Cork underlayment under linoleum - laying technology. Laying a cork underlay under linoleum Cork underlay under linoleum on a wooden floor

Invented in the 19th century, linoleum rolled flooring did not originally contain synthetics - its name comes from linum oleum, which can be translated from Latin as an oiled canvas. Today natural linoleum, ie. made only from natural ingredients, is still being produced, except that its composition has long gone beyond the "oiled linen". Among its advantages is the complete absence of toxicity, including during fire - it is known that during combustion, synthetic linoleums emit toxic compounds that affect the respiratory organs of residents faster than the flame itself.

What is marmoleum? This is a floor covering manufactured by the enterprises of the European company Forbo. The name marmoleum itself is a registered trademark, but in Russia it has become a household name for similar flooring materials produced by both Forbo itself and its competitors.

Two main types of marmoleum are produced (the rest are their modifications) - rolled and tiled. The roll coating consists entirely of natural components, and the tiled marmoleum is a combination of laminate and natural linoleum - the marmoleum layer is glued onto the tile substrate. Let's explore both types of these floorings separately.

Rolled marmoleum

Natural linoleum consists entirely of natural components - conifer wood flour mixed with crushed limestone, impregnated with resin and linseed oil. To increase the elasticity of the flooring, cork chips are added to the mixture. The components of the mixture are applied to the jute fabric and pressed onto it under high pressure.

Compared to conventional (synthetic) linoleum, rolled marmoleum has several advantages:

The main goals of the developers of natural linoleum were to achieve its high performance characteristics - a stable state of the coating, long service life and wear resistance. Marmoleum is fully consistent with the goals of its creation.

Disadvantages of natural linoleum

Being a relatively new type of flooring, marmoleum is perceived negatively by master finishers who have never worked with it before. Homeowners interested in natural linoleum often hear a professional-categorical review - they say, this material is too fragile. How bad is it? Indeed, artificial linoleum is much easier to tolerate poor handling during installation - it can be bent, thrown, rolled as part of a roll from one corner to another. Marmoleum does not tolerate such treatment - it should be handled carefully.

The second popular disadvantage of natural linoleum - its rigidity - again comes from inexperienced craftsmen. The fact is that laying marmoleum by analogy with synthetic linoleum will not work - the rule and the wallpaper knife will not be enough, a special tool and close attention to detail are required.

The third drawback is that the quality of natural linoleum directly depends on its cost. Trying to save money, homeowners purchase marmoleum analogues produced by little-known companies. The consequences of such a purchase are quite common - the coating is difficult to lay, it quickly wears out and breaks. At the moment, the cost of a square meter of high-quality natural linoleum is from $ 25 and more - cheaper materials, respectively, have low performance.

Owners of apartments and houses where the flooring is made of marmoleum often note another disadvantage of it - a specific smell, especially noticeable when the windows are closed. It comes from a component of linoleum - linseed oil. Before purchasing marmoleum, it is worth evaluating the acceptability of the smell of linseed oil for households. Natural linoleum loses its smell only after one and a half to two years of operation, and this must be taken into account. Although there is nothing dangerous in the aroma of flax oil, on the contrary, it emphasizes the naturalness of the coating.

And yet - a yellowish tint of the front surface of natural linoleum. Its cause is the last stage of work on the production of marmoleum - pressing on a base of jute fabric. To return the coating to its natural color, you need to keep it for a day under any light source - natural or artificial.

Laying rolled marmoleum

The width of a roll of natural linoleum is 2 m, its linear length is 32 m. With an external similarity to ordinary linoleum, the laying of which, by the way, requires special knowledge (its expansion is often ignored), working with marmoleum is more complicated and responsible. Therefore, it is not worth trying to lay it yourself and trying - the material is expensive and sensitive to poor handling, it would be most correct to hire professionals.

The only thing you need to make sure of the professionalism of potential performers. Ask them a few questions about the order of laying the marmoleum, gleaned from the instructions of the manufacturer (they are usually available on official websites). For example, you might ask:

Tiled natural linoleum

Panel and tile marmoleum, in fact, is the best modification of a laminate board - the bottom layer is made of cork (thickness 1 mm), in the middle is 6.8 mm HDF board, on top is a coating of 2 mm marmoleum. Tile dimensions 300 by 300 mm, panels - 900 by 300 mm. Forbo offers customers 21 colors of tiles and panels, which allows you to create a finish on the floor surface in a single color or in a different color combination.

The service life of the tile-panel marmoleum, according to the manufacturer, will be at least 30 years. The edge connection of the panels is provided by a tongue-and-groove lock; in the process of constructing the flooring in public buildings, glue is usually used - due to the high pedestrian load. Meanwhile, European homeowners prefer to assemble the tiles in a "dry" design, i.e. without glue. The reason is simple: in the EU countries it is not customary to keep the flooring until it is completely worn out - at the first sign of it, the tiled marmoleum is dismantled in order to bring new details into the interior.

The basis of tiles and panels with natural linoleum finish - HDF board - is characterized by high rigidity and hardness. Its first indicator is close to a pine board, and the second - to a tile.

The disadvantage of a laminate finished with marmoleum is one - high cost. A square meter of click marmoleum will cost the homeowner about $55.

Laying panel marmoleum

The base of the floor is covered with a polyethylene film, at least 0.2 mm thick. Along the perimeter of the room, the film should go onto the walls - 50 mm on each side. The seams on the base of the floor are closed with a PVC overlap - 200 mm in each direction. A polyethylene foam or cork pad is usually placed on top of the film; it will increase the degree of sound insulation from impact noise. Packages with panels (tiles) must be brought and left in the room where they will be installed for a period of at least two days.

Before starting the actual laying of tiles, you need to measure the area to be tiled, choose the orientation of the tiles and the coating as a whole, select the pattern formed from the tiled marmoleum. The minimum width of the last laid row is 50 mm. If during the calculations a smaller width is obtained, then the tiles should be cut in the two extreme rows of the coating.

The assembly of marmoleum laminate is done as follows:

If there are pipe inlets going into the base of the floor, larger holes should be cut out for them in the tile than actually required - this will allow the flooring to be leveled both during and after its installation. After these holes are closed with decorative overlays.

When exposing the plinth, it is required to fix it only to the wall, but not to the floor through the coating of the laminate with marmoleum.

It is no secret that the linoleum coating eliminates a number of economic problems. It is easy to keep clean; special efforts are not required even in order to achieve gloss when washing linoleum. Among other things, this is not the most expensive material.

However, if the floor on which the linoleum is laid contains irregularities, then over time, tubercles will appear in these places. These same points will be especially vulnerable to external influences - a soft stretched coating promises to break through both from the wheels of the chair sliding on it and from the legs of the table motionlessly pressing it into the floor.

Benefits of cork underlay

The existence of such difficulties leads to the question: is it possible to strengthen the linoleum coating with something? Like, linoleum can be laid on a cork substrate; consider whether such a solution has benefits. The cork underlay under linoleum not only levels the surface of the floor, but also ensures the safety of the coating in its proper form. The texture of the cork - which consists of cells with air bubbles - ensures that the external load is evenly distributed.

It should also be noted that the cork substrate on which the linoleum is laid is another layer that separates the cold floor and the surface on which it happens to run with bare feet. In other words, laying under a cork substrate helps to insulate the floor. Improved sound insulation will also be a nice bonus.

Disadvantages of cork underlayment under linoleum

Of course, the use of cork underlayment under linoleum has both pros and cons. Like any organic matter, cork material is intolerant of moisture, therefore it is not suitable for use in all rooms. In addition, it is not recommended to use such a substrate where floor heating operates. It is not a panacea in the matter of the deformation of the coating at a constant point pressure from the outside.

Self-repair in an apartment allows you to save money and spend it on more important things, but not everyone knows how and knows how to make this repair without consequences.

In this article, we will consider one of the most important stages of a major overhaul in an apartment - preparing the foundation for laying flooring. More precisely, we will study the workflow of installing a cork substrate.

The cork is easy to trim, so don't be afraid to leave some stock on the ends.

What is cork underlay

To begin with, let's still deal with the concept of this material, which is placed under linoleum (although the substrate can also be used for laminate).

Firstly, cork allows you to hide small irregularities in a concrete or wooden base, especially if its thickness is at least 8 mm.
Secondly, it increases the heat and sound insulation of the room in which linoleum is laid, the thermal conductivity is not higher than 0.042 W / mK. It is optimal to lay it on the second floor in order to reduce the noise from steps and the movement of furniture. (sound absorption about 0.85).

Important! You should know that fungus and condensate do not form under this material, so you should not spend money on additional protective equipment.

Thirdly, linoleum cork is an environmentally friendly material, ideal for houses made of wood.

Fourthly, the substrate protects the flooring, its density reaches up to 250 kg/m3.

Note! If necessary, create a denser layer in two or three rows, depending on its thickness and maximum loads.

As for the money issue, the price is considered acceptable for most consumers. Cork is especially relevant when laying the system is required. "warm floor".

One important point - this natural material is elastic, and at the same time it is easily deformed, so it must be laid on the most even surface.

In the event that the alignment was of poor quality, there is a risk of gaps and cracks.

Laying work

Required tool

A drill with a mixer nozzle for preparing a cement mortar is only needed if you plan to pour a cement screed.

Screwdriver.

Building level.

Roulette.

Hacksaw or electric jigsaw.

Brush or roller.

Stationery (construction) knife.

Mallet.

The first step is to remove all construction dust from the surface.

Seal all cracks and potholes with cement mortar.

If necessary, it is required to pour a concrete screed to level the floor (in the event that the base has differences of more than 3-4 cm per square meter).

Foundation preparation

With a wooden floor, things are different:

The draft floor is completely removed to the wooden logs.

Beams, if they are rotten, should be replaced.

Fix them with self-tapping screws at a small distance from each other (no more than 60 cm).

Cut sheets of plywood (chipboard) and lay them on logs, with an indent of 3-5 mm from each other.

Sand the surface of the wood board.

Note! Also, plywood can be laid on a concrete floor, this will save time on the preparation of cement mortar.

When the floor surface is ready, you can begin to lay cork under the linoleum.

The working process

First you need to choose a high-quality and correct adhesive for our material. It should be chosen depending on what material our base-floor is made of.

The most common and affordable means is PVA glue.

After cleaning the floor from dust, pour a little glue on the prepared area.

Smear it on the surface with a brush or roller.

Note! It is better to paste over in small areas, as the glue dries quickly and loses its properties.

Cover the work area with a sheet of cork and tap it a little with a mallet.

You can also use special cork glue, in some cases it is applied directly to the substrate, but its cost is slightly higher.

Important! Do not forget about the acclimatization of the material to avoid subsidence and deformation of the cork. To do this, place it for 2-3 days in the room where the work will be carried out. As for the temperature, it should not be below 15 degrees, and the humidity should not be less than 60%.

As you can see, the technique of laying cork under linoleum is available to almost every man, everything can be done by hand, the main thing is to follow the sequence.

Repair Features

First, you need to understand that there is cork linoleum, and there is natural cork, this is for choosing a floor covering. After all, if you cover the floor with a thick layer, then you will not need an additional substrate.

Secondly, it is very important to exclude the possibility of water getting on the cork, since increased moisture is harmful to the coating.

Thirdly, the natural material is not susceptible to the spread of mold and fungus, but it is still desirable to treat the wooden base with antiseptics (for a wooden house).

Fourth, do not forget about the possible shrinkage of the substrate, especially in homes where there is a strong temperature difference. Cork, like any natural material, is subject to deformation due to an increase or decrease in the temperature in the room.

Advice! If you want to find a budget option for flooring, then it is cork linoleum that will help you with this.

The useful qualities that the cork underlay under linoleum demonstrates are increasingly gaining the consumer. The material solves most of the problems associated with the need to lay an additional layer under the floor covering: a cold floor, a slight surface roughness, an obstacle to the passage of sounds both from inside the room and from outside.

Place in the line of materials

Linen

There comes a time when you have to decide what to put under the linoleum, if its structure does not include special foam or insulating layers.

In this case, it is necessary to enclose elastic materials with low thermal conductivity from natural or polymeric raw materials.

For laying the insulating layer, roll materials such as:

linen fabric treated with flame retardants;
jute bed with special impregnations;
cork roll or sheet;
foamed polymers.

Of the natural fabrics, cork demonstrates the best indicators of heat and sound insulation. Jute and linen underlays provide good ventilation under the flooring, but do not block out sound or moisture at all.

In the range of thermal conductivity values, this indicator for cork is 64% of the leader, but in combination with other indicators, the material has a good overall rating:

The main advantage of a natural base over synthetic polymers is that they do not emit toxic substances when exposed to fire.

What is a cork

Cork insulates heat well and softens blows

The unique feature of cork lies in its honeycomb structure. In 1 cm³ of wood there are up to 40,000,000 cells in the form of a figure with 14 faces, the inner cavity of which is filled with a gaseous mixture.

Thanks to this structure, cork materials demonstrate excellent thermal insulation characteristics, do not allow moisture and gaseous volatile substances to pass through.

Steaming cork chips and pressing

The technological process goes through the following chain: the bark is crushed, then the crumb is pressed and steamed. Adhesive synthetic compounds are not used, because the composition of cork raw materials includes suberin (more than 45% of the total mass), which is a natural adhesive.

This production process is called agglomeration. There is a black cork agglomerate from the bark of the trunk and a white agglomerate from the bark of the cork tree branches.

The cork does not mold and does not rot, which is very important when laying polymeric, air-tight coatings

For residential premises, the cork substrate under linoleum demonstrates the following advantages:

Hypoallergenic, environmental safety.
Elasticity, the ability to restore shape when bending or torsion, weak permanent deformation. Although, in combination with soft linoleum, marks from the legs of heavy furniture may remain.
Not damaged by water.
It has antiseptic properties - resistance to mold and decay.
Does not hold static charges of electricity, dielectric.
It is not afraid of ultraviolet, alkalis and active substances, radiation, it can serve as protection against technogenic influences.

In order for the cork substrate under linoleum to show the declared qualities during operation, it is necessary to lay it on a base whose residual humidity is not higher than 2.5%, the temperature is higher than + 10 ° С. Humidity is not more than 75%.

It is impossible to fix the strips mechanically, only on adhesives. For more information about the properties of the cork substrate, see this video:

Types of cork substrate

Manufacturers of technical cork for use as substrates for various floorings declare the following characteristics:

The innovative development of technology seeks to ensure that the lining has not only the qualities given by nature, but also to expand this list.

Considering what can be put under the finish coating, one should name composite materials with cork participation.

In rooms with high humidity, it is recommended to lay a rubber-cork substrate

In addition to the classic cork cloth, the following modifications are used:

Rubber-cork backing. Its binder is rubber. Possesses the increased vibration resistance. It is laid on a base with high humidity.
Bitumen-cork composition. The basis is a sheet of kraft paper impregnated with bitumen. Cork chips are pressed onto the base in an even layer. It is used as a strong waterproofing, but due to the fire hazard of bitumen, it is not used in residential areas.

Roll or sheet material of these types is convenient to lay, easy to cut to size, dock with curved surfaces. When replacing old linoleum, the underlying material is usually left for further use.

Things to remember when installing

Regardless of what is placed under the linoleum, the floor must be thoroughly cleaned of hard grains and dust.

On the 1st floor, concrete screeds are covered with plastic wrap to prevent moisture accumulation. It is desirable to treat a cement or wooden base with an antifungal primer.

It is not worth choosing cork linoleum for a warm water floor - it will let in only 20% of the radiated heat. Alternatively, in this case, you can take a foil substrate.

The roll is unrolled and kept in the room for at least 1 day before the start of work. The air temperature is observed within normal limits for this room, humidity - no more than 60%.

Condensation on the walls is not permitted. For more information on laying cork underlay, see this video:

The allowable difference in the level of the base should not exceed 40% of the thickness of the lining. Check the water level throughout the plane of the room.

Linoleum is laid across cork lamellas so that the substrate does not move.

The roll is rolled across the laminate lamellas and linoleum sheets so that there is no displacement of the strips during thermal shifts of the flooring. The slabs are laid in a spacing of seams.

The joints are glued with construction waterproof adhesive tape 6 mm wide.

Walking on the laid substrate and working with the tool must be done carefully so as not to damage the material. The ability of cork surfaces to withstand loads does not apply to point tensile forces (heel-studs, sharp tools).

So that there are no significant dents on the linoleum from the legs of the furniture, you should not choose a lining that is too thick.

The optimal size for domestic conditions is 2 mm.

It is not necessary to lay a substrate in 2 layers under the finish coating and it is even harmful - it will fail faster.

Substrate- this is such a building material, which, as a rule, is used when laying laminate, parquet and linoleum in a house or apartment. Such a building material will provide you with:

protection against moisture and mold,
heat and sound insulation,
eliminates all floor irregularities.

note that linoleum, made on a jute, fabric and polyvinyl chloride basis, will to some extent replace a warm floor and therefore does not need a substrate. The thickness of this type of linoleum reaches five millimeters and it is for this reason that it has a rather long service life.

Usually, plywood is used as the basis for this type of flooring. In addition, linoleum can be laid on ceramic tiles.

If you want to lay such a floor covering on a concrete floor, then it will serve as a wonderful substrate, only everything will depend on the quality of such a base. In the event that the concrete floor is uneven, it can be leveled with a screed or a relatively new “self-leveling floor” technology. However, there are cases where the use of a substrate is mandatory:

Your chosen linoleum without a base,
The underlay perfectly eliminates all the unevenness of the floor. If you want to lay linoleum on a concrete floor that has bumps and other irregularities, then the presence of a substrate is simply necessary, because otherwise you will not be able to firmly fix it to the floor,
The underlayment is a great insulation for your floor.

Which is better?

So, you decided to lay the substrate under the linoleum. You just have to choose the appropriate version of this such building material. What substrate for linoleum to choose?

Cork backing. Such material is made in large rolls and is an agglomerate of cork lumps. As a rule, this type of substrate is used for floor coverings such as linoleum and ceramic tiles. If you use a cork underlay under linoleum, you will get the impression of unusually easy walking. But, keep in mind that this substrate “sags” under a very heavy load.
jute backing. Such a substrate is made of natural fiber - jute, which is an environmentally friendly material. This material is produced by punching it with a special needle, after which the substrate is rolled at a very high temperature and treated with special means. This treatment provides the jute substrate with protection against decay and mold, in addition, it becomes resistant to burning.
Linen backing 100% natural linen. It is made by double piercing with a needle, after which such a substrate is treated with flame retardants and other compounds that resist the appearance of fungus.
"Combined Substrate" made by combining jute, linen and wool. The main advantage of such a building material is its high density (about 500-700 g / m2 per square with its thickness of 3 mm).

note that some builders recommend using a porous polymer substrate, which includes isolon and penofizol.

It has been proven that such a substrate will not bring you anything good, since such a material loses its shape very quickly, does not have heat-insulating properties at all, causes some discomfort when walking and does not give objects (furniture) the desired stability.

Cork

To date cork backing is considered the best base, which is laid under the linoleum. Such a substrate is characterized by an interesting cellular structure and excellent performance properties. I would like to note that each of the cells is filled with air bubbles, which ensure a uniform distribution of gravity over the entire floor covering.

If we consider customer reviews about the cork underlay for linoleum, you can see that almost all of them claim that this type of underlay is an excellent soundproofing material that does not let in any sounds from the lower floors at all. But residents of private houses say that the cork underlay perfectly retains heat, and they can walk barefoot on the floor even in severe frosts.

Also interesting to know that cork material, unlike fiberboard, is resistant to high levels of humidity in the building. This property allows you not to worry about the possible deformation of the substrate, in addition, such a building material provides protection to linoleum.

Price cork substrate for linoleum from 95 to 200 rubles per square meter, everything will depend on the manufacturer.

jute

But the jute substrate is made of natural jute cloth. Such material does not rot, is not afraid of mold and does not burn. Jute underlay is perfect as a thermal insulation material for the floor. Experts recommend use such building material in rooms where a concrete screed has been laid on the ground or in those rooms under which there is an unheated basement.

I would like to note that the jute substrate is safe, environmentally friendly and maintains a favorable microclimate in the room. But when choosing this material, pay attention to its density - it should be the highest.

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