Secrets and features of laying the floorboard. Laying the floorboard on the joists - step by step instructions from preparation to finishing Special screws for floorboards

At first glance, you might think that laying a floorboard is a completely simple task. Yes, perhaps this is not the most difficult thing, but still it is necessary to seriously approach the solution of this issue and it requires certain skills and knowledge.

Board laying methods can be divided into two types: using gluing (or self-tapping screws) and laying on logs, the first method should not be confused with parquet board laying.

Before you start laying the floorboards, it is necessary to bring them into the room where they will be worked on a few days before the start of work, which will help to avoid deformation of the boards in the future. Do not forget to carefully treat the boards with antiseptic impregnations. And only when the boards are completely dry (the moisture content of the finishing board should not be more than 12 percent, and the rough board - 17 percent), you can start working.

Laying floorboards on logs

Laying on logs is usually used in their own homes or on the ground floor of an apartment building. First of all, with this method of installing the floor covering, waterproofing is laid with an overlap on the walls and joints, and it is necessary to solder it with a gas burner.

It is possible to use ordinary polyethylene, it is good to use foil polyethylene or penofol, which will also provide additional heat and sound insulation. This is done to cut off the possible ingress of moisture on wooden surfaces; for this, roofing material is used, a stronger type of this material is not on a cardboard, but on a fiberglass basis.

Between the lags it is necessary to lay soundproofing material, which can be used as min. cotton wool, expanded clay, sintepon, glassine, etc. When installing a log, it is imperative to use a level, which will allow you to lay the boards in a flat surface in the future, to avoid creaking. The logs are attached to the concrete base with screws or dowels, the hats must be sunk into the wood.

There are options for attaching the lag to special mastics and glue, but this method is not often used if there is a risk of damaging some communications (wire).

If desired, under the finishing floor boards, you can lay a rough floor from boards with a thickness of not more than 2 mm (or plywood), the boards must be fairly even.

And one more tip for setting the lag. They should be perpendicular to the light from the windows, the floorboard will be laid parallel to the light flux.

Laying floorboards with glue

The next way to lay the floorboard is with glue. With this method, the surface on which the finishing laying of the boards will be carried out must be completely flat. This option is usually used in rooms with low ceilings.

Glue for such work should be selected depending on the length of the board. For gluing short boards (50-70 mm), any adhesive is suitable - polyurethane, epoxy, dispersion ... For long boards, you must choose a two-component epoxy-polyurethane or based on synthetic resins. If your floorboard is made of exotic wood species, do not use a dispersion compound to glue it.

The adhesive way to lay the floorboard can be on an old (wooden) floor, on a concrete base, plywood or on load-bearing wooden floors.

New socks can be laid on the old flooring, provided that it is in good stable condition, if necessary, a waterproofing layer can be applied, plywood up to 12 mm thick can be used as an underlay. Old flooring must be thoroughly sanded. And it is recommended to lay the boards perpendicular to the old coating. If you made a plywood substrate, the boards can be laid in the direction that suits you best.

If the floorboard is to be laid on a concrete base, make sure it is dry. You can check this as follows, lay a piece of polyethylene on the concrete and press it tightly along the edges, leave it in this form for several hours, if after the time has elapsed water condensate has not appeared on the inside of the polyethylene, you can start working. And one more option for checking the moisture content of concrete: lay any rubber mat on it and press it with a brick. A day later, if the concrete is wet, there will be a dark spot under the rug.

If the base of your floor is plywood, then its thickness must be at least 18 mm. Standard sheets are cut into strips 50-60 cm wide. Plywood is attached to the concrete base with screws or dowels. Laying plywood is best done diagonally, followed by grinding and leveling. And only after that it is possible to lay the floor finish board on it, having previously removed all debris and dust.

Laying technology, which screws to use?

It is necessary to lay the floorboard with the ridge against the wall, and with the groove towards the stacker. The first board must be fixed with self-tapping screws, which, later, will be covered with a plinth. Further, the boards are fastened with self-tapping screws into the groove of the board at an angle, this method is also called secret. The heads of the self-tapping screws must be sunk into the wood so that they do not interfere with the quality laying of the next board. The hole for the screw must be made in advance. Self-tapping screws for fastening boards are used even if you use glue to fasten boards.

If the boards are short, then their joints must be placed on the logs; when joining on the log, the boards should fit as closely as possible to each other. For a tighter fit of the boards, wedges must be used. At the same time, it is worth remembering that along the perimeter of the laying of floorboards, the gap between the walls and the board should be at least 5-10 mm.

You can fix the floorboards with nails 80-120 mm or self-tapping screws 70-100 mm. In the event that you fastened nails or self-tapping screws to the front of the boards, the hats from them can be sealed with putty, which can be matched to the color of the wood.

If you use raw wood for laying, its drying period can last up to six months, after complete drying the wood will shrink and gaps will form between the boards. In such cases, fastening of boards to self-tapping screws is not carried out completely, but only the fifth or seventh board. After drying, the boards will need to be shifted again, fitting tightly to each other.

After laying the floorboard, it must be carefully sanded. During grinding, the pile rises on the board, in order to get rid of this, it is necessary to prime the boards and carefully sand each layer. Grinding is done in stages, first diagonally, then across, then along. The final sanding is carried out with fine abrasive sandpaper along the grain of the wood.

To work when laying floorboards, you will not need so many tools, just arm yourself with a screwdriver (screwdriver), a mallet, stock up on wedges, a saw, if there is a need to shorten boards or logs, and a grinding tool.

(Visited 197 times, 197 visits today)

Solid wood flooring is one of the oldest and easiest ways to design a floor. Despite all the newfangled trends and the abundance of new finishing technologies, interest in it does not decrease. On the contrary, more and more people are choosing an environmentally friendly and technologically advanced coating made from natural material for finishing their homes. Meanwhile, despite the seeming simplicity, laying a floorboard is not at all an easy task, which only an experienced professional can handle with high quality. We will consider the main steps and rules, the observance of which is necessary for laying a natural wooden board.

First - the correct preparation of the subfloor

You should start with the base, on which the new wooden coating will then lie. The foundation most often is a concrete floor, wooden load-bearing structures and even an old wooden floor, if it was made to last, using quality materials and remained strong by the time the repair began.

To lay a wooden floor over a concrete base, the floor itself, as well as all walls and ceilings in the room, must be leveled and dried well. Strictly speaking, laying floorboards is a fine dry finish. And therefore, it is worth taking up for it only after the completion of all “wet” work, the removal of the remaining debris and the complete drying of the finished and prepared surfaces. The last step in preparing the base should be waterproofing, made (again on top of a dry floor) using a polyethylene foam film or special mastic. The latter is applied in an even layer on the base, paying special attention to the joints of the plates and corners.

Natural wood, regardless of the type of wood, is a moisture- and temperature-dependent material that can change its properties under the influence of the environment. So that during operation there are no cracks in the floor, or it does not rise in waves, it must be arranged from a material dried to a level of 10-12% relative humidity. And lay on the same dry base at a relative humidity of no more than 60%.

You can find out the relative humidity of the air with a simple hygrometer. There are also special devices for assessing the moisture content of solids. But in the absence of the latter, it is possible to determine the degree of readiness of the surface of the walls and floor by an indirect method by performing a simple test for this.

It is necessary to cover with cellophane film as large an area of ​​the drying surface as possible. When there is no risk of spoiling the fine finish, it is better to fix the film around the edges with adhesive tape and leave it for about a day. If, after the specified period, condensation has appeared on the inside of the film, or the test surface has darkened, it means that it has not dried out yet. The film must be removed and wait a while, and then repeat the test in another place.

Laying a wooden floor

It is possible to start working with wood only if, after being under the film for a day, no traces of condensate are detected on any of the internal surfaces. Before starting work, the material must be allowed to mature - to undergo acclimatization. It also takes several days. But in working with wood, haste is fatal. This applies to both the floorboards themselves and the wooden beams, plywood and chipboard used as a base. All base materials must be treated with an antiseptic before use to avoid damage if they are exposed to moisture, mold and insects.

When the tree "gets used" to the new climate, the base of the floor is built. One of his options for floorboards are wooden beams - logs.. They are laid out perpendicular to the direction of laying the floor with an interval of 30-60 centimeters. The thinner the boards of the future floor, the more often there should be supports. The logs are attached to the concrete base with self-tapping screws, sinking their heads a few centimeters deep. The distances between them can be filled with a heat insulator, for example, expanded clay.

Pine floorboard

If it is not possible to sacrifice a few centimeters of room height to the subfloor, it is worth using sheets of plywood or an old but still strong wooden floor as the base for the floorboard. Sheet materials are laid diagonally relative to the direction of laying the decorative part, leaving small gaps between the plywood sheets and along the walls. This is a margin for possible deformation and ventilation.

Sheets are attached to the old wooden floor on wood screws. They are additionally glued to a concrete base covered with a film or mastic. The resulting base is ground, cleaned of dust and chips and once again treated with an antiseptic.

Floorboards are placed on logs, plywood or chipboard. Modern materials are cut in such a way that they perfectly interlock with each other thanks to the tongue and groove locking system. But for greater stability of the structure, the docking points are additionally attached to the logs or the base, screwing the screws diagonally into the corner.

When the laying of the floorboard is completed, the resulting final coating is sanded again and, having been cleaned of debris, treated with stain or special oils. They bring out and accentuate the pattern of natural wood grains. You can also cover the floor with a layer of varnish. Both options are designed to protect the surface from moisture, dirt and time. Therefore, as it wears out, the protective coating of the wooden floor must be renewed.

Related publications

A cozy home starts from the floor. The overall perception of the room depends on what material was used to create the coating, as well as on the quality of work. That is why laying a floorboard, despite its apparent simplicity, is one of the main types of finishing work.

Video: Do-it-yourself floorboard installation

Laying on logs - the most common option for creating a floor in apartment buildings

Features of laying the floorboard on the logs

Logs are wooden bars with a rectangular cross section and a standard size with a minimum side length of 50 and 70 mm. In this case, a prerequisite is the unity of dimensions for the used lags. The fastening of the floorboard is carried out according to the following scheme:

• Installation of lags with adhesive mastic or screws to a concrete base.

Important! The same distance must be maintained between the lags, which depends on the type of wood and the thickness of the board.

• Treatment of bars with antiseptics.
• Installation of a soundproof layer.
• Floorboard flooring.

Using plywood as a base

As a base, only waterproof plywood with a thickness of 18 mm or more is used. Laying takes place according to the following technology:

Sanding plywood is an essential element of high-quality floorboard installation.

• Plywood is cut into strips about 50 cm wide.
• The strips are mounted on a concrete screed diagonally to the location of the floorboards using screws. It is permissible to use adhesive compositions for fixing strips.

Important! When using screws, it is necessary to adhere to the standard calculation - 15 pieces / m 2.

• Sanding plywood.
• Be sure to clean the dust.
• Carry out the installation of the floorboard.

If the house is being renovated, then sometimes there is no need to carry out such large-scale repair activities. Laying a floorboard over an existing wooden floor is also one of the most common installation methods.

Laying on the old floor

The first thing to make sure before starting work is whether the old floor can continue to withstand heavy loads. If there is no doubt, then you can proceed to the repair measures themselves. The sequence is as follows:

1. Rough sand the old flooring and remove the resulting layer of dust.
2. Install waterproofing.
3. Lay new floorboards perpendicular or diagonal to old ones.

If there is no desire to experiment with a new laying direction, then use plywood as a base for a new floor. By choosing sheets with a thickness of 12 mm or more and after rough grinding of the plywood surface, you can mount the floorboard in the usual direction.

Important! If the strength of the old floor is still in doubt, it is recommended to carry out a complete dismantling and start work from a concrete screed.

It is undesirable to carry out any construction work yourself. Even the simplest activities require certain knowledge and professional training. The work of the construction team is a guarantee of high quality and excellent results.

Wooden floors allow you to keep warm in the house using minimal technical and material means. It is thanks to this feature that such floors have remained and remain the most common throughout their centuries-old history and do not yield their leadership even to the most modern high-tech flooring and coatings.

Floors made of high-quality wood, with proper care, retain their performance characteristics for centuries, are relatively inexpensive, versatile (they can be installed on any type of base), harmless to the human body and look very impressive. If necessary, they themselves can serve as the basis for a different type of flooring. In addition, wooden floors are quite easy to install and can be installed in a private house or apartment by just one person.

General principles for wooden floors

Directly sexual boards are always laid on logs, but the logs themselves can be laid both on a concrete or even earthen base, and on supports - usually these are brick, wooden or metal poles. Rarely, but still, a technology is used in which the ends of the log are embedded in opposite walls or laid on specially provided ledges near the walls and are operated without intermediate supports. However, in this case, it is very difficult to block wide spans - logs of a very large cross section and weight are required, and it is almost impossible to install them correctly alone ...

Installation of wooden floors on a concrete base practically no different from the arrangement of floors in an apartment with floors made of reinforced concrete slabs. Much more difficult is the case with floor installation on the first floor of a private house, since in this case it is highly desirable to arrange a ventilated and DRY underground. Its presence largely determines the strength and durability of the finished floor, especially in cases of high groundwater.

A few words about the tool

From the chosen method of floor installation depends on what tool you need for work. But in any case, you can not do without:

• laser level; in extreme cases, you can use the hydraulic level, but you will need an assistant to work with it;
• conventional or cross building bubble level with a length of at least 1 meter; the cross level is preferable, since it allows you to align the plane simultaneously in two directions;
• hammer weighing no more than 500 g;
• chain or circular saw, or a good hacksaw.
• jointer and (or) grinders.

The usual carpentry tool will not be superfluous - a square, a small ax, a planer, a chisel, a nail puller.

Floor installation on support poles

Traditionally, a wooden floor is assembled from the following "layers" (from bottom to top):

• the basis of all flooring is logs;
• rough ("lower") floor;
• waterproofing layer;
• thermal insulation layer;
• directly wooden floor (finishing flooring);
• finishing flooring.

This whole multi-layered "sandwich" is usually kept on supporting pillars - concrete, brick, wood or metal.

Installation of brick pillars

The best choice today is brick pillars that have acceptable strength characteristics, are quite affordable from a financial point of view and do not require much labor during construction. The only limitation is the height of such supporting pillars should not exceed 1.5 m; if it is larger, in order to maintain the strength of the supports, it will be necessary to increase their cross section, which will lead to a sharp increase in the required amount of bricks and, accordingly, an increase in material costs for construction. With a height of pillars up to 50-60 cm, a section of 1x1 brick is enough, with a height of 0.6-1.2 m, the section is made at least 1.5x1.5 bricks, columns up to 1.5 m high are laid out at least 2x2 bricks.

Anyway under the brick supports it is necessary to pour concrete "pyataks", the area of ​​​​which exceeds the cross-sectional area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe columns by at least 10 cm in each direction. The distance between the centers of the platforms is selected within 0.7-1 m ALONG the log and 0.8-1.2 m BETWEEN the logs with a section of 100 ... 150x150 mm. After marking, holes about half a meter deep are pulled out in the places where the pillars are erected; the main thing is that the bottom should be below the fertile layer of the earth. At the bottom of these mini-pits, a sand and gravel "cushion" is made, on which the concrete mixture is poured. It is desirable that the surface of the resulting "penny" is a few centimeters above ground level.

It is at the stage of laying out the supporting pillars the horizontality of the future floor is laid, and it is at this stage that it is best to use a laser level. With its help, the level of the LOWER EDGE of the LAG plus 1 cm is marked on the walls, a construction cord is stretched between opposite walls along this level, and the height of the pillars is already adjusted to its level. It is not necessary to bring it strictly down to a millimeter - a gap of a couple of centimeters is quite acceptable. When calculating the total thickness of the floor, it should be taken into account that at least its upper plane must be higher than the level of the basement of the building - otherwise it will be extremely difficult to avoid "cold bridges".

Some features of the pillars

It is worth considering them the presence of fasteners for beams-lag. Usually, as such fasteners, vertical “studs” with a thread or anchor bolts embedded in 10-20 cm are used - later, through holes are drilled in the logs in appropriate places, with which the beams are “put on” on the resulting pins, and are attracted by nuts with washers. The protruding excess of the "thread" is cut off by the "grinder".

The lateral surfaces of the columns and, especially, their upper plane on which the lag will be laid, preferably cover with a layer of durable plaster- it will additionally strengthen the structure and play the role of additional waterproofing. On the surface of the finished columns is laid 2-3 layers of small pieces of roofing material.

After the masonry mortar has completely dried and hardened (it takes about a week), logs can already be laid on the finished support pillars.

Laying lag on brick columns

The length of the lag is selected depending on the design of the floor. When laying on supporting pillars, there are only two options for such structures - “floating” and rigid.

Floating or hard floors?

In the first case, the entire "sandwich" of the floor lies and rests exclusively on the posts, without being rigidly tied to the walls or. In the second, the ends of the log are rigidly attached to the walls in one way or another; this design virtually eliminates the “walking” of the flooring, but when the building subsides, it may well lead to deformation of the finished floors.

With a "floating" version of the floor, the length of the log is 3-5 cm less than the distance from wall to wall. In the second case, the gap should be no more than 2 cm - otherwise the logs will be difficult to rigidly attach to the walls. If necessary, logs can be made from two or more pieces, connecting them into "half-paws" - but the joint must necessarily fall on the support post and be nailed or (for a lag section of up to 10x100 mm) screwed with self-tapping screws.

If the final length of the lag is less than three meters, then they can be laid directly on the supports (not forgetting the roofing material waterproofing gaskets!); however, it is much better between the roofing material and the lower plane of the beam-lag to lay flat a piece of board with a thickness of 25-50 mm. In the case of butt lags, this must be done!

Log alignment

After laying out the lag on the prepared support pillars, they must be "set" in level. This is done as follows: with the help of wooden spacers of small thickness two extreme beams are laid strictly horizontally, according to a pre-calculated and marked height level. Gaskets are still used only on the extreme support pillars, while you can ignore the intermediate ones. The ends of the exposed logs are nailed to the walls; in the case of "floating" floors, this fastening will be temporary.

On both sides, at a distance of 0.3-0.5 m from the walls, on the upper planes of the laid lag tightly the construction cord is pulled. All other intermediate beams are displayed on it; then, if necessary, gaskets are installed between the remaining posts and lags. ALL gaskets must be RIGIDLY tied (nailed) to the joists, and, if possible, to the support posts. The beams should lie tightly on the pillars, in extreme cases, gaps of no more than 2 mm are allowed - but not on adjacent pillars.

Draft floor

After laying the log, a draft floor is made. To do this, along the entire length of the lower cut of the log, a narrow bar (“cranial” bar) is nailed on each side of it. Raw boards with a length equal to the distance between the lags are laid on it between the lags. After laying these boards “solidly” they are covered with a vapor barrier film, on which insulation is applied or filled up. From above, everything is completely covered with a windproof cloth.

Underfloor ventilation

When arranging the floor on brick pillars in the underground space ventilation must be provided- forced (with a large cubic capacity of the underground) or natural. An obligatory element of such ventilation is the so-called "perfume": Through holes in or walls below floor level. Such openings should be available along the entire perimeter of the building and under internal partitions, the distance between them should not exceed 3 m.

The dimensions of the vents are usually chosen 10x10 cm, the center of the hole should be at a height of 0.3-0.4 m from the ground level (above the thickness of the winter snow cover). Be sure to provide for the possibility of overlapping the ducts in the winter. In addition, in order to protect against rodents, the openings of the vents are closed with a mesh with a fine mesh.

When unless the underground is too deep(no more than 0.5 m) and the installation of products is difficult, ventilation holes are made in the floor itself - usually in the corners. These openings are covered with decorative grilles and must always be open.

How to properly lay floors

Before laying the floorboards, the insulation is covered with a windproof sheet. The choice of board depends on what kind of surface the finished floor will be. If it is conceived as natural, a tongue-and-groove floorboard (with a lock) is required; if linoleum or laminate is to be laid, it is quite possible to get by with an ordinary edged board. BUT IN ANY CASE THE WOOD MUST BE WELL DRY!

We fasten the grooved board to the lags

The first board is placed with a gap of 1-1.5 cm from the wall, and not close to it, with a spike to the wall. The following boards are pressed against the previous ones with the help of some kind of stop (clamps, for example) and a pair of wooden wedges. Boards, especially if they are thicker than 25 mm, are nailed - self-tapping screws are not suitable in this case, they do not attract the board to the upper surface of the log. The specified gap of 1-1.5 cm must be maintained around the entire perimeter of the room. The existing joints of the ends of the floorboards must be staggered.

Floor finishing

After laying the floorboard, the floor is ready for finishing, which consists in its sanding (sanding) and coating with paint or varnish. It is almost impossible to do this manually - you should use an electric jointer or grinder. After this very dusty procedure, all “opened” Treat cracks and crevices between boards with wood putty made on the basis of drying oil. The last operation before painting is fixing the baseboard around the perimeter of the room.

The polished surface is painted or varnished, for example, yacht; modern paints and varnishes allow you to imitate almost any type of wood or material surface. Usually at least two layers of coating are applied, a paint roller and a good respirator are used for work. If you want to get not a glossy, but a matte floor surface, you can use wax or oil.

Dozens of ways and types of materials are at the disposal of owners who want to lay a new or change an old floor covering. Each of them has priority qualities and disadvantages. Despite the tangible technological and technical advantages of progressive flooring schemes, many owners are attracted by laying the floorboard as a practical, environmentally friendly, durable material.

Wood created by nature is a rather “capricious” material, but it is it that helps to optimize the microclimate in housing. A number of difficulties are caused by its installation, however, subject to the technological rules, the floors equipped with the help serve correctly and do not cause complaints.

Warm floors made of natural woods do not clog the composition of the air with poisonous volatile components and even ionize it. Wood retains heat, maintains a favorable moisture level for people, and does not transmit sound negative.

Substrate types suitable for laying floorboards

A plank floor can be arranged over any type of ceiling and over supporting pillars with lags. As a base for mounting the floorboard can be used:

• concrete floors with a leveling polymer or concrete screed;
• logs installed on top of any floor with or without a leveling layer or laid on brick supports;
• moisture resistant plywood;
• an old wooden floor or a rough roll of lumber of 2-3 grades.

The installation of a wooden floor most often completes the entire range of works on the arrangement; it is carried out only in a room equipped with windows and door structures. The floorboard reacts sharply to excess humidity - its laying is not permissible if the moisture level of the finished walls and the leveling screed is more than 12%. The wood will also be deformed if the humidity of the air mass in the finished room is more than 60%, the boards will shrink and crack when the humidity is less than 40%.

Plank floor structure laid on a concrete floor slab

Advice. Floor lumber must be unpacked three days before the boards are fixed. Boards can be laid without nailing them to the rough surface, or simply left in the room to "get used" to the surrounding atmosphere.

The device of a plank floor on logs

The most common scheme for flooring with boards. Logs (wooden bars with a rectangular section) can be attached to the rough base using adhesive mastics or self-tapping screws. Lay them perpendicular to the direction of the floorboard.

After installation, the system built from a bar is leveled, planing the excesses and placing wood chips under the low sections. It is possible to lay the joists with an innovative high-speed method using a beam equipped with height adjustment devices.

The device of the wooden floor on the logs

Waterproof plywood base

It is possible to lay plywood with hydrophobic impregnation on any type of rough base, including logs, if additional reinforcement of the multilayer floor structure is required. Standard installation of a floorboard over plywood precedes the leveling of the rough base.

Plywood sheets, cut into longitudinal segments, are installed in a diagonal direction with respect to the laying of the board. Fastening is done with dowels or screws. Technological seams are left between the plywood sheets and along the perimeter of the equipped room.

Scheme of mounting boards on plywood: 1. rough base; 2. insulating substrate; 3. moisture resistant plywood; 4. flooring - boards

Note. The plywood can simply be glued to the screed, to a leveled cement or wood floor prepared for installation. For those who prefer adhesive technology, be sure to choose a binder that is compatible with the type of rough base and with insulating materials.

After the completion of the work on laying plywood sheets, its surface is polished, then the dust and dirt formed during grinding are completely removed. Before mounting the boards, a primer is applied, after which the floorboard is fixed. Then again grinding, varnishing, paint or oil treatment.

Installing a board over an existing floor

Before laying, they check the reliability of fastening the elements of the old floor covering, duplicate unreliable fasteners, if necessary, dismantle worn boards, instead of which inexpensive pine lumber can be laid.

Important. When installing boards on top of an old plank floor, they must be laid perpendicular to the direction of the worn coating.

Mounting the floorboard with glue

Finishers strongly recommend dismantling old boards and making a screed. However, if the reliability of the base is beyond doubt, you can do without it, but with preliminary polishing. There is another way: mounting plywood sheets on old boards.

Warming and waterproofing of such a floor

The floor in the premises of the first floors must be insulated unconditionally. You can refuse events only in cases where there is a heated basement. As a heat-insulating material, vapor-permeable heaters are preferred: fiberglass, basalt wool. The heat-insulating material is laid between the beams-lags, covered with a layer of vapor-permeable waterproofing.

Important. Between the lower plane of the wooden floor with lags and the surface of the layer, arranged for the purpose of waterproofing and insulation, it is required to set aside a ventilation gap, 2-4 cm high.

Insulation of the floor of the first floors must be done

It is desirable to protect a multi-layer floor structure with a covering of boards from moisture coming from the basement or located in the floor materials. To do this, use a waterproofing membrane with high vapor permeability (not less than 800 g / m 2). Free circulation of vapors will protect the wood from rot. Therefore, for the installation of floors from natural organic matter, a polyethylene film that does not allow steam to pass through is not recommended.

Sometimes you do not need to completely redo the old wooden floor, it is enough to repair it and save money. You will learn more about how to properly seal cracks in the floor in the material:.

What wood is best to use?

The most durable wood for flooring is Siberian larch and oak. They steadfastly hold the defense against all the hardships that have fallen on their surface. Boards made of softer aspen or alder are placed in rooms with a slight load: in nurseries, in rest rooms. Lumber from pine, fir, spruce is rarely used for flooring. Most often they are used for the construction of a reel, a rough base for the finishing material.

The geometric parameters of lumber are selected based on the personal preferences of future owners. Focusing on the strength criteria, they often prefer a board with a thickness of 40 mm. However, it should be remembered that when buying thick, rather expensive boards, one should not save money by cutting costs by purchasing raw material. A thick floorboard that has not undergone chamber drying can lead in such a way that self-tapping screws “fly out”.

Timber of the 2nd grade - boards with knots and a bright structural pattern

The choice of lumber of a particular grade depends on the purpose of the premises, the goals of the owners and the intended methods of subsequent finishing. A smooth surface with a beautiful structural pattern distinguishes products of the highest grade, which after installation it is enough to open with varnish. There are lovers of the natural beauty of wood with a knot pattern, they will like grade 1 or 2. It makes no sense to buy material above the 3rd grade for painting.

The flooring of the floorboard is preferred to be made of grooved material - boards with tongue-and-groove devices for tight joining and with longitudinal ventilation ducts

Non-grooved material is now rarely used. Boards with straight edges, connected end-to-end, after a short period of operating time, will disappoint the owners with the curvature of the surface and cracks.

Technology of installation of tongue-and-groove boards

A good direction for laying plank flooring in residential areas is considered to be an orientation parallel to the flow of light from windows. In the corridors and vestibules, the boards are directed along the movement vector. Boards can be laid without displacement of the elements or in a run.

Scheme of laying boards in a run

To install the floorboard with a run-up, it is necessary to perfectly trim the elements. Maintaining a perfect right angle without experience is quite difficult. It is imperative for those who suffer to arrange the floor in a similar way, it is advisable to stock up on a template to indicate the sawing line. A technological indent must be maintained along the perimeter of the room. A distance of 1-2 cm should be left between the floor covering and the walls to ensure longitudinal movements. Upon completion of the installation, the expansion joints are closed with a plinth.

So the order of work:

• The first tongue-and-groove board is laid against the wall with a spike (this is a mounting protrusion), so it is more convenient and reliable to rally the elements.
• The second board is connected to the first, combining the groove and tenon. It is not advisable to fasten boards with nails. Their hats can subsequently “crawl out”, and the nails themselves can rust. It is better to fix the boards with self-tapping screws (60 or 70 mm), the optimal diameter is 4-4.5 mm.
• Fastening boards can be done in two ways. The first method with a 45º slope of the screws, the second without a slope from above, followed by sealing the caps with sealant. The second option is more reliable, but the first is more aesthetic.
• Along the perimeter, all floor elements are fastened with self-tapping screws, on top of which a plinth will be installed.

The final stage of board installation is preparation for coating, smooth boards can be sanded with sandpaper with a grit of 180. If necessary, that is, if there are significant irregularities, sanding is performed.

More information about the installation of the floor from grooved boards is described in the following article:. Read about the selection of building materials, preparation of the foundation, installation and repair of grooved floors.

In the process of fitting, a hammer is used, but the blows are not made on the second board, but on an additional intermediate element with a spike

Laying boards with fastening with self-tapping screws at an angle of 90 degrees. It is necessary to seal the caps of the self-tapping screws with sealant

In custody

Labor-intensive activities for the installation of a wooden floor are often ordered from organizations that offer the services of experienced installers. However, you can lay the coating yourself. Patience, the fulfillment of technological requirements will help to beautifully and firmly lay the wooden floor and save quite a tangible amount.