Diagonal laminate flooring. how to install it correctly
Increasingly popular as a flooring is gaining laminate, which many owners are not just buying for the interior of the rooms in their homes, but also seek to make his laying with their own hands without attracting professionals from construction companies. In this article we will talk about how to perform diagonal laminate flooring with their own hands no worse than the professionals and, what are the features of this process.
The basics of installing laminate at an angle
It is common for many homeowners to buy laminate flooring and perform the installation exactly as described on the packaging, but there is no elegance and zest in this kind of flooring. No construction company will present photos of such flooring as an advertisement for their own services, because they do not attract potential customers.
Use this method is reasonable only in cases where certain room conditions require the laying of boards butt to butt and not otherwise.
If the room has any flaws in the layout or, on the contrary, a designer’s idea (rounded walls or characteristic overhangs of floors), then aesthetically will look variant when the laminate flooring is laid at an angle to the walls.
Traditional flooring laying involves laying the boards parallel to one of the pairs of walls. Diagonal laying implies an angle of 30 to 45 degrees. Angle is chosen depending on the angle observed at the junction of two walls. “What laminate flooring layout is best for the room”.
Sawing under 45 degrees
There are special tools for filing, which you can buy at any construction store. The first of them is a jig. This is a frame with special guides that can be used to cut the slats at 90 and 45 degrees. The convenience lies in the fact that you can cut profiles standing on edge and lying flat and get different types of angles for different types of joints. In our stores we have samples of chairs so that you know what to look for if you’re going to buy them. On work with the jigsaw let’s stop in detail.
Step one. 1. Take the skirting board 2. Lay it flat, face up 3. Select the marking in the jigsaw at 45 degrees.
Step two. 4. Remove the corner with a 45-degree notch. 5. Take a whole strip of baseboard (you can take a small piece, the main thing is to make sure that enough size) and put it face up. 6. Place the sawn slat squarely on the whole slat, combining them to get a right angle. 7. Let’s guide a straight trimmer line along the cut of the skirting boards we have installed.
Step Three. 8. Take the whole slat with the marking and put it into the jig-saw with the marking facing upwards. 9. The marking should overlap with the notches at 45 degrees. Check this. 10. Saw off the corner according to the marking 11. Slide the skirting board with the sharp corner we made to the section of the notcher, where there are notches for straight 180-degree sawing.
Step Four. 12. Saw a square corner. You should have an even triangle, that’s what we need! 13. Align the triangle and the baseboard in reliefs 14. Glue the parts together and fix the skirting board to the wall. You have a great end piece with a saw cut!
Step one. 1. Take the skirting board 2. Place it with its base on the bottom of the jig saw. We press it to the edge with the back side uncovered. Position the base of the skirting board on the base of the jigsaw at 45 degrees. Note the space between the sawed corner and the wall of the jigsaw should be an acute angle. 3. Sawing off the corner.
Step two. 4. Take the new, straight baseboard trim. You can take a short cut. 5. Place the base of the skirting board in the base of the jigsaw. Lean it against the edge with the back side (uncoated). We choose a 45 degree notch on the jigsaw. Attention, it must be on the other side (not the side!) from the first notch! Pay attention, the space between the sawed off angle and the side of the jig saw should be an obtuse angle. 6. Sawing off a corner. We need it! 7. Align the skirting board and angle. You have an amazing edge by sawing! Sawing an outside corner
Step One. 1. Take the skirting board 2. Put it with its base on the bottom of the jig saw. We lean it against the edge with the back side (without covering). 45 degrees notch on the jigsaw. Note the space between the sawed corner and the side of the jigsaw should be a sharp angle. 3. Saw off a corner.
Step two. 4. With the second skirting board repeat the previous steps. Take the skirting board. 5. Place it with its base on the bottom of the jigsaw. We lean against the edge with the back side (without a covering). Choose a 45 degree notch on the jigsaw. The only difference from the previous step is that you have to lean against another 45 degree notch on the same side. Notice the space between the bevelled corner and the wall of the jig saw has to form a sharp corner. 6. Let’s saw a corner. 7. Align the two baseboards. We have a perfect outside corner.
Step One. 1. Take the skirting board 2. Place it with its base on the bottom of the jig saw. Lean it against the edge with the back side (uncoated). We choose a 45 degree notch on the jig saw. Note that the space between the bevelled corner and the wall of the jigsaw must be an obtuse angle. 3. Saw a corner.
Step Two. 4. Repeat the previous steps for the second skirting board. Take the skirting board. 5. Put it with its base on the bottom of the chair. Lean it against the edge with the back side (uncoated). We choose a 45 degree notch on the jigsaw. The only difference from the previous step is that you have to lean against another 45 degree notch on the same side. Note, the space between the sawed corner and the wall of the jigsaw should be a blunt angle. 6. Sawing off the corner. 7. Join the two skirting boards together. You have a perfect inside corner.
Another tool is a coping saw. This is a device where the saw blade is combined with a stand. The saw stand has circular markings on it, like a protractor, which indicate the right degrees you can turn the saw to. All you have to do is set the saw blade to the right angle, turn the unit on and cut the saw straight. This is the fastest and easiest way to make the cuts. And in order to avoid buying an expensive tool that you only need once in the next 10 years, you can rent it. Since the speed of the disc is high, craftsmen recommend gluing the area that is being sawed with masking tape, so that no microfractures are formed, and the material does not crumble.
How to fix minor flaws But even if you can not rent tools, and you doubt that you will be able to evenly file the corners, you can always use the adhesive putty “ADEFIX F”. This is a dense, white, thick composition based on acrylic micronutrient. When applied, the mass fills the voids, and after drying, the seam can be sanded and painted, if necessary. And even if there are no large cracks, chips and irregularities, the joint can still be sealed with this putty, and then the plinth will look absolutely solid and monolithic. But acrylic glue, like any other water-based sealant, can not stand direct contact with water and high humidity. Moisture will simply wash out the acrylic particles from the cured seam. If the joint is painted together with the skirting board, the acrylic composition will certainly isolate it from moisture, but in very wet areas, such as bathrooms, to put a skirting board bonded “ADEFIX F” manufacturer does not recommend.
How to file the laminate at 45 degrees
Laminate is one of the most common floor coverings. It’s convenient, economical, and thanks to the variety of textures, it fits perfectly into every interior.
There are special schemes that show in detail how to install laminate. Let’s look at some of them.
With this scheme of laying laminate stacked with an offset of 1/2 on one piece in each new row. The surface is the most homogeneous and resembles brickwork. It is better to choose not short, rectangular lamellae.
In this layout the laminate flooring is laid with an offset of 1/3 by one piece in each new row. The layout resembles steps and is the neatest and most aesthetically interesting of all the direct laying laying layouts.
The advantages include:- relevance (suitable for modern interiors);. appearance.Disadvantages:- the large consumption of material;- wasting time on the construction of the scheme of stacking and calculation of the amount of material.
Chaotic layout of the material is the most common and cost-effective. Install the laminate flooring begins from the wall with a window:- Along the direction of daylight, if the goal. hide the seams;- across, if the goal. Transform the room, visually expand the narrow.Leftover scraps of laminate after laying one row simply transferred to the other row.The advantages are:. easy installation and the ability to lay laminate independently. the lowest material consumption. versatility (suitable for any room).The disadvantages include chaotic pattern, which is not suitable for every design.
All previous laying schemes laminate can be laid not only straight, but diagonally.Diagonal pattern. is the scheme of laying the laminate flooring at an angle of 45 degrees.Consumption of the material does not exceed 15%: in square. less, in narrow spaces. more.This scheme visually expands the space and looks great in rooms of complex configuration.
The scheme under the herringbone. is an imitation of parquet laying, which was created a couple of hundred years ago.Please note that for laying laminate under “herringbone” you need to choose short lamellae with grooves and tongue-and-groove edges, or use vinyl laminate with panels of short length.There are several schemes: English Christmas tree. classic layout with the placement of lamellas at right angles. French herringbone. A scheme for laying laminate at any angle, most commonly at 45 or 60 degrees. Hungarian Christmas tree. scheme, which is no different from the English scheme, except for the color. According to the instructions, the installation is carried out in triples or quadruples of the same color.Some manufacturers have a collection of laminate with a Christmas tree imitation in the form of rectangular panels with the desired layout, which greatly simplifies installation.
Needed materials and tools
For laying laminate diagonally, you need to buy materials and collect (rent ) some tools:
- lamellas. about 10% more than the area of the room;
- Electric jigsaw. will be required for trimming the laminated panels (you can use a hand saw on wood, but it is difficult because of the large volume of work);
- wooden or rubber mallet;
- A bar or a special metal bracket is used to cushion the lamellae;
Mounting bracket.
Distance spacers.
Calculating the number of lamellas you need
When starting to renovate an apartment, first of all construction materials are bought. The same rule applies to laminate, the more so that if there is a shortage of lamellas at the point of sale, you can no longer find laminate from the same batch. And it, as even beginners know, can be very different in shade from the previously purchased flooring. Therefore, the calculation of the required number of laminate panels should be approached very meticulously.
First of all, the floor area is found. Then the number obtained is corrected by the actual consumption. For diagonal laminate flooring, for example, a variation of about 20% is needed. That’s why the size of the room is multiplied by the factor 1.2.
In order to save costs, you can calculate the material requirements more accurately yourself. For this purpose a detailed template is drawn up (see “Estimating laminate flooring requirements” on page 31). Picture. below) with the laying of each panel, where non-returnable waste and used leftovers are marked. In this case you can reach a loss of about 7%. As a safety precaution, it is advisable to buy material with a factor of 1.1.
Layout 1. optimal layout of lamellas in case of diagonal laying.
General tips
Never lay laminate flooring apartment on its own for the whole apartment, especially if the flooring is laid in several rooms, hallways and kitchens at once. Try to do so that each room has its own individual direction of laying panels.
If you use parquet as a substrate, be sure to repair it so it does not squeak.
If you are still not convinced that you can install laminate flooring yourself, it is better not to take the risk and enlist the help of professionals. Overpayment for quality installation will be more than offset by long-term use and lack of need for repair work.
Remember that laminate is sensitive to water, so do not use water-based adhesives. Also avoid sand or small gravel that can scratch the flooring. After you have finished laying, wipe the floor with a microfibre cloth.
You should not use water based glue because most laminates do not like water
Laminate floors are noble, neat, durable and of high quality. Be sure to take into account the temperature and humidity in the room.
When installing, sort scraps and try to use them as much as possible in the installation.
Panels of small size are well suited for a diagonal installation.
General tips
Under no circumstances should you lay laminate flooring throughout the apartment, especially if the flooring is to be laid in several rooms, hallways, and kitchens at once. Try to do so that each room has its own individual direction of laying panels.
If you use parquet as a base, be sure to repair it so that it does not squeak.
If you are still not convinced that you can install the laminate flooring yourself, it is better not to take the risk and seek help from professionals. Overpayment for a quality installation will be more than offset by the long service life and lack of need for repair work.
Remember that the laminate is sensitive to water, so do not use water based glues. Also avoid sand or small gravel, which can scratch the pavement. After you have finished laying, wipe the floor with a microfibre cloth.
Do not use water based glue, as most laminate does not like water
Laminate floors look noble, neat, they are durable and of high quality. Be sure to take into account the temperature and humidity in the room.
When laying, sort out the scraps and try to make the best use of them during installation.
Panels of small size are well suited for diagonal laying.
Preparatory work
Laminate flooring is installed on a pre-prepared base. In this case, the methods of preparation are different. There is a different technology for concrete flooring and a different one for a wooden subfloor.
The concrete base
When starting to lay new flooring on a concrete slab, first prepare the substrate. It must be:
- durable and capable of withstanding any static loads without deformation. Otherwise, the locks of the panels will be destroyed immediately;
- flat. bumps more than 2 mm in height after a while squeeze out the body of the lamella (about 1 mm). After a few months, these protrusions will rub off under the feet of the owners, and the flooring will require repair;
- It should be dry. any moisture in a concrete screed will eventually find itself inside the laminate flooring, despite the waterproofing that has been done. it is the nature of steam molecules to go where they are not wanted. No need to explain what happens to wetted lamellae.
Get an ideal surface for a laminate flooring can be after the complex works.
- The room is freed from furniture and old flooring.
- Remove the old screed. How to perform the work quickly and efficiently can be found in the article “Preparing the floor for laying laminate flooring.
- The floor slab is repaired. I want to write that if necessary, in practice. always. Cracks, flakes and chips are sealed first with “cement mortar”, you can use “Concretecontact”, and then the repair mortar. Step by step instructions are given in the work “Preparation of the base under the floor screed.
- Pour screed on the screeds. Fill correctly will help materials posted on our site: “How to check the level of the floor in the apartment itself?” and “How to set beacons for floor screed?”.
- Waterproofing the base, along with soundproofing. The operation can be performed under screed (“floating screed”) and on screed (“floating floor”). All the technologies of the work can be seen in the article “Waterproofing of the floor under the laminate floor”.
- Place the subfloor. How to choose it correctly, you can see here.
Wooden subfloor
Wood is less durable than concrete. Therefore, the preparation of the substrate from the rough wooden floor must be approached thoroughly. First, remove places or replace boards and beams affected by mold, fungus or rot. Practice shows that the simple removal with a planer or an axe does not give results. Even after the treatment with special compositions of cleaned places on them again in a few years, microorganisms appear. Secondly, additionally fix the sagging boards with self-tapping screws. Third, to remove creaks.
After that, waterproofing work is carried out. How to perform them competently, is shown here.
Complete the preparatory work by leveling the floor (how to do this, described in the article “How to lay laminate flooring on a wooden floor”) and installation of subflooring.
Briefly about the essentials
Sawing the edges on the tiles under 45 degrees is formed when the tiling of structures with a right angle and flat line.
It is important during the preparation of the substrate to comply with all geometric requirements: 90 degrees, vertical and horizontal (less often diagonal).
To ensure that the front of the tile is less exposed to machining to avoid chips, trimming at the ends is performed with an indentation from the outer surface of 0.5-1 mm.
The corner with the maximum quality is formed on electric tile cutter by means of diamond disk and water.
A more affordable way to file the tile at 4 degrees. grinding the base with an angle grinder and a diamond disc and sanding nozzle.
Of hand tools for work can be useful file, tile cutter, glass cutter and abrasives.
Tiles are laid with the strict observance of the thickness of the external joint and its evenness, the level with reference to the rest of the tiling.
Write in Комментарии и мнения владельцев, what do you think. what approach is more rational: reliable and simple with straight edges or aesthetically attractive and more complicated with cutting the edges at an angle of 45 degrees?
Why do I need a notch?
Tile with a 45 degree edge is often used for the purpose of decorating a neat appearance of the outer corner if it is straight. You can also do everything with regular edges, but then you get an overlap on one side, and the seam is offset from the fold line. The disadvantage of a simple solution is also that the end of the facing often differs in color from the front surface. To form a gap between tiles equal to the general on the walls and not to spend money on decorative overlays, it is rational to make a notch.
However, to choose for tiling tiles with a notch at 45 degrees is worth knowing some of the disadvantages of such a solution. If the base will be prepared with deviations from the right angle and a straight line, it will not allow to make a quality finish. Either the joint will be too narrow/wide, or the inside of the end will be in contact/severe divergence. The grout layer must be kept within acceptable limits, filling the joint at least to the full thickness of the tile.
If the inner edges of the grout will be in contact, then due to the thermal expansion of the material mechanical load begins the process of fracture. And in places with a high passability will quickly become worthless from an aesthetic point of view of a sharp edge with a glazed coating, and without it, too. And behind them, the grout will begin to chip away, allowing vapor and water to penetrate under the cladding.
Methods of shaping an edge
There are several tools and techniques for how to file a tile at 45 degrees. The most effective is an electric tile cutter. Especially if there is a provision for correcting the position of the support pad and the disc in relation to the angle between them. On such installations, the likelihood of chipping on the edge is minimal, the accuracy of turning good. Cutting blanks more often performed by the “wet” method, so a little dust and debris comes out. There’s only one tangible disadvantage. it’s impossible to form a uniform cut on a curved edge.
The working process includes several sequential actions:
- with painter’s tape marks the line for the trimmer of the cut (a pencil or other drawing indicator will be washed away with water);
- A clear cut trimmer line is applied over the paper tape;
- During cutting, the tile is pressed tightly to the supporting platform and moves smoothly towards the disc, without pressure on the disc to avoid chips;
- you correct the position of the platform or the cutting disc of the tile cutter at 45 degrees for the formation of the edge at the right angle;
- Grind off the excess part of the face without affecting the front edge of 0.5-1 mm.
accessible to home craftsmen for trimming tiles under 45 degrees is an angle grinder. Construction materials are often cut in a straight line with an angle grinder. The tool can also be used for making an angle cut. The work is noisy, dusty, visibility is not very good and there is enough trash, but the result is quite realistic.
- cutting off the excess, if any (the working mode should be set to 1000-2000 rpm);
- sharpening the edge, correcting the angle, smoothing the damage on the front of the cutting line.
Less often the problem is solved with the use of handheld tile cutter. At 45 degrees the edge can be formed with a sharpening stone or electric analog, file or grinder. The main thing that the facing material lends itself to the processing of the selected tool. Finishing grinding is sometimes made by craftsmen with an ordinary sandpaper. Especially with low-cost tiles, this approach works well.
There are tilers, who cope with the task of forming a cut at 45 degrees with a glass cutter and angle grinder. Here first on the front side a line is drawn with a cutter in one go with even pressure. Then from the underside the disk forms a recess in the shape of a corner with the line of “bending” over the line from the glass cutter with the observance of 45 degrees from the working side. After that the workpiece will not be difficult to break in the area of the smallest thickness. Finish off by sanding the edge with a fine abrasive.
Choosing accessories for circular tools
For working with porcelain tiles, tile and stone on the marketplace cutting-off wheels are in a wide range. For tile trimming it is better to choose diamond discs. If water will be used for nesting, all variations are welcome. For the “dry” method, samples with different slits are better suited. Air passes through them, which reduces the chance of the tool overheating quickly.
Grinding can also be carried out not with hand tools, but with the help of an angle grinder or the same electric tile cutter. But it is better to choose the first option. There are special adapters for the angle grinder, which are screwed onto the threaded pin of the mechanism. On the other side there is a platform with Velcro. An emery wheel or ceramic stone grinder is glued on it. Only it is necessary that the angle grinder has a speed regulator. Here the work should be done at low speed.
In this video, the tiler shares his experience of filing tiles at 45 degrees with the use of sanding nozzles “turtles”:
How to trim a mosaic
Working with large tiles during the filing of the edge under 45 degrees is simplified by the possibility of good fixation of the workpiece by hand or with special devices. In the case of mosaic there is no such a possibility, and for a neat tiling of the right corner trimming the ends is also relevant.
Specialists use an electric tile cutter to work with the edges of small tiles. Placed on the platform, the workpiece is placed face down, to minimize the appearance of chips. The main thing is to be careful to avoid injury.
Laying rules
In order to properly lay laminate, it is necessary to saw it properly.
To do this, you need to follow some rules:
- Strictly follow the angle you have chosen for the work. It is best to make a template and work by it. It is best to saw with the tool to which you are accustomed;
- When working with an electric jigsaw, the speed should be increased. This is necessary to avoid chips and burrs. You won’t get an even cut with a low RPM;
- Cutting with an angle grinder will not be difficult, if a disk on metal or laminate is installed.
Laying linoleum if you follow the rules of laying is not very difficult. The process itself will be simple, if you properly prepare the surface, choose the necessary material and be ready to work yourself.
Calculate the costs
To start the calculations you need to know the following parameters: length, width, area, number of corners, the degree measure of corners. We also determine the angle of the laminate flooring itself. Most often the angle of 45 degrees is chosen because of the convenience of calculations. Rarely use the angle of 30 degrees, the rest are almost not used because of the complexity of the calculations and drawing.
To correctly calculate the number of elements, you need to know exactly the area of the floor, the length and width of each piece. It is also necessary to remember the geometry. There is a universal formula for calculating if the angle of laying. 45 degrees, it looks like this: Number of elements = (area of the room (width x width of the floorboard x 1.42)) / area of one floorboard.
As an example of the calculation, you can take the area of 6×9 m. The width of the piece is 10 cm and its length is 1 m. The number will be = (6 x 9) (0.1 x 6 x 1.42) / 1 х 0.1 = 548.5 boards. You can conclude, to cover a room with these dimensions will need 549 elements. It is always necessary to take a reserve: it is recommended to take 10% more than it was calculated, i.e. 549 10% = 604 parts.
There are no universal formulas for angles other than 45 degrees, so it is easier to use that angle.