the surface, it is better to use a diffusion membrane. Better to lay the substrate. Natural material is suitable for this.
To preserve the wooden structure, you should forget about the high prices for cork and pressed options with its use, namely bitumen-rubber and cork coatings. The thickness of this layer should be chosen taking into account the laminated panel. Under 8 mm from it is necessary to lay a 3 mm substrate without overlap. Stationary fastenings to walls or the base do not need to be done. It only requires gluing with tape.
Once you know that you can lay a laminate on a wooden floor, you can begin to work. Installation activities usually begin from an angle farthest from the doorway. You need to grab four panels with you. Two of them, which will be located against the wall, should first remove the comb. The groove remains in place. To exclude cross intersections, it is important to outline how far the panels will be shifted in adjacent rows. This will increase reliability. The offset for offset is 30 cm. The second board should be shortened by this amount.
After joining the 1st and 3rd panels, you can attach to them a segment of the 2nd. Then the 4th die is activated. The assembled segment moves to the designated location. Between the wall and the assembled element, leave a distance, insert gaskets 1 cm thick.
Can laminate flooring be laid on underfloor heating
Many home craftsmen are wondering if they put underfloor heating under the laminate. The answer here is the unambiguous "Yes." With this arrangement of the system, the source of heat is heated water. It circulates through pipes located under the laminate. The industry of the 21st century produces pipe products made from the latest materials. At the core are innovative technologies.
You can buy metal-plastic or polyethylene pipes for such a system, which ensure complete safety of operation, so water leakage is completely eliminated. When you figured it out, you can put a warm floor under the laminate, you should study the features of the technology. It says that a damper tape should be placed around the perimeter of the room. Hydro and thermal insulation is arranged over the subfloor, reinforcing mesh is laid. Pipes should be positioned parallel or spiral. In the first case, the pattern will resemble a snake. The ends of the pipe are closed to the heating circuit so that the water circulates inside.
At the next stage, you can begin to fill the structure with a sand-cement mixture. Such a screed is aligned under the laying of the laminate. The coolant will circulate through the pipes, heating the cement and evenly transferring heat to the laminate.
Installation Rules
If you wondered how to properly lay a warm floor under the laminate, you should know that the installation technology will be standard. Around the perimeter you need to install a damper tape at the bottom of the wall. A plastic film is placed on the finished screed. The planks are thin, so it is important to reduce the physical stress on the screed. For this, a foam polyethylene substrate is laid under the laminate.
If you want to know how to properly lay a warm floor under a laminate, then you should be aware that the material must be kept for some time in the room before installation. The water floor is warming well for several days before the start of work, and after 2-3 days the heating is turned off. During this time, the desired microclimate is formed in the room.