How to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor: step-by-step instructions

The most convenient way to update a plank floor in an old house is to lay a new material on the surface. With linoleum this is as easy as shelling pears, but what to do with a piece of flooring that is laid in a floating manner and requires the most even base possible? Have you decided to update the floor yourself and opted for laminate? Don't know how to install laminate flooring on a wooden floor? Learn the intricacies before starting installation, because during the repair process there may be a lot of pitfalls.

Laminate laid on a wooden base in compliance with the technology will serve no worse than other flooring

Features of the base

Wood is a rather capricious material, like most natural coatings. It is vulnerable to pests and rodents, is not moisture resistant and is highly flammable. Laying laminated boards on a wood base involves more difficulty than on other subsurfaces.

Manufacturers of laminated boards do not recommend laying the material on a natural wood subfloor. This is due to the property of wood to deform over time, which will also affect the evenness of the final floor.

However, if there is no particular choice and it is not possible to concrete the floor, be at least minimally careful.

1. First, make sure that the base is suitable for subsequent loads and is intact. It should not have chips, cracks or crevices.
2. If the flooring is made of untreated wood, inspect the boards for signs of fungus, rot, or pests.
3. The floorboards themselves should lie flat, without sagging.
4. Check that the boards are not rotten. The wood should not crumble in your hand, turning into dust.

Damaged boards and those adjacent to them must be replaced.

Important! If one of the above defects is present, the strips must be repaired or replaced.

If the floorboards have no flaws, but the entire covering is wobbly, simply secure the planks with any hardware. Laying the laminate ensures that the base is as level as possible and not shaky.

Basic requirements for the foundation

Special requirements are imposed not only on the floor covering, but also on its base. It should be:

• intact - the boards should not have any cracks, knots, dents, etc.;
• dry - permissible moisture content of boards - no more than 12%;
• with bottom ventilation - in this case the laminate “breathes”, which prevents rotting;
• durable (from 150 MPa). This indicator can be achieved if you replace weak boards and saturate the floor with water-dispersion varnish;
• smooth;
• clean.

Attention!

Installation of heated floors on a wooden base is possible provided that the humidity does not exceed 5%.

Taking these requirements into account, you can prepare the floor base for installation of the final covering and avoid mistakes.

Why laminate? Advantages of the material

Every year, the increasing popularity of laminate is due to its attractive appearance, which can compete with many expensive materials. Drawings applied to the coating can imitate any texture without losing a decent appearance.

A wide range of laminate allows you to choose panels to suit any interior

Laminate is classified depending on its quality and performance capabilities. Thus, the most expensive and high-quality material belongs to the highest class.

However, in general, laminate of any classification has the following advantages:

• strength,
• easy care,
• environmental friendliness,
• wear resistance,
• long service life,
• ease of installation.

If laminate flooring is properly cared for, it can last for decades.

The minimum service life of laminate flooring with proper care is about 17 years. During use, the boards do not wear out, do not fade, and do not lose their aesthetic and performance qualities.

Prices for different types of laminate

Laminate

Laying methods

Rules for installing different lock systems

Before choosing a laminate installation method, you need to familiarize yourself with existing fastening systems.

• The adhesive fastening system is reminiscent of fixing a parquet board using the tongue-and-groove method. After applying glue to the edges of the lamellas, the boards are firmly pressed against each other. This method is used to increase the strength of joints and seams in very wet rooms. The sizing protects the coating from environmental influences. However, fixing with the adhesive method is a very labor-intensive job and over time the glue loses its properties, which reduces the service life of the coating and the impracticability of re-installation.
• The “Lok” locking system is installed on the ends of the laminate boards. The figured tenon is attached by driving an already laid board into the groove. Sometimes the spikes are pre-glued. This method is most convenient for horizontal laying of laminate flooring. Installation begins in adjacent rows, and then proceeds to the end rows.
• The Click locking system is the most common due to its lightness and ease of installation. Fastening occurs as follows: the tenon of one row is inserted at an angle of 30 degrees into the groove of the previous row, and then pressed to the floor until a characteristic click is heard. Then the laminated board is lightly tamped for a stronger fixation.

Is it worth using?

Laminate is an affordable replacement for expensive parquet. It is actively used for renovation of residential and commercial premises. The material is easy to install, but is too demanding on the quality of the subfloor. It is possible to lay laminate on old floorboards, but only if a certain number of requirements are met, the main of which is high-quality and competent preparation of the base, including repair or replacement of damaged elements, leveling the base and the use of a substrate.

The piece strips have locks for connection and fixation in the desired position. No additional fastening to the base is required. Laminate flooring is laid loosely on a prepared wooden base, allowing it to “breathe”, contracting and expanding in accordance with changes in temperature and humidity levels.

If the laminate is statically and securely fixed on a wooden base, the floor may deform along with the rough base

The structural difference of laminate boards is that during installation the material does not need to be firmly fixed with glue or hardware.

The adhesive method for installing laminate flooring exists, but it is rarely used due to the high consumption of glue, the complexity of installation, the impossibility of reusing the coating after disassembling the floor, and the immobility of the surface.

The image above clearly shows what will happen to laminate flooring if it is firmly glued to a wooden floor.

The most widely used method of attaching laminate flooring is without the use of adhesive mixtures. Its advantage is that it provides good independent aeration of materials and, accordingly, decent ventilation of the floor. And a well-ventilated structure, as is known, does not rot and lasts much longer.

If the room is not heated or the humidity level is high, you will have to abandon the installation of common types of laminate.

Is it possible to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor?

Manufacturers of laminate panels do not provide a guarantee when installed on wood. This can be explained by the fact that wood flooring is a rather capricious material that is sensitive to the effects of seasonal, biological, temperature and other factors. Under their influence, the geometric parameters of the floor base change. The boards may warp, which will have a detrimental effect on the integrity of the locking joints.

The period of operation of a wooden base is much shorter than the period of use of the laminate, especially if it was laid on an old floor - gradually the wood loses its original characteristics.

Attention!

A wooden floor cannot be called a stable foundation. As they are used, the boards begin to sag, which causes the locks to break and the entire floor covering to deform.

But builders with extensive experience still cover wooden floors with laminate. This is due to the fact that they know the features of the installation process. In addition, laying on wooden floors has a number of advantages:

• the floor turns out warm, especially if it has a substrate that is selected correctly;
• ventilation due to the presence of technological gaps around the perimeter eliminates rotting;
• Laminate is a derivative of wood, so they have similar characteristics of resistance to changes in humidity and temperature.

But with such a choice, it is necessary to take into account both the base material and the individual characteristics of the room. Thus, laminate flooring will not have a long service life if it is laid in a room that is not heated or has high humidity.

Area of ​​application of the material

Despite all the artificiality of the laminate, its behavior during operation is not much different from OSB boards or plywood. The main element in the composition of laminated boards is a board created by pressing lumber.

Laminate structure and layers

The base of the laminate determines the scope of application of the laminate. Manufacturers do not recommend using poor quality material when decorating floors in rooms with high traffic levels and high humidity levels. Also, do not place the material in rooms where systematic wet cleaning is provided.

Laminated board is one of the best and most suitable coatings:

• in the living rooms,
• for bedrooms,
• on insulated balconies,
• in work offices,
• for children's rooms,
• in the halls.

For the hallway or kitchen, it is recommended to use moisture-resistant material made using HDF technology.

To decorate the floor in the bathroom, you can only use moisture-resistant laminate

The only unpleasant moment is the cost of such material. Often the buyer is not satisfied with it, and he makes a choice in favor of cheaper alternatives.

Laying sequence

Longitudinal installation diagram

After leveling the floor, carrying out all the preparatory work and laying the substrate, the master’s further actions should be as follows:

For longitudinal and transverse installation

• installation of the first row of boards begins at the wall opposite the exit
• Wedges are installed around the perimeter to separate the flooring from the walls
• the first panel is placed close to the gap made by the wedge
• the second board is attached in the manner recommended by the manufacturer and tapped with a hammer through a block so as not to injure the locks. Installation will be easier if the locks on the boards are attached with the Click system
• This is how the first row of laminate flooring is assembled
• for the first board of the second row, saw the laminate board across
• starting rows alternately: first from halves, sometimes from solid boards, creating a stronger grip. This way the load on the floor is distributed evenly
• When the first two rows are assembled, you need to dock them with each other. To do this, raise the second line at a certain angle and connect the groove with the tenon until a characteristic click
• we lay the rows to the extreme
• to assemble the last row, you need to measure the width of each board separately and make appropriate marks on the back side. Carefully measuring each board will help avoid problems due to possible unevenness of the walls. The gap between the wall must be taken into account. The laminate is cut along the drawn line
• To adjust the outermost row of panels, you should use a clamp. Some craftsmen, in order to save money, refuse to purchase this tool and use a nail puller
• after completing the assembly of all rows, the selections along the walls are removed, and the gaps are closed with a plinth or decorative threshold

For diagonal installation

• diagonal installation is installation at any angle relative to the walls. You can start the installation in two ways: either from the central point of the room to the corners, or from the corner near the window to the opposite corner of the wall with the front door
• to accurately check the direction of the laminated board, you can pull a thick nylon thread onto the screws from opposite corners of the room
• The main difficulty with diagonal installation is the correct cutting of the last boards in the row. It must be made at a certain bevel in order to accurately fit with the walls and baseboard. After installing the penultimate panel, measure the remaining distance to the wall from the two end corners of the board. The resulting lengths are applied with a construction pencil to the back side of the laminate, and then the dots are connected. Trimming is done on the inside with an electric jigsaw or saw.
• projections and niches are also a difficult point with this type of installation. They are found in the form of decorative elements of a room or when laying continuous boards in several rooms of an apartment at the same time. Laying panels in such places requires careful calculations and accuracy.
• Laminate slabs are cut exactly to the shape of the protrusions and installation should begin right next to them
• the gaps between the flooring and the doorway are usually closed with paneling, which is twice as thin as laminate, and accordingly the gap should be smaller

Choosing a laminate

The durability of the floor depends on the quality and correct choice of the material laid on it.

In accordance with the purpose of the room for which the laminated board is selected, the material is divided into classes.

Class 31 laminate has the most affordable price. The latter type is characterized by high wear resistance and strength, along with a high price.

The higher the class of the laminate, the higher its cost, the better the quality and the wider the scope of application.

In addition to the class of the laminate, the price of the coating can be influenced by:

• degree of additional processing of slabs;
• base thickness;
• size of the protective and decorative layer (the larger the layer, the higher the cost);
• the presence of chamfers, embossing, etc.;
• country of origin (Chinese and domestic material of the same class will be much cheaper than European).

The manufacturer's brand also affects the cost of coverage. It is known that when buying a product from a well-known company, we overpay for advertising of a well-known brand.

Often in construction stores you can find materials from unknown brands that are in no way inferior in quality to expensive branded coatings.

Video - How to choose laminate? Secrets

Laying laminate around pipes and other communications

For installation around pipes and radiators, flat milling drills are required

When installing laminate flooring, many rooms encounter problematic areas, such as pipes or radiators installed too low. In this case, the board must be sawn to the required length and drilled so that the hole is larger in diameter than the diameter of the pipe. Then the board is sawn crosswise in the place of the sawn circle. Most of it is secured with a lock to the previous panel, and the smaller part is placed behind the pipe and secured with glue. The same is done with radiators; the sawn-off pieces are placed under them and glued.

The door frame can be decorated in different ways. You can simply saw the last boards in the row to match the distance to the door, and then cover the joint with a small strip. But more often another method is used. The base of the door frame is cut to the thickness of the laminate and the plate is pulled tightly under the jamb beam.

The width of the temperature gap near the entrance door should be no more than 5 mm.

Preparing the foundation

Dismantling an old plank floor in order to replace it with OSB or plywood sheets is a labor-intensive task and not everyone is able to do it on their own. But is it right to install laminate planks on old plank floors?

If laminate flooring is to be laid on a wooden surface, such a base requires a number of preparatory measures

There are a number of requirements that an old natural wood base must meet. The wood surface must be hard and dry. If bending is felt when applying force to any area, the floors are probably affected by rot or fungus. And if this deficiency is not eliminated before installing the laminate, the damage process will spread to the entire surface of the subfloor, which will ultimately lead to the need for a major overhaul.

To prevent the laminate from deforming after installation, it must be mounted on a solid, not shaky base.

Differences in the height of the subfloor should not exceed 2 mm per 2 m of base length. Laying laminate on a curved surface will lead to sagging of the material, deformation of the joints of the boards and creaking of the floor. Usually, if an old plank floor does not meet the necessary requirements, it is put in order by locally replacing damaged fragments.

If the floor is completely crooked, it is leveled with slabs of any sheet wood-based material

Diagnostics of old flooring

To assess the feasibility of laying new finishing material on such a base, you need to carefully examine the boards for the presence of parasites and damage.

To identify rotten boards, tap the surface with a hammer. The knock on undamaged material will be louder

Namely:

• insects and rodents,
• rot and mold,
• fungus,
• recesses,
• floorboards creaking,
• deflections or deformation of the planks.

If a visual inspection is enough to assess the external covering, then what to do with the internal frame?

Mechanical impact on the old plank floor will help determine its suitability for laying a new base over the planks

When walking on the floor, the floorboards should not creak or sag. Minor deflections under very heavy objects are acceptable, but the base must support the weight of a person. There should be no knots, depressions or protrusions on the covering, as well as gaps between the floorboards.

Elimination of defects

If the inspection reveals deficiencies that prevent further work, they must be eliminated.

Ideally, paint should be removed from old boards before laying laminate. It is by the same color of the elements that their suitability for use is determined

Ways to eliminate the shortcomings of a plank base:

1. Subsidence of the floor surface. At the site of damage, the area is dismantled by dismantling several boards. Support wedges are placed under the joists and the floorboards are secured. If the floor sags over almost the entire area, the entire base will most likely need to be replaced.
2. Rot and fungal microorganisms. To get rid of mold that affects the surface of the coating, it is necessary to replace the affected fragments, including their neighbors, with new beams or boards and treat the surface with an antiseptic. If for certain reasons this is not possible, lay a layer of waterproofing on the damaged base and level the surface with wood-based sheet materials (fibreboard, OSB, MDF or plywood). This approach should prevent further damage to the planks by the fungus.
3. Slats creaking. Often, if a wooden floor creaks, it means that the boards are not nailed to the joists properly. Old hardware has become loose during use of the floor and new fasteners are required. Drive the existing nails on the floor into the boards until they stop and strengthen the base with black self-tapping screws. When screwing in hardware, make sure that their heads are well recessed into the surface.
4. Recesses or small holes in boards. Traces of woodworm infestations are sealed with wood putty or a mixture of sawdust and PVA glue, and after drying, the surface is treated with bioprotective materials.

If, after strengthening the boards, the floor still creaks, you will need to strengthen the joists themselves. To do this, the covering is torn off, and a brick or timber is placed under it.

Sometimes floorboards make a squeaking sound when force is applied to the surface if they rub against one another. In this case, it is enough to treat the joints with talc or graphite powder, and seal noticeable gaps with a mixture of sawdust and PVA glue.

Leveling the subfloor

A wooden surface under a laminated board can be leveled in three ways. This is laying sheet slabs, wet screed or scraping.

If the curvature of the floor is insignificant, you can get by with scraping

Cycling

Cycling is used only on relatively flat surfaces to eliminate minor defects. To treat the floor with this method, you will need a rubber spatula, sandpaper, a hand plane, a sanding machine and a level. Before starting work, we recess the metal fasteners into the wooden surface. We go over the surface with a scraping machine and check the evenness of the floor with a level.

If there are chips or cracks, we seal them with wood putty. After the material has dried, the floor will need to be sanded again.

Cycling is a dusty process. After completing all work, be sure to clear the room of debris.

Installation of wood-based materials

Most often, a wooden floor for laying laminate is leveled by laying particle boards on top. This method allows you to further insulate and strengthen the base, perfectly leveling it without much effort. It is best to use 12-15 mm thick plywood for these purposes.

Laying plywood on an old wooden base

Rules for laying plywood on a wooden floor

1. The slabs are mounted staggered, offset by half a sheet. This is necessary to more evenly distribute the load on the floor.
2. To attach plywood, in addition to hardware, an adhesive composition is used. This is necessary to increase the stability of the sheets.
3. Plywood, like any wood, has the ability to “breathe”. In order for the material to expand unhindered under the influence of temperatures, centimeter gaps are left between the plates.

When the plywood subfloor is completely installed, the surface is treated with a sander and covered with drying oil

Cement strainer

Wet floor screed is a more durable, but also labor-intensive option. Laminate flooring can be laid on a flat concrete surface without any difficulty and there is no risk of floor deformation. To fill a wooden floor with a screed, you will need to strengthen its structure, otherwise it will not withstand the load.

Wet screed on a wooden floor

To do this, the old floorboards are torn off and the joists are leveled. Expanded clay or gravel is poured between the beams. Alternatively, you can add dry insulation to the ready-made cement mixture. Cement is poured between the logs and the surface is leveled using the rule, using the logs as beacons (for this purpose they must be perfectly flat). The screed hardens in 4 days. It is advisable not to touch the floor during this period.

After the screed has dried, you can lay the underlay and install the laminate.

Prices for different types of cement

Cement

Online calculator for calculating the amount of laminate per room

Go to calculations

Strengthening boards with screws

So, all the materials have been purchased, let's start strengthening the floor with screws. There is an article on the site about what to do with a creaking floor in an apartment; it partially talks about this work.

Since the screws were difficult to insert into the wood, we first drilled holes about 70% of the length of the screw, and then used screws to tighten the boards to the joists.

We strengthen the floor in rows along the joists

Of course, if you have a powerful screwdriver, you will be able to do this much faster without additional drilling. In our case, the cheapest Chinese screwdriver, which quickly sat down, so the whole job lasted for several days. The main thing is to screw the boards tightly to the joists so that they do not dangle when walking. Since the doors will soon be replaced, we cut down the slopes to install the plinth.

We file the door slopes

During work, it turned out that there was too much blowing from under the floor on the street side, so we had to seal the gap with foam. In this case, you need to moisten the surface before treating with water, and also spray the foam after application, since the polymerization process of the polyurethane foam requires moisture.

There was a strong blow from the street from this gap

It got so much better

Why do you need a substrate and how to choose it?

The use of underlay under laminate floor panels is mandatory.

The backing under the laminate serves as a kind of shock absorber for the material so that it does not break or deform if there are defects on the rough surface

It performs a number of functions:

• final leveling of the rough surface,
• protection of the laminate from deformation,
• protecting the floor from moisture,
• uniform load distribution between the slats,
• additional floor insulation,
• noise absorption.

The most widely used backing material is polystyrene foam. It is much cheaper than the cork offered by the manufacturer, but is practically in no way inferior to it.

The construction market offers three types of underlay for sheet laminate flooring:

1. Polyethylene foam . It is considered the most popular substrate due to its low price. The material has a foil layer, is resistant to moisture and microorganisms and protects the room from the cold. The disadvantage is that such a substrate quickly sags and eventually requires replacement. When choosing this type of substrate, pay attention to the density of the foam layer. The higher it is, the better the quality of the material. As a rule, for household purposes, a substrate of 2-3 mm thickness is sufficient.
2. Polystyrene two-layer backing. Instead of foamed polyethylene, expanded polystyrene is added to the foil layer, which has higher performance characteristics. The substrate is not afraid of the formation of fungi and rot, and is resistant to mold and moisture. The disadvantage of the material is that it is difficult to install: due to the highly compressed foam, the substrate does not roll out well.
3. Cork. This type of substrate is the most expensive. Made from pressed crumbs of cork tree bark, it can be natural or combined. This substrate is very rigid and resistant to stress, environmentally friendly, perfectly insulates the floor and protects the room from extraneous noise. Despite its naturalness, the cork substrate is biostable. Thanks to its manufacturing technology, the material masks unevenness in the subfloor better than other substrates. A significant disadvantage of cork backing is that the material is resistant to moisture.

Choosing a substrate for laminate

When choosing a high-quality cork substrate, pay attention to its structure. If you're paying for durability, make sure the material isn't see-through.

Prices for various types of laminate underlays

Underlay for laminate

Installation Tools

Do not use a hammer during installation

Installing laminate flooring is not difficult to do yourself. You don’t need to buy complex and expensive tools for it. The only thing worth investing in is a good jigsaw. With any layout scheme, the last laminate boards in the row will have to be sawed down.

Minimum set of tools:

• tape measure from 3 to 5 meters long
• soft construction pencil for precise markings
• square up to 30 cm
• jigsaw or handy saw
• hammer or hammer

Special tools for laminate are necessary so as not to damage the locks and decorative coating during work:

• metal bracket or installer
• wedges
• puncher (or block)
• set of flat milling drills

A laminate staple is a thin plate with bends at the ends at a ninety-degree angle. It helps when laying laminate boards near the wall, evenly distributes the load when pressed and does not deform the edges. The wide thin part of the staple is placed under the board, and then tapped with a hammer on the opposite end.

Due to the fact that laminate is a hygroscopic material that can expand, special gaps of 10 mm must be left along the walls. These temperature gaps are formed using wedges.

The plastic material of the hammer or block softens the impact force of the hammer and helps avoid the formation of chips on the decorative part. A set of drills is needed for large diameter holes for pipelines and radiators.

Additional tools

Additional tools may also be required to quickly install laminate flooring. The cutting machine and square help you quickly and reliably fit the board into corners and niches. For complex patterns, stencils are used.

Calculation of the quantity of materials

To lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor with the most common method of leveling the surface, you will need the following materials:

• plywood,
• adhesive composition,
• hardware,
• substrate,
• laminate,
• plinth.

To count the number of hardware, we count the number of joists in the room (we determine their location by the nails in the floor) and count the boards. The resulting values ​​need to be multiplied together, so we will get the required number of screws, to which we need to add 15-20% for reserve and unforeseen situations.

Old floorboards are screwed to the joists with one fastener in increments of 400-600 mm

Plywood sheets are screwed in increments of 150 mm . To calculate hardware for fastening sheet material, divide the length of the room by 15 cm, then its width and multiply the resulting values, not forgetting to add 15-20% to the resulting quantity for the reserve.

If you save on fasteners and increase the distance between hardware, the plywood will swell and vibrate when walking on the floor

To calculate the plywood itself, we measure the area of ​​the room in which the floor renovation is planned. According to the obtained value, we calculate the area of ​​the plywood, divide it by the size of the sheets (1500 or 750 mm2) and obtain the required number of slabs, rounding their number up.

To calculate the laminate and substrate we use the same technique. We write down the area of ​​the room and go with this data to the hardware store. The consultant will calculate the required number of slabs and rolls independently.

At home, calculating the number of laminate sheets will be difficult, since all the slabs have different overall dimensions

When buying laminate, pay attention to the lot number. It should be the same on all boxes. Otherwise, the floor covering will differ slightly. If this is not important to you, you can save a lot of money by purchasing leftover material from different batches.

Pay attention to the integrity of the packaging. If it is broken, the slat locks may be damaged.

The amount of plinth is calculated according to the perimeter of the room, excluding doorways. Additional accessories, such as corners and caps, are calculated according to the individual design features of the room.

Important! When purchasing materials, do not forget about the necessary reserve in case of defects or other unforeseen situations.

Stage 4. Warm floor under laminate (if necessary)

It is not always possible to lay heated floors in a wooden house under laminate. If the apartment initially has wooden floors installed, then installation is possible, but has its own characteristics.

In the case of concrete floors covered with a finished wooden floor, it is recommended to completely dismantle the boards, pour a screed on top of the concrete base, and then lay a warm floor on top of it.

There are also a number of requirements for the quality and composition of the laminate that will be laid on top of the heated floor:

• the thickness of the die must be at least 7 mm;
• the formaldehyde emission class must be E0 or E1. Indicators E2 and E3 are prohibited from being laid in tandem with heated floors! When heated, they will evaporate dangerous amounts of harmful substances into the air.

Even if all the requirements are met, the heated floor cannot be heated too much. The maximum permissible temperature is 30–32 °C. When used at higher temperatures, the laminate will quickly become unusable, releasing toxic substances.

If you comply with all installation and safety requirements, the flooring will last a long time and will not harm the health of residents and their pets.

Types of heated floors

Warm floors come in three types:

• water. The screed contains pipes connected to the heating system. This option is the least expensive, but with this option it is difficult to regulate the heating temperature. It is worth noting that water floors are allowed only in private houses or apartments with autonomous heating. Residents of apartments with central heating are prohibited by law from installing this type of heated floor - this will result in a fine and forced rework of the entire system;

• electric. This option is much more expensive both in terms of installation and during operation, but it can be installed in any room. Also, the advantages of an electric floor include convenient temperature control (you can control not only the number of degrees, but also use several thermostats to turn on only individual zones of the heated floor) and a relatively small level of raising the floor;

• thermomats. This type is also called film infrared heated floor. Installation under laminate on a wooden floor is also acceptable for all rooms. During installation and operation, this is the most convenient option, but at the same time the most expensive. Therefore, you need to accurately calculate the required heating area (there is no heated floor under massive furniture) so as not to overpay.

Each option has its own installation and operation features, so when choosing, you need to focus on a specific situation.

Laying heated floor elements

According to the installation technology, water and electric heated floors require the presence of a screed laid on a layer of thermal insulation materials.

With this approach, the floor can no longer be considered wooden. But if during the renovation process it is already planned to use screed or mixtures to level the wooden floor under the laminate, then they can be combined with the installation of a heated floor.

But with this technology, before installation you will have to:

1. Remove the boards completely.
2. Cover the joists with moisture-repellent compounds and cover with a vapor barrier film.
3. Fill the space between the joists with thermal insulation materials.

Only after this can you begin installing the screed and heated floor.

To avoid “wet” work with cement-sand mixtures, the “dry installation” option was invented. In this case, the logs and the space under the boards are processed according to the same scheme:

1. The prepared boards are laid on top of the logs and grooves are made into them with a milling cutter for cables or pipes.
2. Special metal plates are laid on top of the gutters to distribute heat evenly, and the cable is laid along them.

Another option for “dry installation” is using polystyrene boards. In this case, the subfloor is covered with an overlapping film. The edges are connected with construction tape. Polystyrene mats with bosses are laid on top, and a cable or pipe is laid along the gutters.

You can implement any of the options, but when carrying out repairs yourself, it is advisable to take into account your own skills and not attempt too complex work. The simplest option in this case would be to install a film thermomat under the laminate on a wooden floor.

In this case, it is enough to spread a reflective substrate (foil side up) on the prepared floor and place thermomats on top of it in the right places.

The film is connected to the thermostat. After which the entire floor is covered with thick polyethylene film (waterproofing barrier).

An important point: when installing a heated floor on a wooden floor, it is imperative to provide a ventilation system for the joists, otherwise they will rot very quickly.

Regardless of the type of heated floor chosen and the method of its installation, before laying the laminate, the heating system must be checked. Don’t just inspect the pipes or “ring” the wires, but connect them.

The water heating system is tested at the highest possible pressure. When testing electric heating, the test takes place in several stages, including turning the floor on and off.

Each time you turn it on, you need to increase the temperature by 5°C, gradually bringing it to the maximum permissible (this may take 2-3 days).

Step-by-step installation instructions

First, decide how best to lay the slats - along the floorboards, diagonally or crosswise. Experts recommend laying laminate flooring along the direction of the main light source. Otherwise, all seams will be very clearly visible, especially if the panels are joined poorly.

Diagonal laying of laminate flooring must be done in compliance with all the rules, otherwise you can ruin the interior

The correct way to lay laminate flooring, especially for beginners, is with the narrow side facing the window. When the slats are positioned along the light flow, the visibility of their connections is reduced.

Preparatory stage

When the material has been calculated and purchased, you can prepare the tools necessary for the job. A person who is not involved in interior decoration professionally may have questions, but, as a rule, all the necessary arsenal is located in every home pantry.

This:

• beating thread,
• building level,
• roulette,
• square,
• pipe bypass cutter,
• pencil,
• scissors or knife,
• jigsaw or hacksaw,
• screwdriver or Phillips screwdriver,
• rubber mallet,
• miter box for cutting wooden plinths,
• pliers.

Minimum required tools for laying laminate flooring

Also, in certain cases you may need a hammer drill, but not everyone has one. In any case, if a tool is not available, you can always rent it.

Laying technology

Before starting installation work, determine a place to store packages of material. Remove doors from hinges and clear the floor of unnecessary items. Clean the surface from dust.

If laminate flooring is laid on a plank floor without plywood or screed, it is better to lay the panels perpendicular to the old floorboards

Step 1. Lay the backing. The material is laid parallel to the laminate slabs. If a single piece of underlay is not enough to cover the entire floor, carefully connect the joints with tape.

Laying the substrate

Step 2. Lay the first row of laminate , starting work from any corner adjacent to the main light source. First we connect the solid panels. Then we trim the fragments in hard-to-reach places.

Laying the first row of laminate

Step 3. When cutting the material, turn the board 180 degrees , apply it to the installation site and mark the cut line. In this way, all lamellas that require trimming are marked.

A simple and correct way to mark laminate flooring for trimming

Step 4. After forming the first row, we assemble strip by strip, connecting the modules to each other with locks. The next row is attached to the previous one only after it is completely assembled. After assembling the second row, carefully lift it, holding on to the ends, and turn it a little so that the lock snaps into place. You can achieve a tight connection by tapping the joints with your hand or a mallet.

For a tight connection, tap with a hammer or mallet

It is best to lay laminate flooring offset by half a strip. This will make the connection more reliable.

Laying the last row: features

The more laminate is laid, the more inconvenient it will become to work with. 80-85% complete , experienced specialists recommend continuing to lay the material from the opposite wall, standing on the already laid laminate. And then simply connect the resulting strip to the existing base.

The laminate must be laid, maintaining a centimeter gap between the panels and the wall. This is necessary for deformations so that the floor does not stand on end

Laying the last row causes certain difficulties due to the need for partial trimming of elements. Moreover, often due to the unevenness of the walls, the width of the stripes is unequal.

If cutting is required, it is better to leave it for later, when the main part of the floor is covered. This way you will see a visual picture and be able to distribute the material as rationally as possible.

Marking and cutting the planks of the last row is done one by one: strip by strip.

Laying laminate flooring in hard-to-reach places

Installation of laminated flooring in places of protrusions and niches, near door and window openings, heating radiators, as well as in places where communications pass, is difficult only at first glance.

The correct way to bypass pipes with laminate if communications are far from the wall

We go around the pipes. Communications may be close to the wall or further away from it. For such situations, there are two ways to bypass the pipes. First, measure and, if necessary, cut the strip. Then we mark the location of the pipes with a pencil, carefully cut out the holes with a milling cutter, not forgetting to leave a temperature gap, and cut the approach to the pipes. When the board has already been laid in its permanent place, we place a cut piece of laminate on the back of the pipes on the glue.

Gaps around pipes and other metal objects must be treated with acrylic sealant to match the finish

How to get around a door or window opening, niche or ledge? Before installing the laminate inside the doorway, do not forget to check whether the panel will close normally after installing the covering or whether it will require trimming. When laying laminate in such places, do not forget about the temperature gap. All corners and protrusions are measured and marked in approximately the same way as the pipe installation locations, and everything is trimmed carefully with a saw or jigsaw.

Even if the niche cut is unaesthetic, it will later be hidden by the plinth

Installation of skirting boards

When the entire floor is covered with laminate, we begin laying the baseboard. Planks made of wood or plastic are laid strictly along the perimeter of the room, bypassing corners and niches (there are internal and external corner elements to connect the plinth in these places). The plinth is attached to the wall with dowels and nails, then the fastening points are covered with a decorative strip.

To neatly go around corners, the plinth kit includes all the necessary additional elements.

When installing a wooden plinth, it may be difficult to cut corners of the elements.

After installation of all the necessary strips is completed, the spaces inside the doorways are closed with special thresholds. Upon completion of work, wipe the floor surface with a damp cloth.

Prices for various types of floor plinths

Floor plinth

Floor leveling methods

Leveling with plywood without joists

Acrylic putty or sealant is used when the total difference does not exceed 3-5 mm. The advantage of such putty is its high plasticity, which means that when the boards are displaced under load, it will not collapse. Before applying it, the boards should be treated with a primer to increase adhesion. You need to putty 1-2 times. Instead of acrylic, you can use a more durable mixture with PVA glue. Putty on glue is applied in the same way, but after applying it the surface must be sanded.

Plywood can cope with large and medium height differences. This material is often used when leveling floors due to its lightness, hardness and resistance to various loads. There is a wide selection of moisture-resistant varieties on sale. Depending on the degree of unevenness, choose either fastening the plywood to the joists or directly to the floor. Under laminate, the plywood thickness should be at least 10 mm.

Fastening plywood without using joists:

• If the width of the boards does not exceed 20 cm and the floor is without significant unevenness, plywood can be chosen with a thickness of up to 8-10 mm. For floors with large defects, deflections and differences of more than 0.5 cm, the thickness should reach 18-20 mm. When there are wide cracks, the joints near the walls need to be sealed with polyurethane foam. For ease of installation, sheets of plywood can be cut into 1250x1250 squares with a jigsaw.
• The first step when leveling the floor with plywood is to remove the old baseboard and nails. Irregularities and protrusions are smoothed out with a plane, and then the floor is thoroughly cleaned of dust and debris.
• Plywood is secured with screws or self-tapping screws at intervals of 15 cm, leaving small gaps near the walls and between the sheets. Gaps of 0.5-1 cm will be enough to avoid squeaks and swelling due to expansion of the material.

Fastening plywood to joists:

• Logs are installed when there is significant curvature of the floor, a difference in height from one wall to another, or in a room with high humidity.
• The direction of the lag is determined by the direction of sunlight. They should be installed perpendicular to the sun's rays or parallel to the movement of people in rooms without windows.
• In cases where the difference from opposite walls is large (up to 8-10 cm), mini-logs are made - special linings of different thicknesses made of plywood or timber. Where the difference is not strong, a beam of small cross-section is installed, but it is fastened more often, approximately every 30-35 cm, and where it is large, a beam of greater thickness is attached accordingly.
• Before starting work, you need to make engineering calculations to determine the height of each supporting element.
• Then the logs are installed around the perimeter of the room at a distance of 40-50 cm and cross bars.
• You should not put heat-insulating material like mineral wool between the joists, because it is not durable and over time the floors will have to be redone and the insulation replaced. If you use expanded clay for thermal protection, it must be hermetically covered with plastic film.
• After the sheathing, plywood sheets are attached, maintaining a gap of 0.3-0.4 mm. The installation is completed by sealing the gap with elastic mastic.
• The surface is primed and the laminate is glued.

Before starting work with plywood, it must be kept for two days in the room where the work will be carried out so that the material has time to acquire the necessary moisture characteristics.

Wet screed is suitable for durable wooden floors with a maximum unevenness of 1 cm. It cannot be used for more significant distortions. For maximum strength and elasticity of the screed, special dry mixtures with plasticizers and fillers for wooden floors are selected. Leveling begins with the application of a reinforcing mesh followed by priming of the floor. The screed is a layer of no more than 1 centimeter.

For wooden floors, constant ventilation is important to avoid rot. Therefore, a channel with a diameter of up to 50 mm was often drilled through a board in the corner of the room. Such channels cannot be covered up during renovation and repair of the flooring.

Useful tips

When choosing a substrate for laminate or the laminate itself for a bathroom, hallway or kitchen, it is better to give preference to non-natural materials. This will help save a significant part of the budget and prevent dampness.

For rooms with high levels of humidity, it is not recommended to use a cork backing, no matter how moisture resistant it is. Due to its porous structure, the material quickly absorbs moisture and fails.

The rolled backing under the laminate should be laid with a slight overlap of 10-15 mm

Laying laminate flooring on an old wooden floor is possible under any circumstances. The quality of the floor after repair will depend on the efforts and funds invested. For example, material laid on an unprepared surface may warp when humidity increases/decreases, or play and wobble when subjected to force. Even if you lay plywood in accordance with all the requirements, but do not prevent further damage to the subfloor by fungus, after a few years it will remind you of itself with unpleasant consequences. Do everything in compliance with technology and even the most inexpensive class laminate laid on a wooden surface will last for decades.

Laying schemes

Straight and diagonal laying patterns

The most common method of laying laminate flooring is similar to laying parquet: the boards are laid in the direction of the window light. However, the design or construction of the room allows for a different arrangement of boards.

Laminate can be installed in one of the following ways:

• parallel to the direction of the sun's rays
• perpendicular to the direction of the sun's rays
• from different angles

If you want to visually change the width, height or length of the room by adjusting the flow of natural light, you can choose different laying patterns: classic, diagonal or checkerboard. Regardless of the design, laminate boards are installed with each subsequent row shifted by 20-25 cm relative to the previous one. This gives the coating reliable strength.

1 The classic installation scheme is the simplest and most accessible for updating a wooden floor yourself. Installation starts from the wall closest to the solar flow. The boards are laid out parallel to natural light. The first part of each subsequent row will be the cut part of the previous one. The pieces are used for laying near radiators and doorways. For this installation method, you need to buy laminate boards at least 30 cm long. Waste with the classical scheme is minimal, amounting to no more than 5%.

2 The checkerboard pattern is the most reliable, but the overconsumption of material increases to 15%. The pattern of the laminate floor is created by mixing each next row strictly at a certain distance relative to the previous one and resembles a checkerboard pattern or brickwork. You should not use this scheme with a colored decorative layer. It will look neater with a plain fabric.

3 A diagonal laying pattern is used to visually expand a small room. The material consumption for a square-shaped room is significantly less than for a narrow one. On average, the segments are about 15%. The installation is similar to the classic scheme, but the boards are installed at an angle of forty-five degrees relative to the wall with the window.

Recommendations for combining laminate and tiles

Flexible PVC profile in the interior

Different floor coverings are used in design, for example, for effective zoning of large rooms. In this case, you need not only to choose the method of designing the joint, but also the installation features. In many apartments you can find a combination of ceramic tiles and laminate, when the board is installed in the hallway and the tiles are in the kitchen.

At the first stage, you need to find out the thickness of the coating, draw up a template diagram for further installation and mark the joint location. The next question is which material should be placed first. When it comes to tiles and laminates, the tiles should be installed first. It has standard parameters and thickness, while the final thickness of the laminate depends on the substrate and can change by several millimeters under load.

It is not difficult to install the tiles directly along the intended connection line with the laminate. The gap between the surfaces must be at least 5 mm. The laminate is easily adjusted to the joint due to simple processing. Then one of the sill options is installed at the joint:

• flexible PVC profile is suitable for multi-level joints and for even connections. Has a decorative part and can be customized in color
• an aluminum threshold is a good option if two floor coverings are joined under a doorway. Such a threshold can hide a height difference of several millimeters. According to the fastening method, there are self-adhesive, self-tapping and hidden fastenings
• A box threshold is a large threshold, up to 3 cm high. According to popular belief, it can protect against drafts and stop the flow of water in case of a leak in the bathroom
• however, in practice, the box threshold does not protect against anything and causes inconvenience when cleaning floors. Many builders recommend leaving a gap of at least 2 cm between the door and the threshold
• The solid wood profile is very beautiful, but is considered the most expensive. Attached with glue
• The cork expansion joint closes the temperature joint without forming significant protrusions. However, such material does not protect the gap from dirt and dust.
• The PVC transition profile hides large differences in levels and has a large selection of colors

The joints between tiles and laminate can be made without thresholds. If the length of the joint is no more than 2 meters and the width is no more than 3 mm, it is sealed with a tile joint or sealant.

Optimal gap width between the wall and the laminate

Wedges for joints are made from leftover plywood or other construction waste

First of all, it is worth describing in detail why this gap is needed. The temperature gap is more correctly called compensation; it is necessary for the free movement of laminated boards when they decrease or increase due to changes in temperature or humidity of the room. If this is not observed, then the outer panels installed close to the walls will become deformed due to expansion.

To prevent the board from deforming during use, it is necessary to carry out climatic adaptation of the floor covering. To do this, the purchased boards are removed from the packaging and laid out in the center of the room. The material gets used to the temperature conditions of the room. It is important to lay the laminate in the center, and not against the walls, so that it does not absorb their moisture. Acclimatization should last several days.

For standard rooms with normal temperature and humidity conditions, a gap of 7-9 mm is sufficient, but for long and narrow rooms it should be increased. In particularly wet rooms, the gap width can reach up to 15 mm. To form them, you can buy special wedges or make them from leftover plywood or timber.

The plinth is attached not to the floor, but to the wall using glue. Its width must be at least 5 mm larger than the width of the gap. The fact is that if the laminate was installed without acclimatization, the boards may move and the gap between the coating and the baseboard will become visible. There have been cases when, due to insufficient leveling of the subfloor, the laminate rolled into one corner and a gap formed at the opposite wall. The gap between the boards and convex corners or niches can be masked with sealant.

Design of the joint between laminate and other coating

Aluminum multi-level thresholds

Between two types of laminate. Joints between several types of laminate appear when boards of different fastening systems were used, the floor area is too large, and the surface requires an additional expansion joint, or the material is used to form ledges or steps. Decorative moldings are used to hide the joints. They maintain a gap, while covering it from dust and dirt. Moldings come in different types and solve several problems. Straight ones mask joints at the same level, leveling ones are designed for height differences of up to 2-3 mm, multi-level planks eliminate differences of up to 2 cm, and corner ones connect laminate boards arranged crosswise.

between the laminate and parquet/linoleum is closed with a threshold. Depending on the level of floor coverings, thresholds can be single-level or multi-level. Sometimes the joint with linoleum is filled with glue.

The joint with the carpet is made as follows: a dense backing is placed under the carpet to level it with the laminate. If the level is the same, the carpet overlaps.

How to properly prepare a wooden base

Before installing the laminate, the old wood flooring is subject to thorough inspection to identify the following types of defects:

• Any traces of grease or oil stains.
• Old paint stains.
• All cracks that have arisen from shrinkage or mechanical damage must be sealed.

• Traces of mold, fungal infections, areas with rotten boards.
• All wooden parts that are subject to deformation or protrude beyond the plane of the floor.

• If poor fixation of any elements is detected, they must be secured with self-tapping screws or in other ways.
• Any irregularities that arise due to swelling of wood under the influence of external factors.

All unevenness and defects must be eliminated until a uniform, even, clean coating is achieved.