How to lay laminate flooring on your own
Laminate flooring is a floor covering with a relatively simple installation technology. Because of this, every owner who prefers to carry out repairs on their own will be able to lay this product correctly. It is only necessary to figure out in advance in what order the installation is carried out. Here you will have to perform the following steps.
1. Preparing the floor for work
Laminate flooring should not be placed on an unreliable or uneven floor. Therefore, it is better to use a concrete or self-leveling screed as the basis for this product. To fill it in, you first need to get rid of the previous floor coverings. Then the surface is cleaned and filled with the selected composition. At this stage, it is important that the surface is as smooth as possible.
2. Preparation of the laminate substrate
Of course, it is acceptable to immediately lay the laminate on the formed screed. But still, it is better to place a substrate under this material first. In this case, for example, foamed polyethylene is used. It will provide cushioning, heat and sound insulation, which the laminate itself has problems with.
3. Laminate flooring on the prepared floor
Now you can start the installation activities. Laminate panels are distinguished by the fact that they have grooves and ridges, which ensure the most reliable fastening of the elements to each other.
Begin laying the laminate from the first row, which is located along the long wall. Moreover, the floor covering should be separated from it with small wedges. The panels are first of all combined with the ends, if necessary, hammering them with a rubber or wooden hammer.
When the owner starts installing the second row, it is necessary to first ensure that the seams are bandaged: only half of the panel should be taken, not the whole one. A displacement of the rows is formed, at which the fixing of the panels will be the most intense. Each next row must be connected to the previous one. Again, by means of a groove-ridge system. A conventional jigsaw is used to cut the panels.
4. Finishing decorative works
Laminate panels are good because they do not require special care, and they do not need painting or varnishing. When the owner completes the installation, he will only have to remove the previously installed wedges, and then place the floor skirting boards.
In general, for all its specificity, the laminate installation procedure is still not very difficult. The owner can complete it on his own. seks kamerki