Laying plywood under the laminate with their own hands
According to statistics, laminate is one of the most used materials used for laying on the floor in residential premises. It is not surprising, because it is distinguished not only by the richness of the choice of colors, but also by its good performance properties and a sufficiently long service life. However, the durability of this type of coating depends on the quality of the base.
In order for the laminate to serve for many years and please the household with its beauty, a reliable and even basis is necessary. You will be helped out by laying plywood as a draft layer. The advantages of this method abound. Such a substrate has sufficient strength, is lightweight, can withstand heavy loads. But most importantly, its installation is quite simple, and almost everyone can handle it. In addition, an important fact for many will be the fact that the cost of plywood is significantly lower than the same self-leveling floor.
The choice of this material is now quite large, and even in a small town it is easy to find this material. Sheets of various thickness from 5 to 25 mm are on sale. They measure up to 2.5 meters in height, which is very convenient when covering large areas. Modern industry produces a large number of varieties of this material, including with water-repellent impregnation. All these features make the use of plywood as a base under the laminate is very attractive.
Plywood selection
It is important to determine which plywood to choose under the laminate. Modern technology of manufacture of this material is practically brought to perfection.
By moisture resistance, it is divided into several categories:
- Low category.
- Middle category.
- Increased.
All are suitable for residential use. The main materials used for the manufacture of plywood are needles and birch. The advantage is given to conifers, as they are especially resistant to the formation of fungi and mold. Since plywood is made of thin layers of glued wood, various artifacts can occur. These include the presence of knots and various irregularities. When laying the material on the floor, it is recommended to avoid using sheets with such defects. But if you still got a deformed sheet, and you do not know how to align it, then everything is not so difficult. It is enough to put wet cloths on both sides and let the moisture soak in well, then you need to walk through the cloths to the places with an iron and let the plywood dry completely under pressure. The curvature will disappear.
The thickness of the substrate under the laminate plays a key role, because the quality of your new floor directly depends on this. It is recommended to choose sheets with a thickness of at least 12 mm.
Preparation of plywood for laying
Since the standard sheet width is 125 centimeters, and the length is more than 2 meters, it is not very convenient to work with such dimensions. Therefore, before laying the plywood on the floor, it is pre-cut into squares. They are laid in such a way that a gap is formed between them - the so-called temperature joint. Its thickness should be from 5 to 10 mm, depending on the size of the squares. In this case, the distance from the extreme squares to the wall must be at least 10 × 15 mm. However, if you have an assistant, cutting plywood is not necessary. Laying large sheets will be several times faster.
Pay special attention to the layout of plywood on the floor. Preference should be given to the so-called brick ligation, when the sheets are offset from each other. This condition must be observed so as not to form long longitudinal or transverse seams, as well as to prevent the four seams from converging at one point. These moments are very important, as with the subsequent installation of heavy furniture, in such places a subsidence and break of the laminate can occur.
How to lay
So, the plywood is purchased, the room is ready for the beginning of the work - let's start!
- The first thing to do is to clean the floor surface of debris, dust and irregularities.
- We ground If the primer is absorbed very quickly, we recommend that you repeat the procedure several times.
- If you have a wooden floor, you can lay the plywood directly on it, fixing the sheets with screws. They need to be twisted with an interval of no more than 30 mm. If you have a concrete base, then fasten with glue or regular mounting foam.
- The entire surface is checked by level.
- Laying the substrate. This is necessary in any case. Lay out the substrate over the entire surface and carefully align, avoiding wrinkles.
Well, now your floor is ready for laying laminate. The substrate plays a role not only shock absorber, but also heat and sound insulator, in addition, it will hide all the remaining minor irregularities. As a substrate, it is best to use special heat insulating materials. In this case, your new floor will become much warmer.
