Linoleum is a very common material that does not lose popularity even now, when there is a wide selection of floor coverings on store shelves - laminate, parquet board, tile and so on.
The popularity of this material is explained by its advantages: wear resistance (varies by class), resistance to moisture, ease of installation and even some thermal insulation.
A significant minus of linoleum is joints. Well, when it turns out to cover the room with a single piece, but this rarely happens. In this case, it is necessary to connect the material, preferably so that the seam is not noticeable.
You can press the edges of the joint with metal sills, but in this case, a roughness of the floor is formed. In addition, the sills do not guarantee tightness, and during, for example, washing the floor, moisture can get into the seam.
Therefore, welding was much more widespread. Two methods are known - hot and cold welding for linoleum.
Hot method
The basis of this method is the heating of the material. Hot welding is mainly used when covering high-strength linoleum production, commercial and other premises where flooring is experiencing high loads. Another niche for using this method is very long seams.
Hot welding is carried out using a special tool - a torch, the heating temperature - up to 400 ° C. In this case, a special cord is inserted into the seam, which plays the role of a "welding electrode". When melted, it connects the edges of the seam into a single structure. After cooling, excess connective material is removed and the joint is ground. The welding cord is similar in structure to the linoleum itself, so the seam is invisible.
Hot welding has a number of significant disadvantages:
- Work must be carried out by professionals. For independent hot welding, for example, when repairing an apartment, you will need to purchase special equipment. In addition to the torch, shears are also required for trimming the excess seam and a nozzle for laying the welding cord. In addition, some skill is needed. The first attempts will most likely be unsuccessful, part of the material will be ruined, and the tools will be idle after the end of work.
- The method is suitable only for thick and hard linoleum - thin or not very high-quality material will not withstand heating and will melt.
- If the torch is not handled with proper welding, there is a chance of personal injury.
The method is not suitable for residential premises, where the amount of work is small, and many prefer to do repairs on their own.
Cold way
This method is based on the use of a special chemical composition. Cold welding - glue for linoleum joints, dissolving the edges of the joined paintings and firmly connecting them after cooling. The seam turns out colorless and almost imperceptible, if you do not know where it is located.
Glue is available in tubes equipped with a special narrow spout, through which the composition is applied to the joint.
For cold welding of linoleum, no special skill is required, it can very well be used for self-repair of a room.
Pros and cons of the method
For the cold connection method, you do not need to purchase additional equipment. In addition to the glue for cold welding of linoleum, you only need a skein of masking tape.
No special skills are required, the work does not take much time, and the result is an almost imperceptible seam.
The disadvantages of this method are few. These include the high toxicity of the adhesive for cold welding of linoleum, as well as the fact that the method is not recommended for use with multilayer materials or if the sealant is under the bottom. The seam will turn out low-quality and very noticeable.
Types of Cold Welding
There are three types of composition for cold welding of linoleum. They differ in consistency and the active substances that make up the glue. The necessary composition should be selected based on the width of the future joint.
Type A
This type of glue is the most liquid and contains a large percentage of solvent. It is mainly used for cold welding of PVC linoleum (polyvinyl chloride) and with the smallest gaps - a maximum of 1 mm. The tube, as a rule, has a special narrow nose. Masking tape is always glued on the sides of the seam to prevent glue from getting into undesirable places.
The fact is that the composition can “corrode” the surface of the coating, since it is intended to be bonded at the molecular level. Upon contact, the glue will leave an indelible stain and, in addition, will violate the protective layer of the material, which in this place will become vulnerable to wear or moisture.
Ideally, if the seams of linoleum for cold welding of type A will consist of edges cut not by hand, but at the factory. With this composition, linoleum can be welded immediately after installation, without sustaining it for a long time. Type A glue cannot be used for welding coatings on felt and polyester.
Type C
This type of glue is used when the material has already "matured" after laying. It is more dense than the composition of type A; otherwise, these mixtures are identical. The joint of linoleum during cold welding of type C can be a width of 2 millimeters or more.
Some unevenness of the seam is allowed, therefore glue of this type is often used when it is necessary to join an old piece with a new one during repair. The mixture is applied to the joint in large quantities and spreads, forming an additional protective layer. Scotch in this case can not be used.
Type T
This type of cold welding for linoleum is used, as a rule, by professional workers. It is not easy to work with type T glue; proper use requires appropriate skills. In addition, it is more toxic than compositions of types A and C. Compounds of type T are designed for gluing linoleum from polyester or on a felt basis.
Joint preparation
Successful welding of linoleum is possible only with careful and accurate preparation:
- First of all, you need to fit the pieces of material to each other as tightly as possible;
- then you need to fix the linoleum sheets on the floor so that they do not move out during gluing, it is convenient to use double-sided adhesive tape for this;
- the seam should be vacuumed or wiped with a damp cloth to remove any contaminants;
- then on both sides of the joint masking tape is glued so that the glue does not get anywhere but the seam;
After that, you can proceed directly to the welding process.
Welding technology
It is best to apply glue not in one fell swoop, but in pieces about half a meter long. Then it will be possible to control the thickness of the seam and see that it runs smoothly, without shifting to the side. It’s best to have a rag or napkin on hand to quickly wipe off the glue if it nevertheless gets on an unclosed section of linoleum.
The technology for gluing linoleum with cold welding is simple: you should evenly guide the tube along the seam, after slightly deepening its nose. However, you need to control the speed of movement so that the glue is not small and the work does not have to be repeated. It is better that the glue protrudes slightly above the surface - after solidification, which takes an average of two hours, the excess can be cut off. Do not remove excess glue without waiting for drying - this can lead to a violation of the structure of the seam.
There is another way of gluing linoleum by cold welding - the composition is applied alternately on both edges of the joined pieces of linoleum, after which they are joined and pressed against each other. This method can be used when gluing small pieces of material or when the needle does not come with the tube for accurate application of the composition.
Since the glue is toxic, care must be taken to ensure safety. The room should be well ventilated, and welding should be done with gloves, goggles and a respirator.
Repair of old linoleum
Cold welding is successfully used not only when laying a new coating. If the linoleum already laid has received any damage and you don’t want to replace it or not, welding will help restore the surface.
To repair minor damage, for example, punctures with a diameter of 1-2 mm, type A glue can be used. Damage should be sealed with adhesive tape and cut a hole of the right size through which to fill the composition. When making holes, you need to control so that the edges of the tape do not get inside. After the cold welding has hardened, remove the adhesive tape and level the surface.
If the damage has a large area, you should use a composition of type C. In this case, adhesive tape is not needed, and the glue actually plays the role of putty. After drying and leveling the surface, you can use special mastic to additionally mask the repaired area.
Foreign glue producers
Cold welding is a popular type of linoleum compound, therefore, in stores are represented compositions of both foreign and Russian brands.
Of the foreign manufacturers, the German companies Tarkett and WernerMuller are worth highlighting. The latter has cold welding of all three types in its line, and Tarkett is a well-known company in the market of building and finishing materials, which has long established itself in high quality.
The price of German-made glue for cold welding of linoleum is more than 300 rubles per tube, but it costs its money. The compositions made by these companies can be used safely, without doubting as a result of future work.
Among inexpensive foreign manufacturers of cold welding, SINTEX (Spain) can be mentioned. The cost of one tube is about half the price of German counterparts.
Domestic products
Among Russian brands, RICO glue is most popular. It is manufactured in St. Petersburg; its advantage is the absence of tetrahydrofuran, which is present in almost all formulations of other manufacturers, as part of one extremely toxic and storage-complicating component. Instead, urethane rubber is used, which gives the compound high tightness, strength and elasticity. The price of cold welding for RICO linoleum is 200 rubles per tube.
Another good Russian-made compound is Homakoll cold welding. It is suitable not only for gluing any type of linoleum, but also for tiles made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The cost of one package is about 250 rubles.
Cold welding "Second" - the most inexpensive option of the Russian compounds for gluing linoleum, its price is about 150 rubles.
Useful Tips
For preliminary cleaning of the joint, it is not recommended to use solvents or detergents. They can react chemically with the adhesive and disrupt the bonding process.
If the gap between the linoleum canvases is very small, the masking tape can not be glued on the sides of the joint. It’s better to stick it directly on it, then make a cut through which glue is introduced. This minimizes the thickness of the seam and makes it less noticeable.
To make the joint as tight as possible, the glued pieces of linoleum are recommended to be laid on top of each other, to mark and cut through. In this case, the seam will be perfectly smooth, but when buying linoleum you need to lay some margin for this operation.