Wooden flooring with own hands

It is possible to make wooden flooring by yourself , if you have previously studied the instruction for carrying out this work. Boardwalk has always been more popular than floors made of other materials, because it differs from them by its natural warmth, ecological compatibility and the ability to create a special, especially healthy microclimate in residential areas.

Most often for decking of floors in the house are selected coniferous wood. Predominantly in the course of is the larch, which shows special resistance to both temperature changes and increased humidity. Due to the natural antiseptic qualities of this tree, there are no destructive fungal formations on without , and means , rotting and fracture processes are excluded.

Floor requirements

Wooden flooring must conform to the with certain requirements, without which the floors will not last long and will not be comfortable for the occupants. These criteria can be safely attributed:

• Effective sound insulation and insulation of premises.
• Reliability of the and the strength of the wooden cover.
• Wear resistance, and therefore - and the durability of the floor.
• Humidity and hygiene - cleaning the floor should not cause any special difficulties.
• The aesthetics of wooden flooring - it should become a decoration of the room.
• Ease of installation work.

To achieve all the mentioned qualities of a wooden floor, you need to correctly approach the choice of material for its construction.

Criteria for material selection

should be selected. To ensure that the floors last longer without drying boards and their deformation, the following material parameters should be considered when choosing wood:

• Grades. For finishing, it is better to choose the highest or first grade of board, and for rough flooring you usually buy 2 ÷ 3 grade .If the finish floor is covered with paint, then is also a second-class material for it.

The quality of the wood will directly depend on the and its quality. Even when purchasing high-grade material, must be taken into account on , they must either be completely absent or be in the minimum quantity possible defects, such as chips, fissures and knots -.

• It is very important to pay attention to drying wood. It must have defined humidity, otherwise the years between the boards will appear cracks, and the floorboards themselves will become deformed. The humidity of for finishing boards can not exceed 12%, and for rough - no more than 17%.
• The length of the bars and boards should ideally match the length and width of the room where the floor will be laid.
• The standard thickness of the floorboards is 120 × 25 mm and 100 × 25 mm. This parameter is selected depending on the stacking step of the logs, on which the boards will be fixed. According to the existing technology, these distances should be selected in accordance with the data given in the table:

The distance between the lags in mm	The thickness of the floorboard in mm
300	20
400	24
500	30
600	35
700	40
800	45
900	50
1000	55

When buying any building material, after the necessary calculations for have been made, add to this quantity15% for stock - this rule is checked by experienced builders, therefore it is recommended to follow it.

Preparing wood

Before installing the floor board and flooring, they must be prepared. Usually the floor material is sold already in a planed form, but if the examination reveals burrs, then they need to be removed using an electric gun.

Further, all boards and bars are treated with antiseptic compounds. This is done to protect them from fungal and mold damage, protection from insects and to some extent even - about rodents.

To install them proceed only after the material has dried completely.

Choosing a floor construction

Knowing all the requirements which is applied to the coating material, you need to determine the floor design, since for each specific case the is suitable for the variant, depending on the conditions in which the of the will be mounted.

There are several basic types of wooden floor constructions:

• Floors on logs laid on joists. In this case for a finishing floor can be used plywood or boards.
• " Floating" construction - boards , laid on a concrete base, but not attached to it .
• Coating, fixed on logs laid on the ground.

These wooden flooring methods have become the most popular, since they give the creator the freedom to create a master who can make adjustments to the design. But, one way or another, for each room you need to choose the only option that suits him more.

Flooring system on floor slabs

• The floor slabs can be fixed to floor joists, which, in turn, are laid on a columnar or strip foundation. This is permissible if the room where the floor is arranged has a width of no more than 2,5 ÷ 3 m .

• To create an air gap, the floor joists are often lifted above the ground on the defined height, laying them on top of the waterproof foundation surface. They can be rigidly fixed to it or simply reliably stacked from above. The second option is chosen if the foundation still did not have time to shrink, and when it happens, it will not pull the floor system, which from this impact, for sure will start to deform .

• support posts are additionally installed. For large room widths( more than 3 meters), the posts can be additionally installed between the walls, which will create the rigidity of the overlap system. On all supporting structures under the beams of the floor basis, a waterproofing is always applied to ensure that the wooden parts last as long as possible.

What should be the thickness of the logs and the beams overlap? This mainly depends on the width of the free span ( the distance between adjacent support points).Usually, the following indicators are used( see table):

Sectional dimension of the log in millimeters	Room span in meters
110 × 60	2
150 × 80	3
180 × 100	4
200 × 150	5
220 × 180	6

• After the is fitted with beamsoverlap, they need to fix the lag. The distance between them, as already mentioned, is calculated according to the thickness of the selected floorboards.

• . When installing such a floating construction of the floor, the logs and then the boards must be located on the at least 12-15 mm from the walls, that is, be independent of them. In the , the opening between the walls and the floor system is laid with a thermal insulation material that will prevent cold air from entering the room, allow the wood to "breathe", and with temperature and humidity changes, expand freely.
• When laying logs consisting of two separate sections, their alignment of the overlapping the by 400 ÷ 500 mm should be on the support posts or on the beam. The logs should be leveled by the building level, if necessary, small pieces of wood are placed under the logs to achieve an ideal horizontal line.
• After the lags are exposed and fixed, it is recommended to arrange a rough floor for which low quality boards are suitable. For their installation, for the entire length of the log from below, the skull bars with size 30 × 50 mm are screwed.

• is quite suitable. The boards of the rough floor are not always fixed to the cranial bars, they are usually simply packed tightly to each other. On top of the roughing floor, the vapor-proof film is laid, fastening the to its with brackets to the lags and boards.

• Between ladders on the vapor barrier, the - thermal insulation material is tightly laid. This can be mineral wool in mats or rolls, as well as dry backfilling from expanded clay or slag.

• On top of the insulation is laid more one layer of film vapor barrier. Separate its sheets are glued together with adhesive tape, and then the film is attached to the lags by staples.

film

• The top layer of the vapor barrier is necessary so that the dust and particles of the insulation material can not enter the living quarters. Povet px vs this floor system will then be laid down with floorboards or thick plywood.

Logs, fixed on concrete surface

Often to create insulated floor layer in apartments on a concrete base, a wooden floor is also arranged on the logs. Here the whole difficulty lies in leveling the logs on the surface, especially if it is planned to raise the wooden covering a few centimeters above the concrete slab.

If the apartment is located above the ground floor, then most often the logs are laid out, leveled, and then fixed to the concrete foundation with the help of anchorages.

In both the first and second versions, the logs are drilled through. To raise the lag over the base, use different metal and plastic elements. In this case in the photo shows the studs. They allow you to raise and lower lags from one side or the other, aligning them to the level. The extra length of the hairpin, after removing the log to the desired height, is cut with the of the grinder.

In each of the variants, a thermal insulation can be laid between ladders , which will add thermal insulation coating, and also help to drown out the noise, both from the lower apartment, and from the rooms where logs under the wooden floor are installed. As a thermal insulation material, mineral wool, polystyrene or loose insulation can be used.

It is recommended to stretch and secure the vapor barrier film in the first and second cases on top and then proceed to the finishing flooring.

Flooring on a concrete surface

Sometimes wooden floor is laid on a concrete floor without the use of logs. As a covering use floorboards or plywood. It is advisable to lay a thin insulation material - under such a floor. Foamed polyethylene is most often used for this, and it is better to choose one that has a foil coating.

Separate sheets of substrate material are bonded together with adhesive tape to create a solid - coating that will make the floor warmer and drown out noise. If plywood is used for the flooring, it must be remembered that on top of the it it is necessary to lay the decorative coating. The floors of thick enough boards will look respectable if they are covered with lacquer, wax or high-quality paint.

Editing the floorboard

Choosing the boards of the desired thickness, it is important to determine the correct direction of their laying on the floor. As the experience of many years shows, the best option is to cover the boards in the direction of natural light, that is, from the window. Therefore, to plan the laying of the board you need to start with the marking and fixing of the logs.

Floor boards have different types of connection:

1. Connection using insert insert in the grooves of two boards.

2. Connection "groove-spike" in the presence of dowel boards.

3. Connection "in a quarter".

The last connection - is the easiest to install, so most often use floorboards with this fastening. In addition, the "one quarter" connection creates the with a single coating with almost imperceptible slits between the boards, so it will optimally keep the heat in the room.

The boards can be fastened to the lugs in two ways:

board

• Nails or screws can be pushed into the groove located on the side of the board at an angle of approximately 45 degrees, with the drowning of the cap inside wood. Some masters prefer to act on the contrary , pounding the screws at an angle to the edge of the spike.

• In the second version, nails or screws are driven or screwed into the front of the board.

• When installing floorboards, it is necessary to retreat from the wall 12 ÷ 15 mm. Later in this interval, a strip of insulation is laid, and closed with a fixed skirting board. It is necessary for the possibility of the tree to expand when the humidity and air temperature change.

• . The board is fastened to the logs with nails 80 ÷ 120 mm or self-tapping screws 70 ÷ 100 mm. The hats are driven "under the lock ", later they are sealed with with putty matched wood.
• If insufficiently aged wood is used, then the floor will require a drying period, which lasts 6 ÷ 8 months. During this time, the coating will shrink and shrink, slots will increase between the boards, and therefore, it will be necessary to carry out the process of its re-laying. In this regard, with the initial laying of flooring, the logs are not nailed all the floorboards completely, and only the fifth - is fastened to the seventh board. After drying the boards, they must be shifted, tighten the as tightly as possible, and press against each other and nail them to the lags.

• If boards with a tongue-and-groove connection are chosen, a kiyanka is used to tighten the connection, through which the studs are driven into the grooves. Often, special clamps are used for this wizard, especially when comes with the gluing of grooves and spikes with joinery glue because of the light curvature of the boards.
• For a tight connection of the last board installed near the wall, temporary wooden wedges are used, they are driven between the wall and the board.
• The gap between the boards should not be wider than 1 mm. If the board is not installed in the groove to the end, then, most likely, there was a burr or some roughness on the canvas, and this flaw should be removed, the spike should be adjusted to the groove.

Video: flooring with

cladding Surface treatment of the floor after the final of the

flooring After the floor has been cleaned and secured, the may have to its surface to sample .This procedure ss pr is carried out in the event that when the board dries a few boards, and the surface becomes uneven.

After , the bushing is recommended to cover the floor with a starting lacquer according to the pattern of fibers. After drying, which usually takes 10 ÷ 12 days, the surface is ground.

The starter varnish helps to identify insufficiently smooth areas on the surface of the boards, and therefore, after drying, it is easier to find roughnesses and conduct their additional grinding.

After the polishing, skirting boards are installed, which will well hide the cracks between the wall and the floorboards. If at the end of this operation there are gaps between the floor and the plinth, then they are closed with with putty for wood color.

Now that the floor is prepared this way, you can go to the finish surface with wax, oil, varnish or paint.

The wooden flooring is covered by the finish line not only for giving aesthetics and respectability, but also for its protection, and means - maximum long-term operation.

Oil Treatment

If the boards have a beautiful, distinct texture, a special oil is often used to cover it. It makes the floors more warm , not so slippery as with varnish coating, and gives the its antistatic properties. The oil penetrates into the wood structure and reliably protects it from penetration of moisture from the outside, practically repelling its .

oil Wood coated with oil is less susceptible to various damage, and the already existing flaws are virtually invisible. The oil does not clog the pores of the wood, keeping the its natural, allowing the material to "breathe" that the creates the in a residential environment with a favorable microclimate.

Floors covered with oil must be protected against dust on them until it is completely absorbed. In the process of exploitation, such a floor requires special care by special means. It is very important to remember that on such a surface it is not recommended to put furniture with metal legs, since there is a risk of undesirable reactions, as a result of which on wood can remain dark spots.

Flooring with oil is recommended in rooms with high humidity - is a bathroom, a terrace and a kitchen. Also is good for such a covering for a hallway or corridor, since boards impregnated with such a substance are more resistant to abrasion.

There are compositions for flooring, consisting not of pure oil, but with additives of liquid wax, which gives to the floors a matt, soft gloss. Apply to the surface of the wood and clean oils, they are good absorbed into the surface, are economical in application and do not require long waiting for drying.

The floor oil can be colorless, but can have different shades that make the wood more dark or give it a special - nice and warm color.

Oil is applied in two or three receiving .It can be rubbed or applied with a brush, and its excess is immediately erased to avoid the formation of film on top , which will create uneven coating.

The oil composition can be applied hot and cold way into several layers .The faster the wood absorbs oil, the more layers will need to be applied. The heated composition penetrates much more quickly and deeper into the pores of the tree, and this coating lasts much longer than with the cold method of application.

Floor waxing

Wax is most often combined with an oil coating. So, sometimes waxing occurs as a composition, which consists of natural beeswax and linseed oil. This coating protects the surface of the floors from scratches and dirt, as well as from absorbing moisture, but does not save the tree from cracking and intense mechanical influences. The wax coating gives the a pleasant matt shine and a golden hue.

floor wax coatings. Wax is applied to the cleaned floor with a wide roller in several layers of .The first of them should be quite thin to absorb well into the surface. Further, the floor is ground, and then it is coated with with another with one layer of composition and again ground.

Wax in combination with oil is an environmentally friendly coating material, and it is very well used in children's rooms and adult bedrooms. The wood that has undergone such treatment has the properties of "breathing", so the floors will last a long time, and create a favorable microclimate in the room.

Wood flooring

varnish

• Varnish can be applied by brush, roller or spatula at room temperature, moderate humidity and no draft.
• On the cleaned surface, the first layer is superimposed with nitrolac, which will serve as a primer for the finishing layers of the composition. It is applied in a thin layer along the texture of the wood. If necessary, the primer can be applied in two layers.
• After the primer has dried, the surface is well sanded using sandpaper. After that, the floor is washed with soapy water, carefully wiped and dried.
• After this, the finishing layers are started. They can be two or three, and each of them is dried and polished.

Application of the - varnish to the floor is quite a complex undertaking that requires t to carefully prepare the composition for a particular wood species. Therefore, if this particular method of processing a wooden floor is chosen, it is better to entrust the work to a specialist who will determine the volume of the work and will pick up the required materials for the .

Varnish - is brittle enough to be easily damaged by mechanical influences, so it is not advisable to walk on thin heels or move furniture. In addition, varnishes are produced most often on chemical bases of , which, blocking the pores of wood, do not allow it to "breathe".

Painting a wooden floor

Recently, paint is rarely used to cover a wooden floor, but does it all the same, especially in cases where a particular style of interior is chosen. In addition, the paint is used in those cases when it is necessary to close the not very attractive , as this coating completely covers the floor surface. For such finishing, you can choose paints on different bases: oil, enamel, nitrocellulose, as well as acrylic, water-dispersion and latex.

Water-based paints are preferable for living areas, since they do not contain any harmful solvents and additives harmful to the human body. They are produced in different color shades, so there is always the option to choose one that is more suitable for a particular interior.

Enamels and other paints based on chemical solvents are also used for living rooms, but after their application, the premises require a prolonged ventilation, as these evaporation may pose a threat to human health.

Before painting the floor with water based compounds, the boards are covered with a special primer. For the rest of the cover materials, the preparation of the substrate is necessary with the aid of impregnating compositions, as a basic component in which the drying oil usually appears.

Paint can be applied in one, two layers or, as a last resort , in three. It is recommended to choose the "golden mean", since the to is too thinly applied to the , will quickly start to wear , and thick, on the contrary, peel off. Each of the layers of the primer or paint should dry well before the next one is applied.

is very detailed in the corresponding publication of our portal.

So, if there are basic concepts about the work with wood, and also the necessary materials and tools are stored, it is possible to try to lay floors from boards or plywood yourself. If you have any questions, you can always seek clarification and advice on articles that will help you solve any problem. And at the end of the article - still has one interesting video on the technology of laying the wooden floor.

Video: how to prepare and lay the wooden floor