Laminate is usually rectangular
They are about 14 to 25 cm wide and 120 to 140 cm long. Laminate flooring is usually 7, 8, 10 and 12 mm thick. The laminate is not glued to the floor but is initially a layer of foam 2 mm thick. The millimeter is spread on the floor, and the laminate is installed on the foam.
The laminates have grooves (clicks) around and on all four sides, which are locked or so-called clicked when the grooves are installed. And these clicks are the factor that keeps the laminates fixed on the floor, and that is why the type of laminate click selected is very important.
The laminate does not damage the bottom floor and can be retracted several times and re-installed in another place. Laminate flooring does not scratch easily; the laminate does not burn under the heat of cigarettes in any way.
The foam under the laminate flooring makes it both sound insulation and heat and cold insulation, and also if an object like a glass falls on it, it will most likely not break due to the flexibility and softness of the foam. Laminate flooring installation speed is very high, for example, 100 square meters is completed in almost a day, and immediately after installation, the equipment can be placed on it.
Laminate flooring is usually antibacterial and anti-insect, laminates are water-resistant. They also have good resistance and do not absorb water parquet easily, of course, this does not mean that the laminate is waterproof, and if water is poured on it, it must be collected quickly.
Laminates have different standards based on the coefficient of wear, which is shown with AC, such as AC2, AC3, AC4, Laminate flooring are much cheaper in terms of price than parquet, stone and are almost in the same category as ceramics, with the difference that today laminates still have the highest rank in terms of beauty. And are not comparable to any other floor material.
Laminate flooring advantages
1- The laminates are not glued to the floor but are locked together by male and female by the grooves that are clicked on them and there are laminates all around. Increasing the work surface increases the weight of the laminates in each other, and this weight is one of the factors that keep the laminates on the floor without the use of glue.
2- Due to not using glue in the laminate flooring installation, the floor of the room will not be damaged. For example, if the floor of a room is paved and laminate is applied to it, and for some reason, we want to collect the laminates after a while, we can do this without the slightest damage to the surface underlying stone. In this way, laminate flooring can be collected several times after installation and re-installed in another place.
3- Laminate Flooring Due to the foam that is spread under them before installation, after complete implementation, they largely prevent the transmission of sound to the floor.
4- In addition to sound insulation, foam under laminates is also heat and cold insulation.
5- Laminates are much more resistant to water than old wood parquettes.
6- Laminates are much more resistant to sharp objects than old parquets.
7- The speed of installation and execution of laminate is very high.
8- After installation, there is no need for sub and lacquer and it can be used after installation.
9- It is more economical than other building materials such as stone, ceramics, etc.
Disadvantages of Laminate flooring
One of the disadvantages of parquet and laminate or wood flooring compared to ceramics is their low resistance to cooling and underfloor heating systems compared to ceramic flooring, which can be said that the use of laminate is not suitable for underfloor heating, although some manufacturers increase the heat transfer coefficient. They have tried to fix this defect, but its use is still not recommended.
Laminate flooring The problems that other parquets have, such as making noise when walking, or dampness and the risk of fire, are not as great as they used to be, but they are not. It is difficult to clean them if moisture or dirt penetrates under them. In summer, the warming of the air causes the laminate flooring to expand and gradually damage it, unless space is provided for this issue, which will also lead to the problem of water penetrating under the floor.
Creating a seam between the laminate due to non-observance of expansion and contraction or uneven floor, breaking the locks due to placing heavy objects or not paying attention to the thickness of the laminate, not washable (permeable), not usable in underfloor heating, especially in laminates MDF core, standard scratches and scratches (AC1 - AC2) are other disadvantages of laminate.
Installing laminate flooring
To do this, we must observe a few important points before installation:
Tip1- Place the laminates at least 24 hours before starting the installation at the installation site to adapt to the ambient temperature.
Tip 2- The floor of the unit should be free of any moisture and humidity.
Tip 3- The floor of the unit should be completely clean.
After observing the above, it is time to install Laminate flooring:
Step 1 - First we have to determine the direction of work, or in simpler terms, in which direction the length of the tiles should be, which is specialized to determine the direction of self-work, but here we try to simply do this. Explain the subject.
How to specify the direction of Laminate flooring?
The most important point in choosing the direction of the length of the laminate flooring is that the length of the tiles is in the direction of the light because this will ultimately make the laminates more beautiful.
The next important factor to choose the direction of tile laminates is that the length of the tiles is in the direction of the length of the space.
In almost square spaces and the length and width of the walls are almost equal, we prioritize the direction of light and install the length of the laminates in the direction of light.
In spaces that are rectangular and the windows are in the longitudinal walls, or other words, the direction of light and the length of the space do not match, it is better to remove the light option and install the length of the laminates in the direction of the length of the space.
Step 2- Consider one of the walls that are longer and almost flat as the base wall, and spread the foam parallel to the same wall and next to the wall on the floor.
Step 3- Note that the laminates should not be attached to the wall and should be at least 8 mm away from the sidewalls, to do this we must provide small pieces eight mm thick and if this is not possible, since the thickness of the laminates. It is 8 mm, we can cut a part of the laminate flooring and use it as the required parts, now before we start installing the laminates, we put these parts next to the wall, 2 pieces per meter is enough.
Step 4- Usually 90% of the clicks or the grooves around the parquet laminates are designed to be installed from the left, according to this point, but the first tile from the left and then the second tile, and so on. Arrange to reach the end wall.
Step 5- We have to cut the last tile that reaches the wall, there is a way to mark the amount to be cut, first we measure the required amount with a meter and transfer and cut on the laminate flooring tile, and the second way to turn the desired tile upside down and stick it to the wall, mark the intersection of the two tiles and cut.
Step 6- In this step, we must mention that the type of laminate flooring is done in several ways, brick layout, interlocking layout, step layout, and gable layout, are among the laminate flooring layout methods, we suggest that Use the step method to install laminate flooring. Given that the length of each tile is approximately 120 cm, if we divide this size by four, the first piece will be 120 cm, the second piece 90 cm, the third piece 60 cm, and the fourth piece 30 cm. We started with a complete tile, ie 120 cm, so now it's time for the 90 cm piece, take the second tile and cut the first 30 cm, and start the second row with a 90 cm tile.
Step 7- It's time for the third row. Now we have to start the installation with a 60 cm tile and the fourth row with a 30 cm tile, after the fourth row is finished, we have to make a complete tile again, i.e. 120 cm.
Step 8- Do not worry about laminate flooring being cut, you can use the remaining tiles if they are the right size, at the beginning of the work or the end of the rows.
The foam you spread will probably be covered with laminates and you will have to spread the next foam again; Sweep the floor and spread the next foam on the floor, making sure that the foams do not overlap and only tangent to each other.