Recently, more and more people have been using laminate as flooring. This is explained easily:
– Firstly, it is more durable than the floors made of wood, and outwardly imitates the varieties of any tree, stone and other surfaces and structures very similarly.
– secondly, it is easy to use and care, does not require any special skills and devices.
– thirdly, more expensive species have a rather long time for wear resistance, it is possible to use in children’s rooms and public premises. Most often, a 32 class laminate is chosen for the home, the higher this figure, the higher the stability of the laminate to hysteria.
– Well, the last, there are moisture resistant varieties – it is possible to lay even in bathrooms.
The laying of the laminate is simple, not even a specialist can cope with it. Initially, we align the floors with a cement screed or self -leveling mixture (if concrete floors) and let the floor dry completely. If the floors are wooden, we align them using a grinding machine and special solutions for small pits. It is possible to lay the laminate directly on linoleum. Floor level should be almost perfect. A difference of not more than 2 mm for every 2 meters is allowed. Next, lay the substrate. It can be three types: polyethylene foamed film, plywood 10 mm thick, cork substrate.
The film is used to protect against moisture and additional sound insulation. Plywood increases thermal insulation of the floor. The most expensive is the cork substrate, is hydro-, heat, noise insulation, smooths out small floor defects.
There are also a laminate by the method of connection. The most convenient and modern – double castle. The boards are simply snap among themselves, and if necessary, they are easily dismantled. They can be used a second time. You can also connect separate boards using glue. But recently this method is not relevant, and is used in very rare cases.
Laminate planks cannot be mounted immediately, as they were listed in the room in which they will make the floors. First you need to give the laminate to “relax” for several days. During this time, the boards are leveled after packaging and take shape in accordance with the environment (temperature and humidity of the room). Then they are carefully inspected. They can have different shades of color. We select so that they were placed in accordance with the lighting, there was a smooth transition from one shade to another.
The laminate is not attached strictly to the floor, so it sensitively reacts to changes in temperature and humidity in the room, and does not deform.
