Varieties of floor slats and their installation

Despite the variety of types of flooring, wood is always popular among homeowners and city apartments, allowing you to create an environmentally friendly floor covering from floor slats. Those who are going to lay a floor of such material on their own should understand the types of such slats and the technology of their laying. Floor slats of different types have their own standard sizes, the knowledge of which will help to buy the right amount of material and to correctly install the wooden covering.

A floor strip is a piece of wood processed on a milling machine, which has grooves at the ends, with the help of which the slats are laid on the floor. There is a groove on one side and a ridge on the other. The crest of the rail next to it is fastened into the groove of the adjacent board, and the crest of this board into the groove of the neighboring one.

This creates a uniform wood flooring structure. The slats are made of high quality wood, on which there are no knots and other defects that, during operation, can crack and create cracks on the floorboards. Wood has high environmental characteristics:

• creates a comfortable and safe microclimate in the house;
• keeps warm well;
• does not cause allergies;
• has an attractive appearance.

The disadvantages of the sex slats are minor compared to its positive characteristics. A good quality floorboard, if properly installed, is used for a long time.

The floor slats are made of fairly dense wood, which is well processed and has a long service life. Floor slats are divided into several types. Depending on the type of floor slat, one or another solid wood is used:

• oak;
• Pine;
• larch;
• ash;
• aspen;
• alder;
• nut.

The floor strip is divided into several types of boards:

• usual;

• parquet;

• terrace;

• edged.

The common type of wooden floor batten, as well as the edged board used to create the sub-floor, are made of pine. For parquet boards, expensive oak and ash wood is usually used. Decking is made of larch, which has increased resistance to moisture.

The most affordable is the usual floor slats made of pine. It is inexpensive wood with good performance characteristics. It is not necessary to dry the pine for a long time before processing.

Larch decking has increased durability. At the same time, larch lends itself well to processing and is not afraid of moisture. Larch only gets stronger over time, which increases the value of such a floor slab. It is not afraid of the effects of moisture, decay and pests due to its natural resinousness, therefore, such a floor strip does not require special antiseptic treatment.

Larch slats have a characteristic red hue, which does not change over time. Such a natural material gives off a pleasant smell of wood, which has medicinal properties. You can use such material for arranging floors in residential premises, as well as in places with high levels of humidity.

An elite type of reiki that is not afraid of any aggressive influences. Oak floor perfectly retains heat, has sound insulation characteristics, bactericidal properties and excellent appearance. Oak lath is not afraid of moisture and mechanical damage. Mold fungus does not appear on it. Such a board is expensive, but the investment is worth it, since the coating of oak floor slats will last for several decades, retaining its attractive appearance.

Sometimes the lath is made of less durable wood: alder, ash, walnut, aspen, linden. Such an array is less durable, but it lends itself well to processing and has high environmental characteristics. Such slats can be used for flooring in a nursery, bathhouse or sauna, where the load on the floor is not as great as in living quarters. It is not recommended to use them for covering floors in areas with high traffic.

When choosing, you should take into account the length, thickness and width of the board. The service life of the wooden coating and its resistance to stress depend on this. The length of the rail is adjusted to the length of the room. In a country house, it is recommended to use boards 35-50 mm thick. 35 mm is considered the optimum thickness for a wooden floor in houses. If there will be an increased load on the floor covering, then it is better to use options with a thickness of 50-70 mm. Such boards are usually taken for arranging gyms, in theaters, on dance floors.

Below are the dimensions of the slats for rooms of different lengths.

The width must be selected with a small margin, so that it is enough for periodic polishing of the wood covering, with the help of which its original appearance is restored. Do not use slats that are too wide, as they quickly deform and can bend. Narrow boards are considered stronger and more durable. The width of such slats depends on the type of such material. The most common dimensions are boards with a width of 110 to 160 mm.

The floor slats, which have a groove and a tongue, are easy to install into the floor covering by correctly inserting the fasteners into the grooves. Such material allows you to independently install the floor on a balcony or in a room in almost one day. If the cutter did not process the edge of the floorboards, creating grooves and pins on it, then such a rail will have to be fixed with screws or nails to the logs.

If there are fasteners on the sides of the boards, you will not need to use self-tapping screws during installation. This creates a perfect wood finish that is free of nail heads or bolts. With this installation of floors, self-tapping screws are used only for fixing the first floor strip.

The slatted floor should be laid from the far wall, laying the boards across the movement. The fastening of the first board, the tongue of which will abut against the wall, is carried out with self-tapping screws at an angle of 45 degrees. A curly screwdriver is most suitable for screwing in, which will help to deepen the screw head into the wood as much as possible. When installed correctly, wood flooring will look great in any interior.

Wooden slats made from expensive solid wood are usually not painted with paint. Oak or larch flooring has a characteristic natural pigment that does not need to be painted over. Such boards are not even recommended to be varnished. They are usually cycled or rubbed with wax, which creates a protective layer without penetrating into the structure of a valuable array, like synthetic paints and varnishes.

You can paint pine slats, which are inexpensive and have a light natural shade. With the help of special treatment, manufacturers give the pine flooring shades of expensive wood species. In this case, you do not need to use paints. Boards of this type are usually coated with acrylic varnish, which protects their texture from mechanical damage.

If you wish, you can paint inexpensive boards made of unpigmented pine laths of a light shade, giving the flooring an artificially aged look. By choosing the right slats, you can independently install durable and environmentally friendly wooden floors. They will give the residential interior a unique flavor and create a healthy microclimate in the house.

You can find out more about the features of laying floor slats in the following video.