Laminate flooring is one of the most popular flooring options today. It is used everywhere, and manufacturing companies offer a huge number of models and colors of lamellas. However, not everyone knows that the key to final finishing is the correct preparation of the foundation. Therefore, the question of how to level a wooden floor under a laminate is quite relevant.
How to level the wooden floor?
The lamellas are made in such a way that their fastening is carried out on the basis of a tenon-groove principle. A special locking system makes it easy and simple to create a complete canvas on the floor surface. If the prepared rough floor is even, the coating will serve and look attractive for a long time, regardless of the loads that affect it.
A completely different situation will arise if the laminate is laid on unprepared, uneven wooden boards. Differences in altitude will cause the lamellas to begin to sag under the influence of heavy objects or the constant walking of a person. The castle system will also sag, and will be exposed to influences for which it is not designed. Such a coating will quickly fail and become unusable.
Important! Before buying a laminate and starting installation, you should make sure that the wooden subfloor is even. If there are elevation differences, it is necessary to perform alignment.
There are several ways to make alignment:
- using gypsum screed;
- applying special linings;
- flooring slab OSB.
Each person or specialized master himself chooses a leveling method. It depends on the type of premises, the load, which will continue to be on the floor, as well as personal preferences of the owner of the premises.
Using a gypsum screed
Gypsum screed is used when unevenness is not more than 1 cm. It is important to know that the gypsum mortar quickly sets. Therefore, the work is done very quickly.
Important! Before starting, carefully check the strength of the boards. If the wooden planks are rotten or loose fit to each other, this method is categorically not suitable.
The main stages of work are as follows:
- to begin with, fix all staggering wooden boards;
- then the joints between the boards are coated with a special primer on wood or made independently with a mixture of PVA glue and sawdust, it is necessary to allow the surface to completely dry;
- after that, the surface is carefully primed to provide protection from moisture;
- Further, the floor surface is covered with polyethylene to the level of installation of the laminate in the future and glued joints with tape, this is necessary for high-quality waterproofing of the new floor;
- even OSB plates are laid on the prepared surface, this will ensure a tight fit of the laminate to the surface;
- the mixture is prepared according to the instructions that apply to the material and begin to pour onto the prepared surface from the far corner;
- After pouring, the surface of the filler mixture is leveled with a special roller or a wide spatula, this should be done carefully so as not to damage the fragile film.
Subsequently, it remains only to allow the mixture to completely harden, after which you can begin work on installing the flooring. Such a filling will allow you to achieve a flat surface of the subfloor, thanks to which the laminate will last for many years.
Using pads
This leveling option is used if bumps are about 2–3 cm from the base of the floor. Builders advise choosing linings not with a large thickness, but it is better to stack 2 sheets with a thickness of 1 cm. So the bending resistance will be much higher.
As substrates, various unnecessary materials are already used:
- pieces of old lamellas;
- plywood trimmings;
- Chipboard;
- boards;
- OSB and others.
On the walls mark the points of the future floor with a pencil, the workpieces are cut into small squares. At the extreme walls, several substrates are installed, then pads are installed in the center of the room. With the help of the building rule, the level of the future floor is clearly verified. its evenness is controlled.
Next, the workpieces are laid out along the marked lines and fixed with screws. After preparation, you can lay on them the first sheet of plywood and check it for bending and sagging. If everything is in order, work continues, laying out an even rough floor.
Important! The main thing is to observe a gap of 2 mm between the sheets of plywood.
On the first layer of plywood, lines of fixed pads are drawn, and the second layer is laid out so that the intersection of the lines of the first layer falls directly on the first sheet of the second. This will ensure that the remaining sheets are correctly positioned.
After laying out all the sheets, you can proceed to fastening with screws. They are screwed into the resulting squares on the markup. If all the work is done correctly, you will get a flat and hard surface that will reliably protect the laminate from damage during operation.
Using OSB boards
Leveling the floor with OSB sheets, some experts consider the most effective. Thick boards of wood-chip material easily conceal all irregularities, even quite large ones. This option, with some skills, can be easily done on your own.
Important! Plates must be of the same humidity that is noted in the room where the installation will be carried out. Otherwise, the material may also deform in a short time, which will nullify all efforts.
Usually the plates are laid out in two layers or the plates of the greatest thickness are taken. Experts still advise using two thinner plates, so the rigidity of the subfloor will be most correct for the subsequent laying of the laminate.
The first layer of plates is laid according to pre-lined marks; if necessary, pads of various materials are used. They help hide basic bumps and large swings. The second layer of plates will provide reliable rigidity and make the floor perfectly flat in the horizontal plane.
Why should the floor be sure to be level in front of the laminate?
Leveling the floor before laying the laminate is required for two main reasons. Firstly, 97% of all the problems that arise with this finishing material for flooring during its operation are due to poor-quality preparation of the subfloor. The castle joints of the lamellas at elevation differences lose their strength and break, which makes the floor unusable.
Also, with irregularities in the rough floor, the laminate constantly sags when walking on it. The voids present under the topcoat resonate, creating an unpleasant and fairly loud sound. In apartment buildings, such a sound easily penetrates the reinforced concrete floors and "pleases" the neighbors. If during the day such a sound can warp a little, but not annoy, then at night it will sound quite loud in the apartments of neighbors, which will lead to conflicts.
That is why leveling the floor as one of the stages of finishing the premises is one of the main ones. Qualitatively performed work will not only allow the coating to serve for many years and not lose its external qualities, but also provide comfortable movement on the laminate, without causing inconvenience to neighbors and other residents of the apartment.
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