Today, many materials are used to finish the floor. Natural wood finishes are popular. They are beautiful and durable. Such material is the floor board. The features of this material, the methods of its installation will be discussed further.
What is a floor board?
Flatboard floor blends harmoniously into almost any interior style. There are various types of this material. The floor is called a profile type board. It is made from natural wood of different species. This material is used for finishing the floor. This is a high-quality processed material, which may differ in shape, size. The parquet board differs from this material in the way it is made. It is glued together from several thin layers of wood. A milled floor board is most often made from solid wood.
For fixation when laying, this material has fastenings in the form of a groove and a ridge. The presented variety of materials can only be made from natural wood. Whereinselected material for the manufacture of high quality finishes. It should not have defects, knots, blackening.
This production method produces an environmentally friendly floor finish. It does not cause allergies, while in the room you can feel the pleasant aroma of wood. At the same time, the floor looks luxurious and expensive. This finish is suitable for a discreet high-tech style, and for a rustic Provence style. For the latter, a natural floor finish is a stylistic requirement.
Natural material is made from different types of wood. Preference is given to its hard varieties. So, on sale you can most often find a floorboard made of larch, oak, pine or ash. They can also use aspen, walnut or alder in the production of flooring. Almost never make a shaped floorboard from linden, poplar. They are not strong enough and durable.
Material features
Wooden flooring has a number of positive performance characteristics that distinguish it from other types of finishes. This is a very durable material. It is not afraid of mechanical loads, which contributes to a long service life. This indicator is largely determined by the type of wood from which the board is made.
Natural material has high sound and heat insulation characteristics. This makes the room comfortable. In this case, the coating will not be subject to deformation. Since the board is made fromnatural wood, it does not cause allergies. This material can be mounted in the bedroom and children's room.
At the same time, flooring can be made from a floorboard for different types of interior. The color and pattern of the wood may vary. This is determined by the type of floorboard. This material allows you to really decorate the interior. The room will look cozy and warm.
However, it is worth considering that the presented material has a number of shortcomings. Natural wood is a combustible material. Therefore, it is not possible to use it in every room. Also, wood can be prone to rotting, the formation of fungus. The material is quite difficult to care for. It may have scratches and gouges.
If the humidity and temperature change greatly in the room, the material can change its dimensions and even shape. Therefore, when using such a floor, you must comply with the requirements for its operation. Due to temperature fluctuations, gaps may appear between the boards. This may ruin the look of the flooring.
Thickness and Density
The thickness of the floorboard, as well as its density, are indicators that characterize the durability of the floor covering. Therefore, when choosing them, you need to pay attention. The thickness of the material varies from 2 to 7 cm.
The choice of the thickness of the boards depends on the step with which the logs are laid. So, if the distance between the support beam is 60 cm, then you can purchase a floorboard with a thickness of 3-3.5 cm.stacked in large steps, for example, 80 cm. In this case, the thickness of the board should be greater. It should be between 4 and 4.5 cm.
When choosing a finishing material, you need to pay attention to the rate of patency in the room. If there are many people living in the house, and the room is frequently visited, materials with medium or high thickness should be preferred.
Usually, a 3.5-4 cm thick board is used for a living room. This is quite enough for the floor covering to be used for a long time. If this is a gym, a living room, you need to purchase a board with a thickness of 4 cm or more. It should be noted that the cost of finishing also depends on this indicator. It is necessary to find the optimal ratio of price and thickness of the floorboard.
This indicator must be correlated with the density of the material from which the finish is made. It depends on whether the flooring will be durable, resistant to mechanical stress. The most dense types of wood are oak, maple and beech. Less hardy are pine, spruce. But the cost of boards from these materials will be lower. Therefore, this finish is in demand. It is much easier to work with such materials. They are soft, so they do not put forward special requirements for the choice of fasteners.
Size
The width of the floorboard can vary from 8 to 14 cm. The narrower the finishing material, the more joints there will be on the flooring. It also makes installation a bit more difficult. It is easier to install a board if it has an average width. If this indicator is as high as possible,masters require certain skills in laying boards. In this case, high demands are placed on the moisture content of the wood. The geometry of the boards is also important. A wide board must be of the highest quality so that you can mount it yourself.
Also, when choosing a material for finishing the floor, you need to take into account the thickness indicator. As a rule, this parameter and width are interconnected. A good floorboard should be stable. Therefore, it is better to choose a medium-sized board. Most often in construction, material 10-10.5 cm wide and 3-3.5 cm thick is used. It will be less prone to warping due to changes in temperature and humidity.
The length of the floor boards may also vary. It can vary from 3 to 6 m. The choice depends on the features of the installation. Before starting work, a plan must be drawn up, which indicates the dimensions of the room, as well as the method of laying the material. As a result, the master, after going through several options, chooses the one that leaves less waste and produces a minimum of joints.
Euroboard is also on sale. It can have a size of 2 m. If the finish is more economical when using a short board, you need to choose it. Therefore, before starting the installation, all styling options are considered.
Varieties
Oak, larch or other wood flooring can be produced using two different technologies. There is a massive board (solid) and spliced (glued). Each of these varieties has its own advantages andshortcomings.
The advantage of a massive board is its naturalness. However, resin pockets and knots may be present in such material. This greatly reduces the quality of the finish. But it is a really natural material, which is made from solid wood. One-piece euroboard is distinguished by the presence of grooves for ventilation. This allows you to extend the life of the floor covering. This will prevent the board from warping.
Spliced board consists of several parts. They allow you to increase the length of the array. The advantages of this material are the absence of knots, as well as high strength. This board has an impeccable geometry. The disadvantage of a spliced board is the presence of glue in its composition. In this case, the logs will need to be laid in increments of no more than 40 cm.
The floorboard made of larch, ash, beech or other materials can also be tongue-and-groove or without special projections for fixing. In the first case, the board has tenon-groove joints.
Regular and euroboards are on sale. The second option is more expensive. However, its performance is much higher than conventional boards for flooring. Such material has a low moisture content. Euroboard has an ideal geometry, which greatly simplifies installation. Also, there are no defects in this material. The board has a smooth surface, which makes it easier to varnish it. In this case, the pile will not rise.
Humidity
The floorboard made of oak, larch, as well as other materials canhave different levels of humidity. It is acceptable if this indicator varies from 12 to 14%. Otherwise, such a floor covering will be subject to deformation and will not be able to be used for a long time.
It is worth considering that different types of wood have different coefficients of linear expansion. Moreover, the deformation can be observed in the transverse and longitudinal directions. Oak has the lowest coefficient of expansion. Ash follows.
The deformation index depends on the composition of the wood, the presence of resins, tannins, oils, etc. in it. The more such substances, the less the material is deformed under the influence of moisture. Therefore, wood is harvested in the cold season. At this time, sap flow slows down.
Should purchase a dry floorboard. In this case, it is better to use your own moisture meter. If you purchase material that does not meet the requirements, you should not expect it to dry out over time. Wet wood deforms during improper drying. It will become unfit for installation.
Properly dried wood is processed in a special chamber. Moisture is removed from it at high temperature. Only such material is of high quality, it will not warp during operation.
Packing and settlement
Many buyers are interested in the question of how to correctly calculate the amount of materials in the package. How many cubes are in a floorboard? This is an important issue that buyers must decide when choosing materials. Also on salematerial which is measured in square meters.
You should know that the area and volume of the boards are considered without fastenings (thorn groove). At the same time, some unscrupulous sellers may take into account the area of \u200b\u200bfastenings in the total size of the material. They can also round the size of the board.
So, to calculate the cubic capacity of one board, you need to multiply its length by the width and by the thickness. For example, a board with dimensions of 150 x25 x 6000 is on sale. The cubic capacity of such a board is 0.00225 m³. Suppose a cubic meter of material costs about 7.5 thousand rubles, then the cost of one board will be 168 rubles. 75 kopecks
Some sellers round up the cubic capacity of the board. The result is an indicator of 0.0023 or even 0.0025 m³. In the first case, the cost of one board will be 172 rubles. 50 kopecks, and in the second - all 187 rubles. 50 kop. Therefore, the cost of a cube of boards will no longer be 7.5 thousand rubles, but 8.3 thousand rubles. Therefore, when choosing a finish, you need to take into account the actual dimensions of the board with the size indicated on the package. Otherwise, the batten floor will cost unreasonably more.
Also, when choosing, you need to pay attention to the packaging. It must be made of heat shrinkable PVC. In this case, condensation will not collect when the temperature changes inside the package.
Styling features
Mounting the floorboard is done in different ways. To fix materials in their design, the presence of protrusions and grooves is provided. They run along the entire side surface of the boards. The grooves can berectangular or trapezoidal. The second option is more practical, so it is used more often when creating a board.
When laying the presented type of finish, you must adhere to a number of rules. Installation is carried out in a dry room. The material must also be of good geometry, without defects. Its humidity must meet the requirements. Indoor humidity should not exceed 60%.
Before installation, the board must adapt to the conditions of the room. To do this, it must be opened and laid out in the room. So it should lie for about 3 days. If the base of the floor is concrete, it must be covered with waterproofing. It should also be noted that it is possible to start finishing the base with a board only after the rest of the work in the room has been completed.
Installation of the shaped floorboard can be done on any base. It can be concrete, plywood, logs. The installation technology will differ slightly from the type of base.
Laying with glue
The floorboard is laid in one of two ways. The first approach involves the use of glue in the finishing process. It is also called the "parquet" method. The second method involves fixing on lags.
The advantage of the first installation method is the fact that the ceiling height is not significantly reduced. However, the floor for this type of laying must be perfectly flat. This installation method is similar to laying parquet. However, there is also a difference. The parquet board is larger. Therefore, it is fixed not only with glue, but also with self-tapping screws.
A different glue is suitable for fixing. Hecan be epoxy, polyurethane, dispersed. The latter option is best not to use if the boards are made from exotic woods. It is worth giving preference to glue that is strong, but at the same time elastic. You can also use polyurethane adhesives. They can be one- or two-component.
Laying on logs
The floorboard is often laid on logs. This method is suitable if the ceiling is high and the floor is uneven. First lay the lags. The step between them should be 40-70 cm. The cross section of the beam, which is used for the log, should be 5-7 cm. Before installation, the logs are treated with an antiseptic.
Between the lags, you can lay a layer of mineral wool. It will serve as heat and sound insulation. After that, you can start fixing the boards. They need to be placed correctly. The first board should be mounted so that the wooden floor plinth is covered with self-tapping screws.
When all the boards are laid, the surface is sanded. Movements are first performed across, and then along. Finishes with diagonal sanding. After that, the boards are covered with a layer of varnish. It must be highly durable. Lacquer is applied in at least 2 layers. When it dries, you can use the room.
Having considered how to choose and install flooring from a floorboard, you can purchase the right material and install it on the base with your own hands. The finish will be durable and effective.
