If you came to the idea that you want to lay a laminate in your kitchen or bathroom, then you need to think about how much this flooring will be relevant for these rooms. In the kitchen or bathroom, of course, it is not recommended to lay a regular laminate. For these purposes there is a moisture -resistant or waterproof laminate. And these are not two identical names of one laminate model, there are significant differences between them.
Moisture -resistant laminate was created specifically for rooms like a kitchen. It is protected from humidity due to special impregnation, which creates such an effect. At the same time, such a laminate is more wear -resistant, soundproofing and impact -resistant, unlike conventional laminate.
For the time being, laminate was forbidden to lay in bathrooms. But the construction industry specialists created a waterproof laminate. Unfortunately, this revolutionary decision has far from democratic prices. But beauty, as they say, requires victims.
The waterproof laminate is not afraid of the temperature difference, does not rot and the fungus does not form on it, it is not at all afraid of chlorine and alkaline detergents, it holds heat perfectly, durable. It should be noted that the laminate is divided into wear resistance classes. So, for example, class 34 is the most wear -resistant. Therefore, in order to be 100% confident in your floor covering, you need to buy a waterproof laminate of the 34th class, which will confidently serve you for many years, even in a bathhouse or just a bathroom.
Laminate laying
For laying the laminate, the necessary tools will be required: a wooden or rubber carpentry hammer, a hacksaw or a jigsaw for cutting wood, a pencil, a long ruler, a polyethylene film.
To prepare the floor for installation, you need to dismantle the baseboard, get rid of the old flooring, align concrete. Then cover the floor with a plastic wrap for vapor barrier, and lay a layer of soundproofing material on top.
When laying the laminate, you need to leave a place between it and a wall of about 1 cm. It is known that after heating the laminate expands, and this gap will help to avoid floor deformation. With subsequent installation of skirting boards, it will close and will not be visible. In order to avoid breakdowns of laminate tiles, it is better to connect them at a low angle, and for a denser joint you need to use a rubber hammer. To hide the seams well, the flooring should be placed parallel to the light falling from the windows.
An important rule when laying a laminate is that in no case can it be fixed with screws or nails to the floor, as well as glue tiles among themselves. The laminate has a different degree of wear resistance, is divided into several classes, on which its price depends.