Laying laminate flooring is quite simple, with thisEven a beginner can handle the basics and rules of installation of this type of flooring if you follow them. But how to eliminate the creaking of laminate, which often not only causes irritation, but can also be a harbinger of more serious problems, can only be understood by finding the cause.
Common causes of creaking laminate:unevenness on the base surface, lack of compensation gap, humidity changes. Laminate has long been a very democratic type of flooring, with many advantages. In addition to price and ease of installation, this material (depending on the class) has high strength and performance characteristics. A wide range of colors, imitation of natural wood or other materials allow its use in interiors decorated in almost any style. But quite often after installation, a characteristic creaking appears, which can have a clear localization or spread across the entire floor. Most often, it is believed that laminate creaks after installation due to improper installation, this is often justified, but not always. There are many reasons for this, they can be caused by both violations during the installation of the flooring, and be operational defects that appear after some time.
The main causes of squeak laminate due to a violation of the installation technology
Poorly leveled floor base -the main reason for extraneous sounds after installation. It should be taken into account that it is necessary, if not on an ideal, then necessarily a flat base, you can not hope that the underlay will save the situation, even if you choose a material thicker than required. During operation, it will settle, and especially strongly in places experiencing the greatest load. Very soon, the laminate may creak. If the floor has small defects, you can fix them with a thin layer of self-leveling mixture. But when the condition of the base is critical, you will need to make a full screed, other methods for solving the problem will not work. In addition to the fact that the base of the floor must be flat, it must be clean - without sand, small debris and even dust. If the cause of the creak is of this nature and is observed only in one or two places, then you should disassemble this area, remove the cause, that is, the remains of construction or other debris, and lay it again. But if the floor creaks over the entire area, then you will need to disassemble the covering (remembering to number the parts), thoroughly clean the base and, most likely, replace the underlay. Sometimes, for greater effect, some experts advise laying a layer of polyethylene film on the screed, and on top of that - the underlay. If the base is even, then it makes no sense to lay a thicker, but soft underlay under the laminate. It will not add heat, but problems will appear - the floor will start to creak over time (or immediately). And if the base has some unevenness, then even more so this will not save the situation, on the contrary, it will aggravate it. The optimal thickness of the underlay is only 2-3 mm. Return to the table of contents</a>
The voltage in the junction joints and the dimensions of the gaps
Another reason for the cracking of the coating– this is the absence of a gap between the flooring and the wall along the perimeter of the room. When laying laminate, you should follow the condition - leave a mandatory gap between it and the wall within 0.7-1 cm, and if the area of the room is large, then up to 1.5-2 cm. If this condition is not met, a squeak will appear immediately after laying. This gap is necessary so that the laminate has somewhere to straighten out and in the future, during operation, no tension is created in the connecting locks. In this case, it is quite easy to solve the problem, you just need to trim the extreme parts to the desired width and close the gap again with a plinth, while be sure to control the force of its pressing - it should be screwed tightly, but without much force. If the laminate creaks near the door, the reason may be due to the fact that the casing is pressing hard on it, then it should be removed and trimmed a little. It is very important, when installing, to let the laminate lie for a few days, and close the gaps with plinths after that. In this case, you will be able to immediately see the problem and fix it.
Significant fluctuations in humidity and temperatureroom can also cause the laminate to creak. But sometimes the creaking of the laminate is not a signal that the installation was done incorrectly. Often immediately after installation due to a certain tension in the locking joints, but if all the technology is followed, this phenomenon is completely normal and passes within 1-3 months. This feature of such behavior of the laminate has an explanation - the floor over time finally straightens out, adapts to operating conditions, such as room humidity and mechanical loads affecting it. Often, especially in open interiors, a complete absence of interior thresholds is assumed. But for laminate, this is another reason to creak. Therefore, if the space is large enough, then you should not neglect the possibility of fixing the material, otherwise you will not be able to get rid of the creaking. But if after the specified time the problem does not disappear, then the cause of the creaking is different, with the exception of those cases when cheap and low-quality material was purchased for the floor. Its creaking will most likely be constant. This is due to the fact that inexpensive types of laminate have very low-quality locking joints. And in this case, the solution to the problem is easy and difficult at the same time: you should buy new high-quality material, dismantle the old floor covering and lay a new one. Return to the table of contents</a>
Laminate scraped in use
Laminate lock:the main place where the creaking occurs. Even if all the rules for installation, operation and maintenance are followed, the laminate may start to creak after some time. This phenomenon may become permanent or appear only occasionally. In this case, there are usually two reasons. The first and main one is the temperature and humidity conditions. After eliminating the cause, the creaking of the laminate goes away on its own. But if it gets worse, it is possible that the shrinkage of the house is the cause - this phenomenon is often observed in new buildings, after about a year, or in old houses. This may be a signal that the structure is collapsing with possible deformation of the supporting structures. Laminate is quite suitable as a floor covering for warm floors. But in order not to bring the situation to the point of creaking, you should follow some rules that are similar to the requirements for the installation and operation of warm floors in cases where parquet is used as a floor covering. Do not allow a sharp rise in temperature. At the beginning of operation or the season, it is recommended to increase it by no more than 1 ° C every day. In this case, situations associated with sharp fluctuations in temperature and humidity in the room should be avoided.
