The construction market is overflowing with a huge variety of modern flooring. With the development of technological progress, production capacities and design services, linoleum is in great demand and continues to be a sales leader. Despite the fact that it has been used for many years and its roots go far back to Soviet and post-Soviet times, modern material cannot be considered a relic of the past: not only the quality of the coating has improved, but also its visual characteristics.
Due to its practicality, durability, ease of installation, affordable price and resistance to mechanical damage, linoleum has been a well-deserved love of buyers for many years. It can be found not only in office premises, but also in residential buildings and apartments.
With the help of linoleum, you can create the effect of a coating for natural stone, tile, laminate and even parquet. At the same time, it does not require large material costs and is easier to install on your own than any of the above materials.
Despite its simplicity, stylinglinoleum on a concrete floor with their own hands has certain nuances. They need to be given special attention, since the quality of further finishing and durability of operation depend on this.
Methods of laying flooring on a concrete floor
Laying linoleum on a concrete floor can be done using one of the following methods:
- With a small area of the room, the floor covering can simply be laid on the floor and fixed with skirting boards. The main thing is that the material lies flat, without folds and waves.
- Fastening with a special self-adhesive tape. For this, double-sided tape is used. This method is also used in small areas, but experienced professionals use it to cover large areas.
- Use of special adhesives and mastics. This is a rather complicated way. However, doing it yourself is quite realistic.
Laying linoleum on a concrete floor without glue can be done in the old fashioned way. In this case, nails and self-tapping screws are used as fasteners. There is no point in considering this method in detail, since it has long outlived its usefulness.
Preparatory work
Before the flooring can be replaced, the old flooring material and insulation must be completely removed, leaving only the concrete base. The floor should be thoroughly cleaned of dust, construction debris and any other type of pollution.
Next, you should evaluate the quality of the concretegrounds and diagnose it. This is necessary to identify various flaws. If the total of all irregularities is more than 20% of the total surface of the base, it is recommended to perform a concrete screed.
How to screed a concrete floor?
The main task of the concrete floor screed is to create a perfectly even base. It should not be too thick, although everything will depend on the degree of unevenness. The greater the difference in the floor plane, the thicker the screed will turn out. Accordingly, this leads to high financial and labor costs. However, saving in this case is impossible, as this will affect the final result.
A difference in the surface plane, which does not exceed 2 mm, is acceptable if linoleum is being laid on a concrete floor with a substrate glued to the material itself. When using a cheaper coating, it is desirable that the concrete floor is 100% even.
If the old finish is difficult to move away from the concrete base, it is better not to dismantle it, as this will take a lot of time and effort. In this case, you can simply fill the old finish with a screed, which will become a solid base for linoleum.
What to look out for
Laying linoleum on a concrete floor is impossible without preliminary preparatory work.
- If a traditional cement-sand screed is used, it is necessary to wait until the base is completely dry (at least four weeks). During this period, the screed will acquire its maximumstrength.
- If a self-leveling liquid mortar is used as a screed, then laying linoleum on a concrete floor is possible after the time specified in the instructions.
- A few days before the installation of the floor covering, linoleum must be brought into the room where it will be laid. This is necessary in order for the material to gain the necessary humidity and temperature. Roll should be placed vertically.
- The humidity level in the room should not exceed 60%, and the air temperature should not be lower than +18 degrees.
- After the screed dries, the linoleum must be spread on the floor surface and left in this position for a while. This is done in order to completely straighten the folds. If this does not happen, it is better to return the material to the store, as wrinkles and waves can later lead to cracks.
- If linoleum is laid on a concrete floor using adhesives, the room must be protected from drafts.
Laying linoleum with fixing with skirting boards
Laying linoleum with your own hands without glue is only suitable for rooms with a small area, as the material is quite flexible and elastic. Under the influence of temperature and humidity changes, the floor covering will change its physical parameters, either shrinking or expanding. This will negatively affect the quality of the linoleum - wrinkles may appear over time. If the flooring is laid in one strip in a small room, the skirting boardswill act as retainers and prevent its displacement.
The installation process is quite simple. The roll must be spread in length along the floor surface and cut, leaving an allowance of no more than 10 cm. Using a roller, level the material and install a plinth on one side, securing it with nails or self-tapping screws. First you need to drill holes in the concrete base and insert wooden plugs into them. After stretching the canvas, you should install the plinth on the other side and fix it. Laying linoleum in this way does not require much effort, and you can do it yourself.
Laying linoleum on concrete floor using duct tape
This method is used for small rooms with low traffic. To do this, the self-adhesive tape must be rolled out around the entire perimeter of the room, as well as at the junction of two strips of the roll. It is not recommended to remove the top protective film before starting the installation process. The concrete base must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt and dust, the quality of bonding the tape to the floor will depend on this.
Next, adjust the linoleum over the floor area. To do this, roll out the roll and cut it exactly to the size of the room. Only then can you start removing the protective film. It is better to do this in stages, slowly moving from the edge against the wall to the junction of the roll strips. The protective film should be removed gradually.
There is also another option for laying linoleum, opposite to the one described above. In this case, you must firstadjust the material to the base area, then apply a self-adhesive tape to its edges, and only after that fix the floor covering, having previously removed the protective film. However, this option will take more time and effort.
Laying linoleum on concrete floors with adhesives
The method of laying flooring using glue is considered the most difficult and requires certain skills. However, it is possible to perform it yourself, subject to the recommendations of specialists.
The laying process begins with laying out the material and fitting it to the size of the room. It is necessary to trim the linoleum with an allowance of 10 cm.
Preparation of necessary materials
Since laying linoleum on concrete floors using adhesives is a rather laborious process, all the necessary materials should be prepared in advance. For this we need:
- special glue;
- roller;
- sharp construction knife;
- metal ruler;
- brush (roller) for applying glue.
Linoleum laying technology
After leveling and trimming the material, the edge of the strip, located near the wall, is pushed back and folded in half lengthwise. The prepared adhesive is applied in an even layer on the open area of the concrete base. In order for the adhesive composition to dry out a little, it is required to leave it in this state for 10-15 minutes. After that, the linoleum is returned to its place and rolled over the entire surface with a cleanroller. If excess glue comes out along the edges of the canvas, they must be removed with a rag or rag. If the adhesive gets on the front side of the material, a stain will remain, which in the future will not be able to be washed off. The second half of the roll strip is glued in the same way.
If the flooring is planned to be replaced in the future, the adhesive should only be applied around the perimeter of the material to be laid. This method is much simpler and cheaper, but the linoleum will have to be carefully aligned and stretched.
Bonding two strips of linoleum
If the room where the flooring is laid is small and one strip of linoleum will be enough - this is great luck. But if the area of the concrete base is huge, naturally, the question arises of how to process the seams with high quality and accuracy?
There are several ways to weld joints - hot and cold. Hot welding is the fastening of the edges of two strips of material using a special welding machine and component materials. This is a rather complicated process that you cannot do on your own if you do not have the skills to work with this device.
If you are laying linoleum on a concrete floor with your own hands with a substrate, you can use cold welding. There are two types of glue - "A" and "C". Glue of the first type is used only in combination with adhesive tape, as it is more liquid in its consistency. First of all, adhesive tape is applied to the joints, which is then cut along thethe entire length. Glue is poured into the incision in a thin stream. After the glue has completely dried, the adhesive tape is removed. Glue "C" is used without adhesive tape using a similar technology.
Laying linoleum on a concrete floor (photo can be seen in our article) is a process that you can do yourself. However, you need to take into account the recommendations of specialists and take into account the nuances of the operations performed. The service life of the flooring and its external characteristics will depend on this.
