How To Create A Flat Floor For Flooring (laminate) Flooring

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• What is laminate afraid of?
• Condition assessment
• Required material
• Definition of irregularities
• Alignment methods
• Removing the old coating
• Leveling the concrete base
• Wood covering
• Application of DSP boards
• Tips from experts

Laminate flooring is based on fiberboard. But this material can instantly show its negative qualities if you do not do the styling according to technology and do not prepare a high-quality foundation. Leveling the floor under the laminate is the main condition that must be met without fail if you want to enjoy the beauty of the laid floor covering for a long time.

What is laminate afraid of?

When installing a floor under a laminate, you should pay attention to certain points that the floor covering is afraid of not only during installation, but also during operation:

• High humidity. The side part suffers anyway, even if it is a special material that can withstand moisture.

  

  If you store the floor covering not in a dry room, swelling occurs in certain areas, brittleness, and decreases in strength, especially in places where lock joints are present. This should be observed for freshly leveled concrete pavement that must first dry completely over a period of time.

• Unevenness of the base. Even minor defects can have a negative impact on the condition of the floor covering. The protrusions will wash out the entire sheet and create conditions for the abrasion of the laminate.

• Hollows in the floor. In the places of the joints, the layer of material is very thin.

  

  If, in this case, there are areas with voids under it, then the main load will fall on them, which will lead to their damage. In addition, the constant up-down movement of the material leads to its deformation. An uneven floor can only contribute to this.

This all suggests that the base of the floor under the laminate must be properly leveled in all possible ways. In addition, when pouring the solution onto the surface, it must gain strength and dry completely. When choosing a laminate, leveling the floor is a must.

Condition assessment

When choosing a floor covering such as a laminate for flooring, the first step is to evaluate your base in the room. It is important not only the condition of the floor itself, but also the distance from the base to the ceiling, the creation of additional layers (heat and sound insulation). The main thing is to invest in the planned budget, purchasing only the necessary and at the same time high-quality products.

In the absence of a time frame for carrying out repairs in an apartment, it is best to entrust its execution to specialists who can do everything efficiently and on time.

Large financial costs are associated with high-quality leveling of the base. Significant differences in floor level will require not only making a concrete screed directly, but also creating a self-leveling layer that can bring the level to full horizontal. In addition, the whole process will take a lot of time. Drying of the concrete screed together with the leveling layer will take about 6-7 weeks.

There are also the fastest options for creating a flat surface for a laminate. In this case, a dry screed is arranged or the subfloor is raised on the logs. But in the second case, the ceiling height will noticeably decrease, which is not suitable for certain categories of premises. You can do without a lag by fixing plywood sheets.

All these subtleties should be foreseen in advance so that in the future there are no distractions from work and additional difficulties.

Required material

The quality of the subfloor is checked before laying the flooring. If you need to align the latter, you should stock up on a certain set of tools and, most importantly, materials. To prepare the solution, you will need to use the old versions of the proportions of the main components (sand and cement).

Technologies do not stand still and contribute to a more convenient and simple repair. So ready-made dry mixes appeared in the retail network, which contain all the necessary components. In this case, you should choose exactly the version of the mixture that will be necessary in specific conditions.

There are mixes for leveling the floor under the laminate, specially designed for concrete or wood subfloors. Also presented are primer, sealing, repair mixtures, which make the installation process easier.

They are intended to prepare the surface for subsequent pouring, to seal possible cracks and potholes, as well as to repair serious damage.

Special additives (plasticizer, fiberglass) allow reducing the thickness of the screed filling layer, as well as imparting additional plasticity and fluidity qualities to it. In some cases, they are already included in the finished mixture. Everything can be clarified during the purchase from a store representative. Materials for leveling the floor under the laminate must be selected individually.

Definition of irregularities

It is difficult to see for yourself that the floor is uneven. This also applies to cases of practically high-quality filling, when there are no significant differences in height. You can't do without a special tool here.

By eye, you can only determine the presence of cracks (chips, shells, potholes), frozen waves on the concrete surface, areas of crumbling material, as well as decent floor drops that create a certain relief.

If you pay attention to the instructions that come with the purchased flooring, then it says that only a slight difference in height is allowed, within 1 mm per meter of area. Ideally, of course, when there is none at all. Then you can start laying the laminate and not be afraid of the consequences.

Alignment methods

Irregularities in concrete or other surface are most often associated with poor-quality repair work, non-compliance with installation technology.

In addition, the base could previously be prepared for a certain type of flooring, which, according to the requirements, will slightly differ from the technology of laminate flooring. But how to level the floor under the laminate?

Depending on the condition of the floor, as well as on the tasks set, the following main types can be distinguished, due to which a flat surface is created:

1. Cement-sand screed. In this case, you will have to slightly raise the floor level by about 30-50 mm.

2. Sanding of individual places. Suitable for a wooden base that has only minor differences and errors.

   

   You cannot cut everything at the root and perform a complete dismantling, which will cause a waste of time and money.

3. "Dry" screed made of GVL sheets, plywood sheets. Installation is often done on wooden logs. As a result, the entire structure will take about 50-70 mm in thickness. But there is also a plus here - an insignificant load on the floor slabs.
4. Complete removal of old flooring. In any case, over time, it will become even more unusable. This will negatively affect the laminate that has just been installed.

Removing the old coating

It is with the dismantling of the old coating that it is worth starting leveling the base of the floor under the flooring in the form of a laminate.

In this case, it is worth paying attention to leaving the old concrete screed intact. Her condition may be excellent. Then all that remains is to create a self-leveling layer.

Particular attention should be paid to the wooden base, which is most susceptible to negative manifestations. It can squeak, bend while walking, make squeaks and other sounds. All such sites are replaced with new ones. In some cases, it will be easier to dismantle it altogether and lay a new floor.

When all the actions have been carried out, the condition of the surface under the old coating should be assessed and, if necessary, leveled. Sometimes it will be enough just to sweep the base and start laying the flooring according to all the rules.

Leveling the concrete base

If the base of the concrete floor is uneven, with bumps, it should be properly leveled to perfect. In this case, it is worth adhering to the sequence of all actions that will lead to the desired result.

• When the base is cleaned and all the bumps are knocked down, it is necessary to treat the surface with a primer.

  

  This will improve the adhesion of the mortar to the surface.

• The easiest way is to prepare dry mixes to which only a certain amount of water is added. The result should be a consistency that resembles sour cream. In addition, the solution should be homogeneous. All lumps are thoroughly mixed. Otherwise, you can forget about high quality.
• The grout is poured from the highest point in the room. When using self-leveling mixtures, they will spread independently in the required amount from it.
• You can't do without the help of a spatula. They distribute the solution for uniformity over the entire area.
• To prevent air formations from remaining in the solution, a roller is used. This will allow you to avoid the appearance of small holes in the future.

• The leveling compound dries up within 1-2 days. However, the laminate can only be laid after a few more days in order to achieve the optimum moisture level on the surface. Leveling a concrete floor under a laminate can be called even the simplest option and the fastest in time.

  

Before pouring self-leveling mixtures, sometimes it is necessary to pre-perform a cement-sand screed. This option is used for significant surface defects. The most important thing is to strictly observe the proportions when preparing the solution in order to obtain its high quality. The distribution of the solution for the best result is carried out according to the pre-set beacons. If all the requirements are met, there will be no questions about how to level the concrete floor under the laminate.

Wood covering

A wooden base indoors can be difficult for some. It's very important to start the process here. For this, the condition of the floor is studied, paying attention to its strength, the presence of cracks, places with rot or fungus. Not always problem areas can be easily eliminated. Most often, you have to resort to complete dismantling. But how to level the floor in the apartment under the laminate in this case?

Alignment of significant differences is carried out by the following methods:

1. Replacement of boards with defects.
2. Pulling all floorboards to the joists.
3. Remove all fasteners (level them to the surface).
4. Lay the plywood and fix it. Usually a standard sheet of material with a thickness of 10 mm is taken.

It is very important to process the wood base. You can buy drying oil, but of high quality. After grinding the surface, gaps may appear, which are sealed with a special tool. So, when laying laminate flooring, significant attention is paid to leveling the floor.

Application of DSP boards

To level the subfloor under the laminate flooring, you can use DSP (cement-bonded particle board). For this, the layout is preliminarily made on the surface of the building boards. If necessary, plywood sheets are laid under them. The entire resulting structure must be securely fastened.

Next, the cement-particle boards are cut to the dimensions that are necessary for the work. They should be distributed over the previously received construction of boards and plywood. Each of its elements is fixed using ordinary self-tapping screws of a certain length. As a result, you should get a flat plane without errors.

There may be cases when the installation of various heating systems of a house or apartment is subsequently carried out. There are nuances and subtleties here that you should pay attention to. This technology has its own specifics of execution.

Tips from experts

During the preparation of the base, high-quality leveling of the floor in the apartment under the laminate, you should adhere to the rules and recommendations from experts in this industry. Otherwise, the desired result will not be achieved.

1. When using bulk mixes for leveling in the old screed, all cracks must be treated with a primer.

   

   The existing holes around the pipeline are sealed with tile adhesive. All these actions will not allow the liquid solution to penetrate to the neighbors. But the self-leveling floor for leveling under the laminate should not be too liquid, but meet the requirements.

2. When laying plywood sheets on the base, there should be a gap of about 4-6 mm between each of them. During high humidity levels this will allow the material to expand and not deform.
3. Everyone knows that the concrete floor itself is cold. This cold can then be transferred to the flooring used. To avoid this, plywood is attached to the concrete base using dowel-nails. Everything will depend on the wishes of the performer.
4. It is important not to drill pipes and electrical wiring that is located in the base. To do this, first draw them on the floor, and then on plywood sheets. It will not be superfluous to even pre-sketch the schemes of their location for the performer.

It is worth deciding on your own what material to level the floor under the laminate. There is a huge range of them on the market. The main thing will depend on the condition of the floor and the type of coverage. To solve the question of how you can level the floor under the laminate, specialists who can be found in the store during the purchase will help.

The leveling stage is given significant importance, since only in this case the laminate will not only add colors to the interior of the room, but will also last a long time without the manifestation of negative qualities. The article was written for the site

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