In this article we will talk about the experience of laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor in a panel house. We will talk about budget repairs that everyone can afford.
This is what the floor looked like before the renovation...
The first problem that every resident of a panel house has encountered is the creaking of wooden floors. Here's why this happens: the floorboards are nailed to the joists, which have become loose over time, causing the floor to creak.
The next problem is a very uneven floor with large differences between the boards. To lay laminate flooring, such a floor must be leveled, and the maximum permissible height differences should not exceed 2 mm per 1.5 m.
To eliminate these problems, we decided to level the wooden floor using plywood. But if you just screw plywood on top of the creaking boards, then, of course, it won’t get any better. Therefore, you first need to strengthen the floor with screws.
We dismantle the old baseboard. If it is plastic, there will be no problems, but a wooden baseboard needs to be torn off with a pry bar or a nail puller. We pull out all the protruding nails and remove large protrusions with a plane. Before laying plywood, do not forget to thoroughly wash and vacuum the floor.
Preparing a wooden floor for renovation Now it is important to determine at what height the wooden floor is raised above the slab; for this, 1-2 holes are drilled in the boards. You need to know the distance between the base and the boards to determine the size of the screws for the floor. Usually it is 8-10 cm, but on the first floor there are even 25 cm.
After raising the floor level, the door may not open: the thickness of the laminate with the backing is almost 1 cm + the thickness of the plywood (minimum 0.6 cm). If the door is old, then you can cut it without any problems with a hacksaw, simply by removing it from its hinges. And to trim a door with a laminated coating, be sure to place thick plywood underneath, otherwise chips will appear at the cut site.
Material calculation
Next you need to calculate how many screws you will need. To do this, we look at how many joists there are in the room (they can be found by nails or seen in a crack near the wall). Then we count the number of boards in width and multiply the resulting amount by the number of joists.
Each board is screwed with 1 screw to the joist, every 40-60 cm. For example, if there are 11 joists and 28 boards in the room, then you will need 308 screws + 10-20% for reserve.
It is better to screw the plywood every 15 cm; if less often, it will swell and dangle when walking. The length and width of the room are measured and the resulting amount is divided by 15 cm, and then the values are multiplied. For example, our room measures 3x5.6 m. Divide 3 meters by 0.15 = 20 pieces, divide 5.6 m by 0.15 = 38 pieces. Now we multiply 20 by 38 and get 760 pieces, + 10-20% for stock. For plywood, wood screws 25-30 mm thick and 3-3.5 mm thick are suitable.
Now we calculate how much laminate will be needed. To do this, you need to find out the dimensions of the room, and do the calculations in the store, because laminate panels have different parameters. Our room is 17 square meters. m. In one box there is a laminate with an area of approximately 2.6 square meters. m. Divide 17 by 2.6 = 6.53. We round up, which means we will need 7 boxes, and half the box will be in stock in case of defects.
This should be enough if you lay the laminate in the usual way: trimming costs are approximately 5%. If laying diagonally, the margin should be at least 10%.
When purchasing laminate, it is important that the delivery lot on all boxes is the same. In boxes with different batches, the shade of the design may differ. Also, the pack must be intact, otherwise the locks may be damaged.
Now we count the amount of plywood. We chose plywood with dimensions of 1.43x1.52 m, that is, the area of 1 sheet will be 2.17 square meters. m. We divide the area of the room (17 sq. m.) by the area of plywood and get 7.8 sheets. This means you need to buy 8 sheets of plywood. The thickness of the plywood must be at least 12 mm.
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.
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 Leveling with plywood
To level the floor with plywood, place the sheet on the floor and screw it every 15 cm with screws. Don't forget to leave a small gap between the sheets and near the wall. The even position of the plywood sheets is controlled using a level. Sheets that require trimming are cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw.
Laying the substrate
The cat was scared... We chose the cheapest substrate, made of polypropylene. Before laying, vacuum the floor again.
We lay the backing with a reserve on the walls so that we can cut off the excess later, and glue it together with tape. The substrate should lie in one layer, joint to joint.
Laying laminate
Having finished preparing the floor, we begin laying the laminate flooring. Before this, you need to store the laminate indoors for several days (to adapt the material to the temperature and humidity of the apartment).
Laying begins from the corner of the room, preferably from the most visible place. However, there is a small nuance here: if the door opens into the room and no one plans to remove it, then they begin to lay the laminate from there, otherwise it will not be possible to lay the last row.
We start laying from the door It is best to place wide laminate joints along the light from the window, so the gaps will be less visible (over time they will increase).
Modern laminate is installed without glue, using the locking method. This type of flooring installation is called floating because it is not rigidly fixed to the floor, but lies freely on the underlay. During the change of season, the coating changes size slightly, so you cannot firmly screw the laminate to the floor. There are locks along the perimeter of the panel that connect if you insert one of the panels at an angle and then lower it.
To see how it works, watch the video tutorial:
Place the panel in the corner and join the next one on the short side. This is how we assemble the first row. The last panel will most likely have to be filed down. This can be done with a jigsaw or saw, but make sure the teeth are small, otherwise there will be chips on the laminated surface.
The first row is ready The main rule when laying laminate flooring is to leave a gap of about 1 cm near walls, pipes, doors and other obstacles. However, you should not make a gap of more than 2 cm, because the thickness of the plinth will not be able to cover it.
A wedge is needed to support the same gap near the wall For ease of installation, stores sell a special kit for laying laminate flooring. It includes wedges of the same thickness, a mounting foot for installing the last row and a wedge of panels.
To additionally seal the seams, you can buy a special sealant paste and coat the locks with it before joining. However, in wet rooms it is better to use tiles or porcelain stoneware.
The second row is laid in the same way as the first, and then inserted into the previous one. To simplify the task, we recommend laying the panels as close to the lock as possible, so that you can then simply lift the entire row and click it into place. This is done by simply pressing the row at an angle.
To connect, insert the panels at an angle 
Then we lower the panel so that the second row lies next to the first 
We join adjacent rows with our hands 
As a result, the joint should not be visible Some types of locks allow you to join the laminate not as a whole next to the previous one, but one piece at a time. For example, Quick Step laminate has universal locks: they can be inserted horizontally or at an angle. At the same time, there are Click locks that only hammer horizontally.
It is not necessary to immediately leave a gap between the first row and the wall. It will be more convenient to collect 3-4 rows, and then move them to the wall, and you can put something heavy on top. This is much easier, especially if the wall is not very smooth.
Another important feature is that the panels are laid in a checkerboard pattern. If the first row started with a whole laminate panel, then the second should start with half, and the third again with a full panel. This way the connections of the locks will be tighter, and the cost of cutting will be minimal.
Half the room is already readyThus, we lay the remaining rows of the laminate in a checkerboard pattern. When we reach the heating pipe, cut a round hole with a jigsaw or drill. Then we simply lay the scrap and press it with a plinth or glue it to liquid nails.
When we reach the last row, we need to file each panel to the width, taking into account the gap. Installation occurs in exactly the same way; press firmly on the panel at an angle.
The floor is almost ready Installation of skirting boards
The plastic plinth with cable duct consists of two parts. The first is a wall mount, and the second is a decorative attachment that snaps on top. There is another type of fastening - first, metal brackets are attached, and then a plinth is put on them.
We drill holes for dowels approximately every 30 cm and fasten one part of the plinth. We fasten the main part, hide the wires, then put on the decorative attachment. For a beautiful connection, we use special components for the plinth: adapters, external and internal corners, plugs.
We put a special lining around the pipe to hide the gap (it costs about 50 rubles). In our case, the pipe was very close to the wall, so we had to trim the baseboard and saw off the lining, and then glue it with liquid nails.
Buy the plinth and all components together with the laminate. Otherwise, if there is a shortage of material, you will have to visit many stores before you can find the right color.
And the final touch is to attach the threshold to the door. It is needed to hide the height difference between rooms. The rules for laying laminate flooring require separating different rooms with a gap so that the coverings are independent. However, in practice, if the same covering is chosen for adjacent rooms, you can not use the threshold, but do everything without seams: it will be prettier and easier to clean. If some kind of defect later appears, it is more convenient to actually saw off the coverings in the doorway.
Floor repair cost
- Birch plywood 6 mm thick, 8 sheets – 2300 rub.
- Laminate Kronostar White Pear 31 class – 7 boxes. 1 sq. m. cost 235 rubles in Leroy Merlin. Total 4112 rub.
- Backing for polypropylene laminate – 1 roll, 2 mm thick, 25 m long – 320 RUR.
- Screws and dowels - about 600 rubles.
- Plastic plinth with cable channel 8 pieces, 2.5 m each - 150 rub.
- Piping around the pipe, connectors and corners for the plinth - 420 rubles.
- Threshold – 160 rub.
As a result, the amount is: 9112 rubles.
The cat clearly didn't like the new slippery floor - It is better to take thicker plywood; 6 mm is still not enough, so you should not skimp on this. Next time we would take plywood of at least 12 mm. If the floor is too uneven, then you need to lay plywood in 2 layers, with the joints offset.
- We advise you to choose screws that are not too thick or long, as they will be difficult to screw in.
- You cannot buy a soft substrate thicker than 3 mm; it will spring strongly when walking, and the floor will be pressed under you. To find out more detailed information, we recommend reading our article about.
- If the laminate is laid on a concrete floor, then before laying the backing you need to lay a layer of polyethylene for waterproofing.
- For productive work you will need a good screwdriver with a powerful battery. This way you will save a lot of time.
By spending a small amount of money on repairing the old wooden floor, we got rid of the squeak and made it smooth and pleasant to walk on. It took three days to prepare the floor for the laminate, and one day was spent on the installation itself.
Laminate looks beautiful and expensive. It looks great both in an apartment and in a private house, giving aesthetic uniqueness to the room. Moreover, it can be laid on any rough surface: concrete, plywood, boards or even linoleum. The main thing is to properly prepare this very subfloor - level it and eliminate movement.
In this article we will try to figure out how to do it ourselves, and most importantly, how to properly lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor.
Where to start: calculations of area and materials
First of all, we need to calculate how much laminate we will need, based on the area of the room. You won’t be able to get it right; you’ll still have to leave some room for scraps and finishing touches. It is best to contact a consultant at the store where you will buy laminate flooring, indicating the area of the room and the desired laminate model. It is also worth indicating how you want to lay the laminate board - classically at a right angle (along the walls) or whether you decide to lay the laminate at an angle (for example, diagonally). Next we move on to the main stage.
Preparing a wooden floor for laying laminate
It is necessary to realize that when using the combination of words “wooden floor” it means any product made of wood: plywood, chipboard, boards, fiberboard, etc. Let's look at an example of laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor without plywood (with it, as a rule, there is much less work) - laying it on boards.
To lay laminate flooring, a perfectly flat surface is required, while all of the above materials are susceptible to environmental influences and deformation (moisture, drying), and are capable of deformation because of this. Accordingly, we evaluate the current state of the surface and what kind of processing will be required for it:
- We remove all protruding nails with a hammer (self-tapping screws - with a screwdriver, no need for a hammer 😄😄😄).
- There should be no creaks throughout the entire area. The creaking indicates that the nails in the joists have become loose and the board will “play.”
- Visually check for cracks, fungus, rot and dampness. If deep and irreversible damage of this nature is present, the board must be replaced.
Leveling a wooden floor
In addition to the above surface floor leveling methods, you can level a wooden floor under a laminate using special mixtures.
- The first step will be to remove paint or varnish if it was previously applied to the rough surface.
- Checking the rigidity. The boards should not sag or deform under your weight. If this happens, it is necessary to secure these boards in places where there are deflections or along the edges. If the problem is in the material itself, it needs to be replaced with a more durable one.
- Using a level gauge, we check horizontality. In length from one to two meters, a difference of several millimeters is acceptable. If the floor is uneven and exceeds the specified construction limit, we take a sanding machine and level it according to the lower value.
- We hammer down all protruding nails with a hammer, and screws with a screwdriver.
- There should be no creaks otherwise - this indicates that the nails in the joists are loose and the board will play.
- Visually check for cracks, fungus, rot and dampness. If deep and irreversible damage of this nature is present, it must be replaced.
Types of leveling wooden floors.
In addition to the above mentioned available methods for leveling the floor. Can be leveled using special mixtures.
- The first step will be to remove paint or varnish if it was previously applied to the rough surface. Then sanding.
- Seams, cracks and fistulas are covered with putty. And then, after it dries, we cover the entire surface with a moisture-proof primer.
- On top dried out We lay film (waterproofing) on the surface.
- According to the principle of a foundation, before pouring concrete, we lay out a reinforced lattice on the surface. On the walls we mark what the height of your floor should be.
Attention! Before filling the floor with the leveling mixture, make sure that the floor does not “play” (do not move) three times. This check must be done over the entire area of the room! If the floor is loose, you should not fill the floor; first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the mobility of the wooden floor!
- Next, prepare the leveling mixture according to the instructions on the package. There are a great variety of leveling mixtures in modern construction stores.
- When the mixture is ready and has steeped for 10-15 minutes, pour it onto the grate and surface.
Attention! Particular attention should be paid to the information on the packaging of the leveling fluid regarding the maximum thickness. Or you should consult a specialist on this issue. If the technical thickness threshold is exceeded, further cracking of the leveled surface is possible.
- Using a special spiked roller we remove all airy areas with bubbles. And we level the future base with a spatula or a special mop (make sure that the evenness of the surface is close to ideal).
The surface is ready for laying laminate!
Laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor with plywood.
As mentioned above, the easiest way to level the subfloor is with sheets of plywood. You get a ready-made, flat surface for laminate without much effort.
We attach the sheets to the floor with self-tapping screws every 15 cm, recessing them deep into the surface. Next, we go through the entire floor with a sanding machine (if unevenness in the joints appeared during the installation process).
Laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor
The material itself is very unpretentious and does not require special skills or fasteners. It is joined according to the lining principle, which allows it to “walk” a little due to temperature changes without visible and tangible changes. Installation is very fast. So, the step-by-step instructions themselves:
- On the rough surface (on plywood or a floor filled with a leveling mixture) we lay a polypropylene or cork backing. Polypropylene is cheaper. Cork is a more environmentally friendly option with higher heat and sound insulation properties (compared to polypropylene). The polypropylene substrate exists with a layer of thermal insulation (pictured below).
- We begin laying from the corner of the room, leaving a distance of 1 cm from the wall.
In this article we will talk about the experience of laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor in a panel house. We will talk about budget repairs that everyone can afford.
This is what the floor looked like before the renovation...
The first problem that every resident of a panel house has encountered is the creaking of wooden floors. Here's why this happens: the floorboards are nailed to the joists, which have become loose over time, causing the floor to creak.
The next problem is a very uneven floor with large differences between the boards. To lay laminate flooring, such a floor must be leveled, and the maximum permissible height differences should not exceed 2 mm per 1.5 m.
To eliminate these problems, we decided to level the wooden floor using plywood. But if you just screw plywood on top of the creaking boards, then, of course, it won’t get any better. Therefore, you first need to strengthen the floor with screws.
We dismantle the old baseboard. If it is plastic, there will be no problems, but a wooden baseboard needs to be torn off with a pry bar or a nail puller. We pull out all the protruding nails and remove large protrusions with a plane. Before laying plywood, do not forget to thoroughly wash and vacuum the floor.
Preparing a wooden floor for renovation Now it is important to determine at what height the wooden floor is raised above the slab; for this, 1-2 holes are drilled in the boards. You need to know the distance between the base and the boards to determine the size of the screws for the floor. Usually it is 8-10 cm, but on the first floor there are even 25 cm.
After raising the floor level, the door may not open: the thickness of the laminate with the backing is almost 1 cm + the thickness of the plywood (minimum 0.6 cm). If the door is old, then you can cut it without any problems with a hacksaw, simply by removing it from its hinges. And to trim a door with a laminated coating, be sure to place thick plywood underneath, otherwise chips will appear at the cut site.
Material calculation
Next you need to calculate how many screws you will need. To do this, we look at how many joists there are in the room (they can be found by nails or seen in a crack near the wall). Then we count the number of boards in width and multiply the resulting amount by the number of joists.
Each board is screwed with 1 screw to the joist, every 40-60 cm. For example, if there are 11 joists and 28 boards in the room, then you will need 308 screws + 10-20% for reserve.
It is better to screw the plywood every 15 cm; if less often, it will swell and dangle when walking. The length and width of the room are measured and the resulting amount is divided by 15 cm, and then the values are multiplied. For example, our room measures 3x5.6 m. Divide 3 meters by 0.15 = 20 pieces, divide 5.6 m by 0.15 = 38 pieces. Now we multiply 20 by 38 and get 760 pieces, + 10-20% for stock. For plywood, wood screws 25-30 mm thick and 3-3.5 mm thick are suitable.
Now we calculate how much laminate will be needed. To do this, you need to find out the dimensions of the room, and do the calculations in the store, because laminate panels have different parameters. Our room is 17 square meters. m. In one box there is a laminate with an area of approximately 2.6 square meters. m. Divide 17 by 2.6 = 6.53. We round up, which means we will need 7 boxes, and half the box will be in stock in case of defects.
This should be enough if you lay the laminate in the usual way: trimming costs are approximately 5%. If laying diagonally, the margin should be at least 10%.
When purchasing laminate, it is important that the delivery lot on all boxes is the same. In boxes with different batches, the shade of the design may differ. Also, the pack must be intact, otherwise the locks may be damaged.
Now we count the amount of plywood. We chose plywood with dimensions of 1.43x1.52 m, that is, the area of 1 sheet will be 2.17 square meters. m. We divide the area of the room (17 sq. m.) by the area of plywood and get 7.8 sheets. This means you need to buy 8 sheets of plywood. The thickness of the plywood must be at least 12 mm.
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.
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 Leveling with plywood
To level the floor with plywood, place the sheet on the floor and screw it every 15 cm with screws. Don't forget to leave a small gap between the sheets and near the wall. The even position of the plywood sheets is controlled using a level. Sheets that require trimming are cut with a hacksaw or jigsaw.
Laying the substrate
The cat was scared... We chose the cheapest substrate, made of polypropylene. Before laying, vacuum the floor again.
We lay the backing with a reserve on the walls so that we can cut off the excess later, and glue it together with tape. The substrate should lie in one layer, joint to joint.
Laying laminate
Having finished preparing the floor, we begin laying the laminate flooring. Before this, you need to store the laminate indoors for several days (to adapt the material to the temperature and humidity of the apartment).
Laying begins from the corner of the room, preferably from the most visible place. However, there is a small nuance here: if the door opens into the room and no one plans to remove it, then they begin to lay the laminate from there, otherwise it will not be possible to lay the last row.
We start laying from the door It is best to place wide laminate joints along the light from the window, so the gaps will be less visible (over time they will increase).
Modern laminate is installed without glue, using the locking method. This type of flooring installation is called floating because it is not rigidly fixed to the floor, but lies freely on the underlay. During the change of season, the coating changes size slightly, so you cannot firmly screw the laminate to the floor. There are locks along the perimeter of the panel that connect if you insert one of the panels at an angle and then lower it.
To see how it works, watch the video tutorial:
Place the panel in the corner and join the next one on the short side. This is how we assemble the first row. The last panel will most likely have to be filed down. This can be done with a jigsaw or saw, but make sure the teeth are small, otherwise there will be chips on the laminated surface.
The first row is ready The main rule when laying laminate flooring is to leave a gap of about 1 cm near walls, pipes, doors and other obstacles. However, you should not make a gap of more than 2 cm, because the thickness of the plinth will not be able to cover it.
A wedge is needed to support the same gap near the wall For ease of installation, stores sell a special kit for laying laminate flooring. It includes wedges of the same thickness, a mounting foot for installing the last row and a wedge of panels.
To additionally seal the seams, you can buy a special sealant paste and coat the locks with it before joining. However, in wet rooms it is better to use tiles or porcelain stoneware.
The second row is laid in the same way as the first, and then inserted into the previous one. To simplify the task, we recommend laying the panels as close to the lock as possible, so that you can then simply lift the entire row and click it into place. This is done by simply pressing the row at an angle.
To connect, insert the panels at an angle Then we lower the panel so that the second row lies next to the first We join adjacent rows with our hands As a result, the joint should not be visible Some types of locks allow you to join the laminate not as a whole next to the previous one, but one piece at a time. For example, Quick Step laminate has universal locks: they can be inserted horizontally or at an angle. At the same time, there are Click locks that only hammer horizontally.
It is not necessary to immediately leave a gap between the first row and the wall. It will be more convenient to collect 3-4 rows, and then move them to the wall, and you can put something heavy on top. This is much easier, especially if the wall is not very smooth.
Another important feature is that the panels are laid in a checkerboard pattern. If the first row started with a whole laminate panel, then the second should start with half, and the third again with a full panel. This way the connections of the locks will be tighter, and the cost of cutting will be minimal.
Half the room is already readyThus, we lay the remaining rows of the laminate in a checkerboard pattern. When we reach the heating pipe, cut a round hole with a jigsaw or drill. Then we simply lay the scrap and press it with a plinth or glue it to liquid nails.
When we reach the last row, we need to file each panel to the width, taking into account the gap. Installation occurs in exactly the same way; press firmly on the panel at an angle.
The floor is almost ready Installation of skirting boards
The plastic plinth with cable duct consists of two parts. The first is a wall mount, and the second is a decorative attachment that snaps on top. There is another type of fastening - first, metal brackets are attached, and then a plinth is put on them.
We drill holes for dowels approximately every 30 cm and fasten one part of the plinth. We fasten the main part, hide the wires, then put on the decorative attachment. For a beautiful connection, we use special components for the plinth: adapters, external and internal corners, plugs.
We put a special lining around the pipe to hide the gap (it costs about 50 rubles). In our case, the pipe was very close to the wall, so we had to trim the baseboard and saw off the lining, and then glue it with liquid nails.
Buy the plinth and all components together with the laminate. Otherwise, if there is a shortage of material, you will have to visit many stores before you can find the right color.
And the final touch is to attach the threshold to the door. It is needed to hide the height difference between rooms. The rules for laying laminate flooring require separating different rooms with a gap so that the coverings are independent. However, in practice, if the same covering is chosen for adjacent rooms, you can not use the threshold, but do everything without seams: it will be prettier and easier to clean. If some kind of defect later appears, it is more convenient to actually saw off the coverings in the doorway.
Floor repair cost
- Birch plywood 6 mm thick, 8 sheets – 2300 rub.
- Laminate Kronostar White Pear 31 class – 7 boxes. 1 sq. m. cost 235 rubles in Leroy Merlin. Total 4112 rub.
- Backing for polypropylene laminate – 1 roll, 2 mm thick, 25 m long – 320 RUR.
- Screws and dowels - about 600 rubles.
- Plastic plinth with cable channel 8 pieces, 2.5 m each - 150 rub.
- Piping around the pipe, connectors and corners for the plinth - 420 rubles.
- Threshold – 160 rub.
As a result, the amount is: 9112 rubles.
The cat clearly didn't like the new slippery floor - It is better to take thicker plywood; 6 mm is still not enough, so you should not skimp on this. Next time we would take plywood of at least 12 mm. If the floor is too uneven, then you need to lay plywood in 2 layers, with the joints offset.
- We advise you to choose screws that are not too thick or long, as they will be difficult to screw in.
- You cannot buy a soft substrate thicker than 3 mm; it will spring strongly when walking, and the floor will be pressed under you. To find out more detailed information, we recommend reading our article about.
- If the laminate is laid on a concrete floor, then before laying the backing you need to lay a layer of polyethylene for waterproofing.
- For productive work you will need a good screwdriver with a powerful battery. This way you will save a lot of time.
By spending a small amount of money on repairing the old wooden floor, we got rid of the squeak and made it smooth and pleasant to walk on. It took three days to prepare the floor for the laminate, and one day was spent on the installation itself.
Almost any modern finishing materials can be installed on old wooden floors. This statement also applies to laminate, which is popular these days. True, its installation on a wooden base has a number of features. We will describe them.
Wooden bases and laminate – are they compatible?
Traditionally, laminated boards are mounted on a leveled concrete base. It is ideal for this finishing material. But now many home craftsmen are very successfully covering wood floors with laminate. The technology for laying such bases has some differences from the standard method, which is due to the structure of natural wood products. Let's deal with them. This is not difficult, since a wooden base differs from a concrete one in only two features:
- 1. Wood floors are less stable. If we place the laminate on such a base without proper preliminary preparation, the coating will not last long. Loose old boards will create increased stress on the locks. They are considered the weakest point of laminated products. It is clear that the destruction of the locks will very quickly lead to deformation of the entire coating. As a result, instead of a beautiful and practical floor, we will have at our disposal a design that is unattractive in appearance and extremely inconvenient to use.
- 2. Wood bases are prone to losing their initial mechanical characteristics over time. Therefore, before laying the laminate, it is necessary to carefully analyze their condition and, if necessary, replace elements that do not inspire confidence (support beams, joists, etc.).
In addition, the surface of wooden floors in most cases has a lot of bumps and roughness. They must be removed.
If we take into account the described characteristics of wood and carry out its high-quality preparation, we will be able to correctly install laminated products and be confident in the durability of the created coating.
Floor preparation - do-it-yourself restoration and repair
We found that installing laminate flooring over an old wooden floor is quite possible. But provided that the latter is in satisfactory condition and meets the following requirements:
- 1. There are no gaps between the base elements.
- 2. There is no creaking when moving on the floor, and the boards do not bend under the weight of a person.
- 3. There are no signs of wood rotting.
- 4. The floor is fairly level. The permissible height difference for every two meters is no more than 2 mm.
When some areas of the floor base are affected by fungus and mold, it is recommended to replace them. Installing new boards will solve this problem. The main thing is to use high-quality and well-dried material. Do not use wet products. New boards will begin to dry out after installation, which will lead to deformation of the coating. If traces of rot are insignificant, they can be removed, the entire floor covered with waterproofing film, and then moisture-resistant plywood sheets placed on it. They will protect the surface from moisture and help make the base as smooth as possible.
If there are creaks and deflections, you need to nail the boards to the joists using nails or screws of suitable size. This type of base restoration is accessible to any self-taught master. In some cases, it is necessary to carry out minor repairs to the joists on which the wooden base is installed. A similar operation is performed when the supporting elements “walk” under load. You can place bricks under the logs or install additional bars. Squeaks can also occur due to the friction of floorboards against each other. The problem is solved by filling the gaps between the individual floor elements. There is another option for getting rid of squeaks. It involves filling the cracks between the floorboards with talc or graphite chips.
Next, we take a building level 200 cm long and take measurements of the floor base in order to determine the height differences present on it. If there are any (and significant ones), don’t be upset. There are several effective marks for leveling wood bases. More about them later.
Methods for leveling a wooden base - use the appropriate one
You can make the floor surface level with your own hands in two ways - sanding and laying particle boards or plywood. The first method is suitable for bases with insignificant (up to 6 mm per square) bulges, growths and depressions.
Very small local wood defects can be removed using a hand scraper or coarse sandpaper.
It is better to get rid of more serious irregularities that cover the entire base or most of it using an electric plane (it cuts off convex areas perfectly) or a sander. Before using these tools, you should thoroughly clean the wood from dust and debris, and push the caps of hardware protruding to the surface into the wood. Nails and screws should not protrude above the base. This is guaranteed to lead to damage to the working knives of the plane and the grinding unit.
The procedure for scraping wood flooring is simple. It is necessary to divide the entire floor area into several separate zones and treat them one by one with sanding equipment. After sanding each section, we make sure to check the quality of the work performed. When the entire floor has been processed, we reuse the building level. If we managed to remove the differences in altitude, we remove wood dust and sawdust from the base. It is advisable to carry out the operation with a broom and vacuum cleaner. Important! After cleaning, not a single ounce of dust should remain on the floor surface. It clogs the locks of laminated boards, which is why they squeak mercilessly and make other unpleasant sounds during the operation of the coating.
Irregularities larger than 6 mm cannot be corrected by scraping. We will only be wasting our time and energy. In such situations, as was said, you need to level the floors using plywood (or chipboard as an option). We choose materials wisely. We buy plywood more than 10 mm thick with a moisture-resistant coating. Experts advise using sheets marked FC or FSF for living rooms. If you plan to use it in a non-residential area, you can purchase it. It has maximum strength and moisture resistance. But it is not used for living rooms, as it is characterized by a low level of environmental safety.
It is advisable to treat plywood sheets with a fungicidal compound or regular drying oil. After this we proceed to leveling. First, we place plastic or wooden wedges under the logs, trying to level out differences in altitude. Then we cut the plywood sheets with a circular saw into pieces of suitable sizes. You need to calculate in advance how many products will be needed to cover the entire area of the floor base. At the same time, we take into account that the plywood is placed in a checkerboard pattern or with some offset. It is unacceptable for the corners of four different workpieces to touch at one point.
Plywood blanks are laid at a distance from the walls (1–1.2 cm) and with a mandatory gap between each other (about 2.5 mm). This is done so that the material does not deform when expanding under the influence of changing humidity and temperature conditions in the room. We fasten the plywood with self-tapping screws. We install them, stepping back from the edge of the workpieces by 20 mm. Along the perimeter of the sheet, hardware is screwed in so that the distance between them does not exceed 20 cm. Some experts advise coating the wooden base with glue before laying the plywood. This operation prevents the old boards from becoming loose. But the use of an adhesive does not eliminate the need to secure the workpieces with self-tapping screws.
Substrate - you can’t do without it
Must be used without fail. It is a rolled product necessary to prevent the mounted finishing materials from coming into contact with the rough wooden base. The substrate also distributes the loads on the coating and compensates for them. Due to this, the effect of reducing pressure on the floor is achieved. In fact, the use of the described material makes it possible to protect the laminate locks from damage and gives the entire coating a level of strength sufficient for normal operation. Additional functions of the substrate are equalization of minor differences in height, vapor barrier and sound absorption.
Linings for laminated boards are made from different materials:
- natural cork;
- polyethylene foam;
- polyurethane foam;
- bitumen sheets.
They are also popular. The choice of a specific product is yours. But remember that experts recommend laying underlays made of coniferous wood or natural cork on wooden floors. They interact with the base material in the best possible way. These are the kind of pads that should be used when installing expensive laminate flooring.
Substrates are available in rolls and individual sheets. The rules for laying linings do not depend on their shape. Both sheet and roll products are placed end-to-end on the base and then secured with tape. This prevents the risk of the substrate shifting during the installation of the laminated coating. Notice! There is no need to attach lining material to the floor and walls.
Piece-by-piece laying of laminate flooring – technology for dummies
To properly lay laminate flooring, it is enough to know a few rules. First of all, there is no need to lay special hydro- and vapor barrier layers under these types of cladding. They will be of no use, but there will be a lot of harm. Condensation will begin to accumulate under the insulating films, which will quickly destroy the structure of the wooden floor. Second point. Before starting finishing work, you should draw up a diagram of the location of the laminated panels on the floor. There is no need for an ultra-precise drawing. But a simple sketch, made by hand, will greatly facilitate the calculation of the required amount of material, as well as the process of its installation itself.
The joining of individual elements of the laminated coating takes place according to two algorithms. The first involves the preliminary assembly of rows of individual dies and their subsequent connection to each other. The second method is to build each panel separately. This technique is called piecemeal. This is what almost all self-taught craftsmen use when laying laminate flooring on their own. Let's look at the step-by-step method of cladding a wooden base:
- 1. Take four laminate sheets and stand in the far corner of the room (in relation to the door).
- 2. Cut off the ridge of the two panels that are planned to be placed against the wall. We cut the third board to the amount of displacement of the adjacent rows of the laminate being laid (it is taken within 30–40 cm), do not touch the fourth (leave it intact).
- 3. We join the dies without a ridge. This part of the work is carried out according to the recommendations of the manufacturer of the laminated coating and the type of lock with which it is equipped (Lock, Click).
- 4. We attach the third (cut) and then the uncut to the resulting structure of two products.
- 5. Place the resulting part in the place designated for it on the floor. We leave a gap between the assembled segment and the mating wall surfaces of about 10 mm. Spacers are usually installed in it.
- 6. Add a fifth strip to the first row, cutting off its ridge, and extend the sixth strip to the next strip.
- 7. Next, we proceed by analogy until the installation of two complete rows is completed. Remember! The comb facing the wall is always trimmed.
We cut off the last dies at the ends of the strips. The dies located in the last rows are secured with a mounting bracket. We collect subsequent strips according to the described algorithm. But now there is no need to trim the ridges. We simply join the products using the tongue-and-groove system. We cut the dies of the last row to the required sizes directly at the place of their installation and fix them with a clamp (special bracket).
Last moment. Temperature gaps left near the walls should be covered with plastic skirting boards after installation is completed. And the gap in the doorway is usually decorated with a profile made of aluminum or plastic.
Renew your old wood floor by refinishing it with modern materials. And enjoy the new interiors of your home. Good luck!
One of the most popular materials for interior flooring is laminate. It is valued for its beautiful appearance and fairly simple installation process. Experts recommend laying such flooring on a flat, concrete base, but there are cases when finishing needs to be done on top of the old plank flooring. How to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor? What are the features of working with such a foundation? All this must be known before work begins. Therefore, in our article we will pay special attention to this topic and consider in detail the process of laying this finishing coating.
Diagnostics of the old foundation
To the question of whether laminate flooring is laid on a wooden floor, you can confidently answer positively. However, it’s worth mentioning right away that a foundation made of natural material requires much more attention than a concrete screed. If you need to carry out such work, carefully examine the surface to be finished for defects and irregularities.
Diagnostics of old coating includes the following work:
- eliminating large gaps between boards;
- checking the reliability of fixation of all floor elements;
- identification of unevenness and sudden changes in floor level;
- dismantling failed elements and replacing them.
Before laying laminate flooring on an old wooden floor, you need to prepare the base. Delaminated boards and plywood must be dismantled. Screw the loose elements to the joists using self-tapping screws. Bury any protruding nails in the wood. Eliminate large unevenness in the base. If differences in surface level do not exceed 1-3 mm per 1.0-1.5 meters, then it is not necessary to level the floors.
If high humidity prevails in the room where the laminate will be installed, then all elements of the wooden floor should be inspected for the presence of fungus and mold. Affected areas of wood must be cleaned and treated with antiseptic compounds. It would not be superfluous to completely process all wooden structures of the base.
Elimination of small irregularities and defects
If, during the inspection of the floor, small differences in its level were identified, then in order to lay the laminate (with your own hands) on a wooden floor, you can use two main leveling methods. Namely:
- Looping. This method is optimal in cases where the unevenness is not particularly significant, and to level the surface it is enough to remove a small layer of wood (over the entire base or in a separate area). For such work you need a scraping machine.
- Leveling the top layer using a plane. A planer can remove a much larger layer of wood compared to a sanding machine. For this reason, the floor level must be checked after each pass. Using this method, you can smooth out small areas that protrude greatly above the surface.
If the base is very curved and partial sanding is not enough, then before you lay the laminate on a wooden floor yourself, you will have to carry out more global work to level the surface.
Raising the floor level
If there is a strong slope, sanding the floor will be useless. Most often in such cases, the reason lies not in the floorboard, but in the failure of the logs themselves. Over time, they can rot or deteriorate from exposure to insects and rodents. In this situation, the floorboard must be completely dismantled and the condition of all joists checked. These works are quite lengthy and labor-intensive, but they should not be neglected. A failed foundation will not last long, so repairs will still have to be carried out, but it will be complicated by the dismantling of the new coating.
Failed joists and beams must be replaced with new ones. If they are in satisfactory condition, then they can be raised to the required level. This is done using wooden spacers. Wooden flooring is laid on them. When the floorboard is completely laid, the base needs to be smoothed using the board scraping method. After this, you can lay the laminate on a wooden floor.
Leveling using plywood and OSB boards
If the repair or installation of joists was carried out quite recently, but the floor is characterized by large unevenness, it is more advisable to level it using sheets of plywood or OSB boards. This work will require additional costs, but will allow for high-quality installation of laminate flooring on a wooden floor and additional insulation of the base.
In places where the surface falls below the main level, substrates made of boards or pieces of slabs are laid under the plywood. The lining material is fixed to the base perpendicular to the direction of the flooring elements.
Before installing the slabs, it is recommended to cover the entire floor surface with a vapor barrier material. The sheets are laid at a distance of 2-3 mm from the walls, with the rows offset by half the slab. For such work, sheet products with a thickness of at least 10-12 mm should be used.
To level the base using OSB boards, purchase materials no more than 3 mm thick. Thick and massive products will play under the coating and lead to its failure.
Installation of slabs is based on screwing them to the base using self-tapping screws or nails of a certain length. The distance between the fasteners is calculated by multiplying the thickness of the slab itself by 2.5. A gap of about 5 mm is left between the plates, which is subsequently filled with polyurethane foam.
Is it possible to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor using leveling mixtures?
Recently, more and more often, surface leveling is carried out using self-leveling floors. They allow you to easily smooth out an uneven base and give it smoothness and uniformity. At first glance, it may seem that it is impossible to use such compounds on wooden surfaces, but this is not the case.
Before laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor, the base can be prepared as follows:
- Cover the floor surface with thick polyethylene film (waterproofing).
- Fix the edges of the canvas against the walls. Lay the rolled materials overlapping by 15-20 cm, seal the seams with waterproof tape.
- Install a damper tape around the perimeter of the room. It will play the role of a compensator when the volume of the screed changes.
- In places where the floors are below the general level, install metal beacons. They are fixed with cement mortar. The height of the beacon must correspond to the difference in surface height.
- Pour the finished leveling mixture into the deepest place in the floors and level the mixture using the rule. When the solution dries, the entire surface is covered with a thin layer of screed.
- The solution must be rolled with a needle roller so that there are no air bubbles left at the base of the screed.
When the mixture dries, you can lay the laminate on the wooden floor yourself. We will look further at how to do this correctly.
Underlay for laminate: which one to use?
The technology for laying laminated panels involves the use of lining materials that act as a shock-absorbing layer. Today we have access to several varieties of them, and all of them are actively used for this purpose. Therefore, before laying laminate flooring on a wooden floor, you need to choose which material you will use.
It could be:
- old linoleum;
- foamed polyethylene;
- cork varieties;
- Dornit.
If linoleum was used as the old cladding, then after leveling the floor it can be laid in place where it will already serve as a lining material. This will reduce repair costs and provide the new coating with good sound insulation.
Geotextiles (dornite) are not very often used as a substrate for laminate flooring. This is due to its low thermal insulation and sound absorption abilities. However, it is very easy to install and has a low cost, so it is used with limited financial resources.
Cork is an environmentally friendly material characterized by the highest levels of sound insulation and insulation. Roll and sheet products are very easy to install, which allows you to quickly lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor, either yourself or with someone else’s help. This backing reliably protects the panels from damage, but is more expensive than previous options.
Foamed polyethylene is considered the leader in popularity. It perfectly muffles noise when walking on the laminate and retains heat inside the coating. The material is sold in rolls, which allows you to quickly roll it out over the surface immediately before laying the laminate with your own hands (on a wooden floor).
Technology for installing a substrate under a laminate
You should immediately pay attention to the fact that it is highly not recommended to refuse to use the substrate. It compensates for minor unevenness of the base and protects the flooring from damage. If you lay the panels on a hard surface, be prepared for the finish to fail prematurely.
Understanding the question of how to independently lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor, first of all, we will consider the process of installing underlay products. It consists of the following works:
- The material is laid or rolled out (depending on its type) over the entire surface of the floor.
- Installation of adjacent strips is carried out end-to-end, not overlapping.
- The joints of individual elements of the substrate are glued with construction tape.
Now you can begin finishing the floor. To carry it out you will need the following tools:
- electric jigsaw;
- measuring tool;
- wooden pegs;
- rubber mallet;
- construction pencil.
When the material has been purchased and all the tools are at hand, it’s time to choose the appropriate installation method and begin laying the coating.
Laminate installation methods
At this stage, we figured out that laying laminate on a wooden and uneven floor (as in our case) is possible only after careful preparation of the base. But before starting work, you need to determine how to attach the panels to each other. It could be:
- connection with glue;
- locking fixation.
The adhesive method allows you to create a reliable, solid flooring. This method is more often used in the kitchen area and other rooms where there is a high probability of moisture getting on the floor. However, fixing with glue has several disadvantages. These include:
- complication of the laminate installation process;
- inability to disassemble and reassemble the coating;
- the need to wait 10 hours after laying the coating;
- impossibility of using glue with underfloor heating systems.
A lock connection implies the presence of special locks on the laminate that snap into place when the elements are connected at a certain angle.
This fixation is highly durable and prevents the formation of gaps between the panels. If necessary, the coating can be removed and re-installed.
How to properly lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor: installation technology
The laminate installation technology depends on the chosen method of fixing the panels, but there is no significant difference in these processes. We will look at how to install laminate flooring on a wood floor using a key joint. Installation using glue is performed in the same way. The only difference is that the ends of each element must be coated with the selected composition.
So, the technology for finishing the floor with panels is as follows:
- Laying the laminate begins with the installation of the first solid element. It is placed at a distance of 10 mm from the edge of the wall. To prevent this gap from moving during the work, wooden spacers are inserted between the panel and the wall. The distance between the wall and the flooring must be left along the perimeter of the entire room. It is necessary so that in case of a change in humidity the coating does not swell and does not break in the locks.
- The first row is mounted by joining the elements. If you need to insert a small piece of the product at the end, it is cut off using a jigsaw.
- The second row begins to be laid from half the panel. The elements of the second row are inserted into the locking hole of the panels of the first row and lightly pressed against the ends of the planks. This way the entire coating is laid. Each odd row starts with a whole bar, and the odd row starts with half of it.
- If the first row of laminate consists only of whole strips, then the second row still starts with half a panel. This is necessary so that the joints of the laminate in adjacent rows do not coincide. This way the coating will be more durable and beautiful. To save money, you can use leftovers from the last planks of the previous rows.
It often happens that to install the last row of boards, you have to saw them lengthwise. This work must be done extremely carefully so that the cut is as even as possible. If you make small mistakes, do not rush to throw away the panel. Small irregularities can be hidden under the floor plinth. Once the floor covering is completely installed, you can begin installing the skirting boards.
Let's sum it up
In this article, we have given a comprehensive answer to the question of whether it is possible to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor and how to carry out such work correctly. Many experts recommend completely dismantling the old boards and pouring a new concrete base, but this leads to additional costs and loss of time. If this option is absolutely not suitable, the floor can be finished using the above recommendations.
In order for the coating to last as long as possible, special attention should be paid not so much to its installation as to the preparation of the base. If you manage to do this work correctly, then long-term operation of laminated panels is guaranteed.
Before starting work, it is recommended to remove the laminate from the packaging and lay it out in the room where it is planned to be installed. This will allow the panels to “get used” to the microclimate of the room, which will help avoid deformation of the coating after its installation (due to a sharp change in humidity and air temperature). Otherwise, laying laminate flooring on wooden floors does not have any special features and is similar to installing it over a concrete base.
