The floor in the apartment is the pride of the owners, as its appearance indicates the cleanliness of the room. When the floors are outdated, you no longer like them, they start to creak and sag, you notice scratches, stains or dents on them, you can easily change them for new ones that look better and are of better quality. To date, there are a huge number of types of floors, one of them is a laminate.
Renovation of the floor in the apartment
Normally floor replacement is done in three steps, but you can skip the first step. So, the first stage is the dismantling of the current coating, the second is the preparation of the base, and then the leveling of the floor surface, the last stage is the laying of the new coating.
Preparation for floor repair
First, you need to take out all the furniture. It is better not to take furniture out into the corridor, because this will make the removal of garbage after removing the old floor, the introduction of new materials inconvenient. Things in the hallway can also be damaged if they are accidentally hit by skirting boards or boards that are brought in.
Renovation of the floor in the apartment - very cleanoperation, it does not create a lot of dust or dirt, such as leveling walls and redevelopment. But it is recommended to cover things that are close to the work site.
Selection of subfloor and cover for floor replacement
There are two main options for subflooring: wooden and adjustable joists. Although wooden joists are a cheaper option in terms of materials, they are more labor intensive and, most importantly, less accurate in alignment.
To increase the accuracy of leveling the floor and speed up the process of work, self-adjusting logs are used. Although this option is somewhat more expensive.
Price, quality, appearance, wear resistance are important criteria in choosing a new coating. Parquet is considered a classic option. Laminate on a wooden floor is easy to install, it is inexpensive, has different wear resistance and a variety of colors. Linoleum is easy to install and maintain. Carpet is suitable for bedroom floors, but it is not easy to clean, and tile is used in rooms where moisture resistance is important, it comes in a huge selection of shapes and colors.
Wooden floor repair
Repairing wood floors is not as difficult as it first appears. Their standard flaws are cracks, creaking and "play" of boards. Such defects are easy to repair and the coating can last for a long time.
Consider other existing repair options. In fact, one can callonly three alternatives: adjustable floors, cement and dry screed. These types of repairs can also be carried out on their own, but this can already be attributed to a major overhaul. After all, you will have to dismantle the current wooden floor, redo the base for a new one.
Whether it is worth resorting to overhaul, only you decide. Please note that when the boards are not broken or rotten, and among the main defects one can name creaking, cracks and "play" of the boards, then a simplified repair can be made. You can also reinforce and level the old wooden floor, and then lay a new floor without any problems.
Main defects of wooden floors, their repair
Let's look at the defects of the wooden floor carefully.
Rotted or broken boards should be replaced. To do this, remove the problematic board, instead of it we put a new one of the same thickness.
Floor creaking is usually caused by the fact that the boards gradually dry out, therefore, the connection of the boards with the lags is weakened. As a result, the board will rub against other boards and nails, which, on the contrary, should be fixed, so the floor begins to creak unpleasantly. You can get rid of this defect as follows: you need to find out the exact location of the problem, fix the problem boards with self-tapping screws. If the old nail wobbles, it will eventually come out of the board, which means that it should be removed, otherwise it can be left.
Another defect is the "play" of the floor. It is impossible to lay a new coating on a similar basis, because it will soon fail. That is why this defect must be eliminated immediately. There are twothe reasons for this behavior of the floors: these are loose logs or rotten boards. In the first case, you can make a simple repair, namely, replace damaged boards. Otherwise, you need to strengthen the old logs. Under the lags there is usually an overlapping plate, to which we will attach the lags themselves. To determine their location, we are looking for places for attaching boards, and lags pass under them. Then we drill a hole through the floor boards and fix the log with a frame anchor. To prevent the fasteners from protruding above the surface, you need to drill a hole with a slightly larger diameter drill.
If you are not going to put a finish coat on a wooden floor, having a nail head on the surface is not desirable, so you must first remove the board, then strengthen the log, and then put the board back.
How to level wooden floors for laminate flooring?
Gradually wooden floors become so unpresentable that it's even scary to walk on them. Then comes the idea to change the coating. It's a great idea, but it's not always possible to remove all the old boards, redo the screed, then lay the new floor over the redone surface. In this situation, you are faced with the question: how to level the wooden floors under the laminate? The answer is much simpler than you think. You can level the wooden floor with plywood, which will hide the bumps and eliminate the creaking of the boards.
One of the most difficult ways to level a floor is sanding with a sander or sander. First you need to hammer in all the nails with which the floorboards are nailed to the logs. After all, if you miss even one nail, the knives of the grinder will run into it, you will have to remove the knives and regrind them, then reconfigure the grinder. In addition, a certain difficulty is the processing of the floor in the corners, in places that are adjacent to the wall.
In summer and winter, the humidity in the house is radically different, so the floor boards, although processed, still show some of the properties of wood. Over time, the new floor will be covered with bumps and dents. How to level wooden floors under a laminate and not face a similar problem? Flat materials such as plywood are often used for this.
Leveling the floor with plywood
The material's unique characteristics make it a suitable floor leveling option. Plywood bends well, does not form cracks, its sheets are of large sizes, and this is convenient for work. It also has the same strength in all directions, does not break or break, and is convenient to transport. Plywood has a layered structure, which makes it strong. When leveling floors, you need to take into account both the thickness of the material and its grade, brand, degree of processing.
Plywood has the following advantages:
- simple processing and installation technology;
- quality grinding;
- light weight;
- good strength and hardness;
- moisture and water resistant;
- no smell.
Preparation for leveling the floor
When you lay the plywood and close it with a new coating, access to communications that are under the floor will be completely absent. Therefore, when starting repairs, you should check the condition of the cables and pipes.
Sheets of plywood prepared for repair should be kept indoors for several days and then proceed to the flooring. The thickness of plywood directly depends on the finish coating. When leveling the floor under the laminate, it is worth taking a material whose thickness is 10 mm.
There are two rules to follow when leveling:
- between the material and the wall must be approximately 10 mm;
- between the sheets you need to leave a distance of 2 mm.
Floor leveling scheme
Let's start laying plywood.
First you need to install the beacons, distributing them over the surface to form squares of 30x30 cm. Then you lay the logs. We take strips of plywood 3 cm wide and attach to the floor using self-tapping screws or glue. At the next stage, saw the plywood into pieces of 60x60 cm. Poor-quality material must be discarded. Lay these squares so that the docking falls on the logs. Cut off excess edges. Next, fix the squares with self-tapping screws. Laying completed.
Post-processing depends on the finish. Under the laminate on a wooden floor will have to lay a substrate. After leveling with plywood, a smooth, very durable surface is obtained, ready for further use. Plywood does not require any special skills, so it can be used by beginners.
You have learned how to level wood floors for laminate flooring. But this is just the beginning.
Laying laminate flooring
Laminate is a durable coating, because it does not deteriorate from water and dirt, but its weak point is the lock. Because of it, there are restrictions on laying the foundation. The main requirement for the base is rigidity. While walking on a laminate that has not been laid on a rigid base, it begins to "play". Then it is the lock that takes on the main load. It is made of sawdust, so it gradually loses strength, respectively, the connection also loses strength. It is easy to predict subsequent problems: the boards diverge, cracks form, moisture and dirt get into them. We have to change the laminate.
The laminate board has ridges on the side faces, and grooves on the opposite ones. There are several types of designs of these elements, from simple to complex ("castle"). For the first case, you will need glue that will be smeared on the groove. For the second case, the entire installation can be done by hand.
Laminate Laying Scheme
Laying sheets start from the wall opposite the door. Installation should be done perpendicular to the window, then the joints will not be noticeable. The subsequent laying of the laminate is the connection of the panels to each other. Be sure to insert expansion wedges between the row of laminate and the wall so that the coating does not deform during use. When completing the first row, you may need to cut the panels by turning the panel right side down, taking measurements and sawing off the excess. The piece that remains after the first row is immediately placed in the next row, thereby getting a “chess”picture. Note that the second row must be folded separately from the first, and then connected to the previous one. The remaining rows are laid in a similar manner. The last row is the most difficult, because the entire panel may not fit. Then you have to cut off the unnecessary part. Once the laminate is installed, it's time to install the skirting board. According to this scheme, you can lay a laminate on a wooden floor yourself.
