How to properly lay linoleum

Linoleum is difficult to attribute to the most modern types of flooring - its production and practical application of began more at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries. Nevertheless, , this material is not going to give up its positions, as in many respects it successfully competes with innovative types of floor covering, and by some parameters - even surpasses their ., moreover, its popularity is quite explainable by the relatively low price, speed and uncomplicated decking, which can be done independently.

This very criterion very often becomes the defining one - the owners of housing choose the similar material. But in this case, they inevitably face a problem: how to properly lay linoleum? The purpose of this publication is to try to give a maximum answer to the main questions concerning the laying of this type of coverage.

All the "art" of properly laying linoleum can be conditionally divided into three important components:

• It is necessary to make the right choice of material, based not only on decorativeness, but also on their operational and ecological characteristics.
• You need to make the right measurements to get the right amount of linoleum.
• The third and final step is the observance of the recommended laying techniques.

In this order and will be built this article.

What linoleum is covered in the apartment

You can probably bet that when the word "linoleum" most people immediately have a direct association with something artificial , synthetic. Apparently, therefore, there is a persistent prejudice towards this material, as unfavorable from the point of view of ecology and the creation of a healthy micro-atmosphere in the apartments.

Surprisingly, meanwhile, in the very concept of "linoleum" lies the definition of the naturalness of the material. This term was introduced yet in XIX century , and occurred it from two Latin words - "linum" , which means "flax" or "linen cloth" and " olеum ", in translation- "butter".This is how the prototypes of this modern floor covering were made-a dense linen or jute fabric was impregnated with processed vegetable oil, and then small cork crumb was pressed into it. By the way, the is almost the same , in general terms, the technology is applied in our time.

Classification by type of basic material

• So, the first representative of modern linoleum is natural. For its production, only natural materials are used: purified linen oil, linen or jute textiles, crushed wood, including cork, wood resins, natural dyes and , .The return to the technologies of the past, despite the rich choice of synthetic materials, was caused by the increased interest of people in natural materials, which came on 80 - 90 years of the last century.

Than, besides high ecological compatibility, natural linoleum is good:

- It is very durable, resistant to wear, and capable of withstanding significant mechanical loads.

- material is difficult to ignite , that is it is safe from the fire point of view.

- An interesting feature - contained in it linseed oil gives the linoleum antibacterial properties.

- The material is very easy to care for, since its surface does not absorb contaminants.

- Natural linoleum does not accumulate static charge on its surface.

- Natural dyes used to decorate the coating do not burn out over time under the influence of ultraviolet rays.

However, a number of factors in the do not allow this linoleum to become a market leader:

- One of them is a very high price, which is comparable to the cost of high-quality parquet.

- Some are scared off by the somewhat specific smell from such a coating. This shortcoming eventually disappears.

- This material is very "fastidious" to the microclimate of the room - it does not tolerate high humidity, from which can begin rotting natural base.

- The installation of such a linoleum is a rather complicated procedure, due to its low elasticity.

- The technology of its production does not allow performing complex original drawings and ornaments - as a rule, it is monophonic.

Nevertheless, , for living rooms, natural linoleum is an excellent floor covering, especially for sleeping or children's rooms. But in the kitchen or in the hallway it is not recommended to stack it.

• PVC-based linoleum is the undisputed leader among all other types of this coating. It is very diverse in its structure:

- It can be on a fabric basis( natural or synthetic) with an upper, rather thick, up to 5 mm, PVC layer.

- PVC-linoleum is produced and on non-woven, for example, felt, basis. It has much higher soundproof and insulation qualities, but it does not withstand humidity or heavy loads. In the kitchen or in the hallway you can not put it.

- The most popular - linoleum on foamed PVC-substrate. It not only withstands serious mechanical effects, but can even hide some minor defects in the floor surface.

PVC linoleum can be homogeneous throughout its thickness - then it is called homogeneous. He is not afraid of abrasion, but here's a variety in the decorative performance with it is not achieved - usually it's solid colors with color impregnations. It is good for rooms with high traffic and solid loads. In the apartment it can be laid, for example, in the kitchen or in the hallway. True, the cost of such material is quite high.

Heterogeneous linoleum has a complex multilayer structure. The quantity, component composition, thickness of layers of can vary, and the use of modern photo printing technologies as a decorative layer practically does not limit the design possibilities of this coating.

In general, PVC linoleum is the most applicable for residential premises:

- It is distinguished by excellent elasticity, and this significantly simplifies the process of its flooring.

- Protective coating of the surface makes cleaning of the premises a very simple task.

- The price range and variety of decorative designs can satisfy any buyer.

- If you purchase a quality material from a well-known manufacturer, to which the has received a certificate of hygienic compliance, then there will be no problems with the environmental compatibility of the material - it is completely harmless.

The PVC-linoleum and have certain disadvantages, and the main one is a rather large coefficient of linear expansion. With significant temperature changes, it, especially with not very accurate packing, can go in waves.

• Glyftalic or alkyd linoleum is made exclusively on a fabric basis. Its features excellent sound - and thermal insulation qualities, it is durable, resistant to external loads. But here about thermal stability it is not necessary to speak - at lowering of temperatures such a coating becomes brittle, is an inelastic .

In addition, it is not as safe in fire prevention as PVC.The installation of such a coating requires advanced skills of masters. All this in total predetermines not so high popularity of alkyd linoleum, but nevertheless it is quite applicable for use in apartments. However, more often it is stacked in public buildings or even in vehicles - buses, passenger coaches and midsize .

• On collolex linoleum can not be particularly stopped - its nitrocellulose base is extremely hazardous material from the point of view of ignition, and such coverage in residential or public buildings is not applied.
• Also little applicable in everyday life is linoleum rubber-based linoleum. Its scope of use - technical, warehouse, production facilities. In an apartment or apartment building, despite its high performance characteristics, it is impossible to spread it - it does not differ in ecological purity, it can evolve evaporation, unsafe for the human body.

Classification according to the strength class of the coating

The linoleum fabrication material is by no means the only selection criterion, since most of the mid-price models offered on the market, , are mainly , are PVC.But on the clasp pr The fullness of the material must be paid special attention.

In everyday life the "conversational" unit of linoleum on household, "" semi-commercial and commercial has settled. If you go deeper, you should be guided by the classification EN 685 adopted in the European Union countries. clearly defines the for the permissible operational parameters of the material, and it is divided into several classes. There are also installed pictorial symbols that directly indicate the purpose of the coating:

floor covering. The linoleum class is designated by a two-digit number. The first figure speaks about the main purpose of the coating, and the second - about its resistance to dynamic loading.

• Classes 21 to 23 - linoleum household, intended exclusively for residential buildings.

Its density is, according to existing standards, 1,25 ÷ 2,25 kg / m². Thickness is usually within 3 mm, water absorption should not be above 1.5%. The bend radius at which the does not violate the integrity of the coating - about 22.5 mm. Noise-canceling ability - about 15 - 18 dB .The allowable shrinkage level is about 0.2 mm per running meter.

This linoleum usually does not have too high a price - the most expensive, from leading manufacturers, the is rare when the costs more than 10 euros per square meter.

• Linoleum classes 31 to 34, which are often referred to as "semi-commercial", probably, more appropriately called "office" or "office".It is also great for shopping halls.

It is thicker, stronger and even more elastic than a household one. It has higher sound insulation capabilities, resistance to abrasive loads, to temperature differences. The shrinkage of such a linoleum is less - up to 0.1 mm per running meter.

If earlier improvement of operational quality tv pr was carried out for account of decrease in ecological properties, modern semi-commercial linoleum in this question practically does not differ from household. Its price is somewhat higher, but not so much that it could not be afforded to buy for rooms with intensive load - for hallways, kitchens , balconies or loggias. Thus, classes 31 and 32 are often bought for residential construction. Strength 33 and 34 classes will be for the apartment is clearly redundant.

• The material of classes 41 ÷ 43 is called commercial, although to it, of course, more will approach as "production".It is intended for industrial enterprises, warehouses, assembly shops, workshops and , as .In residential buildings, it does not make sense to use it - it will be too expensive, and the highest performance characteristics will simply remain unclaimed.

For greater clarity, it is worthwhile to give a table that shows the main areas of application of linoleum in accordance with their classes:

	linoleum class	degree of durability	general characteristics of premises	optimal use on pratics
dwellings	21	low	rooms with low traffic intensities or rarely used	sleeping, separate home cabinets
22	average	constantly used during the day of apartment placement with medium intensity moved	living rooms, children's rooms
23	high	rooms with a heavy load on the floors	hallways, kitchens
office and public premises	31	low	room with low intensity of the flow	separate offices in offices, hotel rooms
32	medium	rooms with a constant but low-intensitymoving people	reception rooms, classrooms, classrooms, small boutiques
33	high	facilities, which are characterized by a constant flow of people	corridors are educationalhospitals and offices, busy offices, busy offices, shops
34	very high	buildings with pronounced intensive movement of people	rooms of airports and railway stations, halls of large supermarkets, concert halls, etc.
production facilities	41	low	production facilities where the technology presupposes sedentary work of people without their active movement and without the use of loading machinery or vehicles	workshops or workshops for the production or repair of electronics, precision mechanics, laboratories
42	average	premises where the work is done,mainly standing, and the movement of specialized vehicles is allowed	assembly shops of electrical engineering enterprises, ck
43	high	production facilities with increased load on the floors	large warehouses and logistics complexes, production departments

In many ways, the strength of linoleum depends on the thickness of the protective transparent layer.

• With a thickness of up to 0, 15, the material is only suitable for bedrooms or home offices.
• 0,20 mm - linoleum can be laid in the living room or children's room.
• Thickness of 0.25 mm makes the material suitable for kitchens, hallways, corridors.
• The 0.30 mm layer is usually in linoleum, which is crocheted in office spaces with the by the busy people's .
• Coating thickness of 0,50 mm and even higher - for rooms with very intensive movement or very high other mechanical stress on the surface.

How to buy linoleum

• Before go to the store for material, you need to carefully measure the room, which will be laid linoleum. It should be interesting not only the length and width of the room - all niches, door openings, complex areas must be taken into account, so that the can, if possible, , cover the covering with one sheet.
• The most reasonable solution is to draw a scheme of the room - this will give maximum visibility of the front of future works. Perhaps there is no point in purchasing excess material if, for example, a deep niche requires a substantial overrun of linoleum - it will be more profitable to make a joint of two sheets.

It's a good idea to check the perpendicularity of the walls - here, too, you can make a mistake when buying the material. It is clear that you should purchase with a reasonable margin, about 100 mm in each direction, but with a large curvature of the walls and this precaution may not be enough. It is better not to take risks, and to measure the room for another and two diagonals, comparing the results obtained. If they are approximately equal, means, causes no big fears.

This scheme is best to take with you to the store. In good stores sellers will not only be able to help in selecting the required amount of material, but also make a pattern of the required fabric. By the way, it is possible that for a small room or for additional sections in the cabin there are already cut off fragments - they are usually given a weighty discount. In any case, if several canvases are purchased, they should be the same lot, otherwise there may be a noticeable difference in the saturation or brightness of the hue or pattern.

• Linoleum is produced in rolls with a width of 1.5 to 4 meters, and this in most cases is enough to cover a standard room with one sheet. If, however, circumstances compel a flooring of two or more pieces, it is more reasonable to make the joint parallel to the rays of natural light, from the window.
• When buying, do not show unnecessary modesty - do not hesitate to ask for certificates that prove " branded " of the product and its compliance with hygienic standards.
• The cut piece must be rolled out at the customer's full length, so that it is possible to check the integrity of the coating.
• It is worth paying attention to the pictograms printed on the back of the material by - they can tell you about the features of this model:

	pictured	pictured Specific
	quality
	marked antistatic properties High fire resistance
	Increased abrasion resistance
	Surface resistance
	Anti-slip coating
	Linoleum is easy to clean
	Material has reinforced polyurethane outer protection
	Double base material
	Guaranteedmanufacturer lifetime in compliance with the rules of laying and operation of the
	coatingProficient user environmental class - a certificate "Leaf of Life"

• acquired necessarily linoleum rolled into a cylindrical roll with smooth edges. No folds are doubled, four times, " with envelope" and .not is allowed. Before the beginning of the work, the roll is stored only in an upright position. If it is held flat on the floor horizontally, the is sure the will go jamming the roll to an elliptical shape, and this das t t ore-smoothed waves when stacking.
• Store linoleum before the beginning of the flooring should only be in a heated room, preferably in the same temperature and humidity mode, which will be in the paving room. No sheds, garages or balconies are allowed - if there is no storage space, the does not need to be purchased in advance.

The process of laying linoleum with your own hands

Preparing the foundation

Any floor covering requires preparation of a basis for starting work. But if some materials can "forgive" the small drawbacks of the base surface, then this does not work with linoleum. Everything, even the seemed to be , minor flaws in the poorly prepared surface will eventually pass through a new coating, which would be thick .Neglect of training can make it senseless to make both monetary costs and all the efforts made.

• If the linoleum is planned to be laid on a concrete surface, then there should be no relief. All projections must be knocked down, all grooves, cracks, cracks are completely embedded in the repair mortar so that an almost perfect flat surface is obtained.

Moreover, even a too large fraction of filler concrete screed can ruin the appearance of the finish coat. If there is a desire to perform everything on "excellent", it is recommended to pour the leveling screed, , using self-leveling building mixtures .

The finished concrete base is subjected to the most thorough cleaning, so that no small fragments and dust remain. Manually this can not be done - you need a powerful vacuum cleaner.

In any case, the concrete surface after cleaning it will require mandatory priming with a penetrating compound. The purpose of - is to ensure good adhesion to the glue and completely eliminate the phenomenon of concrete that is so characteristic of dust formation. If this is not done, soon creaks will appear, and dust will eventually begin to penetrate into the room.

• At a linoleum flooring on a wooden basis of problems at all it is not less. The floor is tested for stability, - should not be unstable, "playing" areas. Perhaps will have to raise boards, repair or upgrade lags, replace the weak floorboards.

. If it is planned to lay directly on the floorboards, there should not be any crevices between them - they should be sealed with inserts or carefully plastered .On painted boards, glue can not lie, and in addition , paint can start exfoliate. The way out is to clean off the old coating with the help of special flushing liquids or with the surface heating with a construction hair dryer. Be sure to check that the nail heads never rose above the surface - it is better to drown them, and then fill in the appearance with putty. Ideally, the boardwalk is best to pass the with the machine .

Another way is to cover the old wooden floor with plywood. The sheets are laid " in descent" on the glue and fixed with self-tapping screws with an interval of 100 mm. Hats of self-tapping screws should be drowned in the material - then after them, and also the remaining cracks between the sheets are tightly closed with putty. After hardening of the putty, the surface can be ground using a tape or a disk machine, or even manually.

• You can often hear the question - is it possible to lay a new linoleum on the old one? In principle, of course, this is quite acceptable - so the coating will become even is warmer and "quieter".But, firstly, if both were too thick linoleum, then the overall coating will be excessively pierced by mechanical action. And secondly, the new coating will exactly repeat all the flaws of the previous one if they were. Hence, this approach is acceptable for , only if the old linoleum did not have surface defects( except for the of the erased or faded drawing).

However, most masters are unanimous in the opinion that for high-quality linoleum flooring, the old coating is still better to be dismantled.

Once the base is fully prepared, you can go directly to the stowage.

How to properly lay linoleum - several variants

First of all, in the room where the laying is to be done, the optimal temperature and humidity regime should be created. Do not start work if the room temperature is below + 15 ° With , as the material will not have the necessary elasticity, and with rising temperatures it can go waves. is also undesirable and excessive heat, over 30 - 35 ° With - fitted in such conditions, whether the st in consequence can give such shrinkage that it will come out from under the baseboards or will give a stratification of welded seams.

. The roll must be "acclimatized" in the room where it will be laid - stay at for at least 2 ÷ 3 days to make the material equal to and temperature, and humidity with the conditions of the room.

The next step is rolling the roll along the of the floor surface. As we recall, we bought linoleum with a margin of at least 100 mm in length. This "reserve" is temporarily left by the allowance on the walls of the room. True, here, too, you need to know the measure. If, for example, if the width of the room is 3,2 meter , 4- meter sheet is purchased, then 300 - 400 mm should not be left on the walls with each side - this will prevent normal straightening of the linoleum. It is necessary to remove certain part leaving on walls about 80 ÷ 100 mm.

If there are two adjacent walls in the room - flat on the for all lengths, without heating pipes, ledges, niches and other obstacles, then you can roll the sheet with support on them. Only then a gap of about 10 mm from the wall is necessarily left - it is impossible to resist linoleum in an obstacle in any case, this will prevent the from assuming the normal shape.

The term " vylezhivaniya " linoleum can be different, but not less than 1 - 2 days. Duration depends on the specific conditions of the room, type and the thickness of the material, the degree of its jam and other factors. The main thing is to achieve the main goal - the sheet is fully stretched, straightened, all the waves were straightened. Sometimes it can help " - ", for example , to squeeze out particularly rough irregularities with wide boards or other loads with a flat surface. But to warm the linoleum with a hair dryer = - is extremely dangerous: with one awkward movement you can overheat and melt the protective layer, and the coating will be irreparably damaged.

If stacking involves the use of two sheets, the for needs to consider the pattern matching( if is required) with the original flooring, and leave a small overlap up to 100 mm - then there will be a clean trimming of the mating fragments.

After the sheet is completely stale, go to the most important, probably responsible stage - the final trim of the linoleum to the size of the room. It is at this stage that more misses are allowed in it.

The principle must be the same - along the walls it is necessary to leave a small compensation gap, on the order of 8 ÷ 10 mm. In principle, this is the main difficulty - the linoleum, which is supported by the wall, can subsequently give a wave, but too much clearance or, for example, a curved cut due to a trembling hand, from under the skirting board will look out.

First of all, it is necessary to properly cut the sheet at the corners. First, free external corners, if any. In the internal trimming, it is best to make two accurate cuts with a sharp construction knife diagonally - both the surfaces adjacent to the walls will be freed, and it will be easier to cut them evenly.

The left allowances along the walls are maximally pressed to the corners - this way you can achieve the appearance of the visible line cut .Some masters prefer to apply the line - is a matter of habit. But all are one in one - do not drag the "tail" from the long cut strip - it is better to remove the excess in small sections, according to 250 - 300 mm. Haste in this matter is completely unacceptable - it's better to spend a little more time than to spoil the material. To achieve smoothness cut you can use a long steel or wooden ruler, or even a wide, about 500 mm, spatula. And the is still - the knife must always be as sharp as possible - do not forget to change or break off the replacement blade more often.

Video: possible errors when fitting and laying linoleum

If this and went well , we can say that the itself is heavy - behind. It remains only to fix the linoleum on the floor surface. Do this in several ways.

1. Very often linoleum in general can not be attached to the surface in any way, except for pressing it on the perimeter of the room with skirting boards or transitional slats( flaps).Skirting is better to use plastic, flexible - they will well podozhmut material and hide any unevenness. They fix them exclusively to the wall( in no case not to the floor), with the help of dowel-screws or special brackets included in the delivery.

The positive qualities of this approach are quickness, no need for additional materials. The main drawback is the remaining instability of the coating. If accidentally the linoleum will be moved at least a little( for example, when rearranging the furniture), it will be extremely difficult to remove the wave, and maybe without a complete lifting the , the whole flooring is impossible.

2. Linoleum laying on double-sided scotch tape. In this case, the adhesive tape is glued in advance to the prepared substrate, without removing the upper protective film .The place of mandatory placement of tape - along the perimeter, at the junctions of individual fragments, you can optionally add a few bands to the center of the room.

After the linoleum is laid back and straightened, the will be truncated to , it will only be necessary to lift it in the places where the is adhered to the base with adhesive tape, remove the protective film, and put the cover back in - reliably should stick to the floor .

3. And in an optimal way most masters consider laying linoleum on glue. There are always a lot of varieties of similar compositions, intended for PVC products. It is possible to use the familiar PVA .

• For applying glue, the area of ​​linoleum is bent inside out. The adhesive is usually applied with a spatula, evenly distributing the over the surface.

• Then a coating is laid on the lubricated area, achieving a full exit of the air bubbles, so that the linoleum is completely adhered to the base. For these purposes, you can use homemade ironing - a flat bar or a plank covered with a soft cloth. Acceleration of the air is carried from the center to the edges, " herringbone ".If there is an heavy roller, then rolling it will give the best results.

• After that, go to the opposite section, where the procedure is completely repeated. The linoleum bends outwards to the glued part, the glue is applied and the air is expelled.

In rooms with a large area, you can do otherwise - linoleum after trimming neatly, so that there is no displacement in the direction, freely, without tension, folded into one side into a roll. Bonding starts from a small area from the wall. Then from the stacked fragment go in the opposite direction, successively smearing the base with glue and unwinding the roll.

Important feature - after laying linoleum on the adhesive, it is necessary to limit or even completely eliminate the movement of according to until the composition dries completely.

What to do with joints

If you had to lay linoleum with two or more fragments, then inevitably there will be a problem how to smoothly and correctly fasten the joint between adjacent sheets. Often, for this purpose, a wizard is invited to deal with the welding of such a coating and having appropriate equipment. However, it is quite possible to make a strong connection and yourself.

As already mentioned, adjacent sheets fit overlapping - this will make a perfectly smooth joint.

• If the linoleum is laid on concrete, then in place cut from below should lay a gasket made of thin plywood or thick cardboard. With a plywood floor base, this is not required.
• But the line is laid down line. With a sharp knife, a cut is made along it, so that both sheets of linoleum are cut at the same time.

• The images are removed, and from above, and from below, and the sheets must perfectly match. Now we need to fix them in this position. Initially, this can be done with the same double-sided tape, but you can not leave it that way - this connection will not last for long.

joint. The best option is to use the technology of the so-called "cold welding" .To do this, you need to buy a special glue, and a usual paint adhesive tape.

linoleum sheets. Video: "cold welding" of joints of linoleum

• . Over the length of the joint, a strip of paint tape is glued. Then in it a neat cut is made with a knife, right at the place of the future seam.
• The tube is worn with a narrow nozzle. Then gently squeezed out the glue in the slot cut - he gets the exactly where it should be, and reliably will connect the two sheets with an almost unnoticeable seam.

• Once the passes the , the time specified in the glue application instructions, the paint tape can be removed. The weld is checked, if necessary, small s are eliminated or defects are cut off or streaks are cut off. Such a seam should last a very long time. The only condition - such a "cold welding" is carried out not earlier than a day after laying linoleum.

Here, perhaps, and all the major secrets of an independent flooring of linoleum. If you want and the accuracy of the owner of the apartment, the process is not at all unimaginably complex and difficult to implement. Good luck with your work!

Video: a visual lesson on laying linoleum