Cork pad under the laminate: characteristics, properties, installation

Recently, among the popular floor coverings for the finishing of living spaces, the laminate is in the lead. This material is easy to install, because you do not need to purchase an additional tool and invite masters, you can manage all the work yourself. To lay the laminate, only a coating and a special substrate will be required. For what it is needed and what substrate to buy, let's find out more.

What is the substrate for?

This finishing material is an important task - to smooth out the slight curvature of the floors. If the floors are uneven and the differences are too large, then before you start laying the laminate, you need to fill the surface with a self-leveling mixture. After the screed has completely dried, you can start the most interesting process - laying the laminate. But first you need to put a substrate, it's a kind of cushioning so that the board does not come in contact with a solid surface and does not spoil.

If the unevenness of the concrete floor is of the order of a few millimeters, then the cork substrate can be laid under the laminate. Regardless of the quality of the material, its main function is to amortize the surface so that as a result of the laminate's operation, no targets are formed on the floor and there is no hard load on the coating. If you ignore the rule and lay the laminate without a backing, then stepping on such a cover, you will always hear a strong creaking or crackling. Here's another answer to the question of why a substrate is needed - to improve the insulation of the room and keep the house warm.

Types of substrates

If you decide to put the laminate yourself in the room, then you need to find out all the details in more detail, and you need to start by choosing the cover and the substrate.

On sale you will find several variants of this finishing material:

• polyethylene foam substrate - it keeps heat well, repels moisture, is resistant to rodents and insects damage, the cost is low. Of the shortcomings of this material, it should be noted rapid wear. After several years of operation in places of high permeability, the substrate quickly sags;
• a foil-coated substrate is a foamed material coated on one side with a metal foil. Used in cold rooms to enhance thermal insulation. Suitable for the equipment of the "warm floor" system. The material is expensive, so it is not advisable to use such a substrate without the connection of warm floors;
• the substrate "Tuplex" has an original design, a sort of layered cake, consisting of a cork, which is coated on two sides with granular polystyrene sheets. Such a substrate has a high degree of wear resistance, it keeps heat in the room, repels moisture;
• cork substrate for laminate. The price of the product is kept at a high level, but if you study all the characteristics of this building material, then you will not regret buying. Briefly describe the technological process of manufacturing a cork substrate. The main raw material is the bark of cork oak, the material is crushed, and then falls into the press machine where, under pressure, the fibers of a natural material are joined and a homogeneous web is obtained. In the manufacturing process, no additives are used, only natural material is used, and the cork is glued due to the fact that there is own suberin in the cork tree. Under the influence of high temperature it softens and glues. The material is absolutely safe, non-toxic. Buy cork under the laminate can be in any building supermarket.

Note the dimensions. The substrate is sold mainly in rolls of 5 or 10 m. The thickness of the material can also be different, from 2 to 4 mm.

Does the substrate thickness matter?

Most beginners believe that curved floors can be easily corrected by buying a thick substrate. But the thickness of the cork substrate under the laminate does not solve the main problem. If the swings are large, then you have to make a screed. If you decide to avoid such a troublesome occupation, then a small curvature of the floor can be tried to fix with a cork substrate under the laminate thickness of 4 mm. But one important factor should be taken into account if the thickness of the material is not chosen correctly, as a result of the maximum load on the floor( high patency areas), in a few months, depressions are formed, and this will lead to rapid wear of the lock joint of the floor covering. Therefore, when choosing the thickness of the base for the laminate it is necessary to take into account the small curvature of the floors - the cork substrate for the laminate should be 3 mm thick. If the surface is almost flat, you can buy a cork substrate for a laminate with a thickness of 2 mm.

Advantages and disadvantages of the

finishing material The main advantage of the cork substrate is its versatility. This building material can be used for finishing walls and even ceilings. The cork substrate will last a long time and will not wear out even after 5-7 years of operation. By the way, the manufacturer gives a guarantee on the cork substrate for 200 years! Imagine how many floors can serve, and with them, and the substrate! It is clear that the laminate can not withstand such a long operation and after 10 years it will be necessary to replace the old coating with a new one. But the cork base can be left, because it will be well preserved. This is already a good cost savings.

Advantages of cork substrate:

• is an ecological material, does not release harmful substances and toxins;
• can be used in any room, even in the nursery;
• material is not deformed;
• retains heat and has soundproofing properties.

Of the minuses can be identified only one drawback - this is a high cost.

Based on the above, we can draw the following conclusion: if you are not going to change the laminate after 5-7 years, but prefer a high-quality and durable coating, then you can lay the cork substrate under the laminate.

We are acquainted with the technical characteristics of the material:

• the density of the product can vary from 220 to 260 kg / 1m3;
• the humidity of the tube is only 7%;
• high thermal conductivity - at 1m3043 W;
• high resistance to fire. Despite the fact that the cork is of natural origin, this material does not burn, and if it does, then during combustion, no toxins are released;
• high strength of material( 2kg / 1m2).

How to lay the cork under the laminate

From the correctness of your actions and a clear sequence depends on the quality of work and the final result.

How to lay cork under the laminate

1. First you need to prepare the whole area. That is, if the floor is uneven, then with the help of a self-leveling mixture or liquid putty it is necessary to level the entire surface.
2. After the curvature of the floors is corrected, it is necessary to walk on the surface with a trowel to clean and smooth out all small irregularities and cracks.
3. We process the floor with a primer( it is better to buy a liquid with protection against mold and fungus).
4. After applying the primer, you must wait 24 hours( or slightly less, study the instructions).
5. Remove the packaging from the substrate and place it on the floor. Leave for a day, so that the material "became acquainted" with the climate of the room.
6. We proceed to work: first you need to lay a layer of waterproofing. It can be a special material or dense polyethylene. Cut it into strips plus a few centimeters of stock and lay it on the floor with a small gap, so that the edges of the film "climbed" on the wall( up to 1-1.5 cm is enough).
7. With the help of building tape we fasten together polyethylene. Caution, do not use metal staples or nails to fasten the film, as moisture can penetrate through the holes, which is the time and money spent on materials.
8. Lay out the substrate so that the distance from the wall was about 1 cm. We stack each sheet tightly to each other, without overlapping, butt to the joint.
9. We connect the cork sheets with the help of building scotch tape.
10. If you want to additionally protect the coating from moisture, you can treat the cork substrate with a special product that repels water and any liquids.
11. All, you can start laying the laminate.

Small secrets that will help you to quickly cope with the task and extend the lifespan of the floor covering:

• any substrate should be laid just across the laminate to avoid the displacement of the coating during operation. You need to determine in advance the direction of laying the floor covering;
• not too lazy to thoroughly clean the concrete floor of dirt. If there are cracks, they need to be filled with mortar and cleaned up any irregularities;
• the concrete floor should be treated with an antifungal mixture and wait until it is completely absorbed;
• cut the cork substrate so that it is convenient for you to work and lay the sheets on the base, the width of the base can be different;
• remember that it is forbidden to lay a cork substrate in several layers;
• a cork-based substrate is best used for living rooms and corridors. For rooms with high humidity( kitchen, toilet, bathroom), buy a tile or if you decide to put a laminate in these rooms, then it is best to use a cork substrate with an additional layer to protect the coating from moisture. Pay attention to the bitumen base for the laminate in combination with the cork tree. The basis of this material is pressed cardboard, on which, on the one hand, a thin layer of bitumen is applied - a durable material. The other side is cork. Such a substrate protects the coating from moisture and even repels it outside. Laying of the combined material should be put a stopper to the concrete base. Joints are fixed with sticky paper;
• is worth considering when buying a laminate floor for rolls of cork in combination with synthetic rubber. The material costs less, the quality remains at the height, the wear resistance is high.

Cork substrate for laminate. Video: