Laying laminate on uneven floors

Laminate is a demanding coating, therefore, to install it you need a strong and even base. Laying a laminate on an uneven floor is a problem that many face before buying material. Surface defects such as pits, cracks, bumps and elevations can reduce the quality of the flooring. One breakdown of the laminate will be followed by the next, and this is fraught with the replacement of expensive finishing material. Is there a way out of this situation? The answer is simple - of course, all of the above irregularities can be corrected before laying the laminate. It is in our article that you will learn about ways to solve this issue. As an example, we will consider several basic options for high-quality leveling of the base.

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The consequences of laying the laminate on an uneven floor

It often happens that after removing the old flooring (linoleum, parquet), we find rather unpleasant moments in the form of an uneven floor. Many people have the following question: is it possible to install laminate flooring on such defects? Before laying the laminate on an uneven floor, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with why this coating should not be mounted on the surface with obvious flaws.

Here is a list of the consequences of such a laying of a laminate:

• Material laid on an uneven base can be unstable, bend and deform under the weight of a person. This is due to the fact that when a person acts on the panel, it bends into voids due to the fact that under the material there is no even and resistant surface.
• After a certain period of time, the slabs on the uneven floor can “diverge at the seams”, and all joints become loose, violating the integrity of the laminate.
• With a significant difference in heights, violation of locks of this type of coating is possible.
• If you have a large concrete flow under the laminate, there is a risk of a large crack on the panel, which will eventually lead to damage to all other components of the laminate.

We hope that this list of consequences will give a complete answer to the question of whether it is possible to lay the laminate on an uneven floor.

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Types of laminate substrates

Uneven floors and other base defects can be corrected with one little trick - installing a leveling substrate. Let's look at its main types:

• Cork backing.
• Cork-bitumen substrate.
• Polyethylene backing.
• Polyurethane backing.
• Substrate made of wood-fiber material.

All types of substrates for the laminate are laid directly on the floor base before installing the coating on a level surface. It should be borne in mind that the laminate does not fasten and does not stick to the installed substrate - it simply remains in its free state. Using substrates, you can hide only minor irregularities, but height differences require special alignment.

Important! In most cases, the instruction is attached to the substrate on the possibility of the maximum size of closing irregularities without affecting the characteristics of the floor covering (laminate).

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Level the floor when laying the laminate correctly

This method must be used precisely when the substrates are powerless. The most popular base for laminate flooring is concrete or wooden floors.Now we will consider the most common way - leveling the surface using concrete pouring.

Step-by-step instruction:

• Prepare the base. We remove the old coating, clean the concrete slab from dust and debris. We close up deep chips, holes and cracks with cement mortar.
• Primed the surface. This will improve the adhesion of the final screed and concrete slabs.

Important! It is better to use not an ordinary primer, but a waterproofing one, if you need to level the floor in the kitchen of the first floor, located above a damp basement.

• Perform alignment. If you have a problem base with large high-altitude drops, then use a cement screed. You can prepare it yourself (the ratio of cement to sand is approximately 1: 3) or buy a ready-made solution. It is important to monitor the water level so that the consistency of the screed resembles thick sour cream.
• We install rack beacons (you can take metal profiles that will remain in concrete slabs after the end of work) with an interval of 0.5-1 meter.
• We spread the cement composition between the slats, leveling the screed with a long rule. We are waiting for the solution to solidify completely (2-3 hours).
• We level the cement screed with a wooden or foam grater. We give time for the complete formation and solidification of the concrete flooring (about 2 weeks), and then boldly lay the laminate.

If you don’t have time to tinker with the concrete base, then use the more modern method of leveling the floor covering - use a self-leveling base, the installation of which takes place in this way:

1. We dilute the dry mixture with water according to the instructions on its packaging.
2. We pour the resulting solution onto the floor, leveling it with a spatula.
3. We roll the surface with a roller with special rubber spikes. These manipulations will make the base smooth, without small air bubbles on the floor.
4. We start finishing with laminate in 2-3 hours, since the finished mixture hardens faster than a cement screed.

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How to lay a laminate on an uneven wooden floor?

We carry out the work according to this instruction:

• We tidy up the existing wooden coating. We examine wooden boards, revealing cracks, cracks and other flaws. We eliminate all these defects with putty.

Important! If any boards creak, then in this case we do their replacement. We fix the boards on the logs using self-tapping screws.

• We grind the wooden surface due to the fact that there are bumps and irregularities on our floor. Since the new scraper is expensive, we rented it to save money on the purchase of new disposable equipment.
• Align the wooden base.
• Check the base level. So, if everything is in order, then at this stage you can finish the process of leveling the floor. If you still notice significant irregularities, then lay on top of the boards sheets of plywood or OSB boards with a thickness of 20 mm.

That finished laying the laminate on an uneven wooden floor!

Important! OSB boards or plywood are attached to the wooden surface with self-tapping screws, while it is extremely important to ensure that the joints of the boards are at the same level.

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Stock footage

In this article, we tried to maximize the question of how to lay a laminate on an uneven floor. Now, in the event of a collision with a similar problem, you will not have any difficulties, because now you know the basic secrets to resolve it.