Before laying the laminate, you will need to properly prepare the base. It should be even. If the floor has level differences, potholes, cracks or other defects, they will need to be fixed. Today, there are many ways to level the floor under the laminate.
You can do this process yourself. It is necessary to consider the methods of leveling the base, select the necessary materials and tools. The floor leveling procedure will be discussed in detail below.
Laminate Requirements
Leveling the floor under the laminate in an apartment or your own house is a must. This is due to some features of the presented type of coverage. To understand the features of the floor leveling process, you need to consider the basic requirements of the coating. Laminate is afraid of moisture. Therefore, the surface on which it will be mounted must be dry. Condensation, etc., must not accumulate under the coating. The concrete on which the panels will be laid out must dry well.
Also, the laminate is afraid of transverse deformations. Even a solid board base is not able to protect the material from breaking if there is a void under it. Also, the laminate is very vulnerable to the loads that act on the castle part. Here the layer of material is the thinnest. If the floor is uneven, the lock will loosen due to constant up and down movements. At the same time, the panels bend and return to their original position.
When laying laminate on the floors with your own hands, you need to assess the condition of the base. It should not have bumps. Such bulges will eventually put pressure on the board from the back. This will cause abrasions to appear on the decorative layer.
If the owners are in doubt about whether the floor needs to be leveled, a measurement can be taken. To do this, you can use the building level. You can also use a meter ruler. It is placed edgewise on the floor surface in different places. If there is a gap of more than 2 mm, the floor must be leveled. The building level is more convenient to use. Therefore, it is better to purchase it in advance. It will come in handy when carrying out all finishing work.
In some houses, the base is made of boards. In this case, before installing the laminate, you will need to check whether they are durable. If the boards are rotten (make a hollow sound when tapped) or buckle, they will need to be replaced. It is also unacceptable that there are scuffs or cracks on the wooden base. Therefore, you will need to process the surface with a grinder.
Assessment of floor condition
How to put laminate flooring on a wood floor or concrete base? First you need to evaluatefloor conditions and determine the complexity of subsequent work. This will allow you to choose the optimal method for leveling the base. First assess the condition of the floor. You will also need to take into account the features of the room, in particular its height of the ceilings. Since the laminate is a rather sonorous coating, sound and heat insulation is laid under it. This increases the comfort of using the floor covering. An important factor when choosing a laying method is the size of the budget that is allocated for construction work. Each of the options below has a different cost.
When choosing one or another method of laying the floor, you need to take into account the amount of free time the owners of the house can spend on repairs.
When measuring the height difference, it is necessary to estimate their maximum value. If they are significant, it will be necessary to fill the surface with a screed or self-leveling compounds in 2 layers. This method will require significant financial costs. At the same time, 1.5-2 months should be allotted for preparatory work.
When considering how to level a floor under a laminate, you should also consider creating a "dry screed" or using a log. This is a cheaper and faster way to prepare the base. However, when using it, the height of the ceilings will become less. Therefore, these techniques are not applicable to all premises. An alternative would be to use plywood. In this case, lags are not used. Before starting work, you need to consider all options in order tomake the right decision.
Laminate underlay
One of the easiest ways to do prep work is to use underlayment to level your laminate floor. It must be mounted under the panels to create sound and heat insulation. Also, certain types of substrate can hide various irregularities of the base to a greater or lesser extent.
On sale are materials that are used when laying laminate, they are made using different technologies. This determines their performance. There are substrates made of expanded polystyrene or polyethylene, expanded polystyrene, polyurethane. A number of natural materials are also on sale. These include natural cork, fiberboard. You can also use a substrate that includes cork and bitumen.
Need to pay attention to special substrates first. They are able to reduce base defects to a greater or lesser extent. The thicker and denser the substrate, the better it will be able to hide bumps.
The thickness of the substrate under the laminate can be different. Manufacturers claim that even the thinnest polyethylene substrate (2 mm thick) is able to level the base up to 1 mm per linear meter of space. However, it should be noted that most substrates can be used without additional floor preparation only if the floor has differences of no more than 3 mm per linear meter. Otherwise, additional preparation of the base is mandatory.
On sale aredifferent underlay options. Well compensate for irregularities materials based on fiberboard. It is worth paying attention to such material as ISOPLAAT and Quiet running. These chipboard-based boards can compensate for significant unevenness. Thus, 4 mm thick plates can compensate for irregularities up to 3 mm per linear meter, and 12 mm thick - up to 5 mm per linear meter.
Materials and tools for preparing a wooden base
If the thickness of the substrate under the laminate does not allow to hide the defects of the base or the surface is old and needs to be repaired, a number of procedures should be followed to bring it to the desired condition. First, the condition of the boards is assessed. If it is satisfactory (no rotten, deformed elements), you can perform the grinding procedure.
If there are significant defects, it will be necessary to disassemble the flooring to a rough base. The owners can re-install the wooden elements or fill the floor with a screed.
To prepare an existing plank base, several preparation steps will be required. To do this, you will need to prepare a grinder, wood putty (for example, "Tex"). In the work you will need a roller and brushes. You should also purchase any primer for wood processing. Sheets of plywood may also be required in some cases. Fastening is carried out using self-tapping screws. You also need to purchase a jigsaw.
Leveling a wood floor doesn't require very fine sanding. Therefore, you do not need to use expensive professional equipment for sanding(as when finishing a parquet board). It is enough to remove the main defects, badass.
When choosing a putty, you can purchase materials of domestic production. The Tex company produces a high-quality composition for preparing wood for further finishing. Its cost will be lower than that of foreign-made analogues. At the same time, the quality will comply with construction requirements.
Wooden base preparation process
First evaluate the condition of each board. If there are two or three rotten or deformed panels, they can be dismantled. New boards are put in their place. If the floor is held together, the boards need to be further strengthened with self-tapping screws. If there are protruding caps of the fastener, they will need to be deepened.
Leveling a wood floor begins with the process of sanding the boards. To do this, you need to machine not only the main surface, but also the corners, as well as other hard-to-reach places. After that, chips, dust and other contaminants must be carefully removed from the surface.
With the help of putty, cracks, small potholes on the surface are treated. Self-tapping screws also need to be treated with putty. There should be no recesses in these places. When this work is done, you can move on to the next step. The surface of the floor must be covered with the first layer of primer. When it dries, the floor is treated with the same composition again.
Considering the technique of how to lay a laminate on a wooden floor, you need to pay great attention to the preparation of the base. From thisdepends on the durability of the coating. After preparing the boards, you need to lay sheets of plywood on them. They are fixed with self-tapping screws. If you need to cut the sheet, a jigsaw is used. Between the sheets make a distance of 2-4 mm. After that, you can cover the surface with a layer of thin substrate and lay the laminate.
Application of lag
If leveling the plank floor under the laminate is not possible due to its poor condition, a new lag system will need to be created. The old floor is being removed. The condition of the support beam is assessed. If some of its elements are in good condition, only rotten, sagging logs can be replaced. However, most often a complete restoration of the flooring is required. To create supports, a beam with a cross section of 10 × 10 cm or 10 × 15 cm is used. It is treated with antiseptic compounds. The base is qualitatively cleaned of construction debris. It is covered with a layer of waterproofing. Logs are mounted on top. They are fixed with dowels.
Between the lags you need to make a distance of 60 cm. This gap must be filled with insulation. For these purposes, rolled mineral wool is used. It is an environmentally friendly, non-flammable material. It will increase the comfort of use of the coating. Small wooden blocks are stuffed on top of the insulation between the lags. They should be perpendicular to the lags. They will provide additional support for the plywood. The sheets will not sag. The beams are fixed with metal corners.
Next, the floor is leveled under the laminate. Chipboard must be fixed with self-tapping screws on the surface. The edges of the sheets should intersect on the lags exactly in the center.
When this work is done, the installation sites of the screws can be treated with putty. Next, a layer of thin substrate is covered. You can proceed with the installation of the laminate.
Restoration of cement screed
If leveling the floor with plywood under the laminate is not possible (for example, the ceiling height does not allow mounting logs), you will need to use other options. The base in a private house or apartment can be filled with a screed, a plasterboard frame (dry screed) or self-leveling mixtures can be used. The last option will be optimal if the ceiling height is small.
If a cement screed is already poured in the room, you can try to restore it. This option is suitable for those bases that do not have significant defects. The level difference can be leveled with a grinder. You can also use a grinder with a special nozzle.
First you need to go over the surface with a grinder. Then all construction dust (which in this case will be a lot) is removed with a vacuum cleaner. Next, the base is coated with a primer and the substrate and laminate are mounted. This technique will be the cheapest and fastest.
This floor leveling option for laminate flooring is not suitable for damaged screeds. Also, with high humidity of the base of the floor, you will need to create a new screed in accordance with all building rules. The presence of moisture on the surface will lead to rapiddestruction of the laminate.
If the ceiling height allows, you can fill the floor with a cement screed. This process will take a long time, as the material dries for at least a month. Self-levelling compounds are more expensive, but the installation process takes less time. At the same time, the height of the ceilings is reduced slightly.
Materials and methods for creating a cement screed
When choosing materials for leveling the floor under the laminate, you need to pay attention to the concrete mortar. To create such a base, you will need to prepare a building level, as a rule, a container for mixing the solution, a trowel, slats for lighthouses. Pouring cement-sand mortar can be performed on an old screed. It can also be completely removed and mounted directly on the floor.
Need to find the highest point in the room. From it, markings are made on the walls. The floor level will be 3 cm higher than this mark. Dust must be completely removed from the floor. If the height of the room allows, you can create an insulating layer. For this, expanded clay is used. You can also cover the base with polystyrene foam at least 3 cm thick. Next, a waterproofing layer is mounted.
Next, you need to install a reinforcing mesh. Lighthouses are installed on top. They should be at the level that was originally marked on the wall. The position of the guides is constantly checked using the building level. The distance between the beacons should be 1-1.5 m.
Cement with a strength index of M400 is suitable for pouring the floor. It is mixed in a ratio of 1:3 with sand. Next, the dry mixture is mixed with water. You should get a pasty consistency. You can add a plasticizer to the composition. This will make it easier to pour the floor.
Considering the methods of how to level the floor under the laminate, you need to pay attention to all the nuances. Cement is poured onto the floor near the far corner of the room. As a rule, it is stretched along the guides. After 24 hours, the beacons are removed from the solution. The grooves are filled with cement and carefully leveled. The surface of the screed is moistened in the process of drying. After a month, you can start installing the laminate.
Dry screed
Leveling the floor under the laminate can be done using the dry screed method. This will require lighthouse rails, a building level, plywood or drywall, damper tape, self-tapping screws, glue, waterproofing and expanded clay.
Before starting work, the floor must be cleaned of debris. If there are cracks or potholes, it is recommended to repair them with cement mortar. Next, the surface needs to be primed. Next, you need to do the markup. Draw a line from the highest point in the room to the wall. At this level, draw a line around the perimeter. This will be the rough base of the floor. The surface must be covered with a layer of waterproofing. The strips of material must be overlapped.
Further along the perimeter of the room you need to roll out and fix the damper tape with glue. After that, you can mount beacons. Reiki should be at a distance of about 60 cm from each other. Expanded clay is poured into the space between them. It needs to be leveled using the rule.
Gypsum board sheets are installed on top. They need to be pressed tightly against each other and against the walls. Leveling the floor under the laminate in this case will require the creation of two layers of drywall. This makes the surface durable. The second layer is fixed on the first with glue. The joints between the sheets of these levels should not match. Then the material is further strengthened with self-tapping screws. Next, you can mount the substrate and laminate.
Self-leveling compound
One of the most expensive, but practical ways to level the base is to use self-leveling compounds. For these purposes, for example, the products of the domestic manufacturer Kamiks-120 are suitable. It is worth noting that leveling the concrete floor with tile adhesive under the laminate is unacceptable. This composition does not have sufficient strength. Therefore, under load, it can crack. The tile, which is mounted with glue, is a durable material. It doesn't buckle under load. Laminate is a fairly soft flooring. Therefore, it will require a solution with a grade of at least M200.
Also, for work, you will need to prepare a building level, waterproofing, primer, roller, construction mixer, needle roller and spatula. Determine the high point and markup. The surface is cleaned and primed. After the composition dries, the waterproofing is overlapped. In the proportions indicated by the manufacturer, the dry mixture is diluted with water. In this case, a mixer is used (manually mixing the solution will not work).
Depending on the difference in the level of the base, a layer of 2 to 10 cm can be poured. It is evenly distributed over the surface, passing through the solution with a spiked roller. The solution dries upwithin 3 days. After that, you can start finishing.
Having considered the features and methods of leveling the floor under the laminate, you can choose the necessary technique, purchase the required amount of materials. The base will last at least 15 years.
