It's no secret that there are no better floors than thosemade of wood. However, over time, parquet boards can become deformed, causing the flooring to lose its aesthetic and practical qualities. The problem of worn-out wooden floors can be solved with laminate.
Structure of laminate board.The installation of this type of flooring itself is not a task for beginners. Including floor restoration using laminate flooring on chipboard, plywood or fiberboard. Therefore, it makes sense to consider how to properly install laminated boards on a wooden floor.
Advantages of laying a laminate on logs
Restoring a floor covering by laying a laminate board on a wooden floor is a popular solution. Its advantages are:
- the speed of the process;
- Possibility to lay heat and soundproof materials under the lags;
- low cost of professional installation;
- the ability to conduct communications under the floor without the need for additional installation work.
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Preparation and implementation of works
In order for the installation of laminate on chipboard, plywood or fiberboard to give the expected result, it is necessary to prepare the surface and the material itself. List of tools and materials that will be needed for the work:
Tools for laying laminate flooring.
- laminated board;
- Particleboard, fiberboard or plywood;
- beams for installing floor covering (lag);
- substrate for laminate;
- insulating materials;
- glue (liquid nails);
- self-tapping screws;
- level;
- sealant;
- antiseptic and protective agents for wood;
- electric drill;
- Screwdriver;
- grinding machine;
- electric jigsaw;
- roulette, ruler and pencil.
Having bought the laminate you like and having it deliveredhome, it is necessary to give the product time to get used to the climatic conditions of the room. Moreover, this rule should work not only in the case of a difference between the temperatures outside and inside the room to avoid deformation of the floor after installation. The board should accept the temperature and humidity indicators of the room, the covering of which is planned to be replaced. According to the generally accepted recommendation, the adaptation process takes about 48 hours. There is no need to unpack the laminate. After the adaptation period has expired, you should sort out the board you purchased in order to identify defects, and also carefully study the label and the instructions provided on it. If you plan to lay the laminate on a floor heating system, make sure that the product you purchased is suitable for these purposes by finding the appropriate markings on the label.
Scheme of fastening of logs.It is necessary to accurately calculate and carefully saw the laminate as required by the planned floor design. The stereotype that in hard-to-reach places you can cut the board anyhow, and then paint it with acrylic, is just a myth. Please note that cutting, carried out in parallel with painting the walls, gluing wallpaper or installing tiles, should be excluded. Otherwise, the floor may quickly "creep". When the preparation of the material is finished, you can proceed to preparing the surface. The correct base for a laminated board is a perfectly flat work surface. Without it, laying the laminate will simply be impossible, otherwise the decorative flooring will quickly lose its appearance, begin to sink and break. The best option for creating an ideal floor is considered to be installing laminate on logs. To do this, you will need plywood, fiberboard or chipboard, which are placed on the logs, i.e. special bars designed for installing floor coverings. When choosing between plywood, fiberboard and chipboard, you need to start from your financial capabilities and the expected result. Chipboard is a cheap material, as it is glued from wood fibers under pressure. It holds heat and screws well, has an excellent binding effect due to the presence of formaldehyde resins. Its disadvantage is the resins, which do not have the best effect on human health. Fiberboard is more expensive, as it is made by wet pressing of wood chips. It is denser and serves as an excellent insulator, but it holds bending worse. And here the useful properties of plywood, which combines the advantages of both flooring options, come in handy. The logs must be prepared in advance. This is explained by the fact that preparation is also required when laying the logs. You need:
Laying laminate on a wooden base.
- Pave a plywood base, fiberboard or chipboard;
- cover it with steam and moisture insulating material;
- treat the beams with an antiseptic.
The logs are attached to the base using self-tapping screws.During the installation process, you need to monitor the floor level - it should be perfect. At the end of the work, the logs should create a kind of grid-base for laying the base under the laminate. Chipboard or fiberboard are suitable for this. Please note that, despite the softness of the material, a special underlay for laminate remains one of the necessary components for installing a new floor. The second layer of the floor is attached to the logs using screws and glue. In this case, the screws are screwed in so that their heads do not protrude. This can be achieved by pre-drilling the board. To create a perfectly flat surface of the base under the laminate, the plywood is also sanded, varnished and covered with protective agents. To overlap a concrete floor with laminate, you need to lay logs and adhere to the system described above. There is an exception: there is no need to lay the first layer of plywood when working with a concrete floor. Return to the table of contents</a>
Technology of restoration of a wooden floor with the help of a laminate
Once the joists are laid and covered, thelaying a special underlayment under the laminate. Advice on how to choose it can only be given based on how much you are willing to pay for it, what the humidity is in the room and how level the floor is.
Installation diagram of the substrate under the laminate.Foamed polyethylene pads under laminate are cheap and easy to use. They are soft enough, so the floor underneath them must be perfectly flat and necessarily equipped with vapor and waterproofing materials that will protect it from rotting under the film. Cork pads are no less easy to lay, but are more rigid, breathable and environmentally friendly. However, they also require moisture insulation, considerable capital investment due to the high price. When the pad is laid, the actual laying of the laminate begins. Most modern laminated boards are equipped with a tongue and groove locking system, thanks to which installation becomes child's play: the tongue of one board must be inserted into the groove of another. It is necessary to adhere to the following important rules for laying the board:
- laminate is laid from the door;
- the laying is made in the direction of the length of the plate from the door to the opposite wall;
- Installation must be carried out in a tongue and groove sequence.
For a more aesthetically pleasing laminate flooring, it is recommended to shift each row by half a board. Return to Contents</a>
Errors that are made when laying a laminate
Mistakes when laying laminate flooring and their consequences.It may seem that all the tricks of laying laminated boards are described above. But in order to lay laminate flooring really well, you need to consider the most common mistakes:
- inaccurate, rapid pruning of the laminate;
- The absence of sealant on the joints of plates;
- the use of a hammer to fasten the planks among themselves;
- the absence of a hardened base under heavy furniture;
- neglect of insulating materials and special substrate;
- no allowance for free laying (gaps along the walls) along the perimeter of the canvas.
Laying laminate flooring is not an easy task.If you doubt that you will be able to create a flooring from fiberboard, chipboard or plywood, properly process the wood, lay the joists, carefully install the flooring, cut or lay the laminate with your own hands, it is better to entrust this work to a professional.
