The floor inevitably falls in the field of our view, forming the image of the room as a whole. It should be comfortable and beautiful, because every day you have to come into contact with its surface. Basic requirements include insulating characteristics, environmental friendliness, wear resistance, representative appearance. The selection of the surface material should include both the specifics of the room, so, the level of humidity, the number of visits in the bathroom, hallway and children's vulnerable. Among the sets of options, of course, preference is worth paying a tree. It is always in fashion and comes up to any style and color. This material is capricious and invalid indoors where the level of humidity is increased, condensate, steam often appear. Thus, it is worth excluding the bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen. Wooden floor is both whole boards, MDF, and laminate, and combined coatings. There is another way to arrange the floor in the living rooms - to do the laying of cork sex with your own hands. This procedure will take the whole family, becoming a bright joint memoir. The material is fuel and pleasant to the touch, and its fixation and distribution do not require special skills.

The origin of the material, its types

Cork is a relatively new material. Only in the 17th century it began to apply it to clog wines, guided by the properties of a material that does not affect the taste of wine. Now the cork tree is used in construction and decoration. This is a layer of cork of cork oak, which is removed from the tree, starting with its 25th anniversary. It is during this period that the bark is easily moving away from the branches and does not harm him. Material then passes several stages of processing, which at the moment are quite effectively working with large volumes of traffic.

Cork floors are divided into types, the laying differs depending on this, because the video instructions differ from each other, taking into account the type of material used. The most expensive material is a solid cork veneer. This is a slice that can be different thickness. The form can be both solid - in the form of a board and flexible - in the form of rolls. The surface of the surface is yellow-brown, with a large natural pattern of dark saturated color. The material can be cut on the tiles, since a solid piece is difficult to decompose, and the surface under it is perfectly prepared. The bottom side can be covered with a film for better adhesion of glue with the surface.

Laying of cork floor from panels is similar to picking up puzzles. In this case, special technology is used for each plate. The base of the MDF is covered with a layer of pressed crumbs from the tube, and then glued a glass of veneer from the tube on the front side. This type of floor can use trimming and waste that are assembled in the manufacture of a solid cork canvase, so it is cheaper. In addition, those who are going to perform work on laying the cork gender independently, it will be easier to work with this material. A separate category is a laminate from the plug, which is already prepared for fasteners and can be laid after the preliminary calculation of the pattern.

There are also offers from construction stores, where knowledge of cork laying technology will help create a masterpiece. We are talking about cork tiles, which is made from the crumb. Under the influence of high temperature, it is pressed, resulting in a yellowish basic tone, darkened with small grains of a darker color. The properties of the material, such as elasticity, thermal insulation, environmental friendliness, are preserved in this case. The size of the tiles traditionally repeats the parameters of the ceramic plates - these are squares and rectangles with a face 30, 60 cm. There are smaller tiles, they rather resemble parts of the stained glass, thanks to a bizarre form and a small size. Only an experienced master will be able to gather qualitatively.

Work on laying

Any construction and repair work require concentration, short desire and strength. In order for everything and the result did not disappoint, you need to choose the correct materials in the store, calculate their necessary volume, find out what is better to start work and how to do with the room after its end. Work on laying the cork sex is not easy, as it requires accuracy, good eyelasier and patience, but a child will cope with it from a technological point of view.

The base is a rough floor. It should be smooth, clean and dry. If your base is made of concrete - clean it from dirt and dust, read the surface for cracks and chips. If any, they need to be embedded with putty, and if the floor is covered with irregularities, it is better to apply a layer of screed. Do not forget that the liquid layer must dry completely, and the week may be required. Wood floor can be additionally coated with plywood layer.

Next you need to buy glue, depending on the type of coating you chose. On the package, the parameters of this product are usually indicated, so it is worth navigating the instructions and advice of sellers. Do not take the usual water-based glue, it will not dry to the end and give the dampness of the plug, which will quickly flashes and starts to break down and climb.

In case of laying of cork sex, it's more about the panels of different sizes, and it is very important to position them correctly. We start not from the walls, but from the center of the room. It can be determined by stretching the rope from the corner to the prick and fixing their middle. It is from this point and a layout will go. It is important to observe the symmetry so that the lanes of the laid panels or tiles were parallel to the wall lines.

Cork laminate and solid panels

There are two ways to laying the floor from the tube - it is adhesive and dry. One-piece plug, laminate, MDF panels with a veneered coating can be laid, attacking them with each other with special grooves. Such gender is called "floating" or lock. On one side of the tile there is a narrow hole along the entire length, and on the other - the comb. One panel is placed under another and snaps. This method is pleasant, since there is no need to be with glue, rub it out and breathe it with pairs. For such a method, a specially prepared layer is needed on the draft floor for better isolation. It can be a plastic film bonded at the joints of a tape or furniture stapler, and maybe a layer of wood. The floor of the laminate or whole tube can be laid on the carpet, if it is clean and smooth.

Styling of cork floor starts from the wall. A second panel is applied to the first panel, a little at an angle, then it goes down, and the castle itself snaps. After laying the first row, you can go to the second, and so on. It is better if the tiles are placed in a checker order, for this you need to start the row from half a plan. Laying such a cork floor does not even require a training video, everything is clearly intuitive. He received its name and thanks to the gaps between the planks, which must be left (about 7 mm), and due to the absence of fastening at the wall - the plinth only hangs over the floor, without attaching it.

Tile - Master Weapon

Cork tile is a cheap coating, but it does not regulate the styling pattern, giving fantasy space. It is very important to work properly with glue. It is better to buy a dear sample so that work does not go to the pump. The first step is the tile distribution. To do this, we define the center of the room from which we begin to turn the tiles dry. First, we define the main points, laying the biggest tiles. By covering the room space, lay small tiles into crevices. As soon as you liked the result, starting sticking. It is made on the same principle - ranging from the center, from the largest tile. Remember that they must lay down to each other.

The glue is applied to the tile, and on the base, the impregnation time of the cork is indicated on the package. Tube laying technology involves the tile application with pressure so that the glue is better grabbed. Surplus You need to immediately wipe so that there are no stains left, for this you can use a sponge. After the large tiles are glued, you can fill the space between them with smaller pieces. If you do not have a suitable size, the tile can be cut into some smaller knife.

Laying the cork floor can take from one day to several, it all depends on the draft surface. If you poured the floor with a tie, it is better to wait for an excess day so that everything finally dried, if you drown the cork base, then the period may be smaller. Choosing the cork floor, take care of the plinth into the tone. Knowing how to lay a tile, you can assemble a whole composition using various shades of the cork or even undermining it, but such panels are more likely for the walls.

A number of warnings

The plug has a number of minuses. She swells and expands from moisture and swears from dryness and heat. These are the usual properties of wood, so they can not get rid of them. In addition, she absorbs odors. Such a floor is unacceptable in the country that you take a long time closed and unheated, in the bathroom, where there is constantly high humidity, in the kitchen, where food smells are soaked.

Despite all the advantages of natural material - softness, depreciation when walking, the feeling of natural texture, there is also the reverse side of the question - the plug is not an antiseptic. In this case, you can see under the dispensary tile or on another area, which is probably the microbes started. This is a raid, dubious liquid similar to glue.

Of course, if the surface is pasted on the right glue, the humidity will always be normal, and you will regularly clean up, the probability of familiar with the microbes face to face is minimal.

Care

The traffic jam will serve you for a long time with gentle handling. For regular cleaning, quite clean water or soap solution, but it is not worth using chemicals, there is a risk of damaging a natural surface. If you have a lot of furniture, which is also moving, it is better to fasten the tubes on the legs, this trick will avoid scratches. Use rugs from rubber or latex, for example, those that are sold to yoga classes are not worth it, as they leave the stains on the traffic jam, which then do not output.

Cork floor is warm for your feet, the ability to lie and sit on the floor for your children. It will not allow such injuries when falling as a concrete base, it will be absorbed with your walking, creating the effect of contact with nature. Choose high-quality floor, follow the instructions and your apartment will gain unsurpassed appearance and convenience.

Cork floor is becoming increasingly popular, which is not surprising, because it gives those advantages that are not available to other sexual coatings. And if the cork floor of the natural material is not a luxury for each due to a high price, then manufacturers are ready to offer no less strong options, but from a cheaper material. To lay the cork floor with your own hands, let's find out how to do it.

Despite the fact that popularity and demand, this material has received not so long ago, manufacturers offer a wide variety of its options. Everyone chooses the one that he is more likely and meets its requirements. There are 4 varieties of this material.

HDF cork laminate

Slightly in more detail you need to stop at the HDF cork laminate, because it is most often buying, focusing on the principle of "price-quality", where the price is in priority, because the quality of the material is far from being as rainbow. Under a foreign abbreviation, there is a conventional fiberboard, which was covered with a layer of cork coating. More often, there is no normal consistency between the stove and the plug, and the chemical impregnation of the material is not an example for imitation.

Such a laminate is cheap, but also creates the visibility of high-quality cork floor. That is why it is bought more often than other varieties. The cork laminate has a multi-layered structure, and the design is similar to laminate - a strap with a lock lock. At the heart of the HDF structure of the laminate, there is a pressed cork crumb, and it is covered with cork veneer, which forms a drawing of a plate covered with varnish. The density forms the lower layer of wood fibers, and the structure is pumped - the agglomerated cork.

Advantages and disadvantages

Cork sex has its drawbacks and advantages. Let's start with his positive sides:

• walking on it does not give fatigue, because the floor springs;
• even without carpet, the floor is warm and comfortable;
• has excellent thermal insulation;
• does not miss the sound;
• fully environmental and natural.

But he has disadvantages:

• if we are talking about a blackboard or veneer, then he has a high price;
• some varieties are difficult to mount;
• the strength of the coating can be called relative;
• smells are poorly outlined, for example, from a spilled fraud liquid;
• it is impossible to use indoors with sharp temperature fluctuations and humidity that lead to its crony;
• the cork floor can form the environment in which pathogenic bacteria and flora perfectly multiplied, so there are no cases when after opening the floor in a couple of years after laying, a fungal mucus was found.

Ideal premises for such a floor

No matter how costly the type of cork gender, and no matter how well you did not care for him, it is a short-lived material.

Step-by-step instructions for laying plugs on the floor

In practice, the installation of such a flooring can be carried out in 3 ways:

We will consider the last two more in more detail, since the installation work is most often carried out on them.

General preparatory work and tools

The preparatory stage for both laying techniques is practically similar and has strict requirements that must be met:

1. If your draft floor is made of a cement screed, then it is necessary to close it, rather than put the cork immediately on it. When operating, the screed will work as emery, and destroy the surface of the floor, which will lead to its fragility and crony.
2. Before laying, make sure that the draft floor is completely dry, otherwise any moisture is quickly absorbed into the plug, make it swelling and spoil. That is why in order to avoid the absence, it is recommended to go through the black surface with a construction hairdryer.
3. All the gaps should be carefully legitized both from risers with heating or water supply and batteries, because moisture is often condensed from them, which is destructive for this sex material.
4. Cork slabs are relatively fragile material, so it is recommended to align the draft floor with a liquid alignment.
5. The finishing layer is better made from the linoleum, and you can make a plug on the old coating be the same linoleum or laminate.

An indicator of permissible humidity for rooms in which this finishing material will be installed - no more than 60%.

Tools

For laying flooring from traffic jam you will need the following tools:

• electric jigsaw;
• level with a working surface of at least 500 mm;
• rubber cizyanka;
• special plinth;
• door thresholds;
• for adhesive installation - the device for applying glue and rolling roller;
• to install the floating floor - wedges for struts.

Installation according to the method "Floating Paul"

One person with such stacking will not cope, so you will need help a couple of your friends or relatives. And do it like this:

1. After the measurements of the room, and drafting the estimate, you need to buy a plug, and leave it for a day in a unpacked room. This will allow the material to adapt to the microclimate of the room.
2. On the prepared draft floor, a rolled cell is to be token, with pockets around at least 100-150 mm. Stacking to make a mustache at least than 200 mm each.
3. Start laying veneer or laminate from the plug better from the far corner of the room, making it with transverse rows. With these, stamps should be shifted to the previous row at least one third.
4. The walls are retreating 2 cm for the free hood of the cork floor, which can, when operating, both expand and shrink due to changes in the humidity of the room.
5. Finish styling the plates, cutting the film flush along the top edge of the floor.
6. Finish direct installation - installation of cork plinth, which is glued to the wall on special glue. Be sure to follow the excess glue, and remove them immediately so that they do not spoil the appearance.

By gluing a stove from the plug be sure to leave the gap between it and the floor of 0.2 cm for the free hollow of the flooring.

Installation on glue

The choice of glue in this process is one of the main points, because the strength of the installation and operational period of the coating completely depends on it.

Use PVA glue for laying the flooring from the tube is strictly forbidden, since it leads to the flooding of the floor.

And do it like this:

1. Plate laying begins with the center of the room, along the spiral contour.
2. Distribute glue by floor, and press it with a cork slab.
3. Tightly slide the plates to each other.
4. Be sure to walk on the surface with a special roller.
5. Each tile check the level.
6. All excess glue needs to be removed right away, and not wait when they are frozen.
7. From the walls make an indent of at least 2 cm.
8. Leave the floor for a day for graze.
9. Conduct the laying of cork plinth, as in the previous method.

Useful video "How to lay a plug for glue"

You can make the cork floor with your own hands, but if there is no confidence that you will do everything right, then it will be better to contact the specialists. Of course, these are the financial costs of payment for their services, but they will install so that it will delight you not one year. And if you want to do everything yourself, but start with a small room and prefer the glue method, because the simplest.

The cork floor is an excellent material, unknownly common in Russia. The plug is better than the rest of natural coatings absorbs the sound, keeps heat. Moreover, the cork floor is an orthopedic coating, because Reduces the load on the spine and joints.

There are two main options for cork floor - adhesive and cloth. The lock allows you to carry out fast laying, but only on the perfectly level basis. The adhesive tube can be pasted even on an uneven surface, but it is necessary to cover with a varnish. The finish coating is varnished, however, makes the surface of the monolithic and protects the floor from the spilled fluid. It is in the adhesive version that the qualities of the plug are better manifested. cork layer thicker.

The adhesive cork can be poked into the joint with other coatings - for example, with a porcelain stoneware or parquet, as well as lay the cork floor across the apartment without a single thoroughbre. Blowless cork floors are connected only through the threshings, even if the same plug is laid in different rooms due to the singularities of the floating technology.

Preparation of the foundation

In order for the cork sex for many years he pleased with stability, did not swear and not loosened, it should be kept on the perfectly smooth surface. For a glorious plug, this is a prerequisite. The backlash in the junctions of corkless beamless plates is the cause of the screens and breakage of the locks. There are several types of base under the plug.

1. Plywood base. In this case, the sheets of moisture-resistant plywood or chipboard are attached to the aligned screed and carefully grind to perfect smoothness. You can use the so-called "adjustable floor" - while plywood sheets are aligned by lining special bolts. If the cork floor is already with the finished cork bottom layer, the substrate is not required to use on the phane.
2. Linoleum. Laying on linoleum is possible only if the floor is smooth and smooth. If it has at least the slightest bloatings, hillocks and whether pits, linoleum should be removed, and the floor prepare, as when laying the traffic jam on the screed. Linoleum does not require laying additional substrate.
3. Screed or concrete base. Most often this is the method of mounting the cork floor. In this case, the screed should be dried and aligned with a grinding machine or an aligning mixture. The leveling mixture must be used by the one that does not contain as part of the casein, it is desirable to add an amplifier like a primer to ensure proper adhesion. When laying on the screed, it is necessary to use waterproofing. To do this, you can use either a substrate with moisture protection (for example, Tuplex), or to sharpen a polyethylene film with a thickness of 200 microns with a wide adhesive under a regular substrate (cork, for example).

After the basis is prepared, you need to warm the room to the optimum temperature in 18-22 ° C. Cork floor tiles should withstand in the room about a day for acclimatization.

Glue for mounting adhesive cork should also be warm. For cork floor, it is not recommended to use PVA glue or water-soluble adhesives - they lead to swelling and damping of the coating. The optimal version is a special cork glue, which includes polychloroprene and synthetic rubber. Such adhesive is well seized, it does not harm the coating and quickly dries - you can walk immediately after laying. The peculiarity of the cork adhesives is a snap-inness, so lesing the plug sheet to the base, it cannot be moved, observe the maximum accuracy.

Step-by-step instructions for laying adhesive cork

1. First you need to place the room. The plug places from the center of the room towards the walls. For this, the center of the room is noted and parallel lines in the direction of the walls are written. It is pre-"trying out" the tiles, decomposing them without glue - it is quickly grasped, so if the tiles are laid with a displacement, they will have to tear and re-align the base.
2. The glue is applied to the base using a toothed spatula. It is desirable that it was a tool with triangular teeth, located after 2 mm.
3. The glue is left at 20-30 minutes (depending on the characteristics of the glue and its quantity), after which the sheets of jacking plugs without gaps are stacked and tightly pressed. After laying, the cork floor is closed with a rubber hammer or rolled by a special roller. If the glue hit in the process of laying on the tiles, it must be immediately removed. As a rule, the glue completely dries in 48 hours - for this it is necessary that the room is well ventilated.
4. At the walls, where entire tiles are not placed, you need to cut them. The gaps between the coating and the wall of 3-4 mm are left. If there is a door in the room, its bottom should be trimmed on the thickness of the cork floor.
5. After laying the cork floor polished and degreases. A protective lacquer for cork or wax is applied to its surface. How much use layers of varnish depends on the source material. The plug is released without coating or primed. If the plug is without coating, you need to be coated in 3-4 layers, if the projected - in 1-2.

Laying of Besleless Cork

There is also a ready-made solution that does not require laying on glue are cork slabs with a plywood or wooden core, which are stacked by a floating manner using a blissful compound. Such a floor, as a rule, is supplied immediately with the substrate and the protective layer - it is enough to accurately fix it by snapping the lock, like a laminate.

Stacking should be made from the edge of the same wall to another row by side. Docked the plates you need to rotate or brickwork, preventing the junction of 4-plates at the same time.

It is possible to cover varnish and a volatile plug for moisture protection. Or you can use specialized gels-sealants for joints.

Caring for cork floors

Cork floor can be washed with an ordinary wet sponge, it is not afraid of the effects of ethyl alcohol and solvents based on benzene or trichloroethane. It should be avoided to enter the surface of the plug of aggressive alkalis. If the surface is severely contaminated, it is possible to carefully clean it with the help of a special means, an emulsion that gives the surface of the shine. If necessary, the contaminated surface can be pulled and re-coated with a protective agent - polyurethane varnish or wax for cork.

Family and widespread consumer recognition, the cork floor earned immediately. Comparatively inexpensive and affordable prices, and the ability to lay the coverage on your own without attracting specialists, make cork sex at a more popular and demanded product.

Manufacturers offer the buyer a wide selection and possibility of purchasing, high-quality and available at the price category of analogs and substitutes for a real cork veneer.

It is necessary to know, and understand that there are small nuances and recommendations about laying cork floors. Including, this applies to the choice of all the types of premises without exception. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully prepare, before you go to the store or on the construction market for the choice, and then the purchase of plotting.

It is necessary to try to study like all cork. Otherwise, you risk not only in vain by purchased material, that is, wasted with their money, but also in vain work, due to their inattention.

Categories of flooring from traffic jams:

1. The most expensive flooring can be bolded - cork boardwhich is made from the real cork of cork oak, its second and most popular name, cork veneer. Veneer is made of absolutely environmentally friendly and harmless, natural and natural material. It produces huge sheets, the size of the sheet comes up to 6 square meters, and its thickness comes from 4 to 6 mm. All sheets are folded into large rolls. It is also known about the production of cork natural tiles. On the reverse side of the sheet, a coating of a durable vinyl film is created, which makes it easy to lay the sheets in the process of working on the surface and on the concrete floor. Despite the serious advantages of the natural cork veneer, it includes many different drawbacks.
2. Of course, in second place, both in price and, accordingly, in quality, cost cork panels from MDF (Warfather plate, medium density). They are often unreasonably confused with a cork board, but if you figure out, there are significant and considerable differences here. First of all, the panels from the MDF are called - cork laminate. Consider an exemplary technology of its manufacture: the basis of the MDF is imposed, with a dry hot pressing, a real cork crumb. Then impose another layer consisting of a cork veneer, from about 2 to 4 mm. From above, everything is covered with varnish or good vinyl film. In terms of its quality, cork laminate is not inferior to natural veneer, and is not as demanded to the surface and the quality of its coating.
3. All manufacturers are released cork laminate According to standard sizes, which is the same without exception, for all types of laminate. Meaning the ratio of the length and width of the panels.
4. The following material will be extruded cork crumb. From the crumbs produced high-quality cork tilewhich is not much expensive at its price. The appearance of the tile is difficult to confuse with something, the structure of small grain, any tile resembles a cork from a wine bottle. Weathered in their unique and colorful sand-coffee palette, with non-refining drawings, they certainly attract the buyer's look in the store. And in quality, the floor made of cork tiles is practically not inferior to the floor covered with a natural cork veneer. And if you compare the costs, the tile floor will be much cheaper than the floor of the whole cork laminate. Manufacturers offer us tiles to choose from, size - 30 by 30 mm, 60 by 60 mm, 60 by 90 mm. Often in stores you can find waste from natural veneer and trimming it look like a tile. You can safely buy and gain good coverage from them, everything depends on your taste and the flight of your imagination.

The floor, made of any cork cover, does not slide at all and does not spring at all. Changes with a significant and weighty load directed at it. Cork floor has excellent noise and thermal insulation. Its most importantly, it is that it is completely harmless to health and one hundred percent environmental. Throughout the history of the use of cork sex, there was never a detrimental effect on the health of people.

With all the advantages and positive qualities of the traffic jam, unfortunately, it also has cons. First of all, it is too big price, but also it is impossible not to note the multi-line and responsible process of its installation. Pretty fragile plug does not tolerate inept and frivolous handling. Without proper experience, to the plot flooring on its own, it is better not to fit.

At traffic jam there is an overestimated threshold of sensitivity to the temperature difference. From this entirely depends on its internal component and appearance. It can swell from water with the content of organic substances dissolved in it. In addition, the plug perfectly absorbs all odors, and for a long time contains them in themselves. If your home has a stopper from the wine bottle, try to return to her the past, or try to get rid of the smell of the part of the plug that was in the bottle. Nothing will work.

Accordingly, on the basis of the foregoing, it can be concluded that the cork floor will not be able to last in the rooms where the temperature fluctuations exist. From any thermal changes, after a small period of time, the traffic jam will become crumble and will be unusable. Therefore, it is not desirable to make cork floors in the hallway, in the kitchen and on the balcony. You can try to put cork laminate with a protective coating, although this is also not advisable.

The most inappropriate places for cork floor, toilet and bathroom. It is categorically impossible! Too much humidity and temperature changes are affected negatively on the traffic jam, with time the microcracks will appear in it, and moisture will receive moisture into the very cork core, and soon the swelling will come to detain. This happens unnoticed, in places inaccessible to our view, under plinths, or under the bathroom.

The cork does not have antiseptic properties, and if you take and open the place of bloating, the so-called bubble, then the unpleasant and not quite looking picture will appear before our gaze. The inner core cork will turn into porridge.
Cork seats

We offer a list of premises for laying of cork floors:

• In the first place, a children's room. Any type of cork floor is suitable for the children's room. Children will warm the cork floor with barefoot and winter and summer, when falling on the floor, the child will not be injured. Baking barefoot in traffic favorably affects not only the psyche of kids, but also develops a feeling of communication with wildlife.
• In second place, bedroom. The reasons for choosing the same and similar to the nursery.
• On the third place, . To the reasons described above, you can add good noise insulation.
• In fourth place, living room. The most correct choice will be here, cork laminate.

Technology laying

There are 3 ways to lay cork coverage.

1. You can lay cork laminate on the principle. The only one must observe some nuances concerning the tool and technology, see below.
2. You can lay cork laminate and veneer, freely, without much attachment. So it will be called the floating floor.
3. You can lay the cork floor for glue.

Floating cork and adhesive, laying technology differ significantly. Preparation of the premises to repair remains the same, but the tool for each floor is yours.

Important and probably the most defining factor is that the tube floor should be treated in the warm season. It is necessary to prevent the temperature drop of more than 5 degrees, when delivered from the supplier to the house, where the floor is inland. Be sure to check the humidity of the room indoors, and make sure that it is not lower than 60%. With air humidity 75%, stinging of the cork floor is strictly prohibited.

What will take when working

Rubber hammer, it is called in Cyanka, for laying and fitting the floor. It is possible an electrolovka, with a very small saw or a grinder, for cutting powder. The manual saw cannot be used (the plug is very crumbled). If the floor is adhesive, then you will need a metal and heavy roller (rink), for good rolling. Be sure to need a level.

It will be necessary to make, for floating floors, spacer clogs. They are made of trimming of cork laminate. In no case is not wooden, because wooden will crumble the plug. In order to customize and edit a plank, we use the same rule. Clamp - hook, to pull up a plate, can not be used too.

You need to buy plinth, it is special, for cork floor. Including, the threshings, glue and spatula will be needed, preferably wide in order to smear the glue on the plank.

Mining cork coating

Preparation of the room

The surface for the floor should be as dry and smooth as possible. A simple concrete screed can not serve as a good coating as it has a too rough surface. Over time, the cork floor will play on it. Concrete here acts as an abrasive, accordingly, the plug will be swallowed.

Wet surface, this is the main enemy of the cork floor. It is necessary to dry the surface before work, otherwise the plug will swell and deteriorate. What was written above, in the section on the bathroom and toilet.

In order to check the moisture content of the concrete floor, it is necessary to cover the floor with a greenhouse film for 24 hours. Check, after the allotted time, if there is moisture on the film, leave for another 24 hours. And so right before reaching the desired result, dryness. The wet surface will lead to an inevitably spoiled floor. Especially carefully inspect and close the gaps at the heating batteries, since the moisture can penetrate from the neighbors from the bottom.

Align the floor

Only a liquid equalizer, you need to equate the floor under the plug. The plug is harder than any composite, which is part of all dry alignments. To the same tube in its composition is fragile. The floor, made on a dry basis, can at any time crack from push onto it with a leg of the chair or from a female heel.

The principal, reliability and service life depends on the basis. Experts advise to carry out the plug on the surface, marmoleum. You can and the most inexpensive. You can and non-thendition.

• Marmoleum, according to its mechanical properties, is identical with a plug, respectively, after flooring on it, there will be no failures from the load.
• Marmoleum smoothly falls on the entire uneven surface of the base and close all its flaws, remaining smooth on top.
• Marmoleum owns bactericidal qualities, which means that the malicious microflora does not have chances for both of origin and for its development.

In that case, if the floor is already installed plywood, linoleum or laminate, you can simply make the cork floor from above.

Floating cork

Floating cork floor can be seized from cork laminate or from a veneer. Of course, this work for specialists, as a rule, all attempts to dial the floor independently lead to different kinds of damage to expensive materials. Accordingly, the price of pieces of veneer increases significantly.

Consider in detail how the flooding flooring is made from cork laminate:

1. We measure the room, make the purchase of the laminate itself. Already in place, at home, unpack and leave open for 24 hours so that the air and humidity temperature is equalized.
2. While the acclimatization of the cork passes, we will drag the floor with a greenhouse film. We try to make the allen centimeters 20, do not forget to make the overlap and on the walls, centimeters 15. The place of the joints are firmly stuck with scotch.
3. All the smells of one row, we differ in size from the edge of the ridge, we try not to touch the groove. If we put and shift the seam in half, half of the handwheels from the edge we cut down the length of exactly in the middle.
4. . From the angle to put the transverse rows and shifting the seams by one third. We take the next plank and insert the previous one in the groove, while trying to keep it under a small angle. Click, with a little effort and omit. Align and customize the cooked pre-rubber image. Be sure to maintain a distance of about 20 or 30 mm from the walls, the extreme hand in line with spacers.
5. Cut off all excess greenhouse films.
6. Cork plinth attach to the wall on the mounting glue, pre-laying the matches under it. In order for it not to come into contact with the floor.
7. Floating cork floor is ready.

Paul on the glue

The quality of the cork on the glue directly depends on the selection of glue itself. From a huge selection, I want to allocate "Casco Flex", and to him like adhesives. Glue, which is based on a volatile aggressive solvent. It does not have toxicity and dries about 10 minutes, time is suitable for fitting board, tiles. The price of this glue and the like, high enough. Based on this, a question arose the possibility of using PVA glue.

Cork sex in no case can be fired with PVA. PVA glue is placed on a water basis, that the plug is harmful. When PVA glue dries, the water evaporates from it, that is, if we put a plate and wait about 25 minutes, it will stick to the tight and will not be corrected. In addition, when working with liquid plow glue indoors, the humidity of the air is strongly increased. Conclusion, PVA glue to use.

Consider the glue cork flooring technology:

• We start working by certainly from the center of the room, and move along the spirals in any direction. Left or right, no difference.
• With the help of a spatula cooked in advance, we apply a layer of glue, put the table and align.
• Immediately ride it with a roller (rink).
• We use the level to check the horizontal and the image for its stagement. If suddenly one side of the table is higher or lower than another.
• Any glue glue, thoroughly wipe the rag with an impregnated solvent. It is necessary to remember and know that glue that dries on the plug cannot be removed. Therefore, the rod used is desirable to immediately throw out.
• We leave along the walls, throughout the perimeter of the room, the gap, the same as for the floating cork floor.
• Be sure to wait 24 hours, after the end of the flooring and only then fix the plinth.
• Adhesive cork floor is ready.

What is HDF?

Of all the types of cork gear, HDF (high density fibreboard) is the most inexpensive. This material covered on top of an extruded cork crumb. Simply put, this is the usual Fiberboard (woody chipboard), according to its properties and naturally in quality, it is far from the real traffic jam. If you want to create a cheap illusion of cork floor, then HDF, for you.

Outcome

Reliable and durable, harmful or bad? Cork floor may turn out to be any. Much depends on the choice of the room where it will be laid. And the price and technology of laying affects its decorative features.

No matter what style you have the interior. Cork is one of the most successful decoration materials. In order for the products for a long time rejoicing you with beauty, aestheticism and excellent performance, the correct installation of a cork cover on the floor is very important.

Corking oak bark is the most valuable natural raw material used for the production of various necessary things, from shoes to finishing coatings. In particular, to decorate the floor are issued:

1. Agglometered cork slabs glued.
2. Tile or strap made of crushed cork self-adhesive.

Consider every type of more.

Adhesive agglomerated plug

To obtain this type of products, the bark products are crushed into the crumb of the desired size, mixed with thermosetting synthetic resins and is pressed into blocks with a density of 450 to 800 kg / m³. The resulting semi-finished product is cut into sheets with a thickness of 3 to 6 mm, of which tiles or strips of typical dimensions are formed on the machine or strips and a length of up to 120 cm. The edges of the finished products are smooth, so it is necessary to glue them. Product cost - from 700 r. / M² and higher.

Cork stove agglomerate.

The adhesive cork is well combined with a water "warm floor", but it is necessary to choose elastic glue with a mark "for heated bases." We remind you that manufacturers (Corkstyle, Wicanders, etc.) ultimately do not recommend to glue the product on the screed, under which the classical system of electrical (cable) heating is arranged.

Laccued or finishing waxed, this finishing material is perfect for premises such as a kitchen, an entrance hall, a balcony, a living room and other objects with a high degree of hiking and abrasive loads. At the same time, it is equally well combined with ceramic tiles, classic parquet and any other flooring.

Self-adhesive outdoor traffic

The finishing material is thin tiles of standard or veneered agglomerate, on the wrong side of which an industrial adhesive layer is applied under protective paper. The latter prevents the drying of the adhesion coating and significantly facilitates the process of laying on any base, including walls and even the ceiling. The price of the product begins from 800 r. / M².

The cork floor of this series is produced in the form of a tile with a side of no more than 30 cm, a thickness of from 3.6 mm to 5 mm. Very rarely there are planks on the adhesive basis of shortened dimensions - width up to 18 cm, length up to 90 cm. The facial surface is usually clean, in need of protection from water, painting liquids, household chemicals and abrasives. Additionally, adhesive compositions are almost not used, but it is important to carefully prepare the basis under which it is allowed to arrange only water type of heating.

Cork in the interior decorated in Eco style.

According to the manufacturers, the floor cork can be glued to the floor and walls in any rooms with a normal level of humidity: bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, children's. Combinature of products allows you to create interiors in such a popular retro and eco-style today.

A rather interesting and practical solution - on a plate of HDF or a composite hard PVC, a decorative layer of solid veneer or a thin sheet of agglomerated tube is glued. Planks around the perimeter are supplied with a click lock connection for a glorious assembly of products into a single cloth.

Cork laminate with an integrated substrate.

Some manufacturers are added in addition to the standard layers also pinned. For him, as a rule, a high-pressed cork layer is used to a cross section of up to 2 mm. The total thickness of the product does not exceed 12 mm. Production cost - from 1100 r. / M².

The main advantages of this type of product:

1. No glue, as well as compositions for finishing surface treatment (varnishes, enamel, etc.);
2. Combination with water and electric "soft" (infrared rolled products, rod mats, etc.) floor heating systems.
3. The technique of installation of cork laminate is completely identical to the method of assembling an ordinary laminated coating, respectively, it is easily implemented both with their own hands and by the forces of specialized brigades.
4. A wide range of use, because the cork parquet is produced in almost all load classes - from 21 to 41.

Products on a HDF basis are used in rooms with a normal or partially elevated level of humidity, including living rooms, loggias, kitchens, and shops, beauty salons, cafes, etc. For bathrooms, laundry and other similar objects it is better to lay the product on PVC Plate.

Laying of adhesive cork floor - step-by-step instruction

For mounting flooring from traffic jam, it is necessary to pre-prepare tools and auxiliary means:

1. Compositions for alignment and repair of concrete or wooden base (bulk floors, cement or epoxy restoration compositions, plywood sheets, chipboard, OSP, etc.);
2. Groove adhesive for mineral floors or fungicide for a wood-based;
3. Polymer contact adhesive (DECOL VERN, HOMAKOLL 277, FORBO 650 EUROSTAR FASTCOL, etc.);
4. Polyurethane or acrylic lacquer with labeling "for floors", finish oil or wax for protection of the surface (Lobadur Supra, OSMO Hartwachs-Öl, Biofa 9032, etc.);
5. Brushes and other means of applying protective superficial compositions;
6. Building vacuum cleaner;
7. Roulette, square, coloring cord and pencil for marking;
8. Hygrometer and level;
9. Toothed spatula or velor short-ski roller for applying glue;
10. Kiyanka or rollers weighting for cork tiles to the floor;
11. Cutter and drill with crown nozzles for the formation of technological holes or cuts;
12. Sponge or soft cloth for removing excess glue.

Cork products without a surface protective layer are recommended to be glued with water-dispersion adhesive compositions. And the tiles with a vinyl or lacquer tread layer can be treated with the use of compositions on solvents.

Manufacturers on each pack of goods printed the basic installation guidelines. In particular, it is indicated that the packaging must be placed in 24-48 hours before the start of laying. And all work should be carried out at:

• The absence of drafts, working heating devices;
• Indoor temperature - from +18 to +25 ° C;
• Relative air humidity should be within 55-65%.

Laying of cork sex is not such a difficult event, quite feasible. It is carried out in 4 stages:

Step 1. Careful base preparation

The beauty and durability of decorative and finishing coverage depends on the quality of preparatory work. Cork tiles have a small thickness and a small rigidity, so any base defects immediately manifest on the surface.

The draft floor should be:

• Durable, withstand at least 150 MPa compression;
• Smooth having a maximum difference in height not more than 2 mm for every 2 meters of surface;
• Solid, without cracks, loose, bothering sites and other similar defects;
• Clean, without traces of glue, fat, soot, soot, bitumen and old coatings;
• Dry. Indicators of residual moisture content of mineral base - 0.5-2%, wooden (including Phaneur and Chipboard) - 8-12%.

Mineral screed is considered the best base for the plug. Paul alignment is also allowed. But you need to choose moisture-resistant products, preferably with tipped edges. This will prevent the belling of the base under the influence of glue and the formation of seams between the elements of the draft floor. The joints between sheets are usually filled with acrylic (not silicone) sealants. But the best way, tested by time - a mixture of sawdust and glue PVA.

To improve the characteristics of the base base, the appropriate primer is used. In particular, for hardening, it is possible to use the composition of firming or deep penetration. And for the alignment of the absorption capacity of the floor and enhancing the coated clutch - adhesion.

After checking the draft floor on the evenness and absence of the slightest defects, you can start a markup. With the help of a laser builder or roulette, the center of the room is marked. In parallel and / or perpendicular to the long wall on the base, the initial line is drawn, relative to which the tiles stand will be made. If the customer demands to glue the lamella diagonally, the axes are marked at an angle of 45 ° to the room walls.

Cork products are pre-folded in a checker order or shifting to a dry surface of the jack along the reference axis as shown in the figure below. The extreme tiles are trimmed with the temperature gap around the perimeter at 8-10 mm. If necessary, the elements are cutting out technological holes for communication. If you want to form a chamfer, then there is enough edge to handle fine-grained emery paper and remove dust with a wet cloth.

Step 2. Printing Cork Coating

The laying process begins from the center of the room to the walls. The glue should be thoroughly stirred, apply on the draft floor and an involnee side of the tiles with a toothed spatula or velor roller. In accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, you need to wait 5-20 minutes so that the composition is partially polymerized. Then the floor element is applied to the base with a small tension, that is, with the formation of a barely noticeable "wave", to smooth and roll with rollers. Speaking surplus of the adhesion mixture must be immediately removed with a wet cloth.

When choosing glue, pay attention to two important parameters. First, the products on solvents refers to the category of professional and makes a strong chemical smell, respectively, the master need a respirator and gloves. And secondly, in the cold season, you need to buy only products with the marking "Frost-resistant", which easily transfers repeated freezing-defrosting and does not resolve.

Some adhesion compositions are distinguished by super-violent instant fixation, that is, they can almost immediately glue two heterogeneous material. But this is not very convenient in work, as it will not be possible to make a small fit of the elements of the floor in the process of laying. Therefore, inexperienced masters, we recommend using universal non-shock adhesives.

Technology of working with self-adhesive products from the traffic jam is much easier. Remove the protective paper, attach the tile to the base and catch up with the xy. Try to work as much as possible and carefully, since the fit can lead to the formation of slots and even breaks.

Step 3. Application of Protective Coating

The stacked cork floor is recommended to cover glossy or matte finishing compositions 12-24 hours after the end of gluing. To do this, it is necessary to clean the surface with a vacuum cleaner or a damp soft cloth. Varnish, wax or oil thoroughly mix and apply a roller, flexible pate or brush in 2-3 layers with intermediate drying for 2-3 hours. You can walk on the floor in a day, and it is allowed to exploit after 3-5 days.

If the lacquer or wax is chosen correctly, then your female heels, nor claws of animals nor falling objects, are not afraid of your sex. Therefore, the higher the load, the more stable the abrasion coating should be. For example, for salons, gyms or hotels are not suitable for standard products for home use. It is necessary to acquire special series of particularly persistent compositions with polyurethane resins.

Step 4. Finish decoration

The easiest stage is the fixation of various moldings, such as plinth, cartoons, angular elements, etc. Their purpose is to provide a smooth and uniform framing of cork coatings, give a complete view of the room.

Plinth from cork agglomerate.

Moldable products use:

• Flexible plinth is glued from the agglomerated technical cork to 1 meter long and a height of 40-60 mm. Products are well idle both on smooth walls and curvilinear structures - erkers, columns, etc. There are natural colors, as well as tinted or elected. To protect against water and shock, the surface is covered with varnish.
• Semi-rigid planks from an array of agglomerated plug, veneered with natural wood. The length of the product does not exceed 1 meter, the height is up to 60 mm, the thickness is not more than 20 mm. Color gamma includes from 5 to 12 shades.
• Hard MDF plinth, covered with a film with imitation under the plug. A good solution for premises with high ceilings, since the length of the products is 2.5 m, the height can reach 100 mm, and the thickness is 30 mm. As a rule, the choice of colors is not too wide - up to 8 tones.
• Standard PVC Plinth with a natural plug surface. There is an assortment of almost every manufacturer of hard plastic products, including a molecule with cable channel.

PVC plinth with the imitation of the cork surface.

The first two types of moldings are fixed using contact adhesive adhesives. MDF products can be installed both on "liquid nails" and through traditional self-tapping. For PVC plinths, it is recommended to use original fastenings or dowel-nails.

For clarity, we offer to see a professional video on the correct gluing of cork flooring.

Installation of cork laminate

The laminated parquet, veneered by a plug, is laid according to the standard scheme for this type of coatings - "floating" method. The next set of tools and materials will be required:

1. Leveling mixtures or sheets of plywood, OSP, chipboard, gvl et al.;
2. Building vacuum cleaner;
3. Deep penetration soil;
4. Waterproofing film with a thickness of 0.2 mm (for mineral bases),
5. Cork or any other substrate with a cross section of 2-3 mm;
6. Roulette, square and marker for marking;
7. Hydroelectory;
8. Electrolovka for cutting planks, as well as drill with crowns for the formation of holes for pipes;
9. Spacer wedges for the formation of the temperature gap along the walls;
10. Kiyanka and picking bar;
11. Metal bracket for fitting planks.

Work is carried out in 4 stages:

Stage 1 - Preparation of the foundation

The base should be smooth, dry, durable and clean. To do this, you need to carefully examine the draft floor, check on:

• The presence of surface drops, chosel, bugro. Permissible level - no more than 2 mm for every 2 row meters. All irregularities need to be aligned locally with the help of improvised tools and repair makers;
• The presence of cracks, loose, peeled, damaged areas, which are necessarily eliminated by ready or dry mixtures.
• The level of residual humidity. Welcome meter will easily cope with this task. Permissible indicators for a mineral screed - 0.5-4%, for organic - no more than 12%;
• Lack of contamination and spots of fat, bitumen, old glue or mastic.

Often the masters assure customers that to eliminate all the flaws it is enough to buy a rolled substrate or in mats thickening. This is an erroneous statement. No lock will endure the backlash formed by a soft underlying layer and just breaks with the load. Therefore, in the presence of a large number of floor defects, it is better to form a new one, the finishing layer with the help of bulk mixtures or a dry team screed.

So, the base is aligned, primed and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner from the slightest signs of dust and sand. It is now recommended that it is recommended to cover the waterproofing film with the adhesive lanes by 10-15 cm. When working on the bandwidth of plywood or chipboard, the moisture barrier layer is not required.

Next you need to put the substrate. Although manufacturers claim that for laminate it is best to choose a cork underlining layer, in fact, absolutely any - from foamed polyethylene, extruded polystyrene foam, extruded coniferous substrate, etc. It is enough to put stripes or mats and fasten them.

Stage 2 - Laying Finish Coating

First, calculate the required number of planks and rows. It is necessary in order to correctly arrange the extreme stripes, because their width must be at least 5 cm. If necessary, you can slit the first row planks.

The first lamella needs to put the crest to the tomb of the door, in the gap insert spacer clins. To the end to put the following strips and fix it. After filling in one row, a new one is formed, and not with a solid flooring, but from trimming the previous strip with a length of at least 30 cm. The lamellas are recommended at an angle of 20-30 ° and snap up to the formation of an even web.

The strips of the last row must be trimmed with the temperature gap, insert into the opening and attract the metal bracket to the snaps of the lock connections.

3 Stage - Installation of decorative migrants

At the end of work, the floor must be allowed and installing the plinth and thresholds. For cork laminate, products from agglomerate, PVC, MDF or Metal are equally well suited. The main thing is that the shades of the selected moldings are not dissoned with the main coating.

Clear floor care

The agglomerated array and tube veneer has a dense structure, but at the same time the surface is not too stable to mechanically load. The first level of protection is various finish coatings, including varnishes, waxes, oils, vinyl films of increased strength. As practice shows, even if they are presented, you can spoil the floor.

• Support for stable climatic parameters indoors: humidity from 45% to 65% and temperature from +15 to +35 ° C;
• Sticking on the legs of furniture tread linings from felt, silicone;
• The presence of rugs at the entrance and under the moving elements of the situation (tea tables, chairs, office chairs);
• Protection against contact with rubber products. For example, habituals on a needle-free basis, wheels of bicycles or strollers, soles of sports shoes are categorically contraindicated;
• Use to care for soft household chemicals, without the content of abrasive particles;
• Application for frequent cleaning of a vacuum cleaner.

Cork floors are good in that they can really restore. So, small dents, holes and similar defects are eliminated by attaching pieces suitable and texture or filling with cork sealant, repair wax.

To eliminate strong contaminants, stains, small risks and minor scuffs, cork coat manufacturers offer a wide range of specialized household chemicals in the form of concentrates or ready-to-use compositions.

For glued cork materials with a hopelessly spoiled lacquer layer, an effective renovation method was developed - re-lacquer. First of all, the remnants of the old protective coating are removed by the grinding machine. Then the floor is cleared of dust, it is ground and a varnish varnish in 1-3 layers.

Cork floors covered with oil or wax can also be renovated. But for this it is better to turn to professionals, as special equipment and special industrial means will be required.

Tip! If you need repair masters, there is a very convenient service for their selection. Just send in the form below a detailed description of the works that you need to perform and offers to you in the post office with prices from building brigades and firms. You can see the reviews about each of them and photos with examples of work. This is free and does not oblige anything.