A high-quality floor in an apartment starts with a screed.It is the most important element of the floor, preventing unevenness and creating the necessary noise and heat insulation. In the bathroom, in addition to the screed, waterproofing is also of great importance, because this is a place where it is constantly damp. What kind of floor to make in the room? Laminate or parquet are most often chosen as the two highest quality and most beautiful finishing materials.
The color and texture of the laminate are selected to match the interiorrooms. So what kind of floor to make in the room, from natural wood or not, everyone asks themselves. Parquet is made of natural wood and will serve for a very long time, but does not like water and is quite capricious in maintenance, because it requires grinding and special varnish coating. In this regard, laminate is more economical, because this material is much cheaper, and looks no worse.
Overhauling the floor: what it consists of
It is necessary to remove the old covering and joists andfill everything with concrete. It is the monolithic pouring that is one of the most popular means of leveling the surface of the future floor. In addition, it is a good idea to pour self-leveling liquid on top, then the screed process can be considered complete.
Scheme of floor leveling with concrete screed.All this will not be difficult to do on your own, but only in one case, when the differences in height do not exceed 5 cm. Otherwise, it is better to invite craftsmen for repair work. The screed is poured from the far corner of the room, evenly over the entire area of the room, and leveled with a special tool - a rule, gradually moving towards the entrance doors, without forming voids. It is necessary to let the screed stand for 3 days so that it takes a normal shape. You can not fill the floor with concrete completely, but make a screed in the form of concrete bars, on which logs and plywood are laid. The method of making such a screed can be found on the website, but if you have no experience in repair work, it is better to do it the simplest way. This new pouring technology allows you to level the floor without additional load on the foundation and ceilings, because much less cement is consumed, and the pouring is lighter in weight. Logs, plywood and the parquet itself can already be laid on top of the concrete. This type of flooring will not wear out, but it is quite problematic to lay parquet correctly, so it is worth entrusting it to specialists. But laminate is much easier to lay, so everyone can try their hand at renovating a room. Return to contents</a>
Warm floor: whether it is needed or not, features
Schemes for laying underfloor heating.Under the laminate, you can lay a heated floor, which will not only make the room warmer and more comfortable, but also help save on heating the house, if it is a cottage. However, in apartments, it has become popular to choose a heated floor in rooms where it is cool in winter. You can forget about warm socks and thick carpets, it is pleasant to walk on such a floor even barefoot. A heated floor is also indispensable in the bathroom, because it is so nice to stand on a heated floor, instead of cold ceramics. To install a heated floor, you can take a special film that is easy to cut and connect to the network. A special thermostat will not allow the floor to overheat, because it will turn on and off automatically when the temperature in the room decreases and increases. Such a floor can be laid not only in rooms, but also on the balcony. And most often it is used in the bedroom, nursery and living room, where it is most needed. Laminate tolerates a heated floor better, but parquet can dry out, so immediately decide which covering to choose when installing a heated floor. If tiles are laid on the floor in a room, it must be leveled perfectly, because the slightest distortion will immediately affect not only the beauty, but also the evenness of the floor. So in the bathroom, it is necessary to immediately make a slope from the bathtub, to avoid flooding. In addition, waterproofing of the walls and floor is carried out, for which polymer mastics are needed. After that, beacon slats are selected and the floor is completely filled with concrete screed. In order for the materials to adhere better, it is necessary to apply a primer. After that, the floor is left to stand for 3 days and tiles are glued to a flat surface, and then the resulting seams are rubbed. Such coatings are not afraid of moisture, they look presentable and stylish. A floor covered with ceramics or porcelain stoneware looks good not only in the bathroom, but also in the kitchen, hallway and even the living room. Return to contents</a>
The style of finishing also matters
For a classic style room interior,It is recommended to finish the floor with laminate or parquet. When choosing the floor finish in the room, it is very important to decide on the style of the room. For example, a classic interior style involves the presence of parquet, laminate or carpet over a wooden floor. Country style will be quite satisfied with ceramic tiles or porcelain tiles. Parquet is inappropriate for minimalism and high-tech style. To find out which style of flooring will suit the chosen interior, you can look at photos of the rooms or contact specialists. They will advise which material and color scheme to choose for each specific case. You should not mix styles, it will not look beautiful, because having glued PVC tiles to the kitchen floor, it is simply ridiculous to put an exquisite set there. Return to contents</a>Color and texture Also the color of the material shouldbe chosen in accordance with the lighting of the house. In a small darkened room, light shades will add volume, expand the space, and dark ones, on the contrary, will reduce it even more. In addition, it is very important to know where exactly the coating will be located and determine its wear resistance.
Laminate structure diagram.So, parquet will look best in the living room, bedroom, and laminate is perfect for the hallway, kitchen and children's room. Since this is where most of the movement in the house occurs, the parquet will not look presentable, but will simply fade. Laminate is more durable in this regard, but you need to choose the most durable one, which is designed for high traffic. It will cost more. But nevertheless, it will justify itself. For the kitchen and hallway, you can choose ceramic tiles as a floor decoration. This option is not suitable for the room, unless you can decorate the floor with porcelain tiles in the living room at the dacha, but immediately provide for a warm floor, because ceramics do not retain heat well. The ideal solution would be to make a combined floor, if the premises allow it. So, in the hallway, you can lay tiles at the entrance, where sand and street dirt usually collect, and then smoothly transition to the laminate, which will continue into the room. Thanks to a successful combination of colors, you can make such transitions invisible, but cleaning the house will no longer be a problem.
Table of laminate classes and quality.The laminate in the room should also be quite strong, because choosing cheap brands, the client will get another problem - frequent replacement and repair. If desired, you can lay a parquet board, it will be much stronger, but will require more careful maintenance. A beautiful room and house is the dream of many homeowners, because the mood of the entire apartment or house depends on the overall appearance. Choosing high-quality materials and doing repairs conscientiously, you can get not only a beautiful interior, but also the opportunity to do repairs as little as possible. To avoid stains on the floor and to prevent it from warping, you need to choose moisture-resistant materials for the bathroom, kitchen and hallway. In the room, the moisture resistance of the material is not so important, but you need to know that parquet and laminate do not like excess moisture. The floor in the room looks beautiful when it imitates natural wood. Therefore, it is better to choose laminate in a natural color scheme. Parquet, especially piece parquet, can be laid in the form of a mosaic, making the floor in the room a work of art. Such a beautiful installation not only looks very stylish, but also adds luxury to the room. Return to contents</a>
Not only beauty, but also comfort: recommendations
Laminate flooring installation diagram.When choosing a floor in a room, do not forget that the first floor is almost always colder than the others, which means that good thermal insulation and waterproofing will not be superfluous. It is best to provide for this at the very beginning of the renovation, because otherwise you will have to redo the insulation several times. It is best to entrust such work to professionals, because it is difficult to do good thermal insulation on your own. There are many materials that will make the room cozy and warm, the main thing is to choose them in accordance with the room. A private house will have to be insulated more carefully, starting from the basement and foundation, and an apartment in an ordinary house will require less work and investment. Recently, cork flooring has been laid in apartments. It is not only very beautiful in appearance, but also has several advantages, such as: thermal insulation, sound insulation. The material is much more expensive than parquet, but it looks more luxurious. In a budget renovation, you can lay regular linoleum on the floor, but it looks much worse than laminate, and is not recommended for rooms, but is more suitable for such rooms as the kitchen and hallway. You can lay natural linoleum in the room, but it is much more expensive than regular linoleum, so such costs are not justified, and laminate is much cheaper. Since laminate is very easy to lay, unlike ceramics and parquet, such repairs can be done independently. Various interiors of rooms and other premises require different materials for flooring. To make your home cozy, warm and beautiful, you will have to make some calculations. They will consist of the ratio of the appearance of the material, its price, quality and wear resistance. Having chosen the most acceptable option, you can safely proceed to replacing the flooring. If in doubt, you can always consult with specialists, and they will help you choose the right option.
