Despite the variety of modern finishing materials for flooring, linoleum is still the most popular and in demand. This happens because linoleum has long proved its practicality, durability and wear resistance. In addition, the cost of such coverage is very affordable. However, before you finally make your choice, it is worth deciding whether it is better to lay it on a concrete floor or on a wooden floor when laying the linoleum, and how much it all costs.
Level the floor, prepare the base
In order to determine which substrate on the floor under linoleum you need, it is worth deciding on the type of floor itself. Most often this is a concrete base with a rather uneven surface, so for a start it is worth leveling it. This process should be taken with all responsibility, since not only the appearance of the floor covering, but also the period of its operation will depend on a smooth concrete layer.
First you need to completely clean the floor surface from the old coating, if there was one, remove all layers of steam, noise and waterproofing, thoroughly clean the floor from the remains of construction debris, dust and dirt.
Then you should evaluate the quality of the concrete pavement. Using the construction level of the appropriate length, measurements should be taken and all bumps, dents, the height of the differences between the building plates should be noted. If the total number of irregularities exceeds 15–20% of the total floor area, then a repeated
concrete screed must be performed
. It is best to level the concrete surface with a
self-leveling mixture that will fill all the pits and bumps on its own.
The final stage of preparation of a concrete base should be the treatment of the floor with a primer.
How to prepare a wooden coating
To prepare a wooden coating, first of all, it is necessary to carefully close up all the cracks. To do this, you can use special blades, but it is much more effective and cheaper to use a home-made composition. Take the old newspapers, chop finely and fill with plenty of warm water. When the paper softens, it must be wrung out and mixed with glue. Using the resulting paste, carefully repair all cracks, chips, crevices, and bumps.
After this, the floor surface must be cleaned with sandpaper to remove roughness. Of course, you can process the floor and scraping. This can be done both manually and with a special device. Then the surface will become perfectly smooth and the substrate on the floor under the linoleum will lie perfectly.
Is linoleum substrate really necessary
Many experts are still fiercely arguing about whether a linoleum substrate is needed on a concrete floor. Reviews and opinions are very different, however, it is worth noting a few important details:
- with the help of the substrate it is possible to smooth out minor irregularities of the floor surface, which will have a fruitful effect during operation;
- if laying on a cold floor, the room is not warming enough or there is an unheated basement at the bottom, the substrate will help to eliminate this trouble;
- almost all types of substrates have a sound-absorbing effect, help to soften sounds when walking, and also make the coating softer.
Natural backing
The most popular material for the manufacture of natural linoleum substrates is cork. It is produced by pressing granules from cork oak bark, and only natural binders are used. So the output is 100% eco-friendly material.
Linen or, for example, jute backing are also quite popular. Under linoleum, you can also lay insulation and a combined type - this is a mixed insulation, consisting of jute, linen and wool.
A jute linoleum substrate has some advantages. In production, it is treated with an antiseptic and a flame retardant compound that prevents fire, rot and mold. Jute insulation has the ability to absorb moisture and give it back, but it itself does not get wet.
Linen substrate for linoleum on a concrete floor is also quite environmentally friendly and, as in the previous case, is treated with special compounds, so it also does not rot, and no “living creatures” start up in it. It is made by punching natural linen with a double needle and rolled on rollers.
Polymer backing
The linoleum underlay on the concrete floor, the photo of which is most often seen on the Internet, is made of
polymer materials. This is the most inexpensive and common insulation, but it is not particularly convenient to use it under linoleum. Although these materials also have sound insulation and have good thermophysical properties, under the rolled material they quickly crumple and lose their quality.
To determine which substrate for linoleum is suitable in your case, you should pay attention to the price of polymer substrates (they are much cheaper than natural ones), as well as their diversity.
The polymer substrate for linoleum on a concrete floor is as follows:
- polystyrene foam boards;
- penofol (roll);
- aluminum foil isolon;
- penoizol (liquid foamed polymer);
- other polymers.
Multilayer insulation
Also, the linoleum substrate on the concrete floor is also used as part of multilayer insulation. It is very convenient, for example, a film heat-insulated floor, it will maintain a constant floor temperature at 26-30 ° C, which will not allow the coating to melt.
A layer of heat-insulating material is laid on the
draft floor , sheets of a film heat-insulated
floor are laid on top. The design is connected to the mains. Termopol is covered with a plastic film, then sheets of plywood are laid. Fiberboard is not worth using, you can damage both linoleum and film thermopolis. Care must be taken to ensure that the plywood sheets are attached directly to the floor, without touching the thermal film. The plywood and linoleum are laid on top of the plywood. This design guarantees high-quality insulation of the concrete floor.
Warming of a balcony or loggia
The linoleum underlay on the concrete floor on the balcony is also usually a multilayer structure. Only here the infrared floor is most often used, it is not afraid of moisture and does not contribute to fire. The floor temperature is regulated by temperature sensors, and copper-silver conductors are hidden in the graphite strips through which an electric current of 220 V passes. In principle, in this case you can do without a substrate at all, but if the linoleum is not thick enough, you risk damaging the heating film.
We lay the substrate - installation technology
In principle, for laying linoleum you do not need to have any special knowledge, but you should still follow some rules. First you need to carefully clean the floor from dirt and dust, vacuum, and if necessary, then wash it.
After the floor dries, a linoleum substrate is laid. Plain polyethylene is placed on the concrete floor for heat and to provide vapor barrier over the entire surface. The strips overlap each other, and the joints are connected using tape. The polyethylene must be spread so that it goes a little on the walls - about 3-4 cm.
Now the layer of the insulator itself is laid. If the substrate material is rolled, then you just need to cut off the strips of the desired length and lay it on the floor, and glue the joints with tape. If the substrate is sheet, then it is necessary to lay out the sheets in a checkerboard pattern and carefully glue the joints.
The next layer is linoleum itself, however, before final installation it is recommended to freely spread it on the floor and leave it in this position for a couple of days.
We make linoleum - to glue or not?
Laying linoleum can be done in several ways, while it is absolutely not necessary to stick it to the substrate. If you want to save a little, you can only glue the joints with special glue, but this can not be done for all types of linoleum.
You can also use double-sided tape, which, in general, is quite convenient. Adhesive tape can be glued in the form of a grill over the entire area of the room, or you can do it only in places of seams. It depends on the area and configuration of the room.
However, many experts consider the previous methods to be short-lived and prefer to stick linoleum. To do this, you can use special adhesives or bitumen mastic. By the way, bitumen mastic is a fairly good waterproofing agent, and its pasty consistency will help to even out unevennesses in the base. It must be remembered that the use of mastic requires the treatment of a concrete floor with a special primer suitable for working with bitumen.
How much and what will be needed
In order to calculate the cost of consumables for styling, you need to consider many different factors. Of course, it all depends on the size of the room and the work necessary to level the base. It is also important which linoleum substrate will be used by you and how you are going to fix it.
In general, you need to calculate:
- the cost of materials for leveling the floor (cement-sand mixture and primer for concrete base and putty for wood);
- the quantity and price of the insulating substrate and all that is needed to fix it (adhesive tape or glue);
- linoleum directly and means of its fixation (glue, mastic, adhesive tape, etc.);
- baseboards.
The main thing is that you need to calculate the amount and width of linoleum itself as accurately as possible, because if it is not enough, then it will be problematic to fix it, and if you just take it a little more, you can just waste money.
Taking into account all the recommendations, you can put linoleum on your own without much effort, and the choice of a quality substrate will prolong its service life for a long time.