How to lay linoleum on a concrete floor

Linoleum is one of the most popular floor coverings. It is distinguished by a large assortment of color options and a installation method that is understandable even to a beginner. In order for linoleum to last as long as possible in perfect condition, it must be laid in compliance with installation technology. Styling given type of material can be made with your own hands. Read on to learn how to properly lay linoleum on a concrete base.

How to properly lay linoleum on a concrete floor

Concrete is recognized as the best base for laying linoleum coverings. During the work itself, they use a method of attaching the material to glue, double-sided tape or apply simple pressing using a plinth. It is necessary to understand that the thinner the material, the more critical you should be about the quality of the surface on which it will be placed. The air temperature in the room should not be lower than 18 degrees, and the humidity should not be more than 68%.

REFERENCE. On a perfectly smooth surface, the coating will last up to 30 years, and on an uneven support - 5 times less.

Laying linoleum on a concrete floor — algorithm

After studying the information provided, you will understand how to lay the flooring yourself. Before starting work, you should prepare the necessary equipment:

• special adhesive mixture;
• building mixtures;
• primer;
• cold welding;
• roulette;
• moisture meter;
• tape (double and masking);
• vacuum cleaner;
• plinths with fastenings;
• knife or cutter;
• felt-tip pen;
• putty knife;
• roller;
• brushes

Preparing the base

Preliminary work is one of the most important stages in the process of laying linoleum. The floor surface must fully comply with the required characteristics. Let's consider the main ones:

1. Purity. Unacceptable presence of dirt, sand, debris and other small objects.
2. Humidity no more than 4%. The surface must be dry. The the indicator is checked using a special device - a hydrometer.
3. Evenness. The maximum permissible difference should be no more than 2 mm for every 2 cm area. There should not be even the most minor flaws.
4. Strength. To strengthen the base, it is recommended to use reinforcing mixtures, reinforcing fabric and other materials.
5. Solidity. All cracks should be removed a week before starting work on laying the material.

There are various ways to make the surface ideal for further work. In this case, the technology will depend on the condition of the concrete, as well as on the need to install a thermal element and sound insulation, which must be installed in advance.

ATTENTION. Linoleum is an elastic coating and if there are defects on the concrete base, it can quickly tear.

Dismantling the old coating

The old flooring is removed. It is pryed off with a spatula and removed in pieces. If you can’t remove something, it is advisable to use metal sandpaper and thoroughly clean the difficult area. Further You should start cleaning the surface from debris. The floor must be thoroughly swept and vacuumed.After cleaning, it is important to check the surface and evaluate her quality. It is also worth considering whether it is necessary to lay some kind of base under the linoleum in the future.

Repairing existing defects

If the concrete has cracks, potholes, unevenness and differences in height, then it must be leveled. If the presence of fungus or mold is detected, this problem should be solved first. The floor must be washed, treated with an antiseptic solution, and then thoroughly dried. To seal cracks, you can prepare your own solution from the following materials:

• 1 part cement M400-M500;
• 6 parts sand;
• 1 part water.

First, cement and sand are mixed together, and then the liquid is gradually poured in. The resulting composition is applied to well-cleaned recesses using a spatula. Further Leave the floor to dry for about a day. Larger irregularities can be covered with polyurethane foam. tubercles with big the difference in height is knocked down with a hammer to the level of the screed.

Smoothing concrete gender can be done using special mixtures. Also You will need a trowel, a building level and a metal profile. You can use a polymer composition that can be purchased at any hypermarket.

IMPORTANT. Defects such as dents and cracks can not only lead to damage to the linoleum, but also significantly impair sound and heat insulation performance.

Screed

Working with a screed is the most difficult and labor-intensive process. Before starting work, you should mark a reference plane for alignment. To do this, draw a horizontal line on one of the walls and continue working, moving along the walls in a perpendicular direction. The result should be a surface that is even on the walls.

Then on the floor we find area 50X50 cm and fill it with solution and level it well. At the end of the work, you can finally level the surface with a spatula. It may take several days to fill the floor with cement screed. because. the base must harden.

Laying linoleum

A waterproofing material such as polyethylene can be laid on top of the concrete. This will increase sound insulation performance and also insulate the supporting part. Cuts of polyethylene should be placed overlap so that they visit each other on a friend on 25 cm. The captivity wall should extend approximately 5 cm.

Linoleum should be placed on the floor, extending approximately 8 cm onto the walls. To speed up the work process, it is recommended to draw a plan for laying linoleum in advance, because. In rooms of non-standard sizes, the work can become more difficult. Using a felt-tip pen and a centimeter, you can easily transfer the resulting drawing on the material. At the end of the work, excess linoleum near the walls should be cut off so that a small gap of about 1 cm remains between the wall and the edge. This gap is necessary in case the material expands under the influence of high temperature.

What to glue

You can lay linoleum without sizing. IN given In this case, it can be easily secured using double-sided tape along the baseboard and at the entrance. To do this, unscrew the edges and fix the tape on them, and then iron the canvas and remove the protective layer. In the case of glue, the following recommendations must be observed:

1. First, you should twist the layer to half its length.
2. The floor is treated with an adhesive solution according to the recommendations on the packaging.
3. At the junction, leave a strip of approximately 35 cm without glue on both sides.
4. Further detect certain time and straighten the linoleum again, pressing it well.
5. When gluing linoleum, it is advisable to have a special pressure roller. It squeezes out air well, ensuring strong bonding.
6. Further exactly Also glue the second side.
7. At the end of the work, the plinths are fixed.

ATTENTION. The roller can be replaced with a regular plastic trowel used for gluing wallpaper. Also For these purposes, use a board, wrapped felt or felt.

Sealing joints

If several pieces of material were used during the work, then the joints formed between them must be sealed. One of the simplest and reliable options is to attach a metal strip. So come when two materials of different colors are combined at the door. However, in the center of the room this method will not always be appropriate, because. the bar will stand out, which is unaesthetic.

It is more rational to buy so-called cold welding. Observe certain sequencing:

1. First you need to remove excess material in the joint area. To do this, it is better to cut through both parts at the same time. In this case, the connection will be invisible.
2. Further It is necessary to unscrew the unglued parts along the seam, apply glue to them and let them dry.
3. Use wide tape to glue the joint and cut it along the joint.
4. Then open the glue and install the nozzle on the tube.
5. The needle is inserted into the beginning of the seam and pressed on the tube until a spot of glue appears on the tape.
6. Carefully move the needle along the cut so that the amount of adhesive mass is the same.
7. After 15 minutes, the tape along with any remaining glue can be removed.

If the technology described above is followed, the docking will be practically invisible. After the lapse of a couple of hours After finishing the work, you can begin to fully use the linoleum and start walking on it.

The most acceptable option is to lay linoleum on a cement floor. The end result, no matter how refined and expensive the material neither was The appearance of the floor covering purchased will depend on the quality of the work performed. Therefore, the issue of studying the technology of laying linoleum should be taken seriously. seriousness. If you follow all the rules, you will get a real design project. We hope that this article will be useful and will help you in the process of laying linoleum on a concrete floor.