How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

Laminate flooring is a modern flooring, which is very popular due to its high performance and ease of installation. The process of laying laminate involves preparing the base, laying the insulation layer and laying the coating directly. To understand how to properly laminate, it is necessary to study and take into account a number of important points. Let’s try to understand the nuances of the process.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

How to lay laminate: video, the necessary conditions for laying

Laminate is a rather capricious option for flooring when it comes to installation. The temperature in the room should be constant or at least without significant differences (the optimal range is 15-30 ° C), and the humidity should not exceed 70%. Compliance with these conditions is necessary so that the coating does not deform. It is also not recommended in the process of laying to include heating devices or to allow the presence of drafts.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

The maximum allowable height difference for the base on which the laminate is laid is 2 mm per meter. If the floor is more uneven, it should be leveled. This process is different for each individual gender. Laying the cover on an uneven floor will inevitably lead to its premature failure, so try to avoid it.

In addition, you can not mount the coating on the electric system of a warm floor. This will cause drying and deformation of the panels. If you really need to have a heating system under the floor, use the hydraulic option. The hydraulic system of a warm floor evenly distributes heat and does not overheat the coating. Remember that the distance between the bottom of the laminate and the elements of the heating system must be at least 3 cm.

Video how to put laminate in the right way clearly demonstrates all the preparatory work prior to the laying process, so it can be used as a hedge against common mistakes.

The process of self-laying is extremely simple: an insulating layer is mounted on the pre-aligned base, on top of which laminate panels are laid. If laying is made on a concrete base, a layer of waterproofing may be required. For installation you will need the following materials:

  • primer to eliminate floor irregularities;
  • laminate;
  • polyethylene foam or other substrate;
  • construction glue, if you are going to install using glue;
  • wedges for creating deformation gaps;
  • plinths and fixings for them.

Helpful advice! If you are planning to do the laminate with your own hands, how to put it with minimal financial costs is one of the very first questions that arise. One way to save is to use drywall pieces or wooden pegs as spacers to create deformation gaps.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

In addition to the above materials, you will need the following set of tools:

  • construction corner and tape measure;
  • pencil or marker;
  • construction knife, handsaw or jigsaw;
  • hammer and wooden block.

After all necessary things are acquired, the laminate should be put for several days into the room where the installation will be carried out. This is done to ensure that the temperature and humidity of the materials are consistent with those in the room, otherwise the deformation of the panels is possible.

Surely many are wondering if it is possible to lay laminate on an uneven floor. This can be done if the differences in height do not exceed 2 mm per meter. If the drop is greater, the coating panels may poorly fit or deform during operation. In addition, the furniture installed on an uneven floor may not close the door, it may stagger, which will entail certain inconveniences.

How to lay laminate on uneven floors? The first priority will be its alignment. For each of the variants of the basic base, there is a specific method:

  • It is recommended to prime the newly installed cement screed using special mortars. Ceresite-15 or Ceresite-17 can act as such mixtures. Such a primer not only levels the base, but also does not allow it to become dusty and insures against unpleasant floor squeak under the laminate;

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

  • if you are interested to know how to level the floors under the laminate without screed, this is possible with the use of cement-sand mixture. With its help the concrete floor is leveled, grooves and cracks are poured. For better alignment, all the holes in the base coat must be expanded. If the irregularities are very large, you can use a special self-leveling mixture, which must be sanded after hardening;
  • How to lay laminate flooring on uneven wooden planks? To do this, the old coating must be dismantled, removing and replacing all the failed elements. You can also use the alignment using sheets of plywood, but note that this method will significantly raise the floor level. Therefore, it is not recommended to use it with a small ceiling height;
  • If the main floor is a plywood flooring or board, minor irregularities can simply be cut with a grinder. Be sure to before it is necessary to deepen the cap fasteners.

After the base for laying laminate will be quite smooth, you can proceed to the installation of the substrate. Use visual materials available on the network to visualize the process of preparing an uneven floor and understand how to lay laminate flooring correctly: video, step-by-step photo instructions will help you with this. An example of leveling the floor before installing the laminate you can see in this video:

Substrate is a must-have item if you use floating laminate laying technology. How to put your hands on the substrate can be found in numerous videos on the Internet.

Helpful advice! There are special models of laminate with substrate already glued to the panels. Installation of such a coating is much easier and faster than other types, but it also costs more.

The substrate under the laminate is needed to ensure the following qualities:

  • moisture insulation. The basis of any laminate is pressed paper. This means that the coating is characterized by increased sensitivity to moisture, due to which the panels can swell and deform. It is especially important to mount a layer of moisture insulation, if you lay the laminate on a concrete floor;
  • soundproofing. If you do not install the substrate, the concrete or wood floor under the laminate can creak and make other sounds;

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

  • heat insulation. The substrate layer does not allow the cold from a concrete or cement coating to affect the temperature of the laminate. If you are using a floor heating system and think of laying under the laminate so that the heating efficiency does not decrease, for this there are special variants of substrates that perform well with heat;
  • alignment of small irregularities. Remember that the substrate can hide only very small irregularities, for the elimination of more significant height differences the methods described above exist.

There are several common variants of the substrate, each of which is characterized by its advantages and disadvantages.

One option is cork panels. They are environmentally friendly and safe for health, they are made of oak bark which is pressed using a special technology. Cork very well masks minor irregularities, boasts a high level of heat and sound insulation, as well as a long service life. The disadvantages of cork substrate include the fact that it does not tolerate moisture and is quite expensive.

The subtleties of mounting cork substrate can be found in the video below. Proper laying of the laminate with your own hands, as you have probably understood, depends largely on the quality of this stage of work.

As can be seen from the properties of the material, it is poorly suited for arranging the floor in a bathroom, kitchen or any other room with a high level of humidity. In addition, the cork interacts poorly with the floor heating system. But for laying in the living room, nursery or game room, it is an excellent option.

A much cheaper version of the substrate – foam. If you are unfamiliar with how to properly lay the substrate under the laminate, you will like the foam as it is very easy to use. In addition, it is excellent in resisting the effects of aggressive chemicals, and pathogenic bacteria and fungi do not multiply on its surface. Another advantage of the material is increased moisture resistance, so the substrate is recommended to be made in rooms with a high level of humidity. Also polyethylene foam has a low weight.

The fragility is the main drawback of the material. It quickly loses its shape and performance properties, so be prepared for the fact that the substrate of it will have to be changed quite often.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

The best option that combines durability, relatively low price and good performance is polystyrene foam. It is quite simple to install, responds well to the floor heating system and masks small irregularities of the base. Another drawback of the material – the panels from it over time can lose shape.

There are also a variety of combined options. For example, if the question arises whether it is possible to lay laminate on a penoplex, the answer will be yes. The only point is the rather high cost of the material.

In recent years, pressed pine needles have also been popular. This material is absolutely eco-friendly, well breathable, but it is more thick than other substrate options, and is very expensive.

Helpful advice! If you nevertheless decided to use conifer plates as a substrate, they should be laid diagonally.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

Before you start installing the substrate, you need to carefully examine the issue to do everything as accurately as possible. To do this, you need to perform the following steps:

  • How to lay the substrate under the laminate in the right way, if you have mounted on the floor fresh concrete screed? For this, a thin layer of polyethylene is placed on the floor before installation;
  • any type of base floor must be carefully cleaned of debris. To do this, use a vacuum cleaner, and not a wet cloth, as the base must be dry;
  • You can cut the selected material with a construction knife or with ordinary scissors. When calculating the size of the substrate, it is necessary to take into account the overlap on the walls, which will then be closed with a plinth;

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

  • Do not install multiple layers of the substrate in order to compensate for uneven floors. If the selected material is clearly not enough to make the base floor even, then you have not properly aligned it;
  • any substrate is mounted by grooving downwards, and in the presence of a foil layer – by the reflective side upwards;
  • substrate sheets must be laid end to end, without overlap. If you do not want the material to shift, you can glue it to the floor with double-sided tape.

So, how to lay a laminate with your own hands, so that the result was not worse than that of professional builders? Expert advice, studying and following the instructions of the manufacturers of the material, as well as numerous video installation of laminate do-it-yourselfers will help you with this. For example, you can learn how to lay the substrate correctly using this video:

Laminate covering: how to put your own hands, video – instructions

Many videos of the installation of laminate do it yourself begin with a description of the various methods of installation. You can lay the laminate along or across (as correctly laid described in numerous sources). The choice of the right method in your case depends on what goals you are pursuing. For example, laying along can visually enlarge the room.

Laminate in the interior of the apartment: photos of vivid examples of room decoration. Photos of coatings of different colors and textures. What happens laminate. How to choose the right flooring based on the style.

It does not matter how to lay laminate – along or across, the correct way is when installation starts with laying the first panel in the corner of the room near the window. Between this panel and the wall, it is necessary to install wedges to form a deformation gap. Next, the next panel is attached to the next one and so on until the entire row is formed. The second row must begin with the piece that ended the first.

Helpful advice! If you lay laminate with your own hands and a piece of less than 30 cm remained in the process from the last panel of the first row, you must use half of the new panel to start the second row.

The second row of the coating is initially mounted without connecting it to the first. Only after all the panels of the second row are interconnected, can it be attached along its entire length to the previous row. At the same time for a more reliable connection at the junction, you can attach a wooden bar and lightly knock on it with a hammer. In the same way mounted the entire floor. It will help to properly put the laminate with their own hands video with explanations of experienced professionals.

Installation on a diagonal is one of the most popular ways of laying laminate. How to lay your hands covering in this way? When calculating the amount of material it is necessary to add 7-8% to the total area of ​​the room.

The diagonal laying of the laminate begins in the same way as the longitudinal or transverse – from the corner near the window. Before the start of the installation, the line is drawn from the corner at an angle of 45 ° to the wall: the rows of the covering will subsequently be aligned along it. How to lay a laminate diagonally prompted by numerous video instructions, which can easily be found on specialized Internet resources.

The edges of the first panel with a diagonal method are cut at an angle of 45 °, and wedges for the gap are mounted between it and the wall. After this, it is necessary to measure two laminate strips in such a way that the joint between them is in the middle of the first row, and the edges cut off at an angle are near the wall. Similarly, the entire floor is filled.

In many videos of “Stele laminate do it yourself”, you can see that first solid pieces are mounted, and then the panels are trimmed and the space near the walls is filled. With this method, you avoid the risk of irregularities in the joints of adjacent rows.

In residential areas there are many difficult places to install the coating, for example, heating pipes, doorways, etc. Good videos on how to put laminate yourself can be excellent helpers in such moments.

Bypassing heating pipes and other communications is one of the most difficult moments when deciding how to lay laminate flooring. Proper installation at the same time should begin with the layout of the panel under the future hole. To create a hole in the laminate is recommended to use special drills, which are called ballerinas. The diameter of the hole should always be slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe. This is done so that the coating can freely “walk” under the influence of temperature and humidity changes, as is the case with deformation gaps.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

After the holes for the pipe are drilled, the panel is cut into two parts. One of them is mounted between the rest of the floor and the pipe, and the second – between the wall and communications. The pieces are bonded to each other with construction glue. With this laying of laminate video, how to lay correctly in difficult places shows that cutouts can be made more attractive with the help of decorative lines for pipes.

If the walls in the room where the installation is performed, have irregularities, the corresponding cutout is made right on the panel. When installing the laminate with their own hands, the video how to properly lay the material will prompt that in the case of uneven walls also need to make a deformation gap. In addition, there is a feature with the connection of locks: from the bottom of the end you need to cut off the protruding edge. Because of this, the reliability of the connection may suffer, therefore, the joints must be lubricated with building glue.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

If the room size exceeds 8 to 8 meters, in order for the floor covering not to deform, it is recommended to make expansion joints. Various videos of how to lay laminate do-it-yourself demonstrate that for this you need to use special profiles that are mounted between two unrelated areas of the laminate. The upper part of such a profile is an overlay, similar to those used in doorways. This is due to the deformation of the floor due to temperature fluctuations.

Also, such a profile is mounted on the border of different segments of a warm floor within the same room.

For high-quality installation of laminate flooring on the floor with your own hands, how to lay the plinth correctly know just need. One of the main features of the process is that the baseboard cannot be fixed to the laminate itself or to the floor – the fixing should be done only to the wall. For each model of plinth there is a separate mounting option, and the installation instructions are attached to the product.

How to lay laminate: the choice of substrate, the nuances of laying and recommendations

If your walls do not have a smooth surface, it is better to use a plastic version of the plinth, as it will follow the contours of the wall exactly. It is better to use a wooden version only at ideally equal walls.

In most models there are special grooves in which wires are mounted.

Helpful advice! Wires should not fall into the gap between the laminate and the wall, otherwise the coating may deform when expanded.

When installing the laminate on the floor with their own hands, how to put the floor so that it does not spoil the legs of furniture – a very important question. To do this, they need to provide a soft felt lining.

Laminate can be laid on the wall at a small height from the floor. Video laying laminate on the wall shows that this process is practically no different from laying laminate on the floor.

The main rule of laminate care is to prevent excessive exposure to moisture and excessive mechanical loads.

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