What is a laminate, almost everyone knows. However, it is important to know the answers to all questions related to it, because there are quite a lot of them. When deciding the question "how to lay the laminate yourself", you should first determine the amount of material. To do this, determine what will be the surface area on which it will lie. When buying a laminate, it is important to consider that in the process of work there will inevitably be waste, which makes up 2-4% of the total floor area. But that's not all.
Solving the question of how to lay the laminate yourself, you need to decide on the way of laying. There are three options: transverse, longitudinal and diagonal. The latter option can cause an increase in the number of waste up to 15-20%, which is not always appropriate. Everyone must decide which way to choose, since each of them has advantages and disadvantages. The most common is the method of laying perpendicular to the wall on which the window is located. This method minimizes waste and also makes seams less visible.
If we talk about how to lay the laminate yourself, then we can say that this is not so difficult. There are simply a number of rules that are worth observing, which will allow you to get a beautiful coating that can last as long as possible. First of all, it is necessary to maintain sufficient clearance between the door and the future floor. The base of the floor must be firm, clean, dry and even. Assume a difference of not more than three millimeters per square meter. Only in this case, you can count on a sufficiently long coverage service, to eliminate creaking, bending and deflection. If the floors meet these requirements, then the question is: "How to lay the laminate yourself?" - will not be too difficult to solve. The best base is concrete.
If the floors in your home are heated, then you should choose a laminate with the property of heat resistance - this can be determined by the special icon on the package. If it is likely that the coating will get wet from below, a vapor barrier should be installed. If we talk about what to lay under the laminate, then it is appropriate to say about the substrate used when it is impossible to eliminate some irregularities. It will also serve as sound insulation.
There are special types of substrates, as well as a finished laminate with a substrate. You can use foamed polyethylene, cork, expanded polystyrene and other materials. The thickness of any type of substrate should not exceed 2-3 millimeters. Larger thicknesses may break joint locks.
The laminate is stacked in rows so that the length of the last plate in the row is not less than 20 centimeters. Otherwise, shorten the first plate. The laminate is sawn on the front side with a tool with small teeth. Each package has instructions for assembling floors from this material, so there should be no problems. When collecting the first row, special wedges should be installed between the coating and the wall. The second and subsequent rows should be fixed with their help. After the entire floor is laid, you can install skirting boards and thresholds.
To preserve the appearance of the coating, felt pads should be placed under the furniture legs.