Do-it-yourself technology for laying parquet boards: recommendations, standards, video tutorial. Correct laying of parquet boards What is the best way to lay parquet boards?

When choosing a multi-layer wood flooring, buyers often pay attention to its service life. At the same time, all manufacturers, without exception, indicate that the finishing material will really last this period only if the rules for laying parquet boards are followed.

Developers of such well-known factories as Chers, Barlinek, Tarket and others are trying to improve their product, working in many ways not only on the appearance, but also on the installation system. To significantly speed up and facilitate the installation process, new locking kits are being developed. Today we can distinguish the following types:

Classic tongue-and-groove connection or Lock.
Click hitch – connecting the slats at an angle of 10-30°, followed by pressing to fasten the slats together.
5G system – volumetric fixation. Its names and basic characteristics may vary, but in general the principle is the same - an additional insert or “tongue” made of dense PVC or aluminum is built into the end lock. This component gives the coupling rigidity and strength, prevents seasonal divergence of the slats, and increases the service life of the coating.

The type of locking system determines how to lay parquet boards correctly. Each package of high-quality flooring material always contains detailed installation instructions that answer all the questions of a beginner or an experienced craftsman.

Let us dwell on the methods of assembling a multilayer wooden covering. Includes:

"Floating" (independent). The floor is assembled exclusively with its own locks, without fastening to the base. This is the best option if you plan to lay parquet boards yourself.
Glue. One-component elastic compounds based on a polymer (polyurethane, MS and others) are used. The adhesive is applied to any type of screed, including cement screed and dry precast screed made of chipboard, OSB, plywood, etc.
On the fastener. Used for rigid fixation of each plank to the base. In this case, special “parquet” (finishing) hardware, pneumatic pins (complete with a pneumatic gun) or classic dowel-nails are required.

The laying pattern for parquet boards is standard - offset by 1/3. That is, each subsequent row shifts relative to the previous one by a third of the length of the bar. This will allow you to form a strong, reliable and durable circular “banding” of all lamellas.

How to lay parquet boards: starting with the basics

The quality of installation of parquet flooring directly depends on how carefully the base is prepared. Criteria:

Floors formed on the ground;
Joists, if there are too damp or warm rooms under the base foundation (boiler room, boiler room, laundry room, basement, etc.);
Water, soft electric or infrared heating systems;
Beams made of cellular concrete.

The features of laying parquet boards are not limited to this list. It is imperative to take into account that:

Advice! Remember that beech or maple floors are subject to active deformation, so they cannot be laid on a “warm floor” system.

You will need the following materials and tools for laying parquet boards:

Laying parquet boards with your own hands: step-by-step instructions

We will describe the installation process step by step.

Preparing the base

First of all, all old coatings are completely removed without exception. If the measurement results require floor leveling, then for mineral bases you can use:

Self-leveling self-leveling floors on a cement-gypsum or gypsum base;
Dry prefabricated screed made from sheet materials (plywood, chipboard and others).

The finished base is checked for evenness with a control rod more than 2 m long and with a hygrometer for humidity. If the base defects are small, then they are filled with quick-drying repair compounds or a cement-sand mixture.

The screed must be primed before work:

Adhesive compounds, if gluing parquet boards is intended;
Strengthening compositions, if the coating is laid in a “floating” manner.

For a wooden base, the work pattern is slightly different. Irregularities (differences, “humps”) should be cut off or eliminated with a parquet sanding machine. Pits and chips must be smoothed out with elastic putties, and if there are creaks, the subfloor must be “pulled” to the base with screws or nails. In case of multiple defects, it is better to form a new prefabricated screed from sheets of chipboard or plywood with a thickness of 16 mm or more. The top is treated with a fungicidal primer.

Preparing for work

After completing the “wet” work, waterproofing and underlayment material is laid on the prepared surface under the parquet board. That is, the film is spread carefully on the floor, without creases, with an overlap of 15-25 cm, secured with adhesive tape. Then the sheet or roll backing is laid end-to-end. With the adhesive installation method, this step is skipped.

Since the parquet board must “acclimatize,” the packaged material must be kept indoors for 24 to 36 hours. Experts recommend that before starting installation work, warm up the floor heating system for 2 weeks, then turn it off 3-4 hours before installation. This will create the right indoor climate and avoid thermal damage to the finish.

Advice! Wood is a natural product, so variations in shade and texture may occur. There is no need to be afraid of this, it is better to turn it to your advantage - open several packages in advance, arrange the slats on the base and form a pattern that is beautiful in your opinion.

The next step is to take careful measurements of the floor and plan the work. To lay the parquet board as evenly as possible, draw a scale diagram of the installation on a piece of paper. The width of the last row should not be less than 5 cm. In this case, it is necessary to shift the first row proportionally.

Flooring installation

Laying in a “floating” way starts from the longest wall from left to right. Expansion wedges are placed around the perimeter. Some experts recommend doing this after assembling the first three rows: using a staple, the finished covering is moved and spacers are inserted into the resulting gaps.

The assembly itself begins with the protruding part of the lock being cut off from the planks of the first row, then the first is installed in the corner and installation begins along the end edge. The end plate is trimmed if necessary. The next row is formed from the remainder of the previous lamella. For parquet boards with a classic Click-lock, the end couplings are first connected, then the lengthwise joining is carried out with the obligatory tapping with an impact block.

Note that it is much more convenient to work with Lock and 5G format connections. They can be joined as necessary, both longitudinally and transversely, as demonstrated in the video below.

For some types of volumetric lock, it is not necessary to additionally adjust the plastic insert. It is enough to click the plates correctly.

The last row of boards must be carefully adjusted to size (cut), then assembled using end locks and inserted into the gap between the wall and the outermost row. The laid parquet must be pressed with a metal clamp or wringer.

If the edge of the plank rests on a pipe or other similar obstacle, then mark the cutting line with a pencil, saw off a piece, and drill a hole with a compensation margin of at least 10-16 mm. The lamella is put in place, an adhesive compound is applied to the cut and the cut element is glued.

After completing the assembly, the wedges must be removed, the floor heating system must be turned on, gradually increasing the temperature, and the decorative plinth and thresholds in the doors must be installed. The formation of gaps in openings between rooms is not a whim, but a requirement of manufacturers.

When installing parquet boards using the adhesive method, the order of work will be slightly different:

Apply adhesive onto the prepared base and spread evenly with a notched trowel.
Cut off the edge of the boards of the first row.
Assemble the coating in the standard manner, tamping it with a block and loading it with a weight for better adhesion or fixing it with hardware that is “driven” into the locking groove at an angle of 45°. In the same way, parquet is fastened to the base using nails or studs from a pneumatic gun without an adhesive compound.

After completing all the work, many manufacturers recommend washing the floor with special products for parquet and parquet boards so that the wax they contain reliably seals all joints.

Advice! If you need repairmen, there is a very convenient service for selecting them. Just send in the form below a detailed description of the work that needs to be performed and you will receive proposals with prices from construction teams and companies by email. You can see reviews about each of them and photographs with examples of work. It's FREE and there's no obligation.

Parquet flooring, despite its many years of use and the ever-growing variety of flooring materials, is not losing ground at all and is still popular and in demand. After all, it’s incredibly pleasant to lay out an unusual pattern on a natural wood surface yourself. For this reason, the question remains relevant: how to properly lay parquet boards with your own hands - then we will consider step-by-step instructions.

Main types of parquet for DIY installation

The most common types of parquet:

piece;
parquet board;
laminated (laminate);
modular.

Popularity piece parquet quite big. It consists of small dies. A parquet block is a multilayer structure consisting of one or several lower auxiliary layers and an upper face layer, which has a decorative appearance of a characteristic wood structure. Along the perimeter, each plank is equipped with locking elements in the form of a tongue and groove for connecting the planks to each other.

The length of the dies, as a rule, is a multiple of its width, which allows you to create a variety of geometric patterns when decorating a parquet floor.

Standard sizes of parquet flooring:

width - from 5 to 7.5 centimeters;
length - from 21 to 49 centimeters;
thickness - in the range: 14-22 millimeters.

The optimal thickness of parquet flooring for decorating a floor in a residential area: 15-18 mm. With a smaller thickness, the number of scrapes of such a parquet floor is limited; only one processing may be allowed. Thicker strips allow repeated scraping, but do not have elasticity.

Parquet board differs from piece parquet only in size. Its average dimensions are:

width - from 12 to 20 cm;
length - from 1.1 m to 2.5 m;
thickness - in the range: 1-2.2 cm.

Parquet panels or modules- a composition of parquet elements fastened together is assembled on a coniferous base and glued onto it. This module has a thickness from 22 to 40 mm. They are usually square in shape with side sizes: 400, 500, 600, 800 mm. Laying modular parquet is much faster than laying piece parquet. It is difficult to determine on the laid flooring whether it is piece parquet or modular.

Modular parquet allows you to make the simplest floor luxurious, in the style of a royal palace. Compositions are made from modules; ornaments are much more complex and interesting than “herringbone” or “braid”.

The process of laying parquet flooring contains several stages:

Preparing an old concrete or wooden base.
Laying waterproofing.
Performing a screed to level the surface of the base.
The screed can be replaced by laying lag.
Primer treatment of screed.
Sheets of moisture-resistant plywood are glued to the screed or attached to the joists.
Laying parquet on plywood.
Sanding parquet flooring.
Parquet putty.
Priming the surface of a parquet floor for varnish.
Coating the parquet with varnish layers (from 3 to 9).

All of the above points must be carried out with high quality, otherwise there is no guarantee of long-term operation of the parquet flooring.

Preparing for parquet installation

Parquet material is laid on a rough base, usually this is:

concrete floor, covered with screed or without it;
logs specially installed for laying the covering;
plywood sheets or plank floors, repaired and sanded.

Before laying parquet, it is necessary to prepare the rough base and, if necessary, repair it. After repairing the concrete base, a layer of waterproofing should be laid on its surface. This can be a polyethylene film (200 microns), laid with overlapping parts of about 15 cm, fastened with tape.

Next comes the stage of performing a leveling screed, its thickness is about 5 cm. Before the next stages of work begin, the screed needs time (1-2 months) to dry completely. Haste is unacceptable, since the wood material of the parquet laid on a poorly dried screed will absorb moisture from it, which will subsequently cause deformation of the parquet elements.

After drying, the surface of the screed should be primed. The surface of the screed must be flat. Permissible differences in height: no more than 2 mm per 2 meters of floor. This is checked with a two-meter level lath; when positioned on the base in any direction, the maximum permissible gap between it and the surface of the screed is 2 millimeters, it is better if it is smaller. A slope is allowed with a limitation on its size: no more than 0.2%; in fact, exceeding 5 cm is unacceptable.

There is another option: with the help of a self-regulating floor, the preparation time for the concrete base will be reduced to one day.

Laying plywood under parquet on a screed

Moisture-resistant plywood sheets with a thickness of at least 12 mm should be cut into 4 equal parts.

The functions of moisture-resistant plywood under parquet are quite serious:

The surface is made almost perfectly leveled.
Thermal insulation and sound insulation function.
Adds strength.
It is a strong foundation for installing parquet tiles. If they are attached directly to the screed, then when its surface layer is destroyed, the parquet flooring will fall out. The attachment to plywood sheets is strong and holds them tightly.

Possible laying parquet without plywood directly onto the screed using the adhesive method only:

Plywood sheets should be 5 mm thinner than the thickness of the parquet flooring. But it makes no sense to use a thickness of less than 12 mm as a base, because it is too small. In such a situation, it is possible to lay plywood sheets in two layers, but with the seams spaced apart.

Then a layer of glue is applied to the surface of the screed, plywood squares are laid using the bricklaying method, with the joints offset, and then secured using self-tapping screws. The caps are recessed 3 mm deep into the plywood to avoid further damage to the sanding machine disc.

Be sure to leave a gap of 3 mm between the plywood pieces to avoid deformation of the parquet flooring due to the expansion of the plywood.
Also leave gaps between each wall and the plywood sheets of approximately 1 cm, this is a technological gap. It is possible to insert spacer wedges into it for stability.

The wedges are not removed until the parquet flooring is laid. After removing the wedges, the existing gap should be foamed so that the sides of the parquet are not damaged by moisture during further use of the floor. The foamed gap will be hidden under the baseboard.

Next, you need to maintain the drying time of the glue - it is indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. After the glue has dried, the plywood surface is sanded along the seams, removing the difference in levels of adjacent squares.

It is not necessary to pour a leveling screed onto the concrete base; you can use the old proven method: laying the floor on joists. This eliminates the need to level the concrete base, but waterproofing will need to be done; dense polyethylene film is suitable for this purpose.

Then the logs are laid every 40 cm. Bars with a cross section of 50 by 50 mm or 50 by 80 mm are suitable for this purpose. The logs are attached to the base with corners and dowels. To ensure a constant level of the joists in places where the level is not maintained (above or below), you can place shims or, conversely, cut off a little using a plane.

The thickness of the plywood sheets should be 5 mm less than the thickness of the parquet boards. But, since a plywood thickness of less than 12 mm is not sufficient for flooring as a base for parquet, therefore the plywood backing is laid on the joists in two layers, their total thickness is about 30 mm.

Plywood sheets cut into 4 equal rectangles are attached to the joists using self-tapping screws. It is imperative to observe the offset of the seams between the sheets, as with brickwork. Gaps between sheets of 2-3 mm and a technological gap near the walls of 1 cm are also required.

In a similar way, another row of pieces of plywood is laid on top. When laying the second floor, pay attention to the displacement of the seams: the coincidence of the seams of the first and second rows is unacceptable. The bottom row of plywood sheets is treated with a primer, then with glue.

Then they are secured with self-tapping screws, their size is determined by the thickness of two layers of plywood sheets. The caps are recessed 3 mm deep into the plywood to avoid further damage to the sanding machine disc. When the glue dries, sand the plywood.

Preparing an old plank floor

To lay parquet flooring on an old plank floor, be sure to meticulously inspect it. Creaks, dips, and rotten floorboards are unacceptable. If one of these defects is present, it is necessary to repair the floor and repair or replace the joists.

The repaired plank base must be sanded. You can lay parquet material directly on a leveled plank base, without laying sheet plywood.

Parquet flooring methods

The technological process of laying parquet material can be performed in various ways:

floating method;
glue method;
flooring fixed with nails;
laying on parquet glue and fixing with nails.

At floating method Laying parquet flooring is secured to each other by inserting a tenon into a groove. In this case, no fastening is made to the base. The laminated flooring is laid using the same floating pattern.
To prevent the “floating” parquet floor from creaking in the future, a sound-proofing layer, for example, cork, is laid under it.

Parquet floors connected by this method will be able to change sizes up or down with changes in temperature or humidity - without consequences. Such “floating” parquet is easy to repair - disassembling and reassembling is quite possible. In terms of strength, such a floor is not in the first positions: if at least one locking connection is weakened, the entire coating loses stability and can become deformed.

Laying parquet with glue- more durable, but it is very difficult to repair if necessary. A fairly thick adhesive layer is applied to the base, parquet boards are placed on it, and a tenon is inserted into the groove. This method requires increased labor and financial costs due to the high consumption of glue.

Laying on a layer of glue with fixation with hardware- the most durable and in demand. The floor laid in this way does not deform, because the parquet flooring is fastened in all directions. But this parquet flooring cannot be repaired.

Laying piece parquet boards: step-by-step instructions

To create a beautiful and even pattern on the parquet, we will first develop its diagram on a sheet of paper. We will take the correct dimensions of the room and parquet flooring - to scale. If on paper any row does not fit in whole slats, then we alter the diagram in such a way that the trimmed rows are located around the perimeter of the room, and only whole ones in the center. The beginning of laying parquet flooring is also determined by the pattern.

We are considering installation using the herringbone method.

The work can be continued no earlier than after 7 days; the glue must be allowed to dry. Sometimes experts advise waiting six months for the parquet to settle well.

The next stage of work will be sanding the parquet surface in two passes or even more. For each pass, a different type of sanding paper is used to reduce the grain size. Sanding is carried out until all defects that appear are removed. Then the floor is covered with stain (if they want to change the shade of the floor), then varnished in several layers.

Options for laying block parquet with your own hands

Block parquet lends itself very well to laying in a variety of patterns; to do this, the dies should be placed in different directions and the sequence should be changed.

The most common types of laying block parquet are:

In addition to the examples given, there are many combinations of them with various shapes and patterns.

Video about laying block parquet:

Laying parquet with your own hands

Methods for laying parquet boards:

floating- the boards are connected to each other by locking elements: tongue and groove, not fixed to the base;
adhesive: the board is laid on a layer of glue applied to the base;
using fasteners.

The technology for laying parquet boards is similar to the technology for laying block parquet. Let's consider one of the installation methods - floating. In our case, the preparation of the base has already been completed (see the description of the preparatory work above), so we proceed to laying the parquet boards with our own hands.

The first board should be placed from the corner along the longest wall, but this is not the wall with the door. It is necessary to create a technological gap of approximately 1 cm from the board to the wall; to do this, wedges of equal thickness can be inserted into the gap. This should be done around the entire perimeter of the room. This will allow the coating to vary in size without consequences - with changes in temperature and humidity.
Lay the next boards along the wall to the end of the row. The last board in the row will have to be cut to the correct size to fit into the remaining space. Don't forget to leave a gap.
Start the second row with the remaining trim from the last board from the first row. Apply each board to the adjacent one, inserting a tenon into the corresponding groove. To do this, first hold the board to be laid at an angle of 30º. Press forward and down so that the locking elements connect. Next, use a rubber hammer to tap the side of the outer board to strengthen the connection.
Subsequent rows are laid in the same way, until the last one. Typically, the boards of the last row need to be cut in width to fit the remaining space. Do not forget to insert wedges into the gap between the wall and the outermost row of boards, ensuring a gap.
Once the parquet installation is complete, all spacer wedges can be removed.
The last step is the installation of skirting boards, which will also close the technological gaps along the walls.

Video of laying parquet boards using the glue method on plywood:

Laying a parquet board on a screed without plywood is done in the same way, but with an adhesive layer applied to the surface of the base. Let us remind you once again that the base must be carefully prepared, leveled, and the screed must be primed. Only after this proceed to laying the parquet boards with glue.

A video on this topic will help you:

Laying panel (modular) parquet

Modular parquet is installed much easier and faster than piece parquet. The modules are assembled and firmly glued onto a rigid base; they are not subject to deformation, like block parquet.

But when laying the modules, even the smallest error will be very noticeable. For this reason, such material is very demanding in terms of preparation and leveling of the base, impeccable execution of the installation process and the professionalism of the craftsman.

Modular material is unpacked before installation. First, the elements are laid out on the floor without being fixed to the base for the correct placement of the pattern, this will eliminate errors when installing with glue.

Start laying from the corner of the longest wall farthest from the door. The glue is applied using a special notched trowel only to the part of the surface on which the coating will be mounted in the next 10 minutes.

The accuracy of the layout of the initial row affects the correct geometry of the pattern, because the following rows are adjusted to the first. Spacer wedges are inserted from the wall side, providing a uniform gap of 1 cm.

So the entire first row is laid on the adhesive surface, with padding for a good connection. You constantly need to monitor the evenness of the row and adjust if necessary. Upon completion of the row, adjusting to it, subsequent rows are laid out in the same way.

When laying, you need to make sure that the glue does not get into the tongue-and-groove system and onto the front surface of the parquet, and if it does, quickly clean it using a parquet floor cleaner.

After installing the entire modules, after a short time for the glue to set, the laying of trimmed modules around the perimeter, called a border, begins. It starts from the corner distant from the door. The joints in the corners of the room should be cut carefully without damaging the front side of the module.

Laying the cut elements should be similar to laying regular parquet. Do not forget about the technological gap at the walls, keep it even by inserting wedges or adjustable spacers (special spacers).

Where pipes etc. pass through parquet modules, a small margin is cut to ensure a gap of 1 cm.

Upon completion of installation, you need to clean the floor from dust and debris using a vacuum cleaner and treat the floor with a cleaner. Temporarily stop visiting the premises; a day after installation, remove the wedges and you can install the plinth around the entire perimeter. Skirting boards are attached to the wall, and not to the parquet material.

Final stage

The technological process for installing parquet floors has a lot of special features. But if you want to: study the materials on carrying out preparatory work and ask how to lay parquet, you can get started. It is clear that the first time everything will not be so simple. not so fast, but how pleasant the result is, made with your own hands!

We hope that our step-by-step instructions helped you understand how to lay parquet boards with your own hands, how to lay block parquet, how to lay herringbone parquet and much more. Good luck!

Laying parquet on plywood:

Tsugunov Anton Valerievich

Reading time: 4 minutes

In the huge variety of floor coverings, parquet occupies a special place. It has a lot of positive qualities: durable and practical, beautiful and environmentally friendly. Parquet floors have been known for several centuries, but until recently their installation in an apartment was very difficult. With the development of technology and the advent of a cheaper, but worthy analogue - glued parquet boards - it became possible to do this work quite simply, without resorting to the help of professionals. The main thing is to know how to lay parquet boards correctly.

Material selection

Before giving step-by-step instructions describing how to install it yourself, you should get to know this material better. The main difference between this flooring and the usual parquet is the manufacturing technology, due to which the price of the material becomes more affordable. Such boards are not made from solid wood, but have three layers glued together.

The upper part is made from the most valuable types of wood, which gives the product an elegant appearance.
In the middle, made of coniferous wood, there are elements for fixing the parquet flooring boards to each other.
The bottom part is often plywood. Its main purpose is to reduce the influence of temperature and humidity fluctuations on the material and give it a certain rigidity. The material of this plywood is most often Christmas tree.

Parquet planks are classified by the number of strips of the top layer, the number varies from one to four.

A floor made of single-strip boards (the most expensive), laid in a herringbone pattern, is almost impossible to distinguish from natural parquet.
Parquet elements with two or three stripes allow you to create very beautiful patterns.
Four-lane dies are made from various waste materials, so their scope of application is limited. So, professionals do not recommend using them in unheated rooms.

Layout diagram and material calculation

Before laying the parquet board yourself, you need to decide on the laying scheme and calculate the required amount of material.

Base requirements

You can lay parquet boards with your own hands both on a wooden floor and on a concrete base. The installation technology requires the following conditions:

The base must be strong and perfectly level. The permissible deviation is no more than 2 mm for every 2 meters of surface length.
It is necessary to have a substrate and high-quality waterproofing. This will not only help protect the material and increase thermal insulation. Thanks to the underlay, the floor covering will be able to move slightly relative to the base, which will avoid its damage due to different amounts of expansion under the influence of external conditions.

The concrete base must be checked for cracks and irregularities. Minor defects must be repaired and, if necessary, a new leveling screed must be poured. Further work is possible only after it has completely hardened.

If you plan to install parquet boards on a wooden floor, you will need to carry out a thorough inspection of it. If the condition of the coating is close to ideal, you can limit yourself to sanding it. Elimination of significant defects may require more extensive repair work, up to a complete overhaul of the floor.

The plank floor is poor in terms of relative freedom of movement of its individual elements, so it is recommended to lay the parquet boards on plywood, which is better moisture-resistant. It will give it the required integrity.

For the glueless method, nothing else is required, and when using glue, the top layer of the backing is moisture-resistant plywood, attached with dowels to the base.

Laying the finishing coating

How to lay a parquet board correctly? As is already clear, parquet can be laid in two ways: “floating” and with glue. Installation with glue is more reliable, but the elements of such a coating are much more difficult to replace if necessary. The glue-free method allows you to produce, without much effort, something that has become unusable. These methods differ only in some nuances.

Important! Before laying, be sure to let the material sit in the room for at least two days so that the boards adapt to the microclimate. Only after this can you begin installation. The temperature and humidity parameters recommended by the manufacturer must be observed in the room.

Glueless (floating) method

To visualize how to lay a parquet board using the “floating” method, you can watch a video tutorial.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

The first row of parquet planks should be separated from the wall by a thermal gap not exceeding the width of the future baseboard. It is very convenient to use special plastic inserts placed every half meter.

On the first row, you need to carefully cut off the top lock - this is the side of the board that will face the wall.

The first element is placed in place, after which a second board is inserted at its end. It is necessary to connect them using a special wedge lock. To do this, just lightly tap the joint with your hand or a rubber hammer. This is how the entire line is assembled step by step. To complete it, it may be necessary to saw off part of the parquet plank, for which an electric jigsaw is used.

The second row should be located with some offset relative to the first. To do this, you can use the scrap left over from the first row: its length should be at least 500 mm.

You can fasten each board of the second row in order, or you can assemble the entire row and then connect it to the first.

Basic methods of laying parquet boards

Parquet boards are laid using either the floating floor method or the method of rigidly attaching the board to the base.

1. Floating floor method consists of connecting parquet boards to each other without fixing them to the base of the floor. The boards are assembled into a single layer, which lies freely on the backing - a special compensating material located between the base and the parquet floor. This method is the most common, but like any other method it has its strengths and weaknesses.

Main advantages:

high speed of the assembly process - laying 30 m2 of boards takes no more than one day;

minimizing costs - the cost of the finished floor consists only of the cost of the board, underlay and parquet work;

lower requirements for the professionalism of the layer - laying the boards can even be done on your own;

the possibility of reusing the board - a glueless connection allows you to partially or completely dismantle the parquet floor and lay it again.

Main disadvantages:

insufficient reliability - mobility of the parquet layer over time can lead to deformation of the locking joint and damage to the integrity of the structure;

When restoring parquet, it will be almost impossible to properly sand its surface. The absence of a rigid attachment to the base will not allow this to be done evenly over the entire area;

possible discomfort during operation - movements of a floating floor in the vertical plane under short-term loads lead to the sound of steps characteristic of a floating floor and, over time, to the appearance of a creaking sound.

2. Method of rigid attachment to the base involves gluing each parquet board to a specially prepared subfloor. While the adhesive composition dries, the boards are additionally fixed with parquet nails or staples to enhance the strength of the entire structure. This method also has its advantages and disadvantages.

Main advantages:

high reliability of the design - the glued structure of the “parquet cake” will give additional reliability and durability to the floor;

good repairability - the structural integrity of the parquet floor will allow for high-quality repair of its surface;

high level of comfort - the appearance of squeaking or loud footsteps when walking on the floor is almost completely eliminated.

Main disadvantages:

high demands on the professionalism of the installer - installation of parquet boards by non-professionals will significantly increase the risk of a failed result;

higher level of costs - you will need to purchase additional materials and pay for the services of professional parquet floorers;

time-consuming - layer-by-layer installation technology will require significantly more time than assembling a floor using a floating method;

thickness of the “parquet cake” - an additional layer of plywood will increase the height of the parquet floor.

Preparatory stage of work

Before starting the main stage of work, a number of important preparatory activities should be carried out.

1. Preparing the base

Requirements for the base for laying boards in a floating manner. Old wooden, tile or stone floors, a base made of concrete or self-leveling mixtures, etc. can be used as a base for parquet boards. Textile coverings (carpet, linoleum, carpet) are not suitable as a base material. Regardless of the type of base used, it must be level, dry, durable and clean. The evenness of the base is checked over the entire area of the upcoming installation, using a rule of at least 2 meters in length. The clearance between the base and the rule should not exceed 2-3 mm over a length of 2000 mm. If necessary, the base should be leveled or sanded in accordance with the specified requirements. The moisture content in a concrete or sand-cement base should not exceed 2%. Heated floors should be used as a base with extreme caution. The heating temperature of the base surface should in no case exceed +27 °C. Fluctuations in floor temperature during the day should remain within 5 °C. It is not recommended to lay parquet boards made of wood species that are especially sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature, such as beech, maple, olive or wenge, on heated floors.

Requirements for the base for laying boards using the rigid fastening method. Just like for a floating floor, the base for rigid fastening of the parquet board must be dry, level, clean and durable. In addition, it should be as suitable as possible for complete surface gluing of parquet and be able to reliably hold nails or screws inside it. The ideal base is moisture-resistant plywood, comparable in thickness to parquet boards. Plywood, in turn, must also be securely attached to a wooden or concrete base using glue and self-tapping screws. The surface of the plywood must be sanded, and the plywood itself must be laid in compliance with a technological gap of 5 mm wide between the sheets. Attention! The use of “warm floor” systems under such a foundation is unacceptable.

2. Layout diagram

Before starting work, you need to make a choice laying directions parquet boards in every room. Usually the board is laid in the direction of daylight falling into the room. In elongated rooms, it is recommended to lay parquet boards in the longitudinal direction (material waste will be 3-5%). In rooms with complex geometric shapes, you can lay the board diagonally (material waste will be 7-10%). If the base is an old wooden floor, the parquet should be laid across the boards of this floor. Rooms with different laying directions must be separated by expansion joints, which are then closed with overhead thresholds.

3. Preparing materials and tools for work

Minimum set of tools. To lay parquet boards you will need the following tools: a saw with a thin blade, a hammer, a sharp knife, a marking square, a drill, a chisel, a tape measure, a pencil, a wooden or plastic hammer (at least 30 cm long with straight edges), wooden wedges, a spatula and mounting foot.

Preparing the board and related materials for use. Before starting work, prepare the parquet board for installation. It is recommended to keep unopened packages of parquet boards in the room where they will be installed for at least 3-5 days to better adapt the boards to the microclimate of the room. Parquet packs should only be opened as work progresses. Before laying the boards, you need to make sure that they have no defects. If a damaged board is found, it can be replaced with a board without flaws by contacting the seller, or used at the beginning or end of a row during the installation process. The room in which installation will be carried out must be well lit and have optimal temperature (18-24 ° C) and air humidity (40-60%). Don't forget to prepare everything for work: the substrate and, if necessary, glue, plywood, hardware, rags for removing excess glue.

Important points to consider when laying parquet boards using the floating method

Before starting work, be sure to read the installation manual and operating rules for parquet boards drawn up by its manufacturer. Below are only general recommendations for laying parquet boards, and also list typical mistakes that inexperienced craftsmen make when carrying out installation work.

1. Brief step-by-step instructions for floating installation

First of all, you need to measure the width of the room and calculate how many rows of boards will be needed. If the width of the last row is less than 40 mm, cut the boards of the first row with a saw, reducing their width.

Spread the underlay on the base of the floor, if necessary, fastening adjacent sheets of material with adhesive tape so that they do not bend during installation.

Start laying from left to right (Fig. 1), from the solid wall of the room, placing the first board with the longitudinal tenon to the wall. The distance of 7-10 mm between the boards and the wall must be adjusted using wedges.

Install the next board with the short side facing the previous board. Connect the boards to each other tenon into groove (Fig. 2). Continue laying in this way until the end of the first row.

Using a saw, cut the last board of the row to size, taking into account the expansion joint, and lay it.

Start the next row (Fig. 5) with a piece cut from the last board laid. Adjacent boards should overlap each other by at least 30-50 cm (Fig. 3). For a tight connection, it is necessary to lightly knock adjacent boards together using a hammer and a hammer (Fig. 8). Attention! Do not use cutting boards as a support. Continue assembling the parquet board until you reach the last row.

The last row. Measure the width of the last row at several points (including the expansion joint), mark a cutting line and cut the boards to the appropriate size. Lay the boards down and press them firmly into place, for example using a jig. Place a protective pad between the wall and the mounting lug to prevent damage to the wall. Install spacer wedges.

Even after studying the instructions for laying parquet boards, many make typical mistakes and miscalculations, namely:

lay the parquet board on a poorly prepared base;

carry out installation work in a room with improper temperature and humidity conditions;

they are not satisfied with the technological seam at the border of the board with other floor coverings and when approaching vertical obstacles (walls, columns, built-in furniture);

when laying, use cutting boards of smaller than acceptable sizes;

leave the distance between the end joints of boards in adjacent rows less than 30 cm;

loosely connect the docking joint (tenon and groove) of the board.

Important points that must be taken into account when laying parquet boards using the method of rigid attachment to the base

1. Brief step-by-step installation instructions with gluing to the base

Once again, make sure the readiness and quality of the base, materials and tools for laying the board in this way.

Assemble the parquet boards in the same order as for assembling the boards using the floating method, first applying a layer of glue to the base or back of the board.

Press each glued board firmly to the base using nails or a heavy weight. Do not remove the load until the glue has completely dried.

Avoid contact of adhesives with oiled or varnished surfaces. Immediately remove excess glue protruding onto the surface with a damp cloth, preventing it from drying out.

Do not subject the floor to heavy loads in the first few hours after installation until the adhesive has completely dried.

2. Main mistakes during installation work

The method of rigid attachment to the base requires much more experience in carrying out parquet work. But even professional parquet floorers sometimes make mistakes:

do not clean the base from dust and dirt, which leads to deterioration in the quality of gluing;

use low-quality, improperly prepared or unsuitable glue;

do not control glue consumption;

they do not press the boards tightly enough to the base, leaving “air pockets” between them;

do not remove glue residues from the surface of the board in a timely manner.

Summary

At the beginning of our article, we asked ourselves: what do you need to know and be able to do in order to get a beautiful, reliable and durable floor from a parquet board. It's time to take stock.

Laying parquet boards is a labor-intensive and responsible process that requires special knowledge and professional skills. Following the following rules will help you achieve success in this difficult task.

Choose the appropriate technology for laying parquet boards.

Purchase high-quality materials necessary for installation.

Prepare the base correctly.

Determine the laying direction.

Start laying parquet boards only after completing all wet work.

Entrust the execution of all the above points to professionals.

Installing flooring is a very responsible process and not always easy, especially when it comes to parquet boards. Proper installation of parquet has many nuances, and it may seem like an overwhelming task to an inexperienced person. But if you study the instructions in detail and choose the material wisely, installing parquet boards yourself will turn out no worse than those done by specialists.

Parquet boards are a popular and sought-after material, which is why many companies produce them. Not all of them can boast of the high quality of their product, which means you should choose very carefully.

A standard parquet board consists of three layers:

The front layer is made of expensive wood, treated with varnish or impregnated with special oil. The thickness of the front covering is from 1 to 6 mm;
For the middle layer, short slats made of spruce and pine, and sometimes moisture-resistant plywood, are used. All elements of the locking system are also located here;
the third layer is spruce veneer 2 mm thick.

: length 2-2.5 m, width up to 20 cm, thickness from 7 to 26 mm.

For rooms with a light load on the floor, a board with a thickness of 10 mm or more is suitable. For the living room, it is better to choose a coating with a thickness of 13-15 mm, which is more resistant to mechanical stress. If the floor will be laid on logs rather than on a concrete screed, you should choose parquet boards of maximum thickness.

Another criterion for selection is the number of lamellas of the top layer. If the face layer consists of a single piece of wood, it is called single-strip. If the covering consists of two or three tightly fitted parallel lamellas, it is already a multi-strip parquet board. Single-strip boards visually expand the room and look great in classic interiors. There are options for this coating with chamfers at the corners, which creates the impression of a solid board made of expensive wood.

The most traditional option is considered to be a three-strip board with a pattern similar to natural parquet. Each of the three lamellas is divided into several segments that differ in tone. The segments can be arranged in the form of a wicker, a parquet herringbone or in parallel, in the form of a deck pattern. This coating is very decorative and looks great in both small and spacious rooms.

The parquet board must be laid on a solid, level and clean base. Any defects, cracks, or delamination of the base lead to deformation of the boards and reduce their strength. When installing this coating, a height difference of only 1-3 mm per square meter is allowed. So, first, the base is cleaned of debris and dust and its integrity is checked. Deep cracks should be repaired with cement mortar; small cracks should simply be rubbed over. Using the rule, check the flatness of the floor and, if necessary, fill the screed.

A polyethylene film or a special waterproofing membrane is laid on a dry base. Its edges should extend onto the walls by about 5 cm.

A layer of thermal insulation should be laid on the film; Most often, foamed polyethylene in rolls is used for these purposes. The insulation is cut into pieces along the length of the floor, laid tightly against the walls, and glued together with tape. Instead of polyethylene, polystyrene foam boards and sheet cork are also used. The insulation layer has good shock absorption, does not allow cement dust to seep in, and evens out minor defects in the base.

During the installation process you will need:

There are two installation methods: floating and adhesive.

The fastest and most convenient is the first option. In this case, the boards can be fastened with locks or glued together at the ends. The locking system allows for high-quality laying of the coating in the shortest possible time, and also greatly facilitates the replacement of damaged areas.

Step 1. Installation of the first row

First, measure the width of the room and calculate the number of rows of panels. It is very important to know the width of the last row: if it is less than 4 cm, all the boards of the first row should be cut to the same width. Start work from the corner of the longest wall from left to right. The board is turned with the lock to the wall and placed on the floor.

Several mounting wedges are inserted between the wall surface and the edge of the board to provide a gap of 6-7 mm. The end of the next board is placed close to the first and the grooves are connected. This is how they install the entire first row, cutting the last board to fit the size of the room and not forgetting about the gap between the wall and the covering.

Step 2. Laying subsequent rows

For high-quality adhesion, the rows must be shifted parallel to each other by at least 30 cm. The first panel of the second row is cut in half and laid away from the wall. To connect to the first row, take the board with both hands, apply it at an angle to the edge of the fixed panel, level it and click the lock with pressure. The remaining panels are mounted in the same way. To speed up this process, use a rubber or wooden hammer, carefully knocking the boards along the joint line.

Step 3. Trimming the covering for the door frame

When installing the covering near a doorway, take a piece of board and apply it to the bottom edge of the frame. They cut out part of the stand so that the board fits tightly under the box, and immediately remove the sawdust and dust. A thin line of the substrate is cut along the threshold, an aluminum profile with holes for fastening is applied, marking them on the floor with a pencil.

Drill holes for dowels and secure the profile. Next, they cut the parquet board, insert it under the door frame, and click the locks. Finally, a metal threshold is mounted at the opening, screwing it to the profile and covering the ends of the boards.

Step 4. Final stage of installation

When laying parquet boards around communication pipes, use a paper template: apply the template to the panel, mark the boundaries of the hole with a pencil, and cut out the desired fragment with a jigsaw. It is necessary to leave at least 1 cm between the last row and the wall of the room, otherwise the floor may be deformed. When all the boards are laid, the wedges are removed, the baseboards are installed, and the floor surface is wiped with a clean rag.

Glue installation method

With the adhesive installation method, the parquet board is laid directly on the concrete screed. In order for the floor covering to serve for a long time, the base is well prepared: carefully leveled, cleaned of dust, and covered with a dense layer of synthetic-based primer.

Attaching each panel should take no more than 10 minutes so that the glue does not have time to dry. Instead of sealant, you can use cork chips - it easily penetrates the seams, insulates heat well, and does not allow cement dust to pass through.

Installation of parquet boards on heated floors and joists

Parquet boards are very demanding on temperature conditions and do not tolerate overheating. The maximum permissible value is 26°C above zero, and even then not for every type of wood. If the material is suitable for laying on a heated floor, this must be indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. If there is no such information, it is not worth the risk, because replacing dry floors will be very expensive. Install the parquet board directly onto the heated floor system using a floating method.

It is not recommended to lay such a covering on a water-heated floor, since if the pipes break or burst, the parquet board will be severely damaged. It is best if an electric or infrared heated floor is installed - their design is more reliable.

Many people prefer to lay flooring on joists. In this case, you will need sheets of waterproof plywood and screws for fastening it. The logs must be strong and even, located in the same horizontal plane. The space between the joists is covered with a waterproofing film, filled with insulation, and then sheets of plywood, pre-treated with an antiseptic compound, are stuffed on top.

When using the adhesive installation method, the boards are glued directly to the plywood, but if the floating method is used, it is recommended to lay a cork backing on the plywood. The installation process follows the technology described above. In some cases, the parquet board is mounted directly on the logs. In this case, the distance between the logs is made no more than 60 cm, and the parquet board is chosen as thick as possible.