If you have made the final decision to cover the floors in an apartment or a separate room with laminate, first you should thoroughly familiarize yourself with the basic rules technological process its styling. Firstly, this is necessary to accurately determine type of material that will need to be purchased. Secondly, it is necessary to learn how to lay laminate flooring in order to really evaluate your own strength. The process itself, although it requires increased care and accuracy, still cannot be considered extremely difficult to perform, and calling a team of builders and finishers may be a waste of money. Why not try it yourself?

No matter how much you want to do everything as quickly as possible, you should remember " golden rule» - laying floor coverings, and laminate flooring in particular, never suffers unnecessary haste. Everything will happen in a fairly short time, but in order for the floor to really serve for a long time and not cause immediate disappointment, without careful preliminary preparation It’s simply impossible to get by with work.

To begin with, thoroughly prepare the floor surface.

A good owner will assess the condition of the floor in the room and bring it into the proper shape for installation, probably even before going to the store to buy laminated boards. So, the first step is to revise the existing foundation.

A significant advantage of laminate flooring is that it can be laid on almost any subfloor. Of course, the “subfloor” must meet a number of important requirements.

• He should leveled horizontally. Level differences are allowed within no more than 2 mm per 1 linear meter surfaces.
• The surface must be flat - even the slightest bumps or pits are unacceptable. Such defects violate the integrity laminated coating or they will subsequently respond with unpleasant creaks.
• The floor must be durable - no dynamic loads should cause “play” of the surface.

1. If the laminate is planned to be laid on a concrete base, then it must be carefully repaired. Wide cracks, potholes, and even more so areas of crumbling or delamination of the surface are unacceptable. If the damage is too extensive, then you will probably have to put the laminate aside for now and start updating the screed - the usual concrete mortar or, which is apparently more convenient, with self-leveling fill. It will be possible to return to laminate flooring only after the floors have gained the required strength.

pouring the floor

2. Laminate flooring is allowed on old linoleum. At the same time, the coating must maintain its integrity and evenness - divergence of welds and rubbing of the linoleum to the base are unacceptable, especially if in these places there is also a violation of the concrete base. The presence of protruding bumps or noticeable holes is not allowed. Sometimes you just have to remove the old linoleum and prepare the base for the laminate in the usual manner, as described above.

3. Laminate flooring can be laid on wood if there are no rotten or creaking boards on the floor, if there are no areas of instability - deflection under the weight of the foot. Such fragments are subject to mandatory replacement with simultaneous strengthening of the lag. Stable areas are checked for cracks, dents, etc. – it must be puttied and then leveled with the general surface with a grinder. Minor differences in level between the boards can be removed with a plane.

Many issues will be resolved much easier if you spare no expense in covering the entire base of the floor with plywood, or even better, OSB sheets with a thickness of about 10 ÷ 12 mm. In addition to the required evenness, this measure also provides additional thermal and soundproofing effects. It must be laid underneath the sheets to be laid. waterproofing layer made of thick polyethylene film.

What you need for work

When the laminate has been purchased and delivered to the installation site, it is advised to free it from plastic and cardboard packaging and place it exactly in the room for which it is intended for several days. This will completely equalize both the humidity and temperature of the material, and as a result, installation will be easier, and the likelihood of deformation of the laid coating will be eliminated.

While the panels are undergoing an “adaptation course,” we don’t waste time - we prepare necessary tools and draw up a plan for upcoming work

• For cutting laminate boards in right size you will need a hacksaw with a fine tooth or electric jigsaw. If there are vertical pipe risers in the room, then you can’t do without a jigsaw.

  electric jigsaw

• It is clear that the master must have high-quality drawing-measuring tool - tape measure, ruler, metal square, marker, etc.
• A hammer is often required to join laminate seams. It’s good if you have a rubber or wooden one at your disposal. You can also use a regular one, but only with laying a special block - they are available in stores, but making it yourself is not difficult. In this case, it will be more convenient to make a groove in the block for the locking part of the laminate - it cannot be crushed with too strong a blow.

• Areas along walls or in other areas are often particularly difficult. hard to reach places. To apply the required force to connect the panels, you will need ∫ -shaped lever. It can also be purchased at a hardware store, but for one-time installation at home, it would probably be more profitable to make it yourself from a metal strip, taking into account the height of the lever that protrudes upward to transmit impact force at a convenient height for the master.

You can, if necessary, use a regular mount, but there is a possibility of damaging the wall - be sure to use a wide piece of wood to place the stop.

• It’s worth preparing in advance required quantity wooden wedges-spacers, for fixing the laminate at the required (10 ÷ 12 mm) distance from the walls of the room, to compensate for temperature or other expansions.

The entire floor surface must be covered with underlay. It is unacceptable to ignore this - the quality of the laid laminated floor will be low. The substrate can be polymer - made of foamed polyethylene, it can have a foil layer (layed out) or without it. Most often the substrate is produced in rolls, although a panel version can also be purchased. The most optimal, although not cheap An option would be to use a cork backing.

The material is spread over the entire surface of the floor exclusively end-to-end, without leaving gaps or overlaps. The resulting seams can be fixed to the floor surface with double-sided tape or taped with adhesive tape on top.

That's it, the preparatory activities are almost completed, all that remains is to think through the work plan in order to avoid common mistakes.

floor underlay

Thinking over a laying scheme

So that the installation work goes smoothly and quickly, before your eyes home handyman There should always be a carefully thought out and graphically executed diagram. What needs to be taken into account in order to avoid the mistakes that often lie in wait for beginners in this business:

• Laying direction. Longitudinal, long joints should be oriented along the direction of the rays of light from its natural source - the window. Otherwise, the joints may stand out strongly on the surface.

• The work is planned from the far, most often left, corner. The installation is going well. The panel of the first row parallel to the wall is laid with the groove outward, and the tenon is cut off in advance so that a straight end remains.
• If it is enough for a cross cut hand saw or a jigsaw, then for longitudinal cuts it is better to use a manual or stationary circular saw - this will be smoother and faster.
• Each subsequent row should be offset (by half the length of the panels, or “along the deck”, by 300 ÷ 400 mm).
• When planning, be sure to take into account that the finishing row of laminate panels should not be narrower than 100 mm. If it turns out less, it’s worth narrowing the first row a little. The installation is thought out similarly if there are internal corners in the room.
• Particular attention is paid to places where vertical risers pass. If they cannot be temporarily dismantled, then it is worth thinking through the scheme in such a way that they fall at the junction of the panels - then cutting a shaped hole and installing the covering will not be a problem.
• Although laminate is not too thick, it can sometimes become an obstacle to the movement of doors. It makes sense to immediately evaluate this and, if necessary, shorten the door seals.

Now, only when everything is ready, you can proceed directly to installation.

Features of laying laminated panels of different types

Laminated panels different models are by no means identical in the principle of their conjugation with each other. Thus, there is an option when the required solidity of the surface is ensured by gluing the joints. Panels with locks can also vary - there are two main types - “Lock” or “Click”. You can also find more complex options, for example, 5G, but they are, to one degree or another, a modification of “Click” type locks.

Installation of laminate flooring with click locks

The peculiarity of such a locking connection is that it is made only at a certain angle between the mating panels, the specific value of which can vary significantly between different models. But this does not change the essence - the mounted panel is inserted at the required angle with a tenon into the groove of the already laid one. Then, when you turn it into a single plane, the lock grooves snap into place with a characteristic sound, providing a very reliable connection. With all this, dismantling the panel will also not be difficult - when it is lifted to the same angle, it will come out of their engagement.

Schematic diagram of the "Click" lock

• Installation is carried out from the first row. The entire strip is assembled completely, laid along the wall and wedged from it along both the long and end sides.

Installation of a panel with a "Click" lock

• The next row is also assembled completely at first - this is the main feature of installation with such a lock. Of course, the displacement of the panels is taken into account - this has already been discussed above. Only after complete assembly throughout the entire strip of the next row, it is connected to the previous one. It can be very difficult to do this on your own, so it’s better to work together.

Each row after laying is wedged away from the walls.

• All subsequent rows of laminate are laid in the same order, until the end of the room.
• Before each assembly of the locking part, the cleanliness of its grooves must be checked - even the smallest fragments of debris or sawdust are not allowed to be present in it.

High-quality laminate with locks does not need to adjust the joints using impact forces - the joints themselves are strong and almost invisible. This advantage determines its greatest popularity among all other types of laminated panels.

How panels with Lock locks are installed

It seems that such a fastening system is rapidly losing popularity and is gradually being replaced by more modern models. However, such a laminate is relatively inexpensive, and therefore is still in demand.

This is how it works lock system"Lock"

The tenons and grooves of the locking connection in this case are located in one horizontal plane and have peculiar protrusions and grooves for fixation when a certain force is applied. In terms of strength, such joints are significantly inferior to the “Click” laminate. At the same time, dismantling the panel, if necessary, is quite difficult - very often the tenon becomes deformed or even breaks off.

• The panels of the first row are connected to each other along the end side by tapping with a hammer through a wooden or rubber gasket. Wedging is carried out from the walls of the room.

• Installation of the next row begins with the first panel from the wall. Its tenon is inserted into the groove of the laid row, and complete connection is ensured by tapping (usually accompanied by a characteristic sound and well identified visually). The panel immediately wedges away from the wall surface.

• The next panel will require sequential application of impact forces on both sides, to connect with a lock on both the end and long sides.

Here you will need the mentioned lever with which you can tap the panel, or You can apply force using a pry bar.

• Laying continues in this order in a row (some craftsmen prefer a “step-by-step scheme, but the essence does not change).
• Laying the final row, after careful measurement and cutting to the required size, is also done using a lever.

When working, you should control the force of the impact so that the lock works and so as not to accidentally damage the grooves or tenons of the connection in the places where the forces are applied.

Features of installing laminate flooring with glue

Laminate, designed for installation with gluing joints, has good performance strength, solidity, water resistance of the resulting surface. Disadvantages - the work is quite labor-intensive, and it will not be possible to dismantle the panels while maintaining their integrity. Installation will require glue specially designed for this purpose, and professionals strongly do not recommend simplifying your task by purchasing regular PVA.

glue for laminate

Such panels also have tongues and grooves, but their purpose is only to align the laminate in one plane and the locking part as such No.

• The laying system itself largely repeats the described technology with “Lock” locks - both the sequence and tapping of the connections are similar. Main feature– before assembly, the grooves are coated with glue in the amount specified by the material manufacturer.
• Coming to the surface laminate after joining the panels, excess glue Remove immediately with a clean, soft, damp cloth.
• When the first 3 rows are laid, a technological break must be taken for 2 ÷ 3 hours - this is the time the glue needs for its polymerization to occur. Then the work continues in the same way, with alternating laying and pauses.

Shutdown

After laying the last row (in the case of adhesive laminate - after 3 hours), you can remove the spacer wedges around the perimeter of the room. Now all that remains is to attach the baseboards (only to the wall, in no case to the laminated surface), and cover the junctions of the laminated panels with other floor coverings with special decorative overlays.

Video: master class on laying laminate

If when replacing flooring If you choose laminate, we recommend that you read this article.

Choosing laminate flooring for your home is an excellent and practical solution

What can laminate be laid on?

Laying laminate flooring has its own characteristics:

• It is permissible to lay laminate flooring on linoleum provided that the linoleum covering does not have any damage or swelling.
• Lay laminate on wooden floor acceptable if the floor surface is smooth and level.
• When laying laminate flooring in the kitchen, it is necessary to take into account such factors as the use of water and the possibility of it getting on the laminate. For the kitchen, you can choose a special moisture- or water-resistant laminate, but it is worth keeping in mind that this type of laminate is in a higher price category. Alternatively, you can combine the floors and lay floor tiles in the area of ​​the headset.
• You can safely install a heated floor under the laminate, since its temperature heating elements significantly below temperatures that could damage the laminate in any way.
• If during operation the parquet has lost its original appearance, then a laminate coating can also be installed on it.
• Laminate flooring should only be laid on a flat floor; the permissible difference in floor height is 2 mm. Otherwise, the laminate will become deformed during operation.
• Laying fiberboard and chipboard boards under the laminate will provide additional sound insulation.

Types and methods of installation

It is necessary to start laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor only after all the floorboards of the wooden floor have been checked and secured with nails or screws. If this work If not done, loose floorboards will lead to deformation of the laminate.

Next, waterproofing is installed; for this, ordinary polyethylene film can be used (it must be laid with an overlap). The next layer is the substrate. After the underlay has been laid, you can proceed directly to laying the laminate. The laminate is laid strictly perpendicular to the floorboards, this allows you to distribute the load on the floor.

Before carrying out installation work on laying the flooring in the apartment, the brought laminate must lie down and undergo adaptation to the temperature and humidity of the room (at least two days).

In order for the laminate to be properly laid on linoleum, the old coating must be intact, without defects, dry and clean. Before laying the laminate, a backing is first laid on the surface of the linoleum. Next, the laminated panels themselves are laid.

To level a concrete floor for laying laminate, use either cement screed, or as an alternative self-leveling floors. The underlay placed on the concrete floor under the laminate additionally serves as a vapor barrier.

Laminate can be with a 2-sided or 4-sided chamfer. The presence of a chamfer on the laminate gives its appearance additional similarity to the structure natural wood. Laying chamfered laminate is no different from laying regular laminate.

If you plan to lay the laminate on plywood, then it must first be thoroughly sanded to eliminate differences in the joints and cleaned of dust.

If the laminate is laid on a screed, it is checked for moisture levels. To do this, lay a piece of ordinary plastic film over the screed and press the edges tightly. If condensation does not appear on the film within 3-4 days, then you can lay the laminate.

The width of the laminated panel can vary from 90 mm (imitating parquet) to 330 mm (imitating tiles). Laying wide laminate flooring is no different from laying standard laminate flooring.

Technology for laying laminate flooring

Installation of laminate requires strict adherence to phasing:

1. The floor surface must be smooth, free of dirt and dry;
2. Laying the laminate begins from the back of the room and is carried out towards the doors; be sure to leave a small space of 8-10 mm between the wall and the first row of panels (to ensure some mobility of the floors);
3. Laminated panels are designed in such a way that when assembling the floor covering, the tongue of one panel fits into the groove of another, then they are tightly adjusted to each other using a hammer;
4. The second row of laminated panels is laid relative to the first row in a checkerboard pattern with the connecting seams offset by 40-50 cm. Subsequent rows are laid in the same way;
5. It is recommended to lay the laminate away from the window, perpendicular to the light source;
6. Laminate flooring should be laid diagonally from the widest place in the room, moving towards one of the corners. The placement and fastening of laminated panels to each other is no different from the standard one. Should special attention pay attention to trimming panels in the corners;
7. Laying the laminate near the doors can be done either by trimming the laminated panel itself, or by sawing the door frame itself. The laminated panel must extend under door frame by 5-10 mm, but do not rest against the wall.

How to lay underlay under laminate?

To ensure a long service life of the laminate, it is necessary to have a backing underneath it that will prevent the floor covering from sagging and deforming.

There are several types of substrates:

• isolon (foamed polyethylene) - has good sound insulation, is not afraid of moisture, but it sags under load and is not a very good shock absorber (it is laid with the smooth side up);
• the cork substrate has high sound and heat insulation and is an excellent shock absorber (thickness should not exceed 4 mm);
• Fiberboard has good thermal insulation, but is afraid of high humidity;
• polystyrene is an inexpensive substrate option; it is placed with the foil side facing the laminate.

To level the floor and increase its rigidity, plywood can be used as a substrate. Thickness plywood sheet must be at least 10 mm. Sheets of plywood are laid in a checkerboard pattern.

On a concrete floor, polystyrene foam is suitable as a substrate (laying in two layers is recommended). If the concrete base is perfectly flat, then you can do without a substrate, limiting yourself to the usual plastic film.

How to lay skirting boards on laminate flooring?

Installing a plinth allows you to decorate the joints between the wall and the floor, and gives the flooring a finished look.

The plinth can be made of wood or plastic. Depending on the material of manufacture, the plinth has features of fastening to the laminate.

1. The wooden plinth is attached to the wall using nails or self-tapping screws, or glued with glue. The joints between the individual elements, as well as the caps of the fastening elements, are puttied and painted over.
2. The plastic plinth is applied and snapped into special clamps pre-mounted on the wall. The plastic plinth has a hidden cable channel that allows wiring to be carried out under the plinth. Installation plastic skirting board facilitates the use of additional fittings (external and internal corners, special plastic covers for joints).

Video

Watch the video instructions for laying the underlay and laminate:

The popularity of laminate flooring recent years is gaining momentum and this is not surprising. After all, outwardly it is practically indistinguishable from such a chic, but expensive parquet, despite the fact that it has much greater wear resistance, does not require special care during operation, and installation work on laying laminated panels, or if necessary replacing one of them, do not represent increased complexity. Properly selected and installed laminate flooring will serve you for many years.

How to lay laminate flooring? How can you transform any room? Of course, having made repairs to it. Today we will look at how to lay laminate flooring with your own hands and what mistakes should be avoided if you already have laminate flooring.

You need to decide on the type of flooring product you want to purchase. Since for different rooms absolutely must be used different types laminate

Types of laminate and installation

For small ones premises will suit laminate with class 31-32, these are apartments and houses, and for rooms with high traffic, such as offices, it is necessary to purchase laminate class 33-34.

It is also necessary to take into account that in kitchens you need to use material with good moisture resistance.

If you decide to lay the flooring yourself, we recommend purchasing laminate flooring with a special latch.

With such a laminate, renovations in your premises will proceed quickly and efficiently.

Be sure to level the floor surface, fill all small unevenness and cracks, this will allow you to lay the laminate smoothly and for many years.

What kind of underlay should I put under the laminate?

The best one is cork. Because it is natural and environmentally friendly. But, if your budget does not allow you to go wild, then purchase a backing made of extruded polystyrene foam.

To ensure that the laminate joint does not catch your eye, choose a laminate without a beveled edge. But keep in mind that it is precisely this beveled edge that gives the laminate its prestigious appearance, it becomes like an elite board.

If, nevertheless, your choice is a product with a beveled edge, then lay it across the room, that is, across the light streaming from the window, this will visually expand the boundaries of your room or premises.

It is always recommended to leave a gap of 10 cm from the wall, since laminate tends to increase slightly in size, and if you do not leave a little space against the wall, the material will deform, no matter how good quality neither was he.

Lay laminate or wallpaper

When you are faced with renovations in an apartment for the first time, the question always arises of what to do first and what to do last, and in what order.

A misconception among many people is that it is necessary to lay the flooring first, and then everything else. This is fundamentally wrong. This is especially true for laying laminate flooring.

In any form repair work, laminate flooring must be laid at the final stage of repair, that is, at the very last touch.

This is due to the fact that laminate absorbs excess moisture very well, and when you, having laid the laminate, start gluing wallpaper from which moisture comes, the laminate will absorb some of the moisture and, as a result, may become deformed. And you will scold the supplier for low-quality goods.

What can laminate be laid on?

Above we discussed the issue of correct installation laminate But many of our readers are interested in an equally important question: what can laminate be laid on?

Is it possible to use the old coating, or is it necessary to dismantle everything and install it only on a concrete floor?

The manufacturers of this material cover this issue well. Here are their tips and recommendations.

So, laminate can be placed on:

• Concrete floor. Moreover, the surface must be clean, absolutely dry and smooth. Under no circumstances are uneven surfaces allowed.
• Cement screed. Great solution when laying flooring. But if you live on the ground floor, we recommend that you put a regular film on the screed to prevent moisture from penetrating to the laminate and the substrate.
• Solid wood flooring. It must be mounted in such a way that there are no irregularities or deflections. Old wood flooring will also work, just make sure it's in good condition.
• Old dense linoleum. But with two tolerances. Firstly, it should not be made of oilcloth material, and secondly, the thickness of such flooring should be no more than one millimeter. Otherwise, the laminate will begin to sag and deform over time.

Why can't you lay new laminate on old laminate?

Even if it seems to you that the old laminate is still very strong and will be an excellent soundproofing solution when laying a new laminate, we hasten to convince you that this is not the case!

Any product has a service life and performance characteristics. No matter how closely you look at the old laminate, its strength has already decreased significantly and there are rotten areas on it that are invisible to the eye.

If it creaks under your feet, then this situation will increase significantly when laying a new layer of laminate on it. Because its load-bearing capacity is not designed to withstand the constant force and load of new flooring.

If it seems to you that installation on the old coating will be without unnecessary dust and noise, then this is also a mistaken opinion.

When laying a new lamella, you will in any case be cutting and adjusting the material, so you cannot do without dust.

Also consider the fact that the old laminate was produced several years or even decades ago, and you know that technology has come a long way.

And it is still unknown what situation you will find yourself in if you do not dismantle the old coating. It is quite possible that 5-6 months after such installation you will face another unplanned repair.

Let us recall once again the main points when laying and choosing a laminate:

Laminate is one of the most popular and preferred types of flooring. If you really want, you can install it yourself. You just need to figure out how to properly lay laminate flooring. Existing varieties materials and installation schemes allow you to do everything so that the finished coating fits best into the interior of the room. If you follow the instructions in everything, you will be able to lay laminate flooring no worse than an experienced craftsman.

Laying laminate flooring in a diagonal manner visually expands the space.

What do you need to know before laying laminate flooring?

It requires compliance with a number of rules, without which the coating is unlikely to perform as intended. Laminate flooring cannot be installed in rooms with air humidity below 40% and above 70%. The air temperature in the room should be between 15-30°C.

Before work, be sure to check the levelness of the floor. This can be done using a building level or a rule. Tolerance is 2 mm per 1 m of space. It is important that the surface on which the laminate will be laid is hard. Do not lay the material on creaking wooden floors and carpet. If there are significant unevenness or the wooden base has lost the required rigidity, you will have to additionally level the floor.

If you are laying laminate flooring with locks, you need to remember that its rigid attachment to the base is unacceptable. Glue, screws, nails - you won't need this. The finish should be “floating”. The same requirement determines the need to leave gaps of 1-1.5 cm around the perimeter of the room.

Laminate flooring can only be laid on a special substrate. Due to it, the sound and thermal insulation properties floor. To provide additional moisture and vapor barrier, a thin polyethylene film should be placed under the substrate.

Laying laminate flooring will require the use the following materials and tools:

Mistakes when laying laminate flooring and their consequences.

1. Substrates.
2. Moisture-proofing material. It will only be needed if the laminate will be laid on a concrete base.
3. Jigsaw.
4. Scotch tape.
5. Pencil for marking.
6. Ugolnik.
7. Hammer.
8. Special installation kit for laminate.

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Foundation Preparation Guide

Laminate is a material with excellent performance characteristics. And so that they do not decrease over time, you need to properly prepare the base before laying. The panels can be laid on a concrete floor, wooden structure, floor tiles and linoleum.

As for concrete, a coating can be laid on a new screed only after it has completely dried, i.e. in about a month. If the laminate will be laid on a ready-made screed, you first need to make sure of its integrity. Minor cracks and unevenness are eliminated using a self-leveling mixture. To repair significant damage, you will have to make a new screed.

The concrete base must be covered with plastic film. Use tape to secure the joints. The film is laid with an overlap, with an overlap on the walls. Dry screed does not require this layer.

If laminate flooring is laid on a floor made of boards, it is important to ensure that they are even and firmly attached to the joists. The boards must be fastened with self-tapping screws. If the joists are poorly secured, you will have to lay a new floor. If the boards themselves are uneven, you will have to work with a scraper or a plane. It is important that the surface does not stick out anywhere. Remove all protruding elements in advance and replace damaged boards.

If desired, you can level the wooden floor using plywood. Sheets with a thickness of at least 6 mm are suitable. It is also possible to use other sheet materials, for example, fiberboard and chipboard. However, plywood is the best option in terms of quality and cost. Before work, be sure to calculate the total thickness of the plywood, substrate and laminate panels, so that as a result it does not happen that the doors to your room cannot open. It is for this reason that when repairing the installation interior doors executed at the very end.

Laminate flooring can be laid on tiles or linoleum. The technology allows the material to be laid on any hard and smooth surfaces. So if before this the tiles and linoleum were laid according to the rules, you don’t have to waste time dismantling them. It is not necessary to use a vapor barrier in such situations; a substrate will be sufficient.

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Features of different methods of laying laminate

Laying laminate can be done using 3 main methods of attaching panels, namely:

1. By glue method.
2. Using the lock fastening Lock.
3. Using a Click connection.

The adhesive connection is similar to laying simple parquet. The edges of the 2 panels are covered with glue, after which they are pulled together quite tightly. This option is suitable for rooms with heavy loads, when you need to create a moisture-proof and durable connection. The method is used quite rarely, because it has significant disadvantages: the greatest labor intensity, fragility and the exclusion of the possibility of disassembling the coating.

The most popular is the Click connection. The panels are fastened using the tongue-and-groove method at an angle of 30°. The laminate panel is lowered and secured with a lock. This is the most convenient, fastest and modern type fastenings If the quality is good, the joints are almost invisible.

As for Lock locks, they require some experience. In addition, such a connection is more demanding regarding the evenness of the base. If handled incorrectly, locks are easily damaged. And they are more difficult to disassemble than Click, and assembly requires additional joining of panels using a hammer.

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What types of laminate flooring are there?

In most cases, laminate flooring is installed in parallel sunlight, but if desired, the panels can be laid perpendicularly or diagonally. Existing schemes are presented in Fig. 1.

In addition, installation schemes are further divided into the following:

Figure 1. Laminate placement methods.

1. Classic scheme. It is most often used when laying such flooring, because... it is as economical as possible. The panels are laid away from the window opening, parallel to the sunlight. If the cuttings are longer than 30 cm, they can be used at the beginning of a new row. If all stages of installation are carried out correctly, waste amounts to a maximum of 5-7%.
2. The brick scheme received this name due to some similarity with brickwork. The new row is laid with the laminate panel offset by half. This installation method provides the highest strength. The main disadvantage is that the consumption finishing material increases by 10-15%. Laying according to the “brick pattern” looks especially beautiful if there is a chamfer at the ends of the panels.
3. The diagonal pattern is one of the varieties of classic installation, but in this case the panels are mounted at an angle of 45°. This method allows you to get a very beautiful coating. The main disadvantage is the large amount of waste (approximately 15%), which becomes even greater if the room is long and narrow.

Regardless of the exact pattern in which the panels will be laid, each new row must be laid with offset end locks. This technique allows you to increase the strength of the connection. The minimum permissible offset is 20 cm in relation to the previous row.

Laminate gained popularity as soon as it appeared on the market. A cheap substitute for expensive parquet, it has a fairly wide list of advantages. But the only and strict requirement for its installation is a flat and durable surface on which it will be laid. Hence all the problems when it comes to installing it in the apartment.

The thing is that renovations in a city apartment require a special approach to finishing the flooring. Most often, everyone tries to get rid of the old cladding. And this is correct, although there are options that make it possible not to carry out dismantling processes. Especially when it comes to laminate. So, let's look at everything in this article possible situations regarding flooring bases for laying laminate flooring in an apartment.

Types of floor surfaces

In city apartments there are mainly two types of flooring. This is a concrete floor and a wooden one. But if we talk about already finished floors with old cladding that can withstand the stringent requirements of laminate installation, then there can be any number of such surfaces. Let's look at the most common options.

Concrete floor

The most common type of floor base is a concrete floor in the form of a floor slab. Unfortunately, such a slab does not meet the required standards for laying laminate flooring. Therefore, it must be repaired:

• Firstly, the degree of defects and flaws is first determined.

• Secondly, the question of how to carry out repairs and leveling of the floor plane is resolved.
• Thirdly, the repair itself is carried out, during which the concrete floor is strengthened and leveled.

So, first we determine what defects there are on the floor and how they can be eliminated. The simplest solution to this problem is to fill the floors with a screed based on cement and sand, which are mixed in proportions 1:3. Cheap and good option, but with one drawback - you have to wait a long time for the screed to dry well.

• Therefore, first the floor on which it lies ceramic tiles, is checked for evenness using a long rule. Practice shows that such floors are always level.
• But they may have problems with strength. If the tile has been in use for a long time, then there is a high probability that some of its elements are poorly attached to concrete base. And this needs to be revealed. Therefore, the entire surface is tapped with a hammer. And if a dull sound is heard in one of the areas, then it means there is emptiness under the tiles. And this tile needs to be dismantled. After which the installation site is filled with cement mortar.

If the quality of fastening of the entire tile does not meet the strength requirements, then it is better to completely dismantle such a floor. After which the screed is poured onto the base.

Linoleum

Everyone knows that a substrate must be placed under the laminate, which hides a small difference in plane of up to 2 mm. In addition, it often performs the functions of vapor and waterproofing. So all this can be done by ordinary linoleum laid on the floor.
But if the work contractor is faced with a dilemma: to remove the old linoleum or not, then again everything will depend on the quality of the linoleum:

• Firstly, its qualitative condition is determined by the presence of cracks, folds, trampled holes, and so on.
• Secondly, how firmly the material is attached to the base after so many years of operation.

If all this is missing, then linoleum can be considered as a substrate. If at least one defect is present here, then it is better from this flooring material get rid of. It is prohibited to repair linoleum; no methods will help here. Therefore, first decide on the quality of linoleum, and then decide whether to lay laminate on it or not.

So what do we actually see? The ability to lay laminate flooring is the requirement for the flooring base. There are few of them: strength and evenness. If all this is followed one hundred percent, then it does not matter what basis is in front of you. Certainly, best option(as many experts believe) - this is a bare floor, which is strengthened and leveled using all currently available methods.

The main thing is the correctly chosen option, plus competently carried out processes. But don’t discount the possibility of using old finishes. If it meets the requirements, then it becomes possible to save a little on dismantling and leveling processes.