Laminate in the apartment with your own hands. We figure out how to lay a laminate yourself. There are different types of laminate

Greetings, my dear readers.

In this article, we will learn − how to install laminate flooring in an apartment.

Laminate is a type of floor covering, the basis of which is high-strength fibreboard, covered with a special wear-resistant film.

Laminate appeared on the market relatively recently, but due to its performance characteristics it has become one of the leaders in flooring, having won its place from ceramic tiles, carpet and linoleum.

Installation of the laminate can be done by hand, without resorting to the help of craftsmen. To do this work as efficiently as possible, follow the instructions that I will provide you. Required Tool

For the correct and quick laying of the laminate, we need a tool:

construction tape measure
building level
building corner
jigsaw or hacksaw with fine teeth
pencil
a hammer
electric drills and a pen drill - will be required to form holes for pipes

As you can see from the list, no specific tools are required. You can also purchase a laminate laying kit from a hardware store.

Such a set is inexpensive - the price ranges from 250 to 1000 rubles. It all depends on the manufacturer and a cheap Chinese version is quite suitable for a one-time installation :)

Set completeness:

Metal bracket - necessary for installing laminate adjacent to the walls. Thanks to rubber pads, the bracket can be used as a "tamping" beam for joining panels.
tamping bar - used for docking. It has several grooves, which greatly simplifies the installation of lamellas.
expansion wedges - are necessary to create a technological gap between the wall and the laminate. They have a size of 8 to 12 mm.

In fact, you can get by with your own set of tools, but if you still decide to buy, you will greatly simplify your work :)

Laminate classes - which one to choose?

Correctly laying the laminate - video

Even an experienced builder, not to mention those who will have to buy a laminate for the first time, can run up from a huge assortment of “eyes can run up”.

So which laminate should you choose?

The laminate board is divided into service classes, which will tell us about the service life of the product, depending on the loads that affect them.

Each board must pass 18 tests (European standard EN-13329), thanks to which one or another class is assigned.

This norm divides the laminate into two large categories:

commercial use laminate
for home use

Commercial laminate is designed for service in commercial premises (sorry for the taphtalogy). Due to the increased wear-resistant characteristics, the service life of the panels can be 10 years or more. And if you use such a board at home, then the terms increase significantly.

31 class - designed for floors in commercial premises with a low load. Service life - no more than 3 years. If you use it at home, then the period increases to 10 years. At the moment - this is one of the most popular laminates in Russia.
Class 32 is commercial premises with an average load. The average service life is not more than 5 years. At home, such a floor can last from 12 to 15 years. It can be used well in the kitchen. The best choice in my opinion. Price-quality ratio.
Grade 33 is a very intense load. Such a laminate is used in public places - bus stations, dance clubs. The service life is more than 15 years, and when used at home, some manufacturers give a lifetime warranty.

Laminate boards for home use cannot boast of such qualities. 5 - 6 years of operation for them is the optimal result. The fact is that they are made of fiberboard or MDF, which significantly reduces their characteristics. Their main advantage is low price.

This laminate is divided into 21, 22, 23 classes. Service life from 2 to 6 years, respectively.

Foundation preparation

So, friends.

The rules for laying laminate on a wooden floor are practically no different from the rules for laying on a concrete floor. The most important point before installation is surface preparation.

Laminate does not tolerate bumps, dirt, warps.

If the rough floors in the apartment are made of concrete, then it is necessary to check their level. Additional leveling with screed or self-leveling floors may be required. Before arranging the screed. If the concrete is even, then it is necessary to caulk all the cracks.

If the installation will be carried out on wooden floors, then we also check their level. The surface must be leveled, either with a planer or scraper. If there are very strong drops, it is better to dismantle the old floors and pour the floors into the level, and if this is not possible, then you can sew plywood or OSB.

After the base is ready, it must be dedusted.

Read more about surface preparation for laminate flooring.

Installation of the insulating layer and substrate

Any floors tend to absorb moisture, and laminate is a wood flooring that does not tolerate its harmful effects.

To prevent this process, it is necessary to separate the floors from the laminate with a special vapor barrier film 200 microns thick.

Most of the film is sold in rolls, and to achieve even better insulation, the film is hermetically glued. A layer is laid between the laminate and the film - the “substrate”. To find out which substrate to use - read this.

For the "substrate" you can use:

wood pulp
cork
foil styrofoam
foam polyethylene

Thanks to the “substrate” layer, small differences in the floors are eliminated, and the heat and noise insulation of the floor covering is also increased. In rare cases, old linoleum is used instead of the substrate.

Panel connection methods

Glue method - at the moment it is practically not used. The point is to pre-treat the lock joints of the lamellas with glue.

click - locks - the shared (receiving) side of the laminate lock is made with a special lock. Force is required to join the panels.

lock - locks - special latches are used for connection.

Calculation of the amount of laminate

First, we find out the area of \u200b\u200bthe room by multiplying its length by its width.
We find out the area of the laminate using the same formula, and since almost all laminate boards have a length of 1 meter, it is enough to measure the width of the board.
We divide the area of the room by the area of \u200b\u200bthe laminate - we get the number of boards!

Example:

Room – 16 m²

Laminate - length 1 m, width 0.2 m. Area = 0.2 m²

The required number of boards is 16: 0.2 = 80 boards.

Step-by-step instructions - how to lay a laminate with your own hands

To begin with, consider the locking method of laying.

1. First of all, we spread the "substrate". We glue the joints with tape.

2. We start installation from the first row.

First you need to saw off the protruding "comb" on the board. When laying the panel, we form an expansion joint using wedges. The thickness of the seam should be from 8 to 12 mm.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
The expansion gap is required. It provides a uniform narrowing or expansion of the coating with changes in humidity or temperature in the room.
At the end of the row you have to face the cutting of the last board. Laminate cutting is carried out using a construction corner and a jigsaw.

3. Installation of the second row

If the trimmed part is half the panel or most of it, then we start it at the beginning of the next row. Installation is carried out in a checkerboard pattern. Thanks to this, a uniform load on the seams is achieved. The same principle applies to brickwork.

4. Installation of each panel is carried out as follows:

put the board to the groove at a slight angle
gently insert into groove
if necessary, knock out the panels for a better connection

5. The last row is mounted using a metal bracket, or using improvised means. Don't forget to create a gap.

6. At the end of the work, we remove the spacer wedges and mount the skirting boards.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW:
In no case should you hit the laminate directly with a hammer - damage the top layer. Use a "tamped" bar or a piece of laminate.

Castle method of laying laminate - video

Adhesive laying laminate

Pretty popular mounting method. Due to its features, it has a number of advantages over the castle:

when the glue dries, a greater strength of the flooring is achieved than just a groove-to-groove connection.
durability - subject to all operating parameters, the adhesive joint will outlive the lock much longer
reliability - thanks to the glue, it is unlikely that moisture or dirt will get into the joints

But there are also disadvantages:

this installation method is not applicable if the installation is carried out on underfloor heating.
the use of PVA glue is also unacceptable - you will have to buy special glue for lamellas
the inability to use the floors immediately - you need to wait for the glue to dry completely
reuse of panels after dismantling is not possible

Glue laying laminate - video

So, let's move on to the installation:

1. Preparing the base, laying the "substrate", maintaining the expansion joint - everything is identical. The only difference is in the installation method itself.

3. We get rid of the protruding groove on all panels of the first row.

4. Attach the first panel to the wall, insert the wedges, forming a gap.

5. Apply glue to the protruding end of the groove edge of the next panel.

6. We connect the boards, and immediately remove the remaining glue, preventing solidification.

7. If necessary, knock out the panels.

8. We repeat all operations.

9. At the end of the work, we remove the spacer wedges and mount the skirting boards.

Laying laminate around pipes and near doors

If pipes get in your way while laying, then do not be afraid.

First you need to cut the laminate, taking into account the entire required length.
Then we transfer to measure the distance from the wall to the center of the pipe and mark the center line on the board
We measure the distance from the edge of the board also to the center of the pipe and mark the perpendicular, thereby obtaining the center of the pipe
we measure the diameter of the pipe, add 8 mm to it for the expansion joint and use a compass to mark the place of the cut
we make a hole with a pen drill and cut a laminate board along the center line for its subsequent connection
the joints of the lamellas are smeared with glue and connected

Laying laminate under the door frame is divided into three ways:

1. In the first case, the laminate is mounted first, and then 🙂

2. If the doors have already been installed, then with a fine-toothed hacksaw, you will have to file the vertical racks of the door to the height of the lamellas so that they can be launched under the box.

3. The third method involves flush cutting with a door frame. But I do not advise you to use it, because without the proper skills you are unlikely to be able to cut smoothly.

Laminate layout methods

The first way is perpendicular to the window. Thanks to the perpendicular sunlight, the joints of the laminate become barely visible.
The second way is parallel to the window. This layout is appropriate in rooms with a small area and will help visually expand it.
Diagonal layout. The panels are placed at an angle of 45° to the walls. In my opinion - the most beautiful layout of the laminate. There is a drawback - this is a significantly higher consumption of panels.

Laminate care

In order for laminate floors to last as long as possible, they need not only competent installation, but also proper care.

The most important thing for laminate flooring is keeping it dry. If water gets on the floor, immediately remove it with a soft cloth.

One of the weak points of a laminate board is its locks. If it is operated in rooms with high humidity, then a special sealant must be used during installation. It does not stick the panels, but perfectly protects them from moisture.

When caring for laminate, do not use aggressive detergents, and do not use parquet care products. Such tools may well destroy the upper wear-resistant layer.

Laminate is also afraid of products with a high content of glycerin, which destroys their edge, getting into the joints.

Conclusion

Well, that's all, friends!

In this article, we learned how how to properly install laminate flooring.

I hope the information will be useful to you and help you avoid serious mistakes! Good luck to all!

If a final decision is made to cover the floors in an apartment or a separate room with a laminate, first you should carefully familiarize yourself with the basic rules of the technological process of laying it. First, it is necessary to accurately determine the the type of material that will need to be purchased. Secondly, it is necessary to learn how to lay laminate on the floor in order to really appreciate own strength. The process itself, although it requires increased care and accuracy, still cannot be considered extremely difficult, and calling a team of builders-finishers can be a waste of money. Why not try it yourself?

No matter how much you want to do everything as soon as possible, you should remember the "golden rule" - laying flooring, and laminate - in particular, never tolerates unnecessary haste. Everything will already pass in a fairly short time, but in order for the floor to really serve for a long time and not cause quick disappointments, it is simply impossible to do without careful preliminary preparation for work.

To begin with, a thorough preparation of the floor surface

A good owner will assess the condition of the floor in the room and bring it to the proper look for laying, probably even before going to the store to buy a laminated board. So, the first step is to revise the existing foundation.

The essential advantage of laminate flooring is that it can be laid on almost any subfloor. Of course, the "rough floor" must meet a number of important requirements.

He must leveled horizontally. Level differences are allowed within no more than 2 mm per 1 linear meter of surface.
The surface must be even - even the slightest tubercles or pits are unacceptable. Such defects violate the integrity of the laminated coating or subsequently respond with unpleasant squeaks.
The floor must be durable - no dynamic loads should cause "games" of the surface.

1. If the laminate is planned to be laid out on a concrete base, then it must be carefully repaired. Wide cracks, potholes, and even more so - areas of crumbling or delamination of the surface are unacceptable. If the damage is too extensive, then you will probably have to put the laminate aside for now and start updating the screed - with an ordinary concrete mortar or, which, apparently, is more convenient, with a self-leveling fill. It will be possible to return to the laminate flooring only after the floors have gained the desired strength.

pouring the floor

2. Laminate flooring is allowed on old linoleum. At the same time, the coating must necessarily maintain its integrity and evenness - divergencies of welds, wear of linoleum to the base are unacceptable, especially if there is still a violation of the concrete base in these places. The presence of protruding bumps or noticeable pits is not allowed. Sometimes you just have to remove the old linoleum and prepare the base for the laminate in the usual way, as described above.

3. Laminate on a tree can be laid if there are no rotten, creaking boards on the floor, if there are no areas of instability - deflection under the weight of the leg. Such fragments are subject to mandatory replacement with simultaneous amplification of the lag. Stable areas are checked for cracks, dents, etc. - you need to putty, and then level with a common surface with a grinder. Minor level differences between the boards can be removed with a planer.

Many issues will be resolved much easier if you spare no expense to cover the entire base of the floor with plywood, or even better - OSB sheets with a thickness of about 10 ÷ 12 mm. In addition to the required evenness, this measure also provides additional thermal and soundproofing effects. Under the stacked sheets, a waterproofing layer of dense polyethylene film must be laid.

What is required for work

When the laminate is purchased and delivered to the installation site, it is advised to free it from plastic and cardboard packaging, place it in the room for which it is intended for several days. This will allow you to completely equalize both the humidity and the temperature of the material, and as a result, laying will be easier, and the likelihood of deformation of the laid coating will be eliminated.

While the panels are undergoing an "adaptation course", we do not waste time - we are preparing the necessary tools and drawing up a plan for future work

To cut a laminate board to the desired size, you will need a hacksaw with a fine tooth or an electric jigsaw. If there are vertical pipe risers in the room, then you can’t do without a jigsaw at all.
electric jigsaw
It is clear that at the disposal of the master should be a quality drawing- measuring tool - tape measure, ruler, metal square, marker, etc. .
A hammer is often required to join the seams of the laminate. It’s good if you have a rubber or wooden one at your disposal. You can also use the usual one, but only with the laying of a special bar - they are in stores, but it will not be difficult to make it yourself. In this case, it will be more convenient to make a groove in the bar for the locking part of the laminate - it cannot be hushed up with too strong a blow.

Of particular difficulty are often sections along walls or in other hard-to-reach places. To apply the required force to connect the panels, you will need ∫ - shaped lever. It can also be purchased at a hardware store, but it will probably be more profitable to make it yourself from a metal strip for a one-time installation at home, taking into account the height of the lever that is convenient for the master and protrudes upward to transfer the impact force.

You can, if necessary, use a conventional mount, but there is a possibility of damaging the wall at the same time - be sure to lay the stop with a wide piece of wood.

It is worthwhile to prepare in advance the required number of wooden spacer wedges to fix the laminate at the required (10 ÷ 12 mm) distance from the walls of the room, to compensate for temperature or other expansions.

The entire surface of the floor must be covered with a substrate. It is unacceptable to ignore this - the quality of the laid laminate floor will be low. The substrate is polymeric - made of polyethylene foam, may have a foil layer (lay out) or be without it. Most often, the substrate is produced in rolls, although a panel version can also be purchased. The most optimal, although not cheap An option would be to use a cork backing.

The material is spread over the entire surface of the floor exclusively end-to-end, without leaving gaps or overlaps. The resulting seams can be fixed to the floor surface with double-sided tape or glued with adhesive tape from above.

Everything, the preparatory activities are almost completed, it remains to think over the scheme of work in order to avoid typical mistakes.

floor underlay

We think over the laying scheme

In order for the laying work to proceed smoothly and quickly, there should always be a carefully thought-out and graphically executed scheme before the eyes of the home master. What you need to consider in order to avoid those mistakes that often lie in wait for beginners in this business:

Installation direction. Longitudinal, long joints should be oriented along the direction of the rays of light from its natural source - the window. Otherwise, the joints can stand out strongly on the surface.

Work is planned from the far, most often - the left corner. The laying is done in order. The panel of the first row parallel to the wall is laid with a groove outward, and the spike is cut off in advance so that a flat end remains.
If a hand saw or a jigsaw is enough for a cross cut, then for longitudinal cuts it is better to use a manual or stationary circular saw - it will be smoother and faster.
Each subsequent row should go with an offset (by half the length of the panels, or “along the deck”, by 300 ÷ 400 mm).
When planning, it must be taken into account that the finish row of laminate panels should not be narrower than 100 mm. If it turns out less, it is worth narrowing the first row a little. Laying is similarly thought out if there are internal corners in the room.
Particular attention is the places where vertical risers pass. If they cannot be temporarily dismantled, then it is worth considering the scheme in such a way that they fall at the junction of the panels - then cutting a figured hole and installing the cover will not be a problem.
Although the laminate does not have too much thickness, it can sometimes become an obstacle to the movement of doors. It makes sense to immediately evaluate this and, if necessary, shorten the door tights.

Now, only when everything is ready, you can go directly to the installation.

Features of laying laminated panels of different types

Laminated panels of different models are by no means the same in terms of their interfacing with each other. So, there is an option when the required solidity of the surface is provided by gluing the joints. Panels with locks can also vary - there are two main types of them - "Lock" or "Click". You can also find more complex ones, for example, 5G options, but they are, to one degree or another, a modification of click locks.

Laminate floor installation with click locks

The peculiarity of such a lock connection is that it is made only at a certain angle between the mating panels, the specific value of which can vary significantly for different models. But the essence of this does not change - the mounted panel at the required angle is inserted with a spike into the groove already laid. Then, when it is turned into a single plane, the slots of the lock snap into place with a characteristic sound, providing a very reliable connection. With all this, dismantling the panel is also not difficult - when it is raised to the same angle, it will come out of their engagement.

Schematic diagram of the "Click" lock

Installation is carried out from the first row. The entire strip is assembled completely, laid along the wall and wedged from it both along the long and along the end side.

Panel mounting with "Click" lock

The next row is also completely assembled at first - this is the main feature of installation with a similar lock. Of course, this takes into account the displacement of the panels - this has already been mentioned above. Only after the complete assembly of the entire strip of the next row is it connected to the previous one. It can be very difficult to do this on your own, so it's best to work together.

Each row after laying wedged from the walls.

All subsequent rows of laminate are laid in the same order, to the end of the room.
Before each assembly of the lock part, the cleanliness of its grooves must be checked - even the smallest fragments of debris or sawdust are not allowed in it.

High-quality laminate with locks does not need to adjust the joints with the help of impact forces - the joints themselves are strong and almost invisible. This advantage determines its greatest popularity among all other types of laminated panels.

How panels with Locks are installed

It seems that such a fastening system is rapidly losing popularity and is gradually being replaced by more modern models. However, such a laminate is relatively inexpensive, and therefore still in demand.

This is how the lock system works

The spikes and grooves of the interlock in this case are located in the same horizontal plane and have peculiar protrusions and grooves for fixing when a certain force is applied. In terms of strength, such joints are significantly inferior to the Click laminate. At the same time, dismantling, if necessary, the panel is quite difficult - very often the spike is deformed or even breaks off.

The panels of the first row are interconnected along the end side by tapping with a hammer through a wooden or rubber gasket. Wedging is carried out from the walls of the room.

The installation of the next row begins with the first panel from the wall. Its spike is inserted into the groove of the laid row, tapping ensures a complete connection (usually accompanied by a characteristic sound and is well defined visually). The panel is immediately wedged from the wall surface.

The next panel will require a consistent application of impact forces from both sides, to connect the lock on both the end and the long side.

Here you will need the mentioned lever, with which you can tap the panel, or you can apply force with a mount.

Laying continues in this order in order (some masters prefer a “stepped scheme”, but the essence does not change).
Laying the final row, after careful measurement and cutting to the required size, is also done with a lever.

During operation, the impact force should be controlled - so that the lock works, and so as not to accidentally damage the grooves or spikes of the connection in the places where the forces are applied.

Features of mounting a laminate on glue

Laminate, designed for laying with gluing joints, it has good indicators of strength, solidity, water resistance of the resulting surface. Cons - the work is quite laborious, and dismantling the panels while maintaining their integrity will not work at all. Installation will require glue specially designed for this purpose, and professionals strongly do not recommend simplifying their task by purchasing ordinary PVA.

glue for laminate

There are also spikes and grooves on such panels, but their purpose is only to align the laminate in one plane, and the lock part as such no.

The laying system itself largely repeats the described technology with locks "Lock" - both the sequence and tapping of the connections are similar. The main feature is that the grooves are smeared with glue before assembly in an amount determined by the material manufacturer.
Coming to the surface laminate after joining the panels excess glue removed immediately with a clean soft damp cloth.
When the first 3 rows are laid, a technological break is necessarily made for 2 ÷ 3 hours - this time is necessary for the glue to polymerize it. Further work continues in the same way, with the alternation of laying and pauses.

Shutdown

After laying the last row (in the case of adhesive laminate - after 3 hours), you can remove the expansion wedges around the perimeter of the room. Now it remains to attach the skirting boards (only to the wall, in no case to the laminated surface), and close the junctions of the laminated panels to other floor coverings with special decorative overlays.

Video: laminate laying master class

Laminate flooring is a versatile floor covering with many benefits, including the ability to install it yourself. It is about laying this type of flooring, the nuances that may arise in the process, that will be discussed in the article.

Like any type of flooring, laminate flooring must be laid on a level surface, which can be a wooden or concrete base. However, even at the stage of choosing a specific brand, collection, it is worth considering the appropriate class, which is determined by the parameters of the use of the premises.

Today, manufacturers present a large number of laminate models on the market, differing in their strength, wear resistance of the upper protective layer, locking system, and decors. It is important to understand that the use of laminate in rooms with a high level of humidity, despite its advantages, is not advisable.

In order for the coating to last as long as possible, it is necessary to adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations regarding its operation. That is, the room must be necessarily heated, with a constant air temperature, and it is also desirable to prevent frequent changes in the level of humidity in it. This is explained by the fact that the basis of the lamella is a wood board, which has the ability to absorb moisture. In the process of releasing excess moisture, there may be cases of complete or partial deformation of the surface.

Subfloor preparation

The main requirement for the process of mounting lamellas is a perfectly flat surface. In this case, it is necessary to pay attention to what type of base the coating will still be laid. Among the acceptable options are concrete, wood, linoleum. It is important to understand that it is strictly forbidden to install a laminate on an uneven, soft floor, this can lead to breakdowns of the locking system, and as a result, it will lead to a complete deformation of the base in the shortest possible time.

When laying laminate on a concrete floor, make sure there are no cracks, holes, or other deformations. For this, experts use a rule 2 meters long. Putting it with an edge on the floor surface, you should draw a wide spatula between the rule and the base, thanks to which you will be able to find out the level of difference, if any. More accurate information can be obtained using a laser or hydro level. The maximum possible difference per 1 m² is no more than 2 mm, otherwise it is necessary to start leveling the base with special building mixtures and wait for them to dry completely.

When laying on a wooden floor, it is also important to pay attention to evenness. If differences are detected, they are eliminated by a grinder. It is also worth making sure that there are no squeaks, and checking all the elements of the base for strength under the weight of the human body. If during the inspection creaky places or weak boards are found, they should be replaced or strengthened. In modern practice, craftsmen often level the wooden base by fixing OSB boards or plywood.

Required Tools

To know how to properly lay a laminate, and what is required for this, you should read the manufacturer's instructions and the recommendations of experienced craftsmen. If you still decide to do the styling yourself, you should take care of the availability of all the necessary tools and materials.

The laying procedure itself is carried out quite quickly, provided that all the necessary materials are purchased in the right quantity:

laminate - its required amount exceeds the total area of \u200b\u200bthe room within 3-10%, depending on the chosen method of laying lamellas on the base.
waterproofing film - you can purchase a larger quantity, since its strips are overlapped.
substrate - its quantity corresponds to the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. Today, the range of materials for the substrate is quite diverse. From the more expensive segment on the market there are wooden substrates based on cork, pine, as well as specialized substrates for the "warm floor" system. Cheap materials include fiberboard, foam film. The latter option is the most common due to significant savings, however, the life of the lamellas on such a substrate depends only on the correct use of the base.
wedges, 0.8-1 cm wide, used to provide a technological gap between the wall and the lamellas.

If we talk about construction tools, then you should take care of the availability:

jigsaw, saw, mobile machine with a saw blade;
building corner;
stationery knife;
building level;
roulettes;
pencil
hook for mounting lamellas;
hammer.

The presence of all these tools, or their analogues, will accurately reproduce the entire installation procedure, with the lowest cost of materials, and with a high level of accuracy. Many are interested in whether it is possible to use a saw instead of a jigsaw. The answer is definitely possible, but the procedure itself will require a lot of time, effort, and accuracy from the performer.

How to lay a laminate with your own hands - instructions

Very often, craftsmen compare laying laminate with assembling a designer, because the principle of work is approximately the same. Based on this, you can understand that doing all the work yourself is quite realistic, the main thing is to strictly follow all the recommendations and rules regarding each of the four stages:

elimination of base defects and its alignment;
waterproofing film flooring, and substrates;
laying laminate;
plinth installation.

When using a cork or pine substrate on a sand-cement screed base, then it is worth taking care of the vapor barrier flooring, which can be a standard polyethylene film having a thickness of 100 microns. The covering of the film occurs with an overlap, which is approximately 20 cm; an adhesive tape is used to fasten the edge of the film and the strip.

Most often, specialists use a propylene substrate having a thickness of 2-3 mm. With its use, there is no need to lay a waterproofing material. Rolls of propylene film are rolled out over the entire area, and fastened end to end with construction tape. Butt-to-butt flooring allows you to avoid unnecessary level differences and prevent the effect of lamella squeaking.

Stages of installation work:

The collection of the starting row of boards, by combining the spikes and grooves of adjacent planks. To achieve the ideal level of entry of the lock, it is worth using a hammer. On the reverse side of the board, using a damper bar that is substituted for the lock, they need to drive in a lamella to achieve a perfect joint.
All panels in the first row are stacked with a spike against the wall, and in order for it not to interfere, it is carefully cut with a jigsaw. Wedges are mounted along the long part of the first row, as well as on the sides of the boards, providing the necessary gap between the wall and the coating. They are removed only after the last board is mounted.
When starting to form the second row, it is worth taking care of shifting the dies by at least 20 cm. To do this, one lamella is sawn and a new row is started from it. The formation of the strip is carried out in the same way as in the case of the first row. To connect both rows, you need to use the help of an assistant. At a certain angle, the assembled strip is brought with a tongue to the groove of the first row, after which you can begin to gradually lower it down, until a characteristic click, which will indicate that the spike has entered the groove. After carrying out this entire procedure, all the lamellas must also be knocked out with a mallet or hammer, and wedges should be inserted.
Further formation of rows occurs in the same way. The last row deserves special attention, because more time and effort are spent on it. Here, the fitting of each lamella is carried out individually, after applying it with the wrong side to the overall assembled structure, appropriate marks are made, along which the cut is carried out. Such individual measurement will help to avoid undesirable situations that arise due to the unevenness of the walls. Also, do not forget about the indentation of 1 cm, which should be between the wall and the lamellas. Fastening the lamellas of the last row is difficult, so for this it is advisable to get a hook that ensures perfect docking and preparation of each die.
After the last board has been laid, all the wedges can be removed. In the case when wedges were not used, deformation of the structure and its swelling can be expected, since the laminate is a floating floor that quickly responds to changes in the microclimate in the room.

The specifics of laying different locks

Each manufacturer provides an individual locking system with unique properties that contribute to ease of installation work. However, despite this, each lock is designed on two main systems - “lock”, “click”. At their core, they make up two types of tongue and groove, and differ in the principle of fixing the lamellas to each other.

Laminated boards with a click lock are initially connected at an angle, after which they are pressed against the base until the tenon fully enters the groove. For the best connection effect, after laying each board, the craftsmen finish it off with a rubberized hammer. When doing this, be very careful not to damage the side lock. The slats with the “lock” locking system are laid horizontally, and their complete fixation is achieved by driving in the slats.

We go around corners, bumps, pipes

The area of any room cannot be absolutely flat and without any obstacles. This situation is explained by the presence of communication and engineering networks (pipes, legs of bar counters), corners of complex geometric shapes, doorways. Of course, the presence of each of these factors complicates the installation process, especially if it is carried out by a person for the first time.

To avoid all these difficulties, it is enough to adhere to the standard rules:

If there is a heating system pipe in the room, the lamella should be laid around the pipe. To do this, you need to attach the board to the pipe, and accurately mark all points of contact with the object. After that, the distance from the pipe to the wall is measured with a tape measure, and the data is also drawn on the back of the board. According to the intended layout, a hole is cut out, it should be slightly larger than the diameter of the riser, by about 3 mm.
In the event that the pipe prevents the lock from snapping into place, you need to cut off the comb and lubricate the cut with an adhesive solution. In the future, the resulting gap is hidden by decorative plugs that match the color of the plinth fittings.
In situations with a doorway, it is worth starting the board flush with the door frame. To carry out this manipulation, a small cutout is made in the racks of the door frame, its height fully corresponds to the thickness of the flooring. After that, they start trimming the dies, so that it is possible to partially or completely overlap the threshold, or place it under the box. The final fastening takes place with a clamp, and the ideal appearance, without any visible gaps and differences in height, allows you to achieve special stick-covering thresholds.

Subject to all the rules and recommendations listed above, the installation process will not take much time, and can be easily done on your own. If you have taken care of the correctness of the miscalculations in advance, the availability of all tools and materials, and also implemented the technologies recommended by the manufacturer, such a floor covering will last for many years.

Major renovation of the premises requires updating the flooring. Many people choose laminate as the most modern material, which, with high-quality installation, looks spectacular and allows you to transform the interior. Working with this material, we get a practical and attractive floor in a short time. If you have chosen to finish the floor with a laminate, it should be noted that it is quite possible to cope with its installation on your own. Consider all the nuances of laying a laminate with your own hands.

Features of laminate flooring

Laminate has its own character and its own characteristics of operation. Before you decide to install this material, make sure that this flooring will be ideal for your living conditions.

Laminate "loves" warm and dry rooms. The optimum humidity for this coating is 30-60%, and the temperature is 15-35 degrees. In other conditions, if you do not use the material, the service life of the coating is significantly reduced: the appearance deteriorates, the joints diverge, the laminate cracks and collapses from the inside.

To make the correct laying of the laminate, you need. For laminate, it must be flat, with slopes of no more than 4 mm for every 2 meters and with height differences of no more than 2 mm for every meter of the base. If the floor has significant defects in the form of cracks, irregularities, protruding joints of the floors, all this must be eliminated. Level the floor by installing a concrete screed or base layer.

Remember! The laminate, laid on the floor with defects, begins to creak, quickly becomes unusable, cracks and collapses.

As a base floor can serve:

concrete screed;
old wooden parquet;
or DVP.

For laminate flooring, this is not essential, as long as the base is even.

If you decide to install a "warm floor" heating system, you should use a special laminate that can withstand bottom heating up to 27-30 degrees. Alternatively, a hydraulic floor heating system can be used. Its design features make it possible to maintain an acceptable temperature for a laminate flooring and distribute heat evenly over its entire area.

If the operating conditions are acceptable for the laminate application, material, accessories and installation tools can be purchased.

Materials for laying laminate flooring

Technologically, the installation of laminate is very simple. It is laid on the prepared floor and from above, in fact, the laying of the laminate itself is carried out in a floating way, i.e. without fixing the panels to the base. depend on the type of base floor. A polyethylene foam underlay is used for a wooden floor. The concrete floor also needs additional waterproofing. As a rule, ordinary polyethylene (200 microns) or a special membrane is used. Waterproofing is laid under a layer of polyethylene foam. Next, we lay the laminate according to standard technology. As you can see, laying laminate flooring with your own hands can be done even by a beginner.

For installation of the coating, we will need the following materials:

laminate;
substrate (the most economical - foamed polyethylene);
waterproofing for concrete floor (polyethylene or membrane);
primer;
wedges for technological gaps;
plinth;
fixings for plinth;
glue for joints;
wide adhesive tape for fastening the substrate.

Laminate needs to be bought with a margin, so you must first complete it.

Firstly, during the installation process, trimmings will be formed that cannot be used.

Secondly, errors in measuring the area may be made and some design features of the room will require more material.

Thirdly, during the installation process, there is a risk of spoiling the coating elements. As a rule, lamellas are damaged in places where pipes exit, complex design solutions for the interior, corners, etc.

Therefore, when buying, do not neglect some spare material.

Different manufacturers may apply different standards in relation to the number and size of lamellas per package. Usually, in a standard package, lamellas are enough for 2 square meters of flooring, however, there are boxes with 1.9 and 2.4 square meters of material. m.

We talked more about how to correctly calculate the amount of laminate in the article "Calculating the amount of laminate according to the laying scheme with examples".

The substrate is 2 to 5 mm thick. The choice depends on the quality of the base floor. The smaller the height difference of the base floor, the thinner the substrate can be taken. The most popular thickness is 3 mm.

To maintain the temperature gap from the walls of the room, wedges are required. They can be purchased at the store along with the laminate. They are not expensive, and their acquisition will not have a strong impact on the budget. If you want to save money, you can make your own wedges from pieces of laminate itself, drywall, or wooden pegs. The main thing is that their thickness varies from 5 to 15 mm. This will allow you to use different wedges to smooth out uneven walls and room ledges when laying.

When working with laminate, glue is used in cases where there is no adhesion between the edges of the panels and for additional sealing of joints. The lamellas themselves should not be glued to the floor.

In order to perform the installation of the floor, we need the following tool:

a hammer;
a wooden block and a staple for lining the final panels (often sold in a set with wedges);
jigsaw or hacksaw;
roulette;
construction knife;
building corner;
pencil.

After you have purchased all the materials and tools you need, leave the laminate packaging in the room where you plan to re-floor for two to three days. This is necessary so that the material adapts to climatic conditions and acquires maximum strength precisely for the conditions of further operation. This step is mandatory when laying laminate flooring.

After the above time has elapsed, work can begin. Consider how to properly mount the laminate on the floor, taking into account all the nuances of the process.

Laminate floor installation process

Before laying the slats in a solid floor, the base floor should be thoroughly cleaned of dust and debris. Well, if it is possible to use a construction or industrial vacuum cleaner. The surface, regardless of the material, should be carefully primed. Laying laminate on a wooden floor should only be done after treating the wooden base with an antiseptic.

Laying laminate on a concrete floor involves the use of waterproofing. Lay a film or membrane on a clean and dry surface. Lay strips of material with an overlap of 20 cm and glue the joints with tape. If the base floor is wooden, this step is skipped, we immediately proceed to the next step.

Lay a polyethylene foam pad. You can immediately cover the entire floor with a substrate, or you can lay it as you install the laminate. The second method will help keep the substrate intact and clean during work, which is important when installing the laminated coating with your own hands. Lay the strips of the substrate joint to joint and glue these places with adhesive tape so that they do not spread.

Nuance: If the laminate you purchased is already equipped with a soundproofing layer, the polyethylene foam underlay can be omitted. Laminate of this type is placed directly on the base floor and a waterproofing coating is used if the floor is concrete.

The most common laying pattern for laminate flooring is straight, with panels spaced 20 to 50 percent in length. The orientation of the lamellas is usually chosen along the light source. This allows you to visually reduce the joints between the boards and improves the overall perception of the integrity of the coating. For this method, the laminate begins to be laid from the wall or corner closest to the window. If there are more than one windows in the room, you can start work from any.

Structurally, each board of a covering has special locks for a fastening among themselves. To connect the panels, just insert the spike into the groove. It looks like this: we lay one lamella, we start the next one at an angle to it, we insert the spike of the second panel into the groove of the first one and lay it until it clicks. You need to fit the panels tightly, but without effort, to avoid damage.

Laminate installation should start from the corner of the room near the window. Insert pegs between the wall and the first flooring boards to create a thermal gap. Lay one-piece strips of laminate in a row to the end of the room, remembering to carefully connect them along the short side of the lamellas. Cut the last lamella taking into account the temperature gap.

The second row should begin with a piece left over from the previous row. If it is shorter than 30 cm, half should be cut off from the new board in order to withstand the run-up and even coating pattern.

Laminate boards of the second row are laid without locking the lock with the previous row. First you need to dock all the panels of the row with each other. Then you need to raise the entire row, bring it into the lock until it stops and, lowering it, snap the locks. If in some places the two rows are not firmly fixed, you need to attach a building bar to the outer end of the laminate board and gently tap it (bar) with a hammer so that the locks are firmly engaged and the gap between the rows disappears.

By analogy, the entire floor is assembled.

In each row, the last board will protrude beyond the dimensions of the previous row. To properly cut it, proceed as follows:

Turn the laminate panel over from right to left (not upside down);
We rest it against the wall with a peg attached and put it on top of the last laid panel of the assembled row;
On the upper side with a pencil, mark a line for cutting along the border of the bottom panel;
Using a jigsaw or a hacksaw, cut off a piece of the board according to the markup;
We turn the panel back and mount it to the last panel of the row.

In places of bends and exits of communications, it is necessary to cut out the corresponding holes according to size, having previously made markings.

Diagonal laminate flooring

An alternative to simple straight laying is the diagonal pattern. Laying laminate diagonally allows you to create the effect of a visual increase in space. Such a trick will make it possible to use an unlimited number of design solutions in the interior. The disadvantage of this method is considered to be a large consumption of material - 8-10% more than with a standard direct flooring scheme.

All stages of floor preparation and the technique of laying the underlay are similar to the direct laying of laminate boards, but the diagonal laying technology has its own characteristics.

Choose a corner near the window. It is better to start on the side where there are pipes or difficult sections of the interior. So it will be easier for us to cut and install laminate panels. We stretch the fishing line from this angle at an angle of 45 degrees to the opposite wall of the room. In the process of mounting the lamellas, this fishing line will serve as a guide.

We cut the first panel of the laminate at an angle of 45 degrees and mount it with the cut side to the wall, not forgetting to put wedges.

The diagonal laying angle can be made up to 35-40 degrees. But we strongly do not recommend making it less than 30 degrees, since the surface will not look beautiful - a visual effect of a crooked floor is created.

Subsequent rows are laid on the basis that the joints of the panels of the new row will be located near the center or indented 15-20 cm from the edge of the previous row. The assembled strips of laminate are laid with cut edges towards the wall. We lay the entire floor area in this way, using the fishing line and the joints of adjacent rows of laminate as a guide. The technology for collecting rows and their connection is similar to that described above for straight laying.

Advice! First, lay out whole boards in a row, and then fill in the areas near the walls using the remains of the previously cut panels. This will help avoid the effect of a sloping floor and save you material.

The nuances of laying laminate boards

There are no perfectly flat rooms, so in any case, you will have to cut out spaces in the lamellas for the exit of communications and for other design features of the room. To do this, we use a pencil (for marking), a building corner, a construction knife and an electric jigsaw. Let's consider below how to cut and lay laminate slabs on ledges and outlets of communication pipes.

heating pipes

We turn the laminate board over along the length and, using the corner, mark the location of the pipes. We make markings directly at the place of laying, attaching the lamella to its future place. We install a control peg against the wall, put a lamella on the side of the pipes and rest it against the wall. Using the building level in this position, mark the location of the pipe. We get the markup of the place for the cutout for the pipe.

We drill according to the marking of the hole using a drill with a crown (can be purchased at the same time as the laminate in the store). We make a hole larger by 1-1.5 cm than the diameter of the pipe. This is necessary to maintain the temperature gaps between the coating and the pipes. Then there are two possibilities.

The first. We cut with an electric jigsaw or a saw the approach to the resulting hole from the end of the laminate board. We mount the lamella, leaving a gap around the communication, and close this gap with a special plastic ring, which is sold in stores along with the laminate.

Second. Focusing on the middle of the resulting hole, cut off part of the laminate board across. The result will be two parts of one panel. We place one part in the space between the wall and the pipe, and the second - between the pipe and the rest of the floor. To fasten the cut elements together, we use glue. We apply it to the cut ends and press the parts to each other.

Wall ledges

If the room has protrusions of the walls, cut the lamella directly along the protrusion. If there is an obstacle, in the form of a wall sheathed with plastic or drywall panels, columns, places under the radiator, a lamella should be made with a gap up to the wall base. You can make the job easier by trimming the bottom of the laminate boards. All work is carried out with a construction knife or jigsaw.

For the correct installation of the laminate panel, you need to correct its lock. To do this, cut off the protruding edge on the bottom of the end of the board. Since the connection will be deformed, grease the joints of the laminate with glue and press the lamellas together.

Features of laying laminate in a large room

If your room has a size of more than 8 meters in length or width, then you should additionally make an expansion joint. For this, special profiles are used. They are mounted between two non-fixed sections of laminate boards. The top view of the profile is similar to the threshold in the doorway. Laying an expansion joint is necessary to avoid deformation (bloating) of the surface during temperature fluctuations. It reduces the overall movement of the laminate floor during temperature changes in the structure of the material and prevents it from floating or cracking.

The final part of the installation

Upon completion of the installation of the laminate flooring throughout the floor and in all difficult places, the protruding edges of the substrate should be carefully trimmed and all wedges removed along the perimeter of the wall. It remains to mount the plinth and thereby close the temperature gap between the laid coating and the wall.

Installing a skirting board on a laminate

When installing skirting boards on top of a laminate floor, consider one design feature: the skirting board itself is not attached directly to the laminate and the base floor. The skirting board can only be attached to the wall. To correctly attach the selected skirting board, you must follow the installation instructions supplied with the kit by the manufacturer.

Skirting boards always follow the contour of the walls of the room. For uneven walls, it is better to use flexible plastic skirting boards. Wooden skirting boards should only be used if the walls are perfectly level and there is no risk of creating unaesthetic cracks. In addition, wooden skirting boards are very expensive.

When laying wires along the plinth, reinforce them in grooves specially designed for communications. It is unacceptable for the wire to fall behind the baseboard or into the temperature gap of the floor covering.

After installing the skirting boards, collect all debris and wipe the floor with a damp (not wet!) rag. In the future, follow a number of standard rules for the care of laminate, do not allow it to come into contact with copious amounts of water and monitor the temperature of the room. Then the coating will serve you for a very long time.

Advice! Do not forget to install special soft pads made of felt or coconut coir on furniture legs so as not to scratch or deform the coating.

As you can see, laying a laminate with your own hands is a fairly simple procedure that does not require specific knowledge and skills. Laying a modern laminate can even a beginner. Therefore, by following the above simple rules and following our advice, you can handle this task yourself without any problems.