With the question of how to lay the laminate with their own hands, more people are coming across. This is due to the ever-increasing popularity of a beautiful shiny floor covering that fits into any design of a residential or non-residential area.
How to lay a laminate in an apartment
Laminate produce not only different colors, but also of different quality and design. So, for example, there are several strength classes of a laminated board, each of which corresponds to a certain level of loads. The most low-strength and inexpensive laminate is suitable for styling in the bedroom. And for corridors, living rooms, kitchens, it is worth looking at commercial options that can withstand a large operating load.
Unusual color solution for a laminate board
At the same time in the bathroom the laminate is not stacked at all due to the hydrophobic material. Despite the fact that the laminate is covered with a moisture-repellent layer, the joints are the weak point of this floor covering. If the spilled water remains permanently on the surface of the boards and seeps into the attachment points, this can lead to swelling and similar defects in the laminate.
If we consider the methods of installing laminate boards, there are only two of them:
- a lock-type connection( on each separate board there are lock slots and lock-type or click-type spikes on each separate board, the assembly is done with a single click);
- connection is glued( more resistant to moisture and with appropriate treatment suitable for kitchen area, but installation is somewhat complicated).
Placing of laminate boards
The laying of boards is usually made perpendicular to the window, but diagonal placement of the room( angle 45 or 30 degrees) is possible to visually increase the space. The latter option assumes a greater consumption of material for floor covering.
Various options for laying laminate
Consider how to calculate and find out the required amount of material.
Calculating the amount of laminate for the room
Calculating the amount of laminate for the room
In order not to spend money on extra layers of laminate or on the contrary, do not run to the store in case of insufficient quantity, it is necessary to store a tape measure and a calculator.
It is necessary to measure the dimensions of the entire room where it is planned to make the installation. It is necessary to take into account all the ledges in the corridor, on the balcony, etc. Find the area of the room and each ledge / niche / column, multiplying the found length, width, taking into account the complexity of the layout of the room.
Now we need to determine the area of each laminate board. Most manufacturers produce a laminate with dimensions of 1.26 x 0.185 m or 1.38 x 0.195 m. Accordingly, the area will be 0.2331 or 0.2691 square meters.
It remains only to divide the area of the room into the area of the selected panels and round the result upwards to an integer. For example, for a room measuring 10 m2, you need 43 or 38 panels.
It only remains to find out how many laminate boards are in one package( usually 8 pieces) and divide the total number of required panels by the number of boards contained in one package. Therefore, 43/8 = 6( rounded up to have a margin for trimming and marriage) or 38/8 = 5 packs.
Warning! Despite the apparent simplicity of laying the laminate, it is recommended to purchase additional packaging( for a large area of the room - 2-3 packs) of material. After all, having no experience of work, you can easily ruin the board, cutting it off the wrong side or damaging the mount. And if you are planning a diagonal stacking, then the stock for pruning is recommended to increase by 15-20%.
Have you purchased the material? Do not rush to start laying! Let the laminate lie in a warm room for a day or two.
What will it take to work?
To install the laminate yourself, you should stock up:
- jigsaw - it is not easy to cut the laminate manually;
- wedges - to maintain the compensation joint between the coating and the wall;
- with a small wooden block ;
- with the mallet ;
- hook / clamp - it is required when laying the end parts of the coating;
- with a tape measure and a square ;
- with adhesive tape ;
- with pencil ;
- with scissors.
Under the laminate you need a thermal and vapor barrier, but in case of laying the panels on linoleum, you can neglect the use of this layer.
To increase the docking strength of the panels with a locking fastener or for the laminate flooring, a waterproof vinyl sealant( for example, Moment or Click Guard) is required.
Prepare a rough floor for a laminate
As stated by all manufacturers, the laying of the material must be carried out on a strictly horizontal surface of the floor without changes, potholes and other irregularities, each of which will negatively affect the durability of the laminate panels.
If you do not want the floor to diverge further, creak, play, flatten the floor with a screed or a self-leveling mixture. Wooden floor can not be disassembled, covering all the joints of boards with putty and treated with a grinder. Sufficiently smooth linoleum, carpeting and even tiles can also not be dismantled. On a mandatory basis, check the horizontal level of the building level.
How to lay a laminate at an angle of 45 degrees( diagonally)
This layout is rather complicated, but the room will look unusual and very attractive.
- We lay the substrate
If the floor is concrete, you can additionally primer it and dust it off. With other smooth rough surfaces it is enough to clean the furniture, sweep up debris and dirt. The area of the roll or sheet substrate should correspond to the area of the room. The flooring is made without overlapping. The substrate of the sheet type is laid as a brickwork( with offset).We fix the joints with adhesive tape.
- Begin laying
The first board will be stacked in the far left corner of the room. Using a square with sides of 45 degrees, we make marking and cutting the ends of the first panel with an electric jigsaw. If necessary, cut holes for the radiator tubes. Close to the wall we put the wedges( size 10-15 mm).We place the first board in the corner.
The next series of laminate floorboards will consist of two boards. We make the marking and cutting in such a way that the connection of the two floorboards of the second row was in the center of the first laid board. Crop accordingly at an angle of 45 degrees of the edge, which will lie against the wall.
We connect the first and second rows:
- if the joint is glued, before applying the final installation, apply a little sealant to the laminate locks;
- , provided that the laminate of the lock type is locked, each board is inserted separately, the joint is made with the adjacent row of the row and the upper row of the floorboards;
- rows of laminate panels with a click-type connection are mounted differently. First, the entire row of boards is joined by the ends and only then inserted into the groove of the previous laid laminate row.
Attention! It is necessary to observe a "run" of the order of 20-40 cm between the end seams of two adjacent rows of laminate.
We gradually move from the far left corner of the room towards the lower right
We gradually move from the far left corner of the room towards the bottom right. Directly into the corners triangular pieces of boards are inserted using a simple device - a hook, tapping it with a mallet for the density of the connection.
Video - How to lay a laminate diagonally
How to lay a laminate in the traditional way
This method is simple and more economical than the diagonal method of laying, the consumption of material.
Scheme for laying laminate
We prepare the surface preparation and substrate flooring in accordance with the instructions described above. Next, we open the first package and start laying.
Each laminate flooring has combs and mortise grooves. The first row of floorboards will be located close to the wall( taking into account the compensation gap), so it is necessary to turn the panel so that the grooves are facing the wall, and the combs - inside the room.
Collecting the first row. After the first board is placed in one of the corners of the room, we take from the package the second panel and make the connection of the ends of the adjacent floorboards, immediately aligning the boards in a straight line. Thus, we join the boards, moving along the wall in the opposite corner. The last board of the series will need to be trimmed. We measure the ruler or roulette, then apply marking to the edge board and produce cutting, not forgetting the compensation gap 10-15 mm.
The second row begins with the remaining piece of the board after cutting, then increasing the series with whole floorboards. When the second row is laid, you should take a wooden bar, kiyanku and gently make a tapping, so that the lock joint snaps into place.
Tapping a laminate with a kyanik and a bar for tightening the connection and eliminating possible micro gaps
To lay the last row, you will need to cut the boards lengthwise. Guided by the rule "seven times measure", not forgetting the possible unevenness of the walls and the need to leave a gap between the boards and the wall.
Video - How to lay a laminate
In addition to these methods of laying, there are innovative methods of laminate flooring "herringbone" and other ways, similar to the technology of laying a parquet board. In addition, when laying, you can combine a laminate of several shades, creating an exclusive floor covering for your interior.
