How to put a laminate properly. A few tips

What qualities from the point of view of the ordinary consumer should modern building materials have? This is an original and beautiful appearance, good quality and simple rules for working with them when decorating. Often, I want to make repairs quickly and efficiently, without turning to professional construction organizations.

Laminate - finishing material relating to the middle price segment, for its remarkable performance properties will still very long take first place in the ranking of the most popular floor coverings. One very important parameter of this material is its extremely simple way of laying, which even an inexperienced, unprofessional builder can handle. It is about the types of laminate with a so-called lock joint, which does not require the use of glue. How to lay laminate in a glueless way? There is a certain sequence of actions and some rules that will help to successfully cope with this work.

1. The correct laying of the laminate begins with the preparation of the surface of the rough floor. Usually it is a cement screed, which should be flat. If there are any defects, they are eliminated, unevenness level. If necessary, the rough floor is poured with another layer of leveling compound on a cement basis. How to properly lay the laminate on a wooden base? If the floor is served by boards, then they are sewn with sheets of 7-10 mm of plywood. And already on it lay a laminate. After careful preparation, the floor-bases begin the second stage of the work.

2. Now you need to lay the substrate on the cement floor. It is necessary to use it, firstly, for damping the laminate cover when walking, and secondly, for heat and sound insulation. On some, more expensive types of laminate, the substrate is already available as an additional layer on the back of the board. If there is no such layer, then a special material of polyurethane or a thin cork coating should be placed on the floor-base. The stripes of the material overlap with a slight gap. So that they do not move during work, they are connected with scotch tape.

3. Packages with laminate should be kept indoors for several days. After that, you can begin work on laying. Lay the boards in rows in a runaway, i.e. Each successive row is shifted by a certain distance relative to the previous one, so that the junctions of the boards in the rows do not coincide. On each laminate board there is a groove and a profile-latch. When laying the groove is inserted into the latch, and with a characteristic click the boards will firmly connect with each other. So, row by row cover the entire surface of the floor. There is one very important rule. Laminate is laid with an indentation from the wall for 1 cm along the entire perimeter of the room. This must be done, since the laminate has the property of expanding under the influence of temperatures, which can lead to deformation of the floor covering.

4. How to properly lay laminate in rooms where wet cleaning is necessary? As a rule, floors from a laminate can not be washed with water. Only light wet cleaning is allowed . To fix this, and protect the boards from the effects of excessive moisture, a special sealant is used, which is applied to the groove at the junction of the boards and forms an elastic moisture-proof layer that protects the coating.

5. How to put the laminate diagonally. You can arrange boards not only along or across the room, but also diagonally. This way of laying allows you to visually expand the room, give it a more original look. Laminate boards are also stacked in a descent, moving from one corner of the room to the opposite. It should be noted that the material will need about one third more than with standard packing. Also it is necessary to use an electric jigsaw or saw more often, adjusting the boards to the required size.

Laminate with a locking glue-free joint is very convenient for finishing small living rooms. How correctly to put a laminate will prompt our advice, and everything else depends on patience and accuracy.