How to lay a floorboard correctly? Laying a floorboard along the joists - a step-by-step nestruction from preparation to finishing How to lay floorboards.
A wooden floor is not only a beautiful surface made from natural materials, but also a practical element of any home that will keep the room warm and warm. Laying floorboards is a type of construction work that requires the appropriate skills and abilities, since wood is a capricious material.
Material appearance
To choose the right floorboard, you need to know which tree species have priority in the production of this building material. There are 2 main types of floorboards:
- Coniferous trees such as spruce and pine. Such boards have an affordable pricing policy, and are most popular when laying wood floors.
- More expensive species: oak, beech, ash. The main differences between these breeds are in a longer service life, as well as a beautiful pattern of the finished floor. But when installing oak and beech, difficulties often arise.
The criteria for choosing a floorboard starts with moisture. This is the main parameter, which should not exceed 8%, otherwise, after laying the floor, the wooden covering will dry out and the boards will have to be removed and re-laid. Even if the surface of the material is ideally dried, it still needs to be kept directly on site for at least 7-9 days before installation.
When choosing boards, the presence of material with knots should be minimized. If there are any, then they should sit tightly in their place, boards with knots falling out should be excluded.
Such a parameter as the thickness of a wooden floor (from 25 to 40 mm) should be chosen based on the number of logs that are laid on concrete. The more the log is located over the floor area, the less thickness you can choose the boards.
What base should the floorboard be laid on?
Flooring boards are a versatile type of material designed for installing wood flooring on any type of surface. This could be:
- Concrete floor.
- Laying on plywood.
- Lags.
- Wooden or parquet floor.
The basic rule when laying floorboards is to fill in the interlayer between the wood and the base (even if laying on plywood). Basically, mineral wool is used for this, which also belongs to the category of insulation. Cotton wool does not allow excessive moisture and cold to pass through; it is allowed to lay it directly on the base, even if it is made of concrete.
The sequence of laying the floorboard
How to fix a floorboard? The floorboard has a design that is convenient for installation - it is enough to insert the boards into specially made grooves and fix them on any surface with self-tapping screws. The basic rule is the placement of a wooden floor: the boards must be placed across the movement.
The sequence for mounting the board is as follows:
Many owners of private houses do not pay undue attention to aesthetics and fix the floor elements from above. To partially hide the caps of the screws, they are treated with a sealant. Of course, this method will not add sophistication to the surface, but it is considered more reliable.
Laying floorboards on logs
The process of installing a floorboard on logs is painstaking and accurate, but with some skill it will not take much time. Logs are wooden beams that are laid along the entire floor. A floorboard is laid across these elements. As a lag, you can use not only a specially installed beam, but also ordinary beams, from which the overlap of the second floor is performed.
Before fixing the logs to the base, it is necessary to create conditions for the further operation of the floor covering. Humidity and cold penetrating from the concrete floor can significantly reduce the life of even the highest quality floorboard. To prevent this from happening, you should apply the method of laying an additional layer of thermal insulation. The highest quality and most inexpensive type of heat-insulating material is mineral wool. It should be remembered that gloves must be worn on your hands before placing the mineral wool on the base of the concrete floor.
Insulation laying
Installation of floorboards and logs begins with their careful processing. As an antiseptic, heated drying oil is ideal, to which you can also add wax. Such a composition will preserve the coating and become a protection against the effects of insects or harmful microorganisms.
The distance between the joists must be at least 50 cm. Then the wooden floor will be reliable and strong, without any movement of the boards. For fixing the lags, you should use standard dowels, it is not necessary to use anchor bolts. The logs are drilled through and a hole is made in the concrete floor. Next, a plastic tip is hammered into the floor, and the self-tapping screw is screwed through the logs into the base of the concrete floor, thus fixing the coating in one place.
Be sure to watch the video about installing the floor:
There is a way to fix the log with a mortar (not suitable for plywood). It is enough to make a small amount of mortar and fill the logs in several places. The solution will not in any way affect the operational life of the bar, but it will make the structure sufficiently monolithic.
Laying the floorboard with glue
There is a way to glue the floorboard. This method is practically no different from ordinary installation on logs, only special construction glue is used as fastening elements, not self-tapping screws.
Laying the floorboard with glue
An epoxy containing the constituents of epoxy should be used as an adhesive. After hardening, the base of the solution becomes very strong and has a long service life. A dispersed or polyurethane composition, which is practically as strong as epoxy, can become a substitute for epoxy glue.
Floor examples
Flooring is a long-awaited stage in the transition from the state of "when will this construction end" to the state of "it seems that it will be over soon." The premises take on a more or less normal look, it is easier to assess the areas and volumes. On open tracks, verandas, in utility blocks, a plank floor is laid from edged boards. But there are cracks in it, which, in this case, is permissible. In residential premises, a special grooved board is usually used. Its installation has its own characteristics, which we will talk about in this article. So, laying a floor from a grooved board - details and tricks.
What is a tongue-and-groove board and why is it better
A grooved board is a board, along one side of which a groove is cut, along the other - a spike. During installation, the spike goes into the groove, creating a stronger connection, eliminating "blowing". And this is a plus in comparison with edged or deck boards.
Another plus is associated with the technological process: the grooved board is "adjusted" according to geometry, cutting off the sidewalls, polishing the front side, and cutting longitudinal grooves on the back side for better ventilation. Then a spike and a groove are formed on the processed sidewalls with a cutter. After that, the tongue-and-groove board is ready. With such processing, there is certainly a difference (especially in a low-grade product), but not so much and grinding is needed, but not to the same extent as when using edged sawn timber.
A little about why it is much more expensive. There is a lot of work, it is for this reason that this material is much more expensive, but the floor is stronger and more reliable.
How to choose quality material
Laying a tongue-and-groove floor begins with the choice of material. Let's talk about sizes first. The width of the floorboard ranges from 70 mm to 200 mm. To take too narrow - it will take a lot of time to lay, too wide - there is a very high probability that when the edges of the boards dry, they will rise, the floor will turn out to be ribbed. The problem is solved by grinding, but this is an additional cost in time and money. Therefore, most often they take a tongue-and-groove board of average width - 130-150 cm.
The thickness of the grooved board is from 18 mm to 45 mm. Laying thin is unprofitable - so that it does not bend when laying on the logs, they (the logs) must be placed frequently. Therefore, for the floor, lumber with a thickness of 28 mm, 36 mm, 45 mm is more often used.
The grooved board is sold in different lengths. Standard - 3 m and 6 m, but they produce 4 m and 5 m. Here the choice is simple: the length of the material should be slightly longer than the length of the room in which it will be laid. Splicing in length is not very beautiful, therefore it is more often done that way.
Choice of wood species
The floorboard is made of pine and spruce, larch, oak or ash. Pine and spruce are not expensive, but their wood is soft. Traces remain from heels, fallen objects, and are pressed through by furniture. In places of active movement, "paths" are formed over time. The situation can be saved by coating with wear-resistant varnish in several layers. If this option suits you, the choice is good.
Larch grooved board is a more expensive material, but also more wear-resistant. The wood has a pronounced pattern and pleasant color. Can be used uncoated or overcoated with oil based formulations without creating a hard film on the surface.
Oak and ash are very beautiful hardwoods with dense, durable wood. But the price for them is completely inhumane. As in the previous version, the floor from these types of wood can be used uncoated or with more gentle compounds.
Variety of grooved board and its characteristics
All lumber is divided into four grades:
Grade C is used for sub-flooring. There are too many defects in it for finishing. The rest of the classes are suitable for finishing, but which grade you choose depends on your financial capabilities - the difference between the classes is decent.
Humidity
Choose kiln-dried wood for comfortable installation of a tongue-and-groove floor. In this case, the raw material after sawing is kept in drying chambers, in which it is brought to a moisture content of 8-14%. Such material is unlikely to dry out after laying - this is almost impossible, but the cost is about 50% higher compared to natural drying material. This is due to the cost of equipment (drying chambers) and drying fuel.
Humidity is measured with a special device that professionals have, and even then not everyone has. You can also try to determine by appearance. Most often, kiln-dried lumber is packed in polyethylene so that it does not absorb moisture from the air. Naturally, the packaging must be intact and free of moisture (condensation on the inside). If you knock on dry wood, it emits a clear, resonant sound, wet sounds dull.
What happens if the floor is made of high-moisture grooved board? The first thing you will have to face is the formation of cracks as it dries. After six months or a year, the floor will have to be repaired, removing the resulting cracks. Second, when drying, cracks often appear, the wood twists in different directions. Sometimes these distortions can be compensated for by pressing the board harder, sometimes not. So you have to keep a couple of boards "in reserve": to add to the bulkhead from shrinkage and to replace heavily crumpled fragments.
Geometry
When choosing, be sure to pay attention not to geometry. In addition, the thickness and width of the board should match, there should be no significant curvatures, you need to pay attention to the correct formation of the tongue and groove:
In normal production, this is all monitored, but in reality there is a very large spread - 5 mm is not the limit. It is clear that such a floor will have to be sanded. But, the smaller the discrepancy, the less the amount of work will be. Therefore, try to find a manufacturer for whom this difference will be minimal.
Installation of a tongue-and-groove floor
Due to the possible shrinkage of the wood, the installation of a tongue-and-groove floor is carried out in two stages. For the first time, only every 4-5 plank is fastened, after 6-18 months, the coating is sorted out, eliminating the resulting cracks. The second time is already attaching each board, to each lag.
If the premises are residential, the wood is rubbed over and loses its attractive appearance during the year, while it dries. To prevent this from happening, for the first time the grooved board is fastened with the back side up. When re-laying, turn it face up. We have a clean surface.
Laying a floor from a grooved board on logs is the most acceptable option
When purchasing material, do not forget to leave a few strips so that you can add after tightening. Depending on the initial moisture content and the width of the boards, one or two (or even more) additional boards may be required. They are also left to dry out. Preferably in the same room, but possible in the attic. On the street - this is already a problem, since the appearance will be "not the same".
Mounting method and fasteners
Laying a floor from a grooved board can be carried out using nails or self-tapping screws. The nails are made of flexible steel and can take a lot of stress. When "twisting" the board, they bend, but do not break. Only there is another problem: it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to remove them without damaging the wood. And it is necessary to remove fasteners when replacing too curved boards or when bulkheading a floor after wood has dried. Therefore, they still use self-tapping screws more often, and not black, but yellow ones. The black ones are made of brittle hardened steel. Under lateral loads, which arise during the "twisting" of the boards, the caps simply fly off. So, for laying a floor from a grooved board, it is better to use yellow self-tapping screws.
There are three ways to fix the floorboard, two of which are secret:
With a secret fastening, the self-tapping screw must be installed so that it does not interfere with the installation of the next board. For this, a hole is pre-drilled (the diameter of the drill is equal to the diameter of the cap), and then self-tapping screws are installed. The dimensions of the fasteners depend on the thickness of the board, but most often they are used with a length of 70-75 mm and a diameter of 4-4.5 mm. Such a long length is needed due to the fact that the screw enters at an angle with a secret fastening, it turns out - to a not very great depth.
If, nevertheless, you decide to make a reliable fastening in the face, it can be made less noticeable. This is achieved by deepening the head into the wood (you can pre-drill a hole). The resulting recess is sealed with wood putty and sanded. The second option is to cut the chopik, install it in the groove and grind it too. But all this requires a significant amount of time and skills, therefore, when installing a grooved board, they prefer to use hidden fastening methods.
General rules for flooring
The first row is laid with a gap of 5-7 mm from the wall and fastened, stepping back from the edge about 1 cm, into the front surface - into the face. This place will be covered with a plinth, so you can. If the method of installation is "in the tenon", the groove is turned to the wall, and vice versa.
The last board is also laid so that there is some gap to the wall. It can be provided with spacers and wedges that are hammered between the wall and the last board. It is also fixed "in the face", stepping back about 1 cm from the edge.
How to pull off floor boards
If you take a grade AB or B grooved board, there will be a lot of curved board. The longer the board, the more pronounced the curvature will be. The first few pieces from the wall are trying to choose the most even ones. They are laid, fixed. This will be the basis on which you can navigate. Further, they try to select the boards so that the curved places alternate. They are pressed or they are also said to be "pulled together", trying to make sure that there are no cracks.
On the right, the traditional way of screed crooked floorboards
For screed floorboards, different devices are used. For example - a support bar nailed at some distance and several wedges. This method is good for everyone, except that you have to screw the support every time. With a rough installation, when only 4-5 boards are attached, this is still normal - you can pull together several pieces at a time. But if you need to attach each, it takes a lot of time. Therefore, clamps, special staples, and other devices are used. The clamps are simply fixed to the lags, the staples are hammered into them, after which ordinary wooden wedges are used, which rally the coating, eliminating the gaps. Both options take less time.
There are also factory options (pictured below). The main thing here is a clever mechanism for attaching to the lags on the clamp. The mechanism of holding the boards in the desired position is also interesting.
When working, make sure that the flooring does not "go away" from the tongue-and-groove board. This can be seen if you look at the laid floor from the side: the flooring can bend along the edges to one side. To prevent this, periodically measure the distance from the laid board to the walls in several places, adjust its position to acceptable values.
The video shows in more detail how to work with such devices. The first is the traditional way with a thrust board and wedges.
The second - unusual homemade clamps from a hairpin and a corner for ceiling beams. An interesting option - you can adjust the length of the clamp, that is, you can rearrange it every other time.
A very interesting way for quick installation. But in this case, the laying of the floor from the grooved board is done by two people: one presses, the second installs the fasteners. You just have to pre-drill the holes for the desired width of the lumber.
Can a tongue-and-groove floor be installed without this step? Maybe if you buy material of the "extra" class or lay meter (or at least) pieces. On a meter-long segment, if there are any gaps, then they are small and can be easily corrected without tools.
There is an opinion that the floorboard is a capricious material that requires a considerable amount of effort and attention. In fact, a floor board, like any other material, requires compliance with the rules of storage and installation. You will learn how to properly lay a floorboard in this article.
Preparation of the base
Logs are the traditional basis for a wooden floor. They are made of timber, which is attached to the concrete screed or floors of the building. Anchor bolts, galvanized corners, self-tapping screws are used as fasteners.
The cross-section of the timber depends on the thickness of the floor board and the height of the heat-insulating layer. A layer of thermal insulation is laid between the logs, and a couple of centimeters of free space should remain between it and the floor. When choosing a timber, this requirement must be taken into account.
The floorboard in the walk-through rooms is laid in the direction of travel. In bedrooms, children's rooms and living rooms, installation is carried out parallel to the sun's rays penetrating through the window.
The logs are laid perpendicular to the direction of laying the floorboard. The optimal distance from the wall is 20-30 cm. The distance between the logs depends on the thickness of the coating and is within 30 cm - 1 m. The thicker and stronger the board is, the greater the distance is allowed between the logs.
Laying the floorboard
Remove the floor covering from the packaging 2 to 3 days before installation and leave it indoors to allow the wood to adapt to the current humidity.
Begin the installation by placing the first board with a spike against the wall at a distance of 2-3 cm from it. The same space must be left on all sides. Don't worry about how it will look, the skirting will cover the gap.
For fastening, use ordinary or spax self-tapping screws. The second option is slightly more expensive, but preferable. These mounts do not require pre-drilling, making work quick and easy. The use of nails is not recommended as they do not provide a secure hold.
If, when combining the boards, you notice that they do not fit tightly along the entire length, the curved places can be pulled up using a jack attached to the logs.
You can attach the board to a spike or to the front surface. For outdoor installation, the caps of the self-tapping screws are slightly sunk in the wood, after which they are closed with plugs. The flush-mount result looks neater, but less reliable.
Floorboards made of larch and pine, spruce can be purchased from the manufacturer on the website Doska-strogannaja.ru.
Nice and warm floor!
Recently, the market for artificial building materials has begun to develop more and more actively. However, natural wood is still in huge demand among people. This is not strange, because such a material has natural beauty and strength, which is a prerequisite for construction and finishing work.
Wood floors have always been and will be in demand due to the fact that this material is natural, safe and attractive.
Next, we will consider the method of laying the floorboard, which is most often used. All the main nuances of the work will be described here. Thanks to this technology, floorboards will always be flat and durable. This is required for this type of work. The technology of laying the floorboard will be considered in more detail a little further, but first you need to select all the most necessary tools and materials.
Tools and materials
To lay the floorboards, you need: a screwdriver, a hammer, nails, screws, a jigsaw, a tape measure, etc.
To carry out work related to laying floorboards on the base, you need to acquire the following tools and materials:
- grooved board;
- glassine;
- mineral wool;
- bars;
- mount;
- saw;
- hammer;
- screwdriver;
- self-tapping screws;
- Sander.
These materials will be quite enough for the technology for laying floorboards to become feasible. When everything is assembled, you can proceed directly to the installation work, which begins with the installation of the lag.
Installation lag: features
The technology for laying floorboards involves the use of logs. Most often, wooden blocks are used for their installation. You need to mount the timber on the edge. In this case, a certain gap must be observed between each lag. Most often, it is made no more than 1 m. In this case, the floor will be more rigid, and this is necessary according to the technology of laying the floorboard. One very simple rule can be established here: the thicker the board will be used, the larger the step can be left between each structural element.
After the lags are laid in their rightful places, it is worth checking their horizontality again. This is done using a level. In this case, you can use the most primitive fluid tool. Now the lags must be fixed. For these purposes, self-tapping screws and dowels are used. In some situations, anchor bolts can be used. It will be appropriate to do this when the timber is too thick.
Thermal insulation and its nuances
Insulation must be laid between the logs.
The thermal insulation layer is an integral part of any floor. It will keep the house warm even in the most severe frosts. A variety of materials can be used to equip the thermal insulation layer. If we are talking about laying the floorboard on the 2nd floor, then here the thermal insulation does not need to be organized - this stage of work is skipped.
It must be laid on the 1st floor. Mineral wool is used for work. It can be in the form of slabs or just in its normal form. It does not matter. The most important thing is to arrange it correctly. This is done quite easily. It should be located between the bars that were installed earlier. In this case, it fits in a layer 10 cm thick.
It is imperative to put a waterproofing material on top of the mineral wool. You can use glassine or roofing felt. The 2nd option is preferable, since the material is cheaper and more reliable. It should be secured with a stapler. At this stage, the work related to floor insulation can be considered completed. Now you can go directly to laying the floorboard.
Floorboards must be well dried before installation.
This is the most important and crucial stage of all work. The future integrity of the structure directly depends on how well the floorboard will be laid. Boards must be prepared before laying. They need to be thoroughly dried. For this, the material should be placed in a warm and dry place for about a week. Only in this case the board will be qualitatively prepared for the work.
In fact, it takes much longer to dry, but this will be quite enough to prevent warping of the material. Warpage is a rather dangerous phenomenon. Raw products must not be used for laying the boards on the floor. The likelihood of cracks on them is very high, which can appear both during the work and during the operation of the floor.
The first board must be laid at some distance from the wall. 2 cm is quite enough. This measure will help prevent deformation of the structure if the material changes its dimensions during operation. In order to fix the board before it is fastened, it is imperative that wedges be installed in the distance between the wall. In this case, the gap will not change during the fastening of the material.
The direction of laying the boards is chosen perpendicular to the previously installed logs. A grooved board is used here. This means that the fastening is done with a padlock. He is very primitive here. The groove of one board is put on the veneer of the other. At the same time, do not forget about the additional mount. Self-tapping screws will be used for these purposes. They are screwed in with a screwdriver. Their length is chosen according to the thickness of the floorboards.
It is best to mount the screws in the groove of the board. Then it will be possible to avoid the appearance of hats sticking out above the surface. They will be hidden elegantly. When the work is completed, the screws will not be visible. That is why the tongue-and-groove board is the best option for the floor. All subsequent structural elements are mounted in the same way as discussed above.
Thus, the result is a very attractive floor that can already be used for its intended purpose. However, it is best to sand it down to make it smoother and more attractive.
Sanding the floor: some important points
After the wooden floor is done, all that remains is to polish it thoroughly. For these purposes, a special grinder is used. Today this tool can be purchased in almost any specialty store. If you do not want to buy it, you can ask neighbors or friends for rent. With the help of a sander, you can easily and easily get rid of all surface irregularities, as well as eliminate the joints between the boards. An excellent tool that is often needed on the farm. Instead of a sander, you can use a regular grinder. With its help, you can perfectly process the surface. The sanding process itself does not take so much time.
The result should be an absolutely flat base without all kinds of defects. Joints and other irregularities must be completely eliminated. After the grinding process is completed, you can proceed to the final stage of work, which consists in treating the surface with a special protective compound.
This measure is necessary when working with wood.
You can cover the floorboards with an antiseptic.
To preserve the original appearance of the floorboards, they must be treated with an antiseptic.
You can use a transparent or translucent version of this substance. This will preserve the original appearance of the wood. Often it is she who is the decoration of the house. Antiseptics will help protect the surface from the formation of fungus and mold. It will not develop microorganisms that can harm human health.
Alternatively, paint or varnish can be used. These coatings cope well with aggressive external factors.
Thus, the process of laying the floorboard can be considered complete. As you can see, there is nothing difficult in this. All work is done quickly enough. Most importantly, at each stage, strictly follow the instructions given above. This will make the floor really strong, reliable and durable. The use of natural materials always brings its own flavor even to the most ordinary-looking building.
Absolutely any floor made of natural wood will serve its owner for many years. The above is specially created for those who in the near future are planning to start arranging a wooden floor in their home or country house.
Rules for choosing a floorboard, preparing the bases for laying floorboards, methods for installing flooring on different surfaces, methods of fastening the material.
The content of the article:
Flooring is a natural wood building material used for the manufacture of floor coverings. The products have special milling on their longitudinal ends, which ensure gapless connection of elements and high strength of the floor. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the methods of laying the floorboard and the rules for processing various substrates, ensuring high-quality assembly work.
Features of choosing a floorboard
When buying material, it is important to consider the factors that affect the durability of the floor. With the right choice of floorboards, you will admire your flooring for years to come.
The choice of floorboards according to the manufacturing method
Manufacturers offer users two types of floorboards: solid and spliced. Each type of product has its own characteristics, on which the applicability of the material and the methods of its attachment to the base depend.
A solid board is prepared from a single piece of blank. Depending on the quality of the material, the products are divided into 4 classes, but even the best samples have defects - knots, resin pockets, etc. There are few defects on the boards of the first and second class, they look harmonious. Such samples are used to make the main flooring. After installation, the surface is not painted, but varnished to highlight the natural beauty of the wood.
Boards of the third and fourth classes must be covered with paint if the topcoat is knocked down from them, or used as a rough subfloor. A perfectly flat solid board surface is difficult to obtain, but its relatively low cost makes it popular with buyers. After installing the coating, the surface is sanded or subjected to scraping.
Higher quality for massive Euro lining. Ventilation grooves are made on the back side of the boards, which provide air access to the seamy side and prevent the appearance of mildew and mildew. The front side is qualitatively processed and rarely requires revision after the floor is assembled, but the Euro lining is more expensive than a regular board.
A spliced board is made by mounting on a mini tenon or by gluing several small samples. The spliced board differs from the massive one by its excellent geometry, absence of defects, and high strength. Once the floorboards have been laid, the surface does not need to be reworked. In the finished form, the spliced floor is very similar to parquet.
The choice of floorboards by wood species
If you are in doubt about which floorboard to lay in the room, buy products from larch or oak. These types of trees are the hardest and most suitable for any indoor use. They are laid even in rooms with extreme humidity - baths, saunas.
The lowest hardness is found in planks made of coniferous trees (pine, spruce). Soft floorboards are mainly used for subfloors. For finishing flooring, you can use softwood lumber if its thickness is more than 35 mm. Smaller boards can be laid on logs in 30-40 cm increments or on a solid base such as a concrete screed.
Walnut, aspen and alder are not hard enough for floors and are used less frequently. Such boards can be laid in rooms with a slight load - a nursery or a living room. It is undesirable to lay boards of poplar and linden on the floor due to their softness.
Choosing floorboards by size
Planks with a thickness of 18 to 40 mm are suitable for floors. The most popular floorboard thickness is 30, 32, 35 mm. For floorboards of this thickness, the logs are placed in increments of 40 to 60 cm.
Bars for boards of maximum thickness are fixed at intervals of 70 cm or more. Products with a thickness of 15-25 mm are used to create double floors, but in this case it is recommended to use hard wood.
The width of the floorboards ranges from 60 to 135 mm. Narrow patterns are used to create original designs. Wide floorboards are used in large rooms or houses from beams and round timber. In small rooms, elements of small width are used, because the more boards, the wider the room seems. The most optimal floorboard width is 100 mm.
Types of floorboards by joining method
To facilitate the assembly of floors and improve performance, milling of various shapes is performed at the ends of the floorboards:
- Grooved boards have ridges and grooves at the ends, with the help of which a high quality of connection is achieved and the strength of the floor is increased. But the cost of such products is quite high.
- The connection can be done "in a quarter". At the ends of each board there are milling steps in the form of a step. Making samples is cheaper than grooves and tenons. The connection of the elements is less dependent on the degree of deformation of the boards after drying, therefore floorboards with step fixation are quite popular among users.
- Connection using inserts that are installed in the grooves of adjacent boards. They are used when installing short boards.
Preparatory work before laying the boards
High quality floorboards are sold wrapped in plastic wrap. Inspect the packaging for condensation before purchasing. Do not take goods with water drops on the wrong side of the film, this indicates insufficient dryness of the material.
Check the moisture content of the boards, which should not exceed 12-16%. The exact values of humidity are shown by a special moisture meter. Also, the indicator is assessed in an indirect way:
- A very damp board can be identified by placing your palm on the surface.
- Tap the floorboard with your knuckles. A dry board will sound loud, a damp board will sound dull.
- Examine the product carefully. Dry has a barely noticeable shine. The color of the wet board is matte.
Sort the remaining material. Swatches with knots, distorted geometry, blue or orange cores are set aside for use in utility rooms. Make sure that the tongue and groove of the tongue-and-groove boards are easy to connect. The joints should close with a slight click.
To keep the floor in its original condition for a long time, provide the room humidity in the range from 40 to 80%. In dry air, the board will dry out quickly, and in high humidity conditions, the coating will swell. The life of the floor is also influenced by temperature. At temperatures from 17 to 25 degrees, it does not lose its quality for many years.
The technology of laying floorboards on logs
The technique of laying floorboards involves the sequential execution of several stages of work, on which the quality of the floor depends.
Fixing the lags for the board on the base
Floor installation work begins with waterproofing the base to protect the timber from moisture. The easiest way to waterproof is to use mastic and roofing felt. Roofing material is laid on the mastic with an overlap and end-to-end with the wall, only visually laying it on the horizon. For the installation of the lag, the flatness of the base is not required, but rigidity is required.
Logs (rectangular beams) are laid on the waterproofing of the screed and fixed to the floor with self-tapping screws with dowels, brackets or in another way.
Floor beams must meet the following requirements:
- The horizontal surfaces of all beams must be in the same plane. If necessary, place underlays of the required thickness under the beams, or trim off excess ones.
- The optimal distance between the logs is 50 cm, but when using thick floorboards, the step can be increased.
- For spliced boards, the distance between the joists should not exceed 40 cm.
- Always install the floorboards perpendicular to the joists.
- In living rooms, the logs should be located in such a way that the light through the window falls on the floor along the boards.
- In the corridors, the boards are laid in the direction of the most intensive traffic.
Fastening floorboards to joists
Floorboards can be laid in two ways - without displacement of the floorboards and with displacement. To install the floor with offset products, you will need to make many cuts at right angles. Not everyone is able to cut boards exactly, so a template is required in the work.
Consider the technology of mounting a floorboard with milling in the form of grooves and ridges. The procedure for working with grooved floorboards is no different from assembling other types of boards.
Lay the first board on the joists with a spike against the wall and fix it at a distance of 1-2 cm from the ceiling, because the size of the product increases with increasing ambient temperature. The fasteners can be screwed into the floorboard from above, near the wall, where the baseboards will cover it. On the rest of the boards, the head marks are masked with a sealant or corks, which some manufacturers supply with them.
You can fix the boards in the following ways:
- Using self-tapping screws, the length of which is twice the thickness of the board. To fix floorboards with a thickness of 30 mm, buy black self-tapping screws 60-70 mm long and 4-4.5 mm in diameter. The hardware is screwed in with a step of 25-30 cm along the length of the board.
- If nails are used for fastening, their length should be 3 times the thickness of the floorboard (the old name is troetes).
- Narrow thin products with a width of 90 mm are fixed with one nail or a self-tapping screw in the center of the product.
- Boards up to 135 mm wide - with two fasteners, more than 150 mm wide - with three.
- You can fix them with self-tapping screws, which are screwed into the tongue at an angle of 45 degrees. To prevent the element from bursting when screwing in the fasteners, holes are drilled in the floorboards. The boards are also fastened with self-tapping screws from the side of the groove.
- On construction markets, you can find special screws for fixing floorboards. They are anti-corrosive and have a small cutter at the tip of the fasteners. It allows it to be screwed in without pre-drilling. The geometry of the fasteners prevents the wood from cracking when screwing in. Also, self-tapping screws have the upper part without thread, which allows the boards to be more tightly attracted to the logs.
Also, the product is pressed with wedges. To do this, nail a block to the lags, stepping back from the board by 100-150 mm. Place a block of wood and two wedges with the points facing each other between the board and the block. Striking the wedges with a mallet, move the spacer all the way to the board and further until the gaps between the products disappear. The admissible gaps between the floorboards are no more than 1 mm. Then screw in the screws and fix the board. Fasten all floor elements in the same way.
Before laying the last board, measure the distance between the penultimate floorboard and the wall and cut out a board of the required thickness from the workpiece, taking into account the guaranteed gap of 10-15 mm near the wall. Drive wedges between the wall and the board to close gaps. With a slight curvature of the floorboards, the spikes and grooves are coated with glue to increase the reliability of the connection, and then pressed with clamps or jacks.
If they are difficult to fit, inspect the cleats and grooves for burrs. Sand problem areas if necessary.
If the boards are not dry enough, fix them temporarily and leave them in this state for 5-6 months. In this case, not all products are attached, but only the fourth or fifth floorboard. After the lumber has dried, dismantle the temporary fasteners, remove the boards and fasten them again, pressing them as tightly as possible to each other.
- Examine the surface for unevenness.
- Remove them by scraping the floorboard.
- Cover the floor with a starter varnish that shows poorly sanded areas. Remove any defects found with a sanding paper.
- Install the skirting board and check that it is firmly attached to the floor. If necessary, seal the gaps with wood-colored filler.
- To increase the durability of the coating and give it respectability, cover the floor with paint, varnish, oil, wax. The choice of the tool depends on the operating conditions and the wishes of the user.
Floorboard mounting technology on plywood
Installation of floorboards on plywood is carried out if logs cannot be used. For example, if the ceilings in the room are low or it will not be possible to open the door after installing the floor. Most often, plywood is laid on a cement screed or on an old floor covering.
Preparing the concrete floor for laying the floorboard
If the base of the floor is concrete, work begins by checking the moisture content of the cement screed, which should not exceed 3%. Concrete with a lot of water increases the humidity in the room, which causes the plywood and finish flooring to rot.
Moisture can be checked with a special moisture meter or folk methods. Place a piece of cellophane on the concrete floor and glue it with tape. If after a day drops of water appear on the seamy side of the material, then the screed is not dry enough for laying sawn timber.
Check the levelness of the concrete screed surface. A slope of no more than 0.2% of the maximum length of the room is allowed. The value can be measured with a hydrostatic level.
Check the flatness of the screed surface with a long straight edge. To measure, place the instrument on the floor and measure the gap between the ruler and the floor with a feeler gauge. For a length of 2 m, gaps of no more than 2 mm are allowed. Eliminate defects by reworking the screed: sand the high areas, and fill the low ones with a self-leveling mixture.
If the screed is dry, cover it with polyurethane primer in several layers. Place a foam film on top of the primer to create a moisture barrier between the concrete and the plywood.
Flooring the floorboard on plywood
For the backing, use plywood with a thickness of 18 mm or more, preferably moisture resistant. Cut the sheets of material into several pieces 500 mm wide and place them on the floor. When installing, leave gaps of 10 mm between sheets and walls and 3 mm between individual parts.
Fix the sheets to the concrete with screws and dowels. Sink the heads of the fasteners into the material. Check the horizontalness of the top plane of the plywood. Sand the surface with a sander, vacuum and seal. Once dry, the plywood is ready for planking.
Fix the floorboards to the plywood with glue. Short products are glued with epoxy or polyurethane resins. Long samples - with epoxy or polyurethane glue. Such compositions are plastic after solidification and allow the boards to expand at high temperatures. The choice of glue is also influenced by the type of primer with which the plywood is treated.
For gluing boards from exotic woods or from beech, water-soluble adhesives cannot be used due to the specific properties of the wood.
How to install a plank on an old floor
Make sure that the old floor is solid when using it as a subfloor. Reinforce or replace individual boards as necessary. Then follow these steps:
- Remove the protruding elements from the surface, sand the boards with a 40 or 60 grit sandpaper. It is advisable to carry out the work with a grinder.
- Remove dust from the flooring.
- Check the moisture-proof and thermal insulation properties of the old floor. Cover it with a waterproof polyethylene foam film if necessary.
- Place at least 12 mm plywood on top of the old flooring.
How to lay a floorboard - watch the video:
Floorboards are manufactured using modern technologies with high precision, so that installation can be done on your own. Good results require knowledge of floor assembly technology and a serious attitude.
