What should be the linoleum substrate for the concrete floor: advice and feedback from builders

Despite the variety of modern finishing materials for flooring, linoleum still remains the most popular and in demand. This is because the linoleum has long proved its practicality, durability and durability. In addition, the cost of such coverage is very affordable. However, before you finally make your choice, it is worth determining whether you need to lay the liner under the liner, on the concrete floor or on the wooden floor it is better to lay it and how much it all costs.

Level the floor, prepare the base

In order to determine which substrate on the floor for linoleum you need, it is necessary to decide on the type of the floor itself. Most often it is a concrete base with a rather uneven surface, so to begin with it should be leveled. This process should be taken with full responsibility, since not only the appearance of the floor covering but also the term of its exploitation will depend on the even concrete layer.

First you need to completely clean the floor surface from the old coating, if any, remove all layers of steam, noise and waterproofing, carefully clean the floor of debris, dust and dirt.

Then it is necessary to evaluate the quality of the concrete coating. Using a building level of the appropriate length, it is necessary to make measurements and note all the hillocks, dents, the height of the differences between the building slabs. If the total number of unevennesses exceeds 15-20% of the total floor area, then it is necessary to perform a repeated concrete screed. It is best to level the concrete covering with a self-leveling mixture that will fill all the holes and irregularities on its own.

The final stage of preparation of the concrete base should be the treatment of the floor with a primer.

How to prepare a wooden cover

For the preparation of a wooden covering, first of all, it is necessary to carefully fix all the cracks. For this you can use special blades, but it's much more effective and cheaper to use homemade composition. Take old newspapers, cut them finely and fill with plenty of warm water. When the paper softens, it needs to be wrung out and mixed with glue. With the paste obtained, carefully seal all cracks, chips, cracks and irregularities.

After that, the surface of the floor must be cleaned with sandpaper to remove any roughness. Of course, you can process the floor and cycling. You can do this either manually or with a special device. Then the surface will be perfectly even and the substrate on the floor under the linoleum will lie immaculately.

Is it really necessary linoleum substrate

Many experts still fiercely argue about whether a linoleum underlay is needed on concrete floor. Reviews and opinions are various, however, it is worth noting several important details:

• With the help of a substrate, it is possible to level out slight unevenness of the floor surface, which will be fruitful in the process of exploitation;
• If the laying is done on a cold floor, the room is not heated enough or there is an unheated cellar at the bottom, the substrate will help to eliminate this trouble;
• Almost all types of substrate have noise-absorbing effect, help to soften sounds when walking, and also make the coating softer.

Natural substrate

The most popular material for making a natural linoleum underlay is cork. It is produced by pressing granules from the bark of cork oak, and binders are also used only natural. So the output is 100% eco-friendly.

Also very popular is linen or, for example, jute substrate. Under the linoleum, it is possible to cover insulation and a combined type - this is a mixed insulation consisting of jute, flax and wool.

Jute linoleum underlay has some advantages. In production, it is treated with antiseptic and flame retardant composition, which prevents fire, rot and mold formation. Jute isolation has the properties to absorb moisture and give it back, but it does not get wet.

Linen linoleum under the linoleum on the concrete floor is also quite environmentally friendly and, like in the previous case, is treated with special compounds, so it also does not rot, and no "livestock" in it is not started. It is made by punching a natural flax with a double needle and rolled on rollers.

Polymer substrate

Substrate linoleum on the concrete floor, the photo of which can often be found on the Internet, is made of polymer materials. This is the most inexpensive and common insulation, but it is not very convenient for linoleum. Although these materials also have sound insulation and have good thermophysical properties, under the roll material they quickly crumple and lose their quality.

To determine which linoleum substrate is right for your case, you should pay attention to the price of polymer substrates (they are much cheaper than natural ones), as well as their variety.

The polymer substrate for linoleum on the concrete floor is as follows:

• Expanded polystyrene plates;
• Penofol (rolled);
• Aluminum foil isolon ;
• Penoizol (liquid foamed polymer);
• Other polymers.

Multilayer insulation

Also, a linoleum substrate for concrete flooring is also used in multi-layer insulation. Very convenient, for example, a film warm floor, it will maintain a constant floor temperature of 26-30 ° C, which will not allow the coating to melt.

A layer of heat-insulating material is laid on the rough floor , sheets of a film warm floor are laid on top. The design is connected to the mains. The thermopole is covered with a polyethylene film, then sheets of plywood are stacked. The fiberboard is not worth using, you can damage both the linoleum and the film thermo box. It is necessary to watch closely, that sheets of plywood were fastened directly to a floor, without touching a thermo film. On top of the plywood laid liner and linoleum. This construction guarantees high-quality insulation of the concrete floor.

Warming of balcony or loggia

Substrate linoleum on the concrete floor on the balcony is also usually a multi-layer construction. Only here the infrared floor is most often used, it is not afraid of moisture and does not contribute to a fire. The temperature of the floor is regulated by thermal sensors, and copper-silver conductors are hidden in the graphite bands, through which an electric current of 220 V passes. In principle, in this case, you can do without a substrate, but if the linoleum is not thick enough, you risk damaging the heating film.

We lay the substrate - mounting technology

In principle, for laying linoleum is not required to have some special knowledge, but still it is necessary to adhere to some rules. First you need to carefully clean the floor of dirt and dust, vacuum, and if necessary, then wash it.

After the floor has dried, the linoleum liner is laid. On the concrete floor for ordinary heat and to ensure vapor barrier on the entire surface is put the usual polyethylene. The strips overlap each other, and the joints are connected by means of an adhesive tape. Polyethylene should be spread in such a way that it would go a little to the walls - about 3-4 cm.

Now the layer of the insulator itself is laid. If the material of the substrate is roll, then you just need to cut off the strips of the necessary length and lay them on the floor, and glue the joints together. If the substrate is sheet, then it is necessary to unfold the sheets in staggered order and carefully glue the joints.

The next layer - directly linoleum, but before the final laying it is recommended to spread freely on the floor and leave in such position for a couple of days.

Stelim linoleum - to glue or not?

Linoleum can be laid in several ways, and it is not necessary to glue it to the substrate. If you want to save a little, you can glue only the joints with special glue, but this can not be done for all types of linoleum.

You can also use double-sided tape, which, in general, is quite convenient. Adhesive tape can be glued in the form of a grill over the entire area of the room, and it is possible to do it only in the places of the seams. It depends on the area and the configuration of the room.

However, many experts consider the previous methods short-lived and prefer linoleum just to glue. To do this, you can use special adhesive compounds or bitumen mastic. By the way, bitumen mastic is a fairly good waterproofing agent, and its pasty consistency will help to even out the unevenness of the base. It should be remembered that the use of mastic requires the treatment of concrete floor with a special primer suitable for working with bitumen.

How much and what will it take?

In order to calculate the cost of consumables for styling, you need to take into account many different factors. Of course, it all depends on the size of the room and the work needed to level the base. Also important is what linoleum substrate will be used by you and how you are going to fasten it.

In general, you need to calculate:

• Cost of materials for leveling the floor (cement-sand mixture and primer for concrete base and putty - for wood);
• The quantity and price of the insulating substrate and everything you need to fix it (adhesive tape or glue);
• Directly linoleum and means of fixing it (glue, mastic, scotch, etc.);
• Skirting boards.

The main thing is to calculate the quantity and width of the linoleum as accurately as possible, because if it is not enough, then it will be problematic to fix it, and if you just take it more just in case, you can just spend money for nothing.

Taking into account all the recommendations, you can easily put linoleum on your own, and choosing a quality substrate for a long time will extend its service life.