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Laminate installation: tools and materials (video)

In modern apartments, floors are often made oflaminate. The technology of laying elements for the construction of such a floor is very well thought out, so any homeowner can install laminate even without training. Cutting the material and combining it is not at all difficult, so laying the flooring can be done quickly even with a complex room layout. Following some simple rules when laying the material will help make it labor-intensive, and the installation itself will not take much time.Layout of the laminate.

How to ensure a long life of the laminate

Before you start installing, you need to make surethat the material can be used in the conditions of the room where the repair is being carried out. Laminate flooring should be installed in a well-heated room where the humidity and temperature are normal. To ensure longer service life, it is advisable to maintain a room temperature of approximately 15-30°. Optimum humidity is 40-70%. A wooden floor or a well-leveled concrete base is suitable as a base for this material. If there are differences in height, they should not exceed 2 mm per 1 m. If the floor is significantly uneven, it must be leveled - this can be done by forming a concrete screed under the laminate. You can also install a self-leveling floor. Laying laminate on an uneven floor is unacceptable - the material will deteriorate very quickly.Types of laminate.It is also unacceptable to install laminate flooring over a warm floor system. Heating the panels from below will cause the elements to deform. In this case, only hydraulic systems are acceptable, with which the heat is distributed more evenly and the laminate does not overheat. The distance between the lower edge of the covering and the elements of the warm floor system must be at least 3 cm. When the base is prepared for work, start collecting materials and equipment. Return to contents</a>

What will be needed to install the laminate?

Technology of laying material on a flat baseis not difficult. Foamed polyethylene is spread on the finished cleaned base. Laminate can be laid on top. For wooden floors, a polyethylene underlay will be enough, but for a concrete base, waterproofing will be needed under the polyethylene. For this, a membrane material or ordinary polyethylene with a thickness of 200 microns is used. Materials for installing a laminate floor:

  • laminate in sufficient quantity;
  • priming composition;
  • polyethylene film;
  • expanded polyethylene;
  • glue;
  • wedges for creating technological gaps;
  • a plinth and fastenings for it.

As for wedges, it is better to buy thosethat are designed specifically for laying laminate. This solution is no less convenient and accessible than the crosses used when tiling surfaces. If there are no wedges, you can use wooden pegs or pieces of plasterboard instead. The main thing when using homemade wedges is to keep them all the same size. Wedges should be made approximately 10-15 mm.Tools for laying laminate flooring.Laminate is not attached to the base with glue. It is used only to ensure the adhesion of the material and the base at the edges. Laminate should be purchased with a reserve. It is not difficult to work with it, but even an experienced craftsman sometimes makes mistakes, and it often happens that some of the elements are damaged and become unusable. Most often this happens when it is necessary to cut lamellas in places where the walls bend or there are exits for communications. The following tools will be needed:

  • pencil;
  • sharp knife;
  • corner and tape measure;
  • electric jig saw;
  • hacksaw finely chiseled;
  • a hammer;
  • wooden bar.

The materials prepared for work must beplace in the room where the installation is to be carried out. They should lie there for 2 days before starting work. This should be done so that the materials can get used to the humidity and temperature conditions of the room. This process should not be neglected. In order to properly lay laminate on the floor, taking into account certain installation conditions, you need to understand this process well. Return to the table of contents</a>

How the laminate is laid

Laminate flooring installation diagram.The subfloor should be thoroughly cleaned of dust and debris. If possible, it is better to use a construction vacuum cleaner. The subfloor surface is primed, be it a concrete screed or a wooden floor. The cleaned concrete surface is covered with a layer of waterproofing. The strips are arranged with an overlap of 20 cm, all joints must be sealed with tape. Now you need to lay the foamed polyethylene. Laying the laminate begins from the window. The underlay for the floor covering is made only on the section of the floor where the laying is being done at this time. As the laying of the material progresses, the laminate will need to be added. By doing the work yourself, without involving specialists, you can better ensure the safety and cleanliness of the material. The material under the laminate should be arranged in such a way that its edge rises 2-3 cm onto the walls - this is how the shock-absorbing strip is formed. Each of the subsequent strips of foamed polyethylene is laid end to end with the previous one, tape is glued on top. Manufacturers also produce laminate flooring pre-equipped with an insulating lining. It is not recommended to install foamed polyethylene underneath it. An insulating layer should only be provided when installing laminate flooring on a concrete base. Laying the laminate flooring should begin with installing the first lamella from the window, in the corner of the room. Pegs are placed between it and the wall, after which solid strips are added to the row to the very end. It is important to connect the elements correctly: there are grooves on their ends for this purpose. The lamella should be brought to the already laid element evenly, at a slight angle, trying not to skew it. No effort should be applied, and a hammer should not be used.Assembly diagram of two rows of laminate.The entire element may not fit into the space remaining to the wall — fill it with a piece. To do this, turn the lamella over along the short end and place it on the already placed elements so that it rests against the wall. The back side of the panel is then facing up — a cutting line is marked on it. When marking, remember to leave a gap of 10-15 mm to the wall. Next, cut the lamella to the desired length using a hacksaw or jigsaw. Place the prepared element in the general row. Start the second row with the piece remaining from the laid row, if it is at least 30 cm long. If the piece is shorter, you will have to cut a new panel. The elements in this row are laid so as not to snap the locks — they should only touch the edges of the ends of the first row. The row is joined in the same way as the first, then the elements are slightly lifted, inserted into the lock until it stops and snapped along the entire length. It is better not to use a hammer. If it is necessary to eliminate stress where the panels are not fully inserted into the locks, place a wooden block against the outer end of the strip in this place and lightly tap it with a hammer. The rows should completely converge. Continue working in this manner until the entire space is filled. Particular attention should be paid to areas with protrusions or bends in the walls, places where communications are brought out. Return to the table of contents</a>

How the laminate is laid diagonally

If desired, the installation can be done according todiagonals. This makes it easy to create the effect of visual expansion of the room, which is often used to implement various design fantasies. The disadvantage of this method is that the amount of laminate increases significantly. To calculate it, you need to add 8% to the floor area. Preparation is carried out in the same way as for simple installation. First, choose a corner next to the window. From it, at an angle of 45 °, a twine or fishing line is pulled to the walls, along which you can perform installation. The edges of the first strip are cut at an angle of 45 °. Installation is carried out with the obligatory installation of wedges to create a thermal gap. After this, two strips are selected - they are measured so that the joint is in the middle of the first row, and the cut edges fit the wall with a gap. Gradually, the entire floor is filled with laminate. If you focus on the joints of the already laid rows and the stretched fishing line, you can first lay out large solid sections. Then you can work on the areas that require trimming of elements or fill in the areas near the walls. This will help to avoid incorrect installation, which often occurs due to the fact that the walls of the room are uneven - focusing on them, you can get a run-up in the joints of adjacent rows. When the entire space is filled, the wedges along the perimeter are removed and the protruding lining is trimmed. To complete the work, it remains to hang the baseboard. This gives the laminate floor a beautiful appearance.

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