In recent years, people in the repair of their apartments or houses are increasingly paying attention to laminate flooring. The reason is simple: since a beginner can even lay a laminate with his own hands , there is an opportunity to seriously save on the challenge of professional masters. There are a lot of options for this flooring, so that everyone can choose the most suitable for themselves.
In addition, in terms of ease of use and practicality, it is several times superior to parquet flooring, and even for laying it does not need to have any specific skills. However, it should be recalled the service life of this flooring, which rarely exceeds eight years.
Before laying the laminate with your own hands, you need to learn about the methods of installing it. There are glue and glueless options. If adhesive mounting is used, then a lock connection is used to fasten the panels together. As a result, you get a very strong and reliable seam through which even water cannot penetrate.
The second method also involves a castle connection, but it is performed according to a special technique. In this case, you have to pay for the high installation speed with a higher cost of the flooring itself. When thinking about how best to lay a laminate, do not forget about the tools that you need for this.
What you need to buy before you start:
• Hammer, better with a rubber coating on the work surface.
• Plain solid wood block.
• An electric jigsaw, since it is very difficult to saw a laminate with a hand hacksaw.
• Before laying the last row of the laminate, a clamp will be needed.
• To provide the necessary clearance from the wall, wooden wedges are needed.
• Tape measure and pencil.
• When laying on concrete, you will need a polymer film and good glue.
• Again, a concrete floor needs a backing.
Before work, inspect the material: if any defects are found, it is better to put it aside. Remember that laying on the carpet (due to static electricity) is prohibited, but you can install it on the old parquet flooring if it is dry and clean. Please note that the laminate should be laid perpendicular to windows and other light sources, since in this case the seams will be the least noticeable.
They start from the wall, driving wedges between it and the panels. Clearances are needed so that the material has enough space for its possible expansion. Lay the panels so that their locks are directed in your direction. Before laying the laminate with your own hands further, carefully inspect all the castle joints, since in the case of the slightest defects, the seams can separate, forming an unpleasant kind of fault.
Joining the panels should lead to a clearly audible click. Continuing installation, constantly monitor the evenness of the floor with a level, and also do not forget to monitor the wedges that must remain in place. As we have already said, for the last row, a clamp fixing it should be taken.
So you learned how to lay a laminate with your own hands! If everything is done correctly, then the floor covering will delight you with its aesthetic appearance for a long time.