All about laying solid boards

Solid wood flooring is one of the most durable and aesthetically pleasing floor finishes available. Outwardly, a massive board resembles parquet, but structurally it is still different from it. It will be a reliable and durable coating that will withstand considerable loads and aggressive external actions.

Differences in the installation of a solid board are, first of all, the choice of one or another base. Alternative options:

• put on a concrete screed;
• base in the form of wooden logs;
• plain plywood as a base;
• laying on natural wood;
• use of staples.

Usually, professional installation of solid boards is associated with the use of a cement-concrete base. Fixation takes place due to special adhesives. These are formulations with high performance, which are not afraid of temperature jumps, and are not toxic.

Laying on plywood requires a vapor barrier layer. You need to fix it with mixtures of two components. Installation of the board on the logs is wonderful in that the work is completed faster, because there is no need to knead the cement mortars. A layer of penofol (or ordinary polyethylene film) is laid under the logs as waterproofing.

Known and quite widespread and the method of laying, called "floating board". This technology speeds up the workflow by using aluminum staples that are installed in parallel with silicone expansion joints to improve edge bonding.

Finally, installation can consist of laying the board on top of a wooden base. The old coating needs to be strengthened if there are doubts about its reliability. Actually, in such cases, an alternative method is often chosen. If the old wood coating has a varnish layer, it must be removed. The planks are sanded to remove irregularities. To fix the new floorboards, fastening is carried out with self-tapping screws. Usually, fasteners with an anti-corrosion coating are used.

Having studied all the methods of installation, you can choose the most optimal one for a particular situation. And if you plan to install a "warm floor" system, you need to think about another coating.

Approximately 5-6 days before the installation work, the array must be unpacked - it must be acclimatized. For better air circulation, the product is placed on a stand. It is important that the moisture content of the dice is not more than 12%, then the material will not change shape after the installation has been carried out. Rows of covering elements are fixed with staples or the board is laid on glue.

What tools need to be prepared:

• square and pencil;
• a metal ruler and a wooden mallet;
• screwdriver and drill;
• pneumatic staple machine;
• putty knife.

Self-tapping screws (with anti-corrosion and galvanic properties) are most often needed as fasteners. Such screws will not rust, will not be exposed to negative temperature effects, and will not be affected by other seasonal factors.

It should be said about the gender markup. Each mounting option corresponds to the same layout. If the board is supposed to be placed in a parquet type or diagonally, it should be marked from the center of the room. If the board is located along the room, then the marking and installation work begins from the far corner. But you should not start from the rest of the corners: a distorted image is possible.

It so happens that the wall with the windows does not go parallel to the opposite one. In this case, the marking and, accordingly, the installation begins from the far corner of the wall where there is a window. If the room has more than four corners, its shape is not rectangular, they start to mark from the entrance and lead perpendicular to the wall with the entrance. The width of the room must be measured, divided by the width of the board - this is how the number of full rows is calculated.

Other little tips for preparatory work.

1. If it is a concrete base, it must be clean, dry, even and firm. The surface must be dedusted. The permissible curvature of the base will be no more than 2 mm per 2 square meters.
2. If the board is found to be defective, there is no need to make a discount on it. The marriage must be replaced. The whole process can turn out to be wrong if there are substandard boards in the batch. But you can change the board only before the start of installation.
3. If specialists are laying the floor and they have not measured the moisture content, you should doubt their qualifications. A concrete moisture meter and a hygrometer are also useful for those who lay a massive board themselves.

If everything is ready to go, it's time to get started.

The technology is different in each case. But the markup, as already mentioned, is the same for everyone.

When buying plywood as a substrate for a solid board, it is better to focus on sheets with a thickness of 13-15 mm.

What the installation process looks like on a plywood base:

• plywood must be cut into pieces 0.5 m wide;
• a vapor barrier is laid on the concrete floor;
• it must be laid in compliance with an angle of 45 degrees (relative to the base);
• with thermal expansion, a slight deformation of the floorboards is not excluded, therefore, during installation, gaps of no more than 3 mm can be left between the sheets;
• then the plywood surface is sanded;
• sheets are laid on glue or mastic, and then fastened with dowels;
• after that, you can mount the array with two-component glue;
• with an interval of 25-30 cm, lateral fastening is made with pneumatic pins;
• when the cover is laid, it must be cleaned and lightly sanded.

The process is not very difficult. Problems can arise if the screed is dirty, the base is not dry, the plywood sheets are displaced. This, of course, is fraught with deformation of the floor and pretty soon it will have to be laid again.

It is impossible to move further without a perfectly flat base, because the entire installation is based on the "groove-comb" principle. This styling is used if the humidity in the room is above normal. The displacement of the swollen boards will entail a swollen floor, the elements of which may not fit into place. This design is not made in rooms where there is bulky, massive furniture. When she moves, she can easily tear out the floor boards. The lock will be damaged, you will have to change the damaged boards, or even the entire coating.

Therefore, the best base is rightly considered a liquid floor. Since it will be perfectly flat, the boards will not be unstable a priori.

We mount a massive board in a "floating" way.

1. The concrete must be cleaned out, the filler continues to prepare the base. Its heights are checked by the level. When the putty is dry, the base must be vacuumed and you can start pouring the liquid floor. It will harden in 3-4 days (approximately).
2. Once the floor is ready, it can be marked out and prepared for the installation procedure. Taking into account the shape of the room, it is necessary to lay out the array either from the middle or from the far corner. As soon as one board is laid, another one is attached to it, shifted exactly 0.5 lengths.
3. The boards are inserted from the side of the groove, so it will not be difficult to finish them off with a wooden block and a hammer. The laid floor must be pressed with a knee, the block must be brought closer to the end, with delicate movements, using a hammer and block, the board must be installed. As the board is put in place, it moves to the periphery.
4. The last 3 rows are laid after the boards of the last row have been measured and cut.So, the last row is laid, then the boards of the penultimate row are inserted by 1-2 mm and raised by 5-7 cm. Then the boards of row No. 3 are inserted into the floor by 1-2 mm, raised so that the lock of the boards of rows No. 2 and 3 engages a millimeter or two. Next, they must be carefully pressed down, the structure will close.

This option is used to change wooden floors with a board, plywood base or chipboard. After removing the cover, the lags must be assessed. All damaged areas are repaired or replaced. When the logs are ready, you need to estimate the height. If the difference is more than 5 mm by 2 square meters, you will have to level the surface. Plywood sheets or fiberboard can handle this.

The wood flooring is sanded with an attached abrasive belt. When it comes time to install a solid board, the direction of the previous base is repeated. Waterproofing is laid between the old floor and the dies. The principles of the subsequent installation are the same as for the installation on concrete.

An array with a factory-type finish does not require additional processing. It does not need to be sanded or varnished.

Concrete or cement-sand base must be perfectly flat - this is the basic condition for installing a solid board. Further, a special adhesive solution is used, which is not afraid of temperature fluctuations. To begin with, the strength of the subfloor is checked, the presence of visible defects is analyzed.

If you are using a dry glue that is diluted with water, there should be more water in the primer. When using ready-made adhesives, a solvent is added to them (which one is indicated in the instructions). Usually the calculation is as follows: 1 part solvent to 10 parts glue. Then the entire liquid floor is painted over with diluted soil.

How long the soil will cure is indicated on the package. When everything is completely dry, you need to bring 4 boards into the room, spread glue on the place where the boards will be laid out. Then glue is applied to the back of each board. But the lock ("groove-comb") does not need to be coated with glue, otherwise then there will be problems with parsing the floor.

The glue dries for a few minutes, then the board is put in place. For a few seconds, you need to press it with your hands, and then, without removing your hands, move to the edges, as if trying to glue the board tighter. The next board is installed in the same way. You cannot press down before the comb is completely inserted into the groove. When 4-5 boards are installed, they need to be tapped with a rubber mallet. The last rows are laid according to the principle of "floating floor", the only nuance is that glue is used here, but not there.

If an array-board is purchased at a building market, you can play it safe and take instructions from a consultant. Even with regard to fasteners: he will tell you whether screws with four-sided tips are suitable, guide you in choosing anti-corrosion clamps, etc. If you have doubts about the choice of flooring (sometimes a dilemma is to lay a massive board or tile), you need to analyze all the installation options. Then calculate the estimate, understand if there is a willingness to do it yourself, and make a final conclusion.

For a master class on laying solid oak boards, see the following video.