How to connect linoleum to each other

Linoleum remains one of the most common and popular flooring. This is facilitated by its qualities: durability, practicality, low price and ease of installation. The Achilles heel of a material beloved by many is the places where the strips join together or with other coatings. It is here that mechanical damage most often occurs, dirt and moisture get through the joints under the linoleum, which leads to a decrease in its service life. Let's figure out how to connect pieces of linoleum among themselves in different ways.

Types of material

Before talking about the connection of linoleum, it is necessary to determine its type. The specified flooring may be domestic, commercial, semi-commercial.

• Household linoleum based on foamed PVC or felt and a top layer of polyurethane is selected for residential rooms and rooms with low traffic since it does not have high strength and wear resistance.
• Semi-commercial coating has a base of PVC or polyester fiber. Compared with the domestic variety, it is characterized by a higher density, thickness and the presence of a protective layer.
• Commercial linoleum is a special coating with increased resistance to stress, has a uniform structure and is painted over the entire thickness.

Important! An efficient bonding method such as hot welding is only applicable to commercial linoleum.

Preparatory work

Before connecting linoleum at the junction, it is necessary to perform a series of manipulations that ensure the durability of the resulting seam.

• First of all, it is necessary to let the material lie down so that it straightens out and takes the final form. Otherwise, after some time after the seams are closed, “waves” will appear on the surface.
• Sometimes it may be necessary to eliminate defects in the base of the floor - cracks and bumps.
• To obtain a reliable and durable seam, you must carefully remove all dirt and dust from the floor. This is especially true of the space between the connected pieces of linoleum.

Docking methods

In order to qualitatively connect the joints of the linoleum strips with your own hands, you can:

• Glue individual pieces of material with double-sided tape.
• Install special trims or sills having a T-shaped profile.
• Use dispersion glue.
• Seam cold welds.
• Apply the hot welding method when it comes to commercial linoleum.

Double-sided tape

This is the easiest and fastest, but at the same time the most unreliable way. Scotch tape is attached to the floor under the seam line and prevents it from diverging. For better bonding, the joint is rolled with a weighted roller. You should be prepared for the fact that under the influence of moisture the compound will quickly lose its strength.

Planks and sills

They are made of various materials: metal, plastic, rubber. Analogue sill - special linings covering the places where individual fragments of floor material are connected.

The method is optimal when joining dissimilar coatings, such as linoleum and ceramic tiles. Pads are often used to ensure a smooth transition from one room to another.

Dispersion adhesive

This category includes bustilate, bituminous mastic, humilax or acrylate glue. The listed compounds are favorably distinguished by the absence of toxic substances among their components and environmental safety. The main disadvantage of bonding with glue is its poor tolerance of low room temperatures. At temperatures below 15 ° C, the adhesive loses its elastic properties and begins to crumble. The increased humidity of such compounds is also difficult to tolerate.

It should be noted that certain types of linoleum must be glued with a suitable composition:

• bustilate is used for coatings with a pile base;
• bituminous mastic - for a fabric substrate;
• gumilaks - for material with a fabric or felt base;
• acrylate adhesive - for synthetics, fiber or jute.

Hot welding

The hot-weld joint method is ideal for the commercial linoleum variety. Is it possible to apply it to ordinary household material? Unfortunately, no: it is too thin and simply can not withstand heating. In addition, this method requires specific equipment, as well as certain working skills, so it is not recommended for beginners to resort to it on their own.

You will need a special hair dryer, with which the joint will be filled with a melting PVC cord. The temperature during this operation can reach 300-400 ° C.

To create grooves for the cord and remove excess material, special knives and cutters are required, which are usually included in welding kit along with a hairdryer.

The process is as follows: in the commercial linoleum glued to the floor, a groove is selected along the seam, which is then filled with the molten mass of their PVC cord. You can read about all the intricacies of the process. here.

Using cold welding

This is the best option for obtaining a single linoleum surface at home. Cold welding allows you to create a durable and almost invisible seam, even if it has a curved shape. In fact, these compositions simply dissolve the contacting parts of linoleum by means of a chemical reaction, therefore, after solidification, it is possible to obtain a single layer of flooring. Read more about choosing the type of glue for cold welding and about the rules for bonding with this method. here.

To work, you will need masking tape, a sharp knife, a weighted roller and a tube of liquid glue. As a rule, the latter has a rather narrow neck and a special nozzle-needle.

• When a new covering is laid, the edges of adjacent fragments are laid with a slight overlap. Then they are cut through with a knife, forming a seam of minimum thickness.
• The edges of the fragments are attached to double-sided tape. For a snug fit, the joint is rolled with a roller.

• To protect the front of the coating from glue, the area around the seam is sealed with masking tape. It should close the cut itself.
• The masking tape is cut with a knife and an adhesive solution is introduced into the seam. Shake the tube beforehand. The needle is inserted into the joint as far as possible. Glue is introduced until it is forced out of the seam.

This stage of work should be carried out with gloves and a mask, since the composition is chemically aggressive. Good ventilation should be provided in the room.

• The full drying time of the adhesive is indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. After its expiration, the excess adhesive mixture and the remains of masking tape are carefully removed with a knife.

The process of sealing joints when laying a new linoleum is shown more clearly in the video.