Dreams of a durable, comfortable and beautiful home may someday come true. It all depends on how these dreams will be combined with physical and mental efforts.
And if you have such (or a slightly different) house (or apartment), you need to be fully equipped and equip your home, finally, the way you want. And in order to know what you want, it is better to get acquainted with the interior that others have. In this article, I propose to look at the interiors in the English style. In the photo below, a classic living room with a carpet, a sofa and armchairs with ears. A low table in front of the sofa with a top covered with natural leather is a visiting card of the English house. The combination of furniture with thin legs (sofa and armchairs) with more massive and voluminous in one room is also a distinctive feature of the British.
The same “eared” chairs, but in colorful upholstery, books on the shelves, a twisted forged chandelier, lighting in the form of small floor lamps with fabric lampshades and, finally, a palm tree by the window - all this is a classic English interior.
The usual comfortable old armchair next to the bed, where you can sit before going to bed and look through a book or watch TV. Everything is simple, but looking at this interior, you understand that everything is fine in this house with comfort and arrangement!
The English house usually has large windows, decorated with curtains to the floor. This gives the rooms a special elegance.
Small rooms with low ceilings, natural wood paneling on the walls, olive-colored walls and soft electric and natural lighting create an atmosphere of an English home.
Wooden panels on the walls are preferably made from durable woods, which are treated in a special way against mold and bugs.
Semicircular windows, dark olive walls, a large fireplace, massive upholstered furniture and palm trees, as witnesses of the past colonial conquests of the British. Much of the interior, like outlandish plants, appeared in the dwellings of the British thanks to fearless sailors who brought all this from their distant sea voyages.
For some reason, placing upholstered furniture with different upholstery in one room does not cause a feeling of disunity of the interior, but quite the contrary. There is something elusive and unifying in this environment.
A fireplace or a stove that needs to be heated with wood will warm their owners in any frost. And how great it is to come after a slushy and cold street, light a fireplace and sit next to listen to the crackling of firewood and feel how warm it is in the room.
Evenings by the lit fireplace in the narrow circle of the family, what could be better?
Winter evenings will not seem tiringly long, in such a small room next to your loved ones it is warm and you don’t want to go anywhere.
And around the fireplace you can place all the portraits and small paintings that are dear to your heart.
Chimney - as a decoration of the house.
The bedroom in an English house is a well-appointed room. The bed is the main piece of furniture, always beautiful and fundamental.
Not only the furniture in the English house is solid, but also other interior items. The British do not fill their house with cheap knick-knacks, and if they bring a thing into the house, then forever.
The secret of the good quality and quality of English furniture is the use of natural materials for its manufacture and the skill of furniture makers.
Such a metal bed with a wrought-iron headboard looks elegant and light. The bright room is filled with sun and fresh air.
Such a bed is covered with a ruffled bedspread, pillowcases on pillows and curtains on the windows should be in tone with it.
All English furniture is reliable and of high quality, it serves several generations.
And this girl's bedroom is in soft blue with lots of colored pillows.
Here is the bedroom for adult family members. Every inch of space is used here. But everything is in its place, everything pleases the eye.
Once the canopy over the bed was evidence of the greatness of its owner. Now this addition to the interior of the bedroom is arranged by romantic people over their beds.
Order in the house is order in thoughts, success in work, calm and measured life.
Carefully equip not only the bedroom, but also the kitchen. This is a special place in the house where food is prepared, it is always cozy, it smells delicious, there is an abundance of sunlight and flowers.
Here everything is at hand, everything is familiar and familiar. And it has always been so, because the conservative British honor their traditions and keep the connection of generations. Wonderful handmade furniture is passed from grandmother to granddaughter.
English cuisine can also be in light colors with obligatory chair covers, with fabric curtains on glass cabinet doors, with lace curtains on the windows.
There are always a lot of dishes in English cuisine. English porcelain is renowned for its quality, both antique and modern.
Dishes in England have always been made not only porcelain, faience, but also ceramic and metal.
How nice it is to celebrate holidays, for example, New Year and Christmas, in such a reliable and beautiful house. Fresh pine or Christmas tree branches, lit candles, waiting for a miracle.
And here is the Christmas tree, in the evening it will gather the whole family in this small living room.
Such New Year's Eve evenings with the family are remembered forever and live in our childhood memories as the best.
To make your fairy tale house not only cozy and comfortable inside, but also pleasing to the eye from the outside, it should be surrounded by green spaces.
There will never be too many trees, flowers, climbing plants if they are well-groomed. Of course, such a house looks more like the abode of gnomes from English fairy tales, but the flowers are real.
Without the wonderful plants around this house it would be empty and lonely.
And this, albeit small, but such a nice house, also looks good.
I would like to live in such an old brick house, decorated with a climbing trellis rose.
And in front of the house or on the open terrace, put just such a swing sofa with a lace cape.
On such a sunny terrace, among the abundance of plants, it is easy to breathe.
The sofa can be placed not only on the veranda or terrace, but also in the garden in front of the house and admire the daisies, cornflowers and asters in moments of relaxation.
The British, like many people on Earth, appreciate nature and love trees and flowers, so they surround their homes with them.
In such a house should be a simple but comfortable interior.
All these houses have their own face, take a closer look, and you will see it too.
Even from the photograph, you can feel the warmth of human hands, with what love and in a businesslike way everything is done. And the poultry only adds color to this rural idyll.
"My home is my castle" - so say now not only the British. After all, all people in the world understand that their home is part of the happy existence of the whole family.
There is no need to copy from the British their way of life, their houses and interiors. We are different, but no one forbids us to learn from experience and learn from other nations the quality of life, to improve our culture of life, to equip our home, based on the achievements and skills of Europeans.
The owners of apartments with concrete floors do not have questions about changing the flooring, but how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor?
It should be noted right away that it is possible to lay the coating only on a strong floor, with strong ceilings, and not with rotten logs.
At the same time, the appearance of the boards practically does not matter - you can level the base, but this requires a substrate.
But work begins, of course, with preparation.
What fixtures and materials will be required?
- knife with a sharp blade;
- notched trowel (wood or metal);
- 2 meter ruler;
- double-sided tape or glue - depending on how you decide to glue the linoleum;
- smoothing roller;
- special cold welding for joints;
- scraping machine or planer - with their help, the preparation of the base is carried out, you can
- align the boards with your own hands;
- plywood, fiberboard or OSB (future substrate);
- screws or nails;
- putty, with which the alignment and sealing of cracks is carried out.
How to properly prepare a wooden floor for laying the coating?
To glue / lay linoleum on a wooden floor, preparatory operations are necessary, in particular, repair and alignment of the existing structure.
The amount of work can be estimated only after a thorough inspection of the existing coating.
Preparation before laying the material requires evaluating:
- How firmly the boards are fixed - for this you can walk or even jump with effort;
- Is there any rotten or damaged wood - the boards must be strong, natural shade;
- Is there a fungus on the surface or rust on metal fasteners (then it is impossible to lay linoleum);
- No damage caused by woodworms. If traces are found, it is better to treat the surfaces with bioprotective preparations;
- Absence of foci of rot in the bearing logs;
- Is there a creak when walking on the floorboards - if there is such a problem, then it is better to sprinkle the joints with talc or graphite powder.
You will need a new floorboard to replace the rotten one - if you leave everything as it is, then the rot will quickly spread to the rest of the structure.
Do-it-yourself preparation involves removing old paint, deepening fasteners, eliminating bumps and distortions in height.
Then the preparation and leveling is carried out by creating a new durable hardboard and plywood flooring:
- On the logs (dry unedged board with a section of 40x80 or 40x100), you need to lay several layers of plywood. The distance between the lags is maintained within 400-500 mm. One layer of plywood 12 mm thick will suffice, or two if the sheet thickness is 6 ... 8 mm. When using two layers of plywood, lay the plywood so that the joints do not match;
- Self-tapping screws are used as fasteners for plywood - they are twisted so that the caps enter the thickness of the material, and do not stick out;
- At this stage, the wooden floor is carefully leveled under the linoleum - the plywood base must be strictly horizontal, which can be checked by the building level;
- All formed joints are sanded, puttied and sanded again after drying. From above it is also possible to lay fiberboard;
- Alignment is carried out without additional heat and waterproofing in most cases, since these functions will be performed by the substrate under the linoleum.
Laying linoleum on a wooden floor may also involve another preparation method - the base of the floor, before laying linoleum, can be leveled with an appropriate self-leveling compound.
It cannot be said that this solution is better, because the mixture will completely block access to wooden elements.
However, if you stop at this option, do not forget - you need a mixture specifically for wooden floors, which will be easy to put with your own hands.
Whatever method you use for leveling, you need to remember: in order to cover a wooden floor with linoleum, the base must be dust-free, that is, clean and dry.
Criteria for choosing linoleum for installation
Laying linoleum on a wooden floor requires careful choice of coating.
Actually, you can lay flooring from any class of material with your own hands, but choose the right linoleum based on the intensity of its operation.
If you change the design of the room quite often and the related repair work does not cause you concern, then you can choose a household-grade material that will last 3-5 years.
Of course, leveling the base using plywood and fiberboard does not have to be done every time, but replacing the flooring is fraught with difficulties.
Therefore, it will be correct to immediately lay a semi-commercial class coating, with a protective layer thickness of up to 0.6 mm.
In this case, you can level the base once by laying plywood and fiberboard, and then forget about repairs for at least 10 years.
When choosing linoleum for laying on a wooden floor, you need to pay attention to the pattern.
Artistic imitations of parquet or bamboo look great, but in large areas there will definitely be joints, which means that before gluing the linoleum, you will have to align the borders of the pattern, and this can lead to an increase in the amount of waste.
If you want to minimize leftovers and simplify work, then it would be right to use a coating without pronounced patterns - for example, imitating jute, sand, granite chips.
Putting such linoleum with your own hands is very simple - you just need to choose the required roll width.
Do not forget that you will need not only plywood and fiberboard, but also a special underlay for linoleum - it will even out the smallest surface differences, serve as additional thermal insulation and make the use of the new floor even more comfortable.
A thick and dense substrate made of fiberboard or pox is absolutely necessary to lay linoleum on a wooden base, because it transmits cold, moisture and sounds too well.
For this reason, the substrate must be made of a synthetic material with low thermal conductivity and good resistance to moisture.
Properly made substrate will eventually allow you to accurately and evenly lay linoleum.
For do-it-yourself work, it is not advised to use a coating thinner than 3 mm - the thing is that the wooden base is very mobile.
Even when you can properly level it, the top coating will still be subject to shear and tensile stresses, which means that thin linoleum can simply be torn.
And do not forget that you need to not only level the base (which will require fiberboard and substrate), but also properly prepare the linoleum.
It is transported exclusively in a twisted, and not folded, form, otherwise creases will remain on the surface.
After transportation, the material is rolled out on the floor to level, and then left for at least a day to acclimatize - this allows it to take its final dimensions in accordance with the level of humidity and temperature in the room.
So, the preparation has been made, the wooden base with a fiberboard substrate is clean and even, the material has been selected and rested - it remains only to clarify how to put linoleum on a wooden floor.
For do-it-yourself work, it is better to use a single piece, cut to fit the area of \u200b\u200bthe room with 8 mm gaps around the perimeter.
The gaps are subsequently closed with skirting boards and allow thermal and moisture expansion for the coating.
The humidity of the base is necessarily controlled - linoleum is not laid on a wet floor, otherwise mold and microbes will develop on the top layer (fiberboard substrate).
It is not necessary to glue linoleum if the area of the room is less than ten square meters. meters. If joints are inevitable on the surface, then they are cold welded, PVA glue or double-sided tape.
To ensure the evenness of the joints, parts of the coating are cut, which will require a sharp knife. For this, the canvases are overlapped at the junction and cut to the base, through the layers.
The joints are glued either by tightly pressing against double-sided adhesive tape, or with an adhesive composition applied to 4 cm of each sheet in the direction from the joint.
Then the linoleum is pressed tightly - so that the glue comes out. After the glue dries, it is carefully removed with a knife.
Cloths can be further smoothed with a roller, thus eliminating irregularities.
The final stage of installation is the installation of skirting boards, which will additionally fix the linoleum around the perimeter and emphasize the stylish design.
Linoleum flooring is very popular. Of course, in appearance it is inferior to parquet or laminate, but it attracts with its affordable cost and ease of installation. Do-it-yourself linoleum laying will help save money and use it for other useful needs for the home. The main thing is to correctly cut the material, taking into account all the features of the flooring of such a coating.
The optimum temperature for working with linoleum is 15-25 degrees. At low temperatures, it loses its elastic properties and becomes brittle, it can easily crack. Therefore, linoleum should lie in a roll indoors, get used to the temperature, and only then it can be unrolled.
Having unfolded the linoleum on the floor, it must again be left alone for several hours. This will help him level out, when laying there will be no waviness.
The following tools are used for work:
- Sharp knife;
- Notched trowel for glue;
- Ruler;
- Double-sided tape;
- Glue;
- Roller or brush.
In order for linoleum to serve for a long time and there are no problems during installation, you should carefully prepare the rough surface. Any flaw or defect in the paving substrate will degrade the appearance of the finish. And it can even lead to a rupture of the material in this place.
The coating is laid close to the walls, so the old skirting boards are first removed, which can be returned to their place after the work is completed.
plywood base Sometimes new linoleum is laid on top of the old one. But this is only possible if the old material that was glued to the floor is in perfect condition. If this is not the case, then the old coating must be removed, and then only a new one should be laid.
A primer must be applied to a concrete even base before coating is laid.
Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands, it is pre-leveled with plywood.
Leveling the concrete base Floor covering also requires preliminary preparation. It is laid out on the surface of the floor, and left for a while to make it possible to even out all the creases and kinks. Only then can you start cutting the material.
This floor covering is unpretentious in application, it requires only a flat surface for laying.
How to calculate the right amount of linoleum
Room measurement Linoleum should be laid in such a way as to minimize the presence of seams. To do this, the room is measured, the required size is determined with a margin that takes into account all the protrusions and niches.
Linoleum manufacturers produce rolls of different widths: 2.5 m; 3.4 m; 4.0 m. This width will be enough to lay it indoors without seams. It is recommended to take material with a margin in order to insure yourself against unforeseen errors in cutting.
Before laying linoleum with your own hands, you need to leave it in the room so that the material adapts to temperature and humidity, and possibly changes its size. After that, the roll is unrolled, and left for a day, so that the linoleum rests and levels out. Such actions will help to avoid deformation of the coating during or after installation.
After purchasing the material and keeping it indoors, you can proceed to directly laying it on the floor. First, the roll is unrolled for alignment. You can speed up the process by placing a load on top.
Linoleum laying It is not difficult to lay linoleum on your own. The process consists of the following steps:
Stage 1. Layout of sheets
Linoleum sheets are laid so that under the walls there is a small margin on the walls. If the room is large and several sheets of coating are used, then the sheets are first joined at the seams, and then the material is leveled to overlap the walls.
Coil docking When drawing a picture on linoleum, you need to lay out the material so that the picture matches. First lay out the pattern at the joints, then near the doors. The combination of the pattern is carried out by shifting the sheets relative to each other.
Before you start trimming, you need to consider an important point. If there are straight lines in the linoleum pattern, they must be positioned so that they are parallel to the walls. To do this, the sheets are rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to obtain parallelism.
Stage 2. Cutting sheets
Trimming in the corner Before removing excess material from the walls, you need to check the joints for the absence of gaps, and the overlap of the material on the walls. With a positive result, proceed to pruning.
It is better to cut off excess material from the corner. To do this, a part of the sheet near the wall is turned away, and marks are made on the back side. After cutting between the wall and the linoleum, a gap of no more than 3-5 mm should be obtained. Marks are made at a small distance from each other. Then, using a ruler, connect the marks and cut off the excess part.
Hot welding of joints In the absence of skills, it should be noted with a small margin. It is better to re-cut than to get a large gap between the coating and the wall. Repeat such actions around the entire perimeter of the room to fit the linoleum.
Next, you need to connect different coatings in the doorway. If there were joints of linoleum sheets in the room, then they can be connected by welding. This process is carried out a few days after fitting, so that the material has time to level off to its final state.
When to apply mastic and glue
Glue application When self-laying linoleum in non-residential rooms, even small ones, it is better to glue it. In living rooms, glue or mastic is used only on large areas (more than 25 m2), after preparing the base of the floor. Before applying the glue, linoleum is rolled from both sides to the middle into a roll.
The choice of mastic and glue on the market is presented in a wide variety. It remains only to choose the right glue for a certain type.
Adhesive laying The container indicates how thick the adhesive layer should be on the floor surface. It is usually applied with a notched trowel. The higher the height of the teeth, the greater the thickness of the adhesive can be applied. Apply correctly from the middle to the walls.
After applying the adhesive mass, the roll is gradually rolled out. At the same time, a roller is passed along the surface of the linoleum to remove air between the floor and the coating. Such actions improve the quality of the connection with the base of the floor due to the uniform distribution of the adhesive.
If you cannot do without seams when laying linoleum, then you can connect them by cold or hot welding.
Adhesive for cold welding Cold welding does not require special training and tools, so it can be used in everyday life. To connect the seams, you only need glue. For a new, only laid coating, glue A is taken, and to eliminate defects on the old coating, a thicker adhesive C is chosen.
To ensure a strong and durable connection, hot welding of the joints is used. This requires the availability of appropriate equipment: a welding torch, a compressor and rods for filling joints. The molten rod from the flame of the burner is placed in the joint between two sheets of coating. This method is applied 24 hours after laying the coating.
How to lay linoleum on glue or tape
Pasting Method The use of glue or adhesive tape is justified when the area of the room is above 20m2.
When laying on double-sided adhesive tape, strips are laid throughout the room in the longitudinal and transverse directions at a distance of 20-30 cm. At the same time, the upper protective film is not removed.
After applying the strips, linoleum needs to be laid. Having unbent one crane of a covering, the protective film is removed from an adhesive tape. The coating is laid with a gradual smoothing of the resulting deformations to the wall. The same actions are carried out with the other half of the coating.
Sticking to tape When we lay linoleum with our own hands using glue, we first apply a primer to the floor and the back of the coating. The process of laying the floor covering with the help of adhesive mass occurs as follows:
- Unfold the cover and fold back half;
- Using a spatula, apply glue to the floor;
- Unbend the linoleum and carefully iron, removing air;
- Carry out similar actions with the other half;
- Trim excess material.
Skirting board installation The final step is to fix the skirting boards around the perimeter and thresholds in the places of doorways.
How to lay on chipboard or plywood
Linoleum is laid only on a flat surface, which is often leveled with sheets of chipboard, fiberboard or plywood. The base of such materials additionally has the properties of a heat insulator.
We can safely say that linoleum is one of the most popular types of flooring. Consumers are attracted by the excellent performance of linoleum, its low price, and ease of installation on almost any floor. Although, depending on what type of floor you are laying linoleum on, there may be certain nuances in its laying technology. It is about such "subtleties" that must be taken into account when laying linoleum on a wooden floor, we will talk in this article.
Floor surface preparation
Linoleum, like any other floor covering itself, requires some preparation of the floor surface before installation. If we are talking about a “new building”, where the floor has just been laid, then such preparation will be reduced to a minimum - it is enough to clean the floor of the remnants of construction debris and treat it with antiseptic and anti-corrosion agents. But, when we talk about laying linoleum in a room where the floor was laid many years ago, you should be prepared for the fact that you will have to “tinker” more thoroughly with surface preparation. So, the main flaws of the wooden floor, which must be eliminated before laying linoleum.
Cracks and chips
All residues of old paint must be removed before laying linoleum.
Cracks and chips can form both directly in the floorboards and in the layers of paint covering them, which can turn into a very noticeable layer after repeated repainting.
Let's start with the last one. All remnants of old paint (even if it has not cracked) must be removed before laying linoleum. This process, although quite long, is nevertheless mandatory, because otherwise it will not be possible to qualitatively eliminate possible cracks in the boards, as well as treat the floor with an antiseptic.
To remove paint from the floor, the easiest way is to use a building hair dryer and a regular spatula. The heated paint is removed literally with one or two movements.
To remove paint from the floor, the easiest way is to use a building hair dryer and a conventional spatula.
As for the cracks in the boards themselves, it is also not difficult to eliminate them. To do this, it is enough to use the same spatula and special putty for wood.
Wide spacing between boards
Do not hope that linoleum will hide the wide gaps between the floorboards
Do not hope that linoleum will hide the wide gaps between the floorboards. Over time, he will definitely “fail” in them, only emphasizing this defect.
There are two ways to eliminate the gaps between the boards. The first is to remove all the boards and re-lay them close to each other. And the second, easier one, is to drive narrow wooden slats into the gaps between the boards, and seal the remaining gaps with wood putty.
For greater convenience, the rails are better to give a trapezoidal shape.
creaking floor
Although this defect does not directly affect the process of laying linoleum, nevertheless, it is better to get rid of it. To do this, it is necessary to identify each creaking board and attach it together with the log to the base of the floor with long screws.
Rotten and rotten boards
There is only one way to deal with this problem - all rotten boards and logs must be replaced.
floor leveling
And, of course, before laying linoleum, the floor must be leveled.
If we are talking about small elevations, then they can be eliminated with a grinder or scraper, or using an electric or manual planer. True, working with the latter requires certain skills, so if you do not have any, it is better to entrust this stage of work to a specialist.
Another way to deal with small bumps is linoleum with jute or any other backing. Due to its additional thickness, the underlay will allow you to hide minor irregularities and, in addition, significantly increase the sound insulation of the floor.
The problem with more serious irregularities can be solved by laying sheets of plywood on the floor. By the way, in the same way, you can eliminate almost all of the above flaws in the floor: cracks, creaks, and so on. In other words, laying plywood on the floor is the best (though not the cheapest) way to prepare the floor.
The problem with more serious irregularities can be solved by laying sheets of plywood on the floor
Plywood sheets must be laid in a "staggered" order with a half-sheet shift. Before doing this, do not forget to clean the floorboards from paint residues and treat them with an antiseptic.
Linoleum preparation
In addition to the floor, it is necessary to prepare the linoleum for laying. Since this material is stored in rolls, it is almost inevitable that wrinkles and “waves” form on it. It is very easy to get rid of them - just spread the linoleum in a spacious warm room and give it time to "rest".
If possible and weather conditions allow, linoleum can be spread directly on the street. Warm sun rays will level it much faster.
And one more piece of advice: you should not try to even out the folds of linoleum by placing a load on them. The material must level itself “by itself”, otherwise various warps and cracks may form.
Laying
When both the floor and linoleum are prepared, you can proceed directly to the laying process.
The first step is to cut the linoleum. To do this, a corner of the linoleum is laid in one of the corners of the room so that its edges fit snugly against two adjacent walls. If excess material forms near other walls, then they must be cut off using a linoleum cutting knife with replaceable blades.
The first step is to cut the linoleum
When cutting linoleum, you need to remember that this material shrinks, so it will not be superfluous to leave a stock of material of about 1-2 centimeters on each side.
If linoleum is laid in a small room (10-12 square meters), then it is quite possible to do without additional fastening, but simply lay it on the floor and fix it with a wall plinth. If the dimensions of the room are larger, then the linoleum will need to be glued to the wooden floor. This can be done in two different ways.
Glue fixing method
As a glue for linoleum, the well-known PVA glue is perfect for everyone, although you can also use special formulations specially designed for this purpose.
The linoleum laid on the floor is bent in half, revealing one half of the floor. Then, using a brush or roller, glue is applied to it, on which the previously raised linoleum is laid. After that, a similar procedure is done with the second half of the room.
Please note that some brands of glue are not designed for "instant" laying linoleum on them. First they need to "breathe" for 15-20 minutes. Therefore, before using this or that glue, carefully read its instructions.
Fixing method with double-sided tape
As a fixative for linoleum, you can also use double-sided tape. Strips of adhesive tape must be glued around the perimeter of the room, and several strips should be placed in its center at a distance of about half a meter from each other.
As a fixative for linoleum, you can also use double-sided tape
You can stick linoleum on adhesive tape in the same way as described above, or after pasting all the strips on the floor, lay linoleum on them by rolling it from one wall to another.
If the width of the linoleum is not enough to cover the entire room, you will have to lay several pieces of linoleum.
When choosing a joint, keep in mind that it should be in the middle of the board, and not in the gap between the boards.
The process of such laying practically does not differ from the one described above, with one exception - it will be necessary to carefully fix the seam between the linoleum panels. This can be done using special welding, or simply by laying an additional strip of double-sided tape under the seam.
Each person strives to make his home as cozy and comfortable as possible. And flooring plays an important role in this process. To date, there are a large number of varieties of flooring.
They differ in their external characteristics, cost, durability and strength. And the most popular type of material is linoleum. Such coverage is affordable for every person.
In this article, we will likewise talk about the merits, types and rules for choosing such material. And also talk about how to properly lay linoleum on a wooden floor.
Material Features
Today, the vast majority of buyers know linoleum as an inexpensive, practical, synthetic material.
However, not everyone knows that initially such a floor covering was completely natural. It was made entirely from natural ingredients: tree resin and flour, jute, linseed oil and other products. Such a coating turned out to be completely safe for human health and the environment. However, the cost of the material was rather big. Therefore, natural linoleum has not received such a large distribution, unlike its synthetic counterpart.
Modern linoleum consists of several layers. The substrate is most often made of polyvinyl chloride, rubber or fabric. Depending on this, linoleum is divided into several varieties:
- PVC. This type of flooring is the most common. It has excellent performance. However, it is completely unstable to low temperatures;
- relin. Perhaps this is the most plastic and moisture resistant type of linoleum. The outer layer of relin is made of rubber, and the substrate consists of bitumen and crushed rubber;
- marmoleum. This type of linoleum is noticeably different from others. Since it is made of environmentally friendly materials and is completely safe for human health and the environment. This coating is characterized by hypoallergenic and antibacterial properties. You can safely lay it in the children's room;
- griftal. In another way, this type of linoleum is called alkyd. The production of this type of material is carried out by applying special resins to a textile base. Such material is characterized by excellent heat and sound absorbing qualities;
- nitrocellulose or colloxylin material. This floor covering also differs in high operational characteristics. However, it can deform over time.
Also, linoleum is classified depending on the purpose and can be of three types:
- domestic. The name of this type of material speaks for itself. Household linoleum is designed for residential premises and is not very thick. The material is quite wear-resistant, but not designed for excessive loads. Most often it consists of one or two layers. The design options for such a floor covering are very diverse: from plain coatings to imitation of stone, marble, tiles or laminate;
- semi-commercial. This version of the coating is already thicker and more durable. It is noticeably more durable and slightly more expensive than household linoleum. Designed for rooms with medium traffic;
- commercial. This is the most durable and reliable type of linoleum. It is incredibly durable, and for this reason, the cost of this option is the highest of all listed. Most often, commercial linoleum is laid in rooms with extremely high traffic. For example, in shops, schools, hospitals, kindergartens.
Consider the main advantages of linoleum over other floor coverings, which made it so popular among buyers:
- democratic value. It is for the ratio of price and quality that such material has become so widespread. Everyone can cover the floor in their house with linoleum, regardless of the size of the wallet. Of course, there are a large number of types of this material, which differ significantly in their cost. However, everyone will still be able to choose the material in accordance with their budget.
Such material will cost you several times cheaper than a natural wood or tile coating. At the same time, in terms of its performance characteristics, linoleum is only slightly inferior to more expensive counterparts.
- Long service life. Linoleum is a very durable material. The average shelf life of such a floor covering is at least ten years. Moreover, some manufacturers claim that their products will retain their original appearance even after two decades of use. If we correlate this parameter with the cost of the material and its qualities, then even the most skeptical buyers will have no doubts about the benefits of such a purchase.
- Variety of color solutions. In the catalogs of modern stores you will find a huge selection of linoleum for every taste. This can be a spectacular and fairly high-quality imitation for more expensive coating options: tiles, natural stone, parquet, and so on. Or any other cover design. Colors and styles are only limited by your imagination.
- Ease of installation. To mount household linoleum, you do not need any special knowledge, skills or special tools. You can easily cope with such a task on your own, without resorting to outside help. In this case, the installation process will not take you much time. And you will immediately be able to walk on the new floor.
- Moisture resistant. Thanks to this property, linoleum can be safely laid in the bathroom and in the kitchen. After all, it is in such rooms that most of the moisture and pollution. Also, the floor covering can be washed using a large amount of water, without compromising the quality characteristics of the material. Moreover, even in case of flooding of the apartment, the linoleum coating will not suffer, you will not have to change it.
- Unpretentiousness in care. To get rid of dirt and dust accumulated on the surface of the floor, simply wipe the floor with a soft cloth. You do not have to spend too much time and effort on caring for the material. That will make any hostess very happy.
What is the best linoleum?
As you can see, each type of linoleum has certain pros and cons. Therefore, the final choice of one or another option depends on your preferences and the characteristics of the room for which the flooring is intended.
First, you should consider the degree of patency of the room. The more intense the expected load, the stronger and thicker the material should be. You should also take into account the specifics of the space.
For example, for the kitchen, bathroom and corridor, the best option would be the most resistant to moisture, deformation and abrasion models of the coating.
Hypoallergenic and health-friendly types of linoleum should be placed in the child's room, such as marmoleum. Almost all types of linoleum are suitable for the living room. Therefore, the final choice will depend on the external characteristics of the coating.
How to choose?
Given the above information, you will already be able to choose a high-quality linoleum that will definitely satisfy you with its characteristics. However, there are a few more tips to help you make a smart purchase.
So, since the material will be laid on a wooden floor, some of its features should be remembered. For example, the best option for a wooden surface would be exactly synthetic linoleum and not natural.
This is due to the fact that polyvinyl chloride does not rot and has a special foam backing, which consists of several layers. This means that this type of linoleum has a low thermal conductivity, which will allow you to keep warm in the country, in a private house, in an apartment or "Khrushchev".
In addition, PVC flooring provides excellent sound insulation. And then you do not need additional insulation.
We talked in detail about the features and characteristics of linoleum. Now it's time to figure out how to properly lay such material on a wooden floor.
Training
The better the preparation of the wooden base is, the better the final result of the work will be. First, carefully inspect the floor. In no case should it have deep cracks, chips, mold and mildew. All boards must be whole and even. Otherwise, you will have to replace them or level them with a planer or other suitable tools.
Also, be sure to check the reliability of the fastenings of each individual board. The elements should not move, the entire structure of the wooden floor must certainly be securely fastened. An uneven or defective old floor can cause you a lot of inconvenience when laying the flooring.
If this is necessary, it is better to prepare the surface with putty. It does not take much time to putty high-quality, but the result will definitely please you. By the way, if you are going to put linoleum on a painted floor, do not forget to completely remove the old paint from the boards before you start laying.
After you have finally made sure of the reliability of the wooden floor and prepared the surface, care should be taken to make the surface more even. To do this, you need to put sheets of fiberboard or plywood on top of the boards.
This is necessary in order to avoid deformation of the linoleum during operation. After all, bare wooden boards tend to sag from the load. While sheets of plywood or fiberboard laid on top will easily eliminate this drawback. This means that the floor covering will retain its original appearance much longer.
So, the surface preparation is completed. Now it's time to start preparing the linoleum. Before starting the installation of linoleum, it is best to first lay out the material on the floor. This is necessary so that the linoleum straightens after storage and takes the temperature of the room. Without such a procedure, you should not start laying in order to avoid unwanted defects.
Carefully make sure that there are no bends and creases on the linoleum canvas.
How to put it right?
If you want to properly lay linoleum with your own hands, you should thoroughly follow all the rules of installation technology. First thing, determine the direction of the drawing. Be careful to keep the seams as inconspicuous as possible. We also recommend that you make sure that the temperature in the room during installation is stable. This way you will avoid deformation of the material.
Next, you should decide how you will attach the material to the wooden floor. There are three most common options for installing linoleum on your own: without gluing and with gluing:
- What can be glued? For gluing linoleum to the floor, special glue or double-sided tape is most often used. They fix the material both at the joints and over the entire surface. The last mounting option is the most durable. Moreover, sometimes, in order to secure the material, some decide to nail it to the floor. In this case, it is best to attach the material to nails with decorative caps so that the coating in the house looks as neat as possible.
- Does it need to be glued? The answer to such a question can only be obtained by yourself, carefully evaluating all the conditions. If you want to lay the floor "for centuries" and are not going to change the floor material in the future, then it is best to use glue when laying. This is especially true for spacious rooms. In small rooms, it is quite acceptable to lay linoleum without glue or tape. They can be used, except when you still need to attach joints or make a hatch.
Secrets and subtleties
As you can see, laying linoleum is not at all difficult. The main thing is not to forget about the basic rules. Again, the most important thing is preparation. If you do not close the gaps, then in the future the flooring will stretch and lose its visual appeal.
It should also be remembered that without plywood or fiberboard, previously laid on a wooden floor, linoleum spreads unevenly.
And if you do not pay due attention to the preparation of the boards and skip the fungus, then you should not be surprised that the base under the linoleum will rot and simply break over time. By the way, if you are going to lay thin linoleum in a rather cold room,
