Laying linoleum on a wooden floor: is this possible and what are the advantages? How to lay linoleum on a wooden floor correctly. Is it possible to lay linoleum on a plank floor?

26.10.2023

Linoleum is one of the widely used floor coverings, which is actively used in residential and public spaces. If there is a concrete base, laying this coating by professionals can be done quite quickly. But today there are still many houses where boards are used as flooring and the technology for laying linoleum is slightly different. In this article we will tell you whether it is possible to lay linoleum on a wooden floor and how to do it correctly if you decide to do all the work yourself.

Wood floor inspection

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it is necessary to properly prepare the base, since the quality of installation and the service life of the coating directly depend on this. The work begins with an initial inspection and analysis of the condition of the boards. To do this you need:

Check that each board is securely fastened at all points. Check for any deflections or play in the web;
Inspect for damage in the form of rotten areas or partial darkening of the board as a result of exposure to moisture;
Make sure there are no fungal growths or mold, as well as the absence of rusty fastening elements;
Check if there is a squeak when walking on the floor. If creaking occurs, then the cracks between the boards can be sprinkled with ordinary talcum powder or graphite powder.

Important. If a rotten area or fungal formation is discovered, then before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, the damaged boards must be replaced with new ones, and make sure that there is no damage to the load-bearing floor joists, if any. It is not recommended to try to eliminate the fungus by mechanical cleaning and coating with antiseptics. The pores of the fungus penetrate deeply into the wood tissue and no treatment guarantees their complete removal.

Preparing the floor surface

First of all, you need to remove the remnants of old paint and all other debris from the surface of the boards. If the paint holds firmly, then you can leave it, removing only the peeling areas. Pick up the paint layer with a chisel or spatula; if the paint comes off easily, it is better to clean the surface of the boards completely. In difficult places, you can use a hair dryer or paint remover. Then level the surface as much as possible and make sure that the fastening elements of the boards do not stick out above the floor plane.

Important. Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, the boards must be covered with plywood or fiberboard to create a level base. It is not recommended to lay linoleum directly on the boards, since they have a slight deflection when walking or installing furniture, which will lead to stretching and rapid wear of the linoleum.

Plywood or fiberboard is laid on the boards, with a sheet thickness of 8-12 mm. The thickness of the plywood sheet is selected based on the degree of deflection of the boards. If the logs are located at a large distance and the boards sag, then it is better to use thicker sheets to compensate for the bends.

For your information. Laying plywood on a wooden floor under linoleum is done joint to joint. To secure the plywood, wood screws with a countersunk head are used, which, when screwed in, should not protrude beyond the sheet.

When laying sheets of plywood, simultaneously level the hearth using a level. If the screws are tightened too tightly, the plywood sheets may become deformed. If the sheets are thin and when screwing in the self-tapping screws it is not possible to maintain a flat surface, it is necessary to use a drill to make recesses in advance for the screw head to enter into the slab.
Then the plywood laid under linoleum on a wooden floor is sanded at the joints with sandpaper. The joints are sealed with wood putty and, after drying, sanded again to achieve a smooth base.

If the flooring boards are relatively fresh and strong, then instead of laying plywood, you can scrape the surface to level out small differences, but in this case it is advisable to use linoleum with a dense base.

At this point, the surface preparation is completed and the final step before laying the linoleum will be the complete removal of dust using a vacuum cleaner and a slightly damp rag.

Preparation of linoleum

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it must be laid out on a prepared surface and left for several days. During this time, the material will acquire room temperature and straighten out for convenient work with it in the future. In places where linoleum does not adhere well to the floor, you can lay heavy objects with a flat base, such as books or boards.

Important. Make sure that during the purchase and transportation of linoleum, strong bends of the canvas are not allowed. If there are kinks on the purchased material, then it is better to return such material back to the store and ask for a replacement.

If it is not possible to return the product, then before laying linoleum on a wooden floor with bends, it is recommended to straighten the broken area as much as possible and press it with a heavy object. PVC-based linoleum can be heated with a hairdryer to remove cracks. However, the coating on a natural basis will most likely not be able to be leveled and the bend will have to be cut out to create a joint.

After the material has straightened and acquired room temperature, you can begin cutting the canvas, having first removed the baseboards. To do this, you need a ruler, at least two meters long, and a construction knife with a retractable blade. When cutting PVC linoleum, leave an allowance at the edges for shrinkage, which at high temperatures can be up to 2% of the area.

Installation of linoleum

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands begins with determining the direction of the pattern. For example, it is better to lay plain coatings or products imitating marble or granite in the direction of the incident light from the room window. This will help visually hide the joints, if any. If the color of the coating has a relief or multi-colored texture, then there is no difference in the direction of installation.

For your information. In the absence of a plywood backing, linoleum is laid parallel to the direction of the boards so that the joint is in the middle of the board. If there is a plywood base, the direction of laying colored or textured material does not matter.

Monitor the indoor microclimate and avoid drafts. During straightening and laying of linoleum, the room temperature should not be lower than +16 and not higher than +35 degrees Celsius.

Choosing a method of fastening linoleum

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor with your own hands, you need to choose an option for attaching it to the surface. Today there are three options, such as:

Laying without gluing. The method is the simplest and fastest, but it can only be used in a room of up to 10 square meters and in the absence of connecting seams.
Laying on tape. In this case, the canvas is fastened with special double-sided tape along the perimeter of the linoleum sheet and at the joints.
Laying with glue. Glue mounting is the most effective installation option and contributes to the longest service life of the coating. However, the process is quite labor-intensive and is required for rooms with an area of more than 20 square meters.

Important. With the second or third installation option, there may be a need to join several sheets. In order to make a perfectly fitted joint, you need to overlap both sheets by about 8-10 cm. Then we fix both sheets to the surface with glue or tape, not reaching 2-3 cm from the overlap point. We lay the ruler exactly in the center of the joint and make a deep cut in two materials at once as evenly as possible, obtaining an ideal joint. After this, coat the wooden floor under the linoleum at the joint with glue or lay down tape, and then glue the material.

Let's start installation

When laying linoleum on a wooden floor without glue, it is necessary to finally level out all the unevenness of the coating from the center to the edges of the room. With sufficient exposure, the coating should lie as flat as possible. Then we cut off the excess material with a construction knife along the wall, making a gap for expansion of approximately 0.5 - 1 cm between the wall and the edge of the canvas. After this, skirting boards are installed, which simultaneously fix the position of the covering.

When laying using mounting tape, it is first glued around the perimeter of the room, without removing the protective layer from the outer adhesive side. Further, all actions occur in the same way as in the first option. After leveling the coating, its edges are folded back, the protective tape is removed from the tape and the edge of the canvas is glued, after which the baseboard is installed.

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor is carried out in the same way as on a regular concrete floor. Linoleum is glued in parts, having previously prepared the adhesive composition. The entire coating is conventionally divided into two parts, then one part is folded back and the adhesive is applied to the floor surface using a spatula or roller. The glue is left for 20-30 minutes, then the bent material is glued to the surface. After this, the procedure is repeated with the second half.

Linoleum as a flooring material is very versatile, but has a number of specific qualities. To lay it on a wooden floor, you must not only ensure the correct installation of the supporting system, but also properly treat the surface and follow the installation technology.

Features of the behavior of linoleum coating

A wooden subfloor is considered the most suitable base for laying linoleum. Plank flooring has a natural ability to regulate microclimate: when there is excess moisture, the boards absorb it and release it back if the air is too dry. On a linoleum covering, this behavior of the base has the most favorable effect: the canvas does not warp, the top protective layer does not crack, making the floor possible to use in a very long term.

However, a wooden subfloor under linoleum requires special preparation. Basically, the requirements are for the smoothness of the surface, as well as the exclusion of damage to the wood by microorganisms. It is also necessary to prevent warping and shrinkage of the wood by all means; for this, the supporting system must be as rigid as possible.

Linoleum can serve for years, sometimes even decades, as a finishing floor covering, but only if a number of risks are eliminated. When laying on a wooden floor, the main factors that can damage the coating are:

Blistering of boards due to insufficient quality preparation of lumber. On the sharp edges of protruding boards, the coating quickly wears out and cracks.
Formation of condensation between linoleum and plank flooring. Usually this phenomenon occurs due to insufficient floor insulation. The result is the formation of mold and delamination of the coating under the influence of moisture.
Low adhesion of the subfloor, which is a consequence of insufficiently high-quality processing of the boards. The presence of burrs and high roughness do not allow the linoleum to be reliably glued to the base.

Scraping and sanding subfloors

Careful preparation of the wood base for laying linoleum is not required only if one of the cheapest materials is chosen as the coating with the prospect of replacing it in the near future. If the goal is to create a truly durable coating with an exclusive appearance, the boardwalk should be carefully processed.

Unlike the preparation of typesetting boards for finishing coating, scraping for linoleum has much smaller tolerances for roughness. Since linoleum is rarely covered with a rough covering of calibrated or tongue-and-groove boards, the main task comes down to leveling the overall plane to acceptable values.

At the first stage of preparation, the floor is subjected to rough stripping to lighten the wood. If there are traces of finishing materials on the board covering, they are removed with a brush sander until the solid body is exposed. In other cases, use a regular electric plane with blades removed to remove a layer of about 0.3-0.5 mm.

Next comes grinding the surface. With it, the movement of the abrasive should be carried out strictly along the fibers or at an acute angle to them. An acceptable result is the complete absence of burrs and fiber scuffing, that is, the result should be a visually smooth and uniform surface. For flooring made of boards without lashing, it is practiced to widen the seams with chamfering of about 1.5-2 mm using a corner chisel, this stage is especially important when installing a covering of high-quality linoleum with the prospect of its operation for the next 10-15 years. To complete the preparation, smooth flooring without protrusions between adjacent boards is impregnated with an antiseptic, thoroughly dried, primed and dust-free before laying the finishing coating.

Leveling with sheet materials

If the subfloor made of boards has a significant curvature or there is a fairly thick layer of paint on it, leveling with plywood or particle boards is practiced.

To level the floor under linoleum, a thickness of sheet material of about 6-8 mm is sufficient. Since there is a rigid base underneath, the displacement of the sheets at the joints can be neglected. If the boardwalk is significantly susceptible to warping, it is possible to lay compressible rolled materials like foamed polyethylene with a thickness of about 3-4 mm under the sheets. You can also eliminate swelling of joints by laying chipped cork directly under the linoleum itself.

Sheet materials for leveling must be firmly pulled to the floor. Along the edges of the sheets with an indentation of 30 mm and a pitch of 90-100 mm, fastening should be done with self-tapping screws. They also fasten the remaining plane of the sheets, on average one point for every 150-170 cm 2 planes. When screwing in self-tapping screws, you need to adjust the depth of recessing in order to subsequently avoid filling the marks from the fastener with putty and removing loose chips.

For leveling with sheets, use plywood of at least 2nd grade followed by sanding the surface or 3rd grade without sanding. When using OSB, preference should be given to sanded varnished boards. After laying and screwing the sheets, it is necessary to fill the joints with plastic glue, and then prime with PVA glue diluted with water to a third of the initial concentration.

Should I use underlay?

The soft compressive underlayment cannot be installed directly under the linoleum. In some cases, it is possible to glue rolled materials made of technical cork chips onto the base, followed by gluing the linoleum itself. The presence of a substrate is required if the quality of the preparation of the base is insufficient, in other words, if the protrusions between the boards exceed 1/3 of the thickness of the linoleum. The presence of cracks, large chips that cannot be removed by sanding, as well as holes from knots are the main range of indications for the use of cork backing.

Since wood has relatively low thermal conductivity, installing insulating materials under linoleum is also not practiced. In extreme cases, the thermal insulation properties of the coating can be improved by laying heterogeneous linoleum on a felt or foam base. This is much better than using a cork lining, because the quality of factory gluing is much higher than when installing a multi-layer floor covering yourself.

Rolling out the canvas, holding

When laying on any type of base, linoleum must be kept in room atmosphere for at least 48 hours. Of these, the first day it is allowed to keep the linoleum rolled up, however, at least 24 hours before gluing, the material must be laid out on the floor according to the laying diagram. During this time, the linoleum adapts to the temperature and humidity in the room, and residual shrinkage phenomena disappear.

When unwinding linoleum rolls, it is strictly forbidden to bend it at an angle higher than 90º. If upon delivery the material was at a temperature below +10 ºС, it cannot be heated forcibly, only at room temperature. When rolling out linoleum for the first time, wiping it with an aqueous solution of glycerin is widely used, which helps to avoid a reaction to a sudden change in humidity.

Some types of linoleum, especially natural ones, require more time to mature. Before laying the canvas, it does not need to be immediately cut along the contour of the walls of the room, otherwise there is a high risk that the covering will decrease in size and gaps will form near the walls that cannot be covered with a plinth.

Gluing linoleum

Absolutely all types of linoleum require rigid fixation to the subfloor. To ensure high-quality adhesion, the base is primed with diluted water-soluble glue. The primer is applied with a roller, ensuring thorough absorption and filling of pores. Linoleum is glued 1.5-2 hours after applying the primer.

Linoleum is glued along the long side of the canvas. First, the canvas is leveled, then one half is pressed down to prevent shifts, and the other is folded back. The base is lubricated with glue without excess, then the bent edge is placed in place and carefully rolled. After one half is glued, bend the remaining section so as to tear off a strip of the glued section 5-10 cm wide. Next, glue is applied to the base, then the second half is laid and rolled with a heavy roller.

If linoleum is subjected to hot or cold welding at the seams, the edges of the 10-15 cm sheet are glued not with water-soluble glue, but with a two-component (reactive) polymer. In this case, the gluing of the edges is not carried out together with the rest of the plane, because the overlap of the canvases still needs to be trimmed along the common line and a groove for the seam filler must be selected at the junction.

Rolling and trimming

Rolling the canvas during the gluing process is necessary to evenly disperse excess glue under the linoleum and get rid of air bubbles. After the canvas is fixed, it can be further pressed down by randomly rolling the coating in different directions. These actions can be performed within 1.5-2 hours after applying water-soluble glue and no later than 35-40 minutes after applying reaction glue.

When the entire area of linoleum to be treated has been laid and rolled, the floor is left for 20-30 hours until completely dry. This is followed by trimming and welding the seams, or installing joining thresholds. In places where it abuts the walls, the linoleum is pressed down with a block, then a flat thin strip or spatula is pressed into the corner and the covering is cut to the shape of the room using a sectioning knife. In order to properly trim corners and turns, they walk around the perimeter of the room, periodically cutting off interfering remnants of the cut tape.

At first glance, laying linoleum on a wooden floor may seem like a fairly simple task. But when trying to delve into the issue in detail, many nuances and subtleties appear that it is important not to forget about.

But knowing how to lay linoleum on a wooden floor can determine the entire repair and impressions of it.

general information

Laying linoleum has its own technologies

Additionally, the technology for laying linoleum on a wooden floor may differ depending on the type of room. From that, an apartment or a house on the ground, a residential or commercial premises.

Knowing how to lay linoleum correctly, anyone, even someone very far from the field of repair and construction, can handle it.

The main thing is to try to follow the technology so that in the future you don’t have to redo everything again.

Today linoleum is one of the popular materials. The statistics are explained by its useful properties and ease of installation; it surpasses many other materials in terms of similar characteristics.

Types of linoleum

Before laying linoleum, you first need to purchase it. The first thing that the master should clarify is that you should buy it, focusing exactly on the width of the room in which the repair is being carried out. With this selection principle, it will be possible to avoid incorrect joints.

Signs of deformed seams are:

the joints may bend at the seam site;
does not look aesthetically pleasing;
walking is uncomfortable;
there is a risk of moisture getting between the joints.

When linoleum is assembled from several pieces, the work becomes several times more complicated. The joints must be well secured; such work is best done by professionals.

The process of processing linoleum joints

There are several types of material. Each of them has its own properties and characteristics:

Fabric – distinguished by serious indicators of strength and ductility.
Polyvinyl chloride - it is characterized by increased heat and sound insulation.
Colloxylin - has great shine and flexibility.
Alkyd is a durable material, but over time various cracks may appear on it.
Baseless - it’s good to put linoleum on an uneven floor; it helps level the floor and withstand mechanical loads.

When funds allow, you should take a closer look at natural linoleum. It is much safer for human health and the environment. However, it has one serious drawback, namely its low service life compared to other types of linoleum.

You should choose which material to lay based not only on how it looks, but also on its qualities. In addition to width, special attention should be paid to thickness. It must be at least 3 mm. But if the purchase is planned for your own apartment or house, then it is better to buy 7 mm. A thickness of 10 mm will ensure the strength of the base and increase its noise-absorbing ability.

Assessing the condition of the surface

To make sure whether linoleum can be laid on a wooden floor, you must first assess the condition of the floor surface. But if it is not directly perfectly level, but nothing creaks or wobbles when walking, then the situation is under control.

If areas affected by rot or fungal attacks appear, they must be eliminated. The absence of traces of mold or rust on nails (especially heads) or staples indicates that the base is suitable for use.

The appearance of one sign from the list of defects forces the owners to change the base completely, cleaning the entire floor structure. Damage often extends under the new coating and destroys its integrity.

In cases where the floorboards squeak or sag a lot, you need to place chips or bars under them.

Therefore, before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, you should check everything and eliminate the following problems:

creaking floorboards;
only rotting or already rotten boards;
cracks in wood;
gaps or recesses between boards;
old paint.

It is easy to remove paint using a special hair dryer and a regular spatula. A hairdryer will warm up the base, then a spatula can easily remove everything.

Preparation stages

If the floor is uneven, it needs to be leveled; when the strength of such manipulation allows, it is easy to do such a trick using a plane or a sanding machine. Some argue that it is better to do the manipulation manually, but the process takes too much time and effort.

It is important not to forget to deepen the nails; if there are strong cracks between the boards, then they should definitely be puttied. It will not be possible to do without surface treatment.

All imperfections in the floor will almost immediately appear on the linoleum. If there are serious irregularities - differences in height - in order to correctly lay linoleum on a wooden floor, they must be eliminated. But simple sanding is not enough.

Preparing wooden floors for laying linoleum

How to level the floor

There are two main ways to level the floor:

using sheet materials;
using a special mixture.

The first method is more popular. For its implementation, in most cases, fiberboard, plywood, hardboard and furniture panels are used. In the case when the owners decide to make the floor with their own hands, it is important to fix the sheets well. Fastening is done with parquet glue. And for reliability, you need to fix it with a construction stapler or ordinary nails; instead of parquet glue, PVA will do.

Sometimes you can attach the sheets directly to the floorboards themselves. It is recommended to use a level tool when installing the floor. With the help of such manipulations it is not difficult to create a truly flat floor.

If the main task is to make a horizontally correct surface, it is worth laying it on special logs. They can be made from blocks or sheets of plywood.

Leveling the surface with plywood sheets

Many craftsmen recommend fixing them directly to the floor using glue. After installing the sheets, all seams between them are sanded and then covered with a good layer of olive.

There is no point in providing additional thermal insulation. The linoleum itself already acts as thermal insulation (and in some cases, waterproofing).

Now you need:

clean and vacuum the floor well;
wash it thoroughly;
dry the floor.

Now we lay the linoleum itself directly.

Preparing linoleum

Linoleum should be purchased with a certain reserve. Preferably at least fifteen centimeters.

When the material is delivered to the installation site, lay the linoleum on the floor so that it straightens within a few days.

Before laying, straighten the linoleum around the room so that it is completely smooth.

This kind of adaptation will help the material lie perfectly.

In such a situation, it does not matter what exactly it is laid on:

plywood or other material.

In order for the linoleum to become even, it is worth spending at least a day on the leveling stage; during this period, all parts of the canvas will become homogeneous. Do not run across the surface, press the folds with your own body, or walk over them with a mop. Mechanical damage will reduce the strength of the material and increase the risk of cracks and chips.

Lay and fasten

In cases where the room is relatively small (no more than twelve squares), fastenings may not be used. The material is often well secured with thresholds and baseboards.

Often, fixing linoleum to a wooden floor is done using ordinary double-sided tape.

Double-sided tape on a fabric basis will help in gluing linoleum

In most cases, ordinary sizing around the entire perimeter is sufficient.

But if the room is large, it is still better to glue it in the middle. Perhaps one of the simplest ways to attach linoleum. The material is suitable for almost any type of material.

Another equally simple method is to fix the linoleum using special glue. It is advisable to purchase glue designed specifically for attaching such material. First one part of the material is coated, then the second.

We simply roll the entire surface with felt boots soaked in glue. It is better not to bring furniture into the room for one week. During this time, the material will still be consolidated.

There are several points that it is advisable to take into account. Such tricks will help make the new floor even more beautiful and smooth (at least visually).

It is better to consider how light enters the room. It is recommended to lay marble and single-color materials perpendicular to the window. And various geometric and other designs can be laid simply along the wooden base. In this case, the seams remain extremely unearthly.

When sheet joints appear, their line should only fall in the middle of the board. Such fixation reduces the likelihood of moisture getting into the cracks and cavities of the material joints.

Linoleum is one of the most popular floor coverings. And this is not surprising. This material is wear-resistant, hygienic, resistant to various types of influences, and has an affordable price. Thanks to a wide range of colors and patterns, linoleum fits harmoniously into many interior styles. It can be laid on almost any base - the only thing is that it must be perfectly prepared. Only a flat, clean and dry surface can become a reliable base for linoleum. So if you plan to lay linoleum on a wooden floor, get ready for a lot of work. Why? It is no secret that one of the key properties of PVC coatings in rolls is high elasticity. This means that it will easily repeat the shape of all the flaws in the base. Just imagine how ugly a linoleum floor will look, from the “appearing” seams and cracks between the boards.

Types of linoleum - which is better to lay on wood?

Depending on the raw materials used to make linoleum, it is divided into different types.

Polyvinyl chloride linoleum made from polymer material. It may be without a base, or maybe on a foam, fabric or heat-insulating base.
Foamed linoleum is four-layer. This coating provides good heat and sound insulation, in addition, it is durable and strong, but not flexible enough. Suitable for rooms with high humidity and traffic.
Fabric-based linoleum has two layers: the bottom is fabric, the top is protective. The coating is very plastic and durable.
Linoleum on a heat-sound-insulating basis has a bottom layer of felt or foamed reinforced synthetic material. The top layer is a polyvinyl chloride film.
Linoleum without base has a homogeneous structure and is resistant to abrasion and moisture.
Alkyd linoleum made from alkyd resins with mineral fillers. The base can be made from both natural and synthetic materials. It has the disadvantage of not being very flexible and prone to cracks and creases.
Rubber linoleum– its bottom layer is made of a mixture of bitumen and crushed recycled rubber, the top layer is made of their colored rubber. It is characterized by high plasticity and water resistance, and is most often used in industrial and industrial premises.
Colloxyl linoleum– coating based on nitrocellulose. Sufficiently flexible, fireproof with a peculiar shine.

Any of these types boasts a variety of colors, patterns and textures. The pattern applied to the base is covered with a film, the thickness of which determines the wear resistance of linoleum and its cost. The higher the wear resistance, the wider the scope of application of the coating. Properly selected flooring with high wear resistance will be appropriate not only in an apartment, but also in public buildings and industrial workshops; it will serve for a long time and effectively.

Proper preparation of the base for installation

So, before you is a plank surface or parquet that has served its time. What should you do first? Of course, you need to decide how best to prepare such a foundation. And this requires a thorough examination.

If the parts of the floor structure are not affected by mold and have only minor flaws, then you can do this:

secure all planks/boards;
remove the “high spots” of the coating using a plane or grinder;
drown the heads of nails and screws, fill the resulting indentations;
Fill cracks, chips, and gaps between the floorboards with a special compound. It is recommended to fill wide cracks with narrow, specially prepared slats;
sand the surface.

If the wooden floor is unevenly worn, there are clearly defective floorboards, the optimal solution would be to lay sheets of moisture-resistant plywood on it. The material is attached to the base with self-tapping screws, after which, similar to the algorithm described above, all the caps are “hidden”; the surface in places where it is necessary is puttied and then sanded. Laying linoleum on plywood, as practice shows, is subsequently as easy and problem-free as possible.

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor should be done only after high-quality preparation of the surface, sealing of all cracks, cracks and chips

If preparing a plank floor requires too much physical and time investment, the best option to solve the problem of a defective base is to level the surface with plywood sheets

After you have carried out all the necessary manipulations with the base and cleaned it thoroughly, you can begin further work.

Conditions for successful installation

The temperature in the rooms before installation of the coating must be stable for at least 48 hours. It is desirable that it exceed 18 degrees. The temperature of the base should not fall below 15 degrees. Recommended humidity – 40-60%.

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, it is necessary to allow the material to acclimatize to the room. Usually this “stage” requires at least 24 hours. Avoid dropping the cover and make sure it does not wrinkle.

Please also pay attention to the following points:

If you have to work with several rolls within one room, you need to make sure that they are from the same batch. Joining material of the same color, but from different batches, can lead to a visual imbalance in the seam area;
It is recommended to lay the PVC coating in a reverse manner - that is, the cut sheets should be in contact with each other on the “same” sides. This is again necessary to avoid color differences. True, there are exceptions to this rule - natural linoleum and wood-patterned flooring always flow in the same direction.

Worth knowing! The different concentrations of color pigments along the long edges of the roll are due to the technological features of PVC production.

Technology of laying linoleum covering

You can lay linoleum on a wooden floor in the following ways:

No gluing. This method is the simplest, but not reliable. Only suitable for small rooms up to 12 square meters. Its essence lies in the fact that a carefully leveled coating is simply pressed along the perimeter with baseboards.
Fixed with double-sided tape. This installation technology ensures longer service life of the material. Adhesive tape is first applied around the perimeter of the room, and then in the form of a lattice with a side of about 50 centimeters - over the entire surface of the floor. The protective paper film is removed from the adhesive tape only when the linoleum is already directly glued. And not all at once, but meter by meter, as the work process progresses. Each surface area is thoroughly smoothed.
With glue fit. The most durable option, and if the room is large, then the only reasonable one.

Let's look at the adhesive installation of linoleum on a wooden base in more detail. Work order:

mark and cut the linoleum with a margin of about 5 centimeters for each side. After the linoleum has sat well in the room, all excess material can be “eliminated”;
Wrap the prepared canvas with the base up, freeing up half the area of the rough surface for applying glue;
draw a line along the folded edge along the base with a pencil - this will be the boundary for applying the glue;
armed with a notched trowel, apply glue to the base (observe the line);
After maintaining the required period of time specified in the instructions for the adhesive composition, lay the PVC coating on the “fixing” layer and carefully smooth (roll) the surface - first by hand, and then using a roller. The coating must be rolled first in the transverse direction and then in the longitudinal direction;
The same must be done with the second half of the canvas.

We invite you to use our online calculator to calculate the required amount of linoleum:

If the room is large, you will probably have to work with two or even three sheets of linoleum. This, of course, complicates the task a little, but the whole principle remains the same - first glue and press one half of the canvas, then the second. Just remember that each subsequent canvas must overlap the previous one (about 2 centimeters). This allows you to cut both edges at the same time, resulting in perfectly joined seams.

Linoleum fixed exclusively with skirting boards, as a rule, does not last long, since any excessive impact on such a floor structure can cause its deformation

High-quality adhesive installation of linoleum on a wooden base ensures a good appearance of the floor covering, its wear resistance and durability

The cutting of joints is carried out two to three days after laying the linoleum. It is produced using a long metal ruler and a special sharp knife. The resulting seams are cleaned of any protruding compound and pressed with a board and weight until completely dry.

If the material sheets were glued really carefully, the seams will be almost invisible. But it won’t hurt to completely isolate them. For this, cold or hot welding is used. The strongest possible mechanical joint is obtained by hot welding, but in everyday life they usually use cold welding. This is explained by the fact that working with it does not require special equipment or special skills.

How to care for linoleum?

To increase the service life of linoleum coating, you must not neglect taking care of it. You should not use active cleaning substances for cleaning - they cause the surface of the material to crack and dull. To clean, use either special compounds, or take care of the floor “classically” - wash it with a simple damp cloth.

You can protect linoleum from premature aging using mastics and polishes. To avoid scratches and breaks in the coating, it is advisable to put special “caps” made of soft material on furniture legs.

Laying linoleum on a wooden floor is a troublesome task, especially its preparatory part. But this only applies to those cases where the surface is not smooth enough. If the linoleum itself is of high quality, the floor is leveled, laying the covering will be successful even for a beginner.

The most labor-intensive job is laying linoleum on an old plank floor. Avoiding unevenness in this case is not easy, but the task is doable, you just need to tinker a little longer.

Before laying linoleum on a wooden floor, you need to start preparing this very floor.

It starts with assessing the condition of the surface. Even if you can’t call it perfectly level, if it doesn’t creak or wobble, there will be much fewer problems.

An important point before installation is the elimination of fungi and rot. If there is no mold, the nail heads are not rusty, the boards do not show signs of deformation by insects, there will be less hassle. If you see rotten boards, it is correct not to ignore this fact, but to replace them - otherwise, the rot will continue.

If the floor sag or creaks, you will have to place blocks under the floorboards and/or pour talc into the cracks.

So, subject to correction:

Creaking boards;
Rotting or rotten boards;
Cracks in boards;
Recesses between boards, gaps;
Remains of old paint on the boards.

Old paint can be removed using a spatula and a hair dryer. The latter will warm up the floor, after which the paint will be removed with a spatula.

Preparatory work

If the floor is strong enough, but its surface is uneven, a sanding machine or plane will help. Many people prefer to scrape the floor by hand, but this will take a lot of time and take a lot of effort.

A mandatory point is the deepening of the nails. All cracks between the boards must be filled.

The surface needs to be treated, because all irregularities will certainly appear on the linoleum. If the floor unevenness is not so harmless and has differences in its height, you cannot limit yourself to just sanding.

Floor leveling methods

The most common methods:

Leveling with sheet material;
Leveling with a special mixture.

The second method is more popular because it is more familiar. For this case, plywood, fiberboard, furniture panels, and hardboard are used. If the purpose of these manipulations is only to eliminate unevenness, it is very important to fix the sheets correctly. Fiberboard or plywood is secured with a special glue for parquet, and then nailed to the floor with nails, or, alternatively, with a construction stapler. Gypsum + PVA are often used as glue.

If the goal is to create a horizontal surface, the sheets will need to be laid on logs. The joists are made from plywood strips or blocks and are fixed to the floor with glue.

No matter how the fiberboard sheets are laid (here, in addition to fiberboard, we include plywood, panels, and hardboard), the seams are putty in any case. The final stage is to cover the surface with a layer of drying oil.

It may be a mistake to decide on additional thermal insulation (sometimes waterproofing), because it is this functionality that the linoleum base takes on.

Let's not forget about the simplest ones Preliminary steps required:

Clean (including vacuuming);
Wash;
Dry.

Now you can start working directly with linoleum.

Preparing linoleum

We buy linoleum with a margin of at least 7-15 cm, and we also take into account the allowance for thermal shrinkage.

When transporting material, do not bend it; creases can easily occur. At home, linoleum is usually spread on the floor and “cured” for a couple of days. And rightly so: such an adaptation will help the material fit perfectly. It doesn’t matter what we have under the linoleum – whether it’s plywood, fiberboard or another material.

And a few more small tips:

It is more advantageous to place single-color sheets in the direction of daylight;
It is better to place linoleum joints in the middle of the board;
Places for the battery and other protrusions are marked in advance, after which we carefully cut them out.

We fix and lay linoleum

You can also lay linoleum on fiberboard or plywood without fastening: but this is appropriate if the room is small. Maximum – 12 square meters. The canvas will be attached with skirting boards and a threshold in the opening.

Linoleum is often secured with double-sided tape. Usually, gluing along the perimeter of the canvas is sufficient, but sometimes additional strips stretch in the middle of the linoleum sheet, and are thus attached to plywood or fiberboard, or simply a leveled wooden floor.

The adhesive tape method takes place in stages: first, one side is peeled off and fixed, then the other, etc.

Placing linoleum on glue guarantees fastening strength; it is better to purchase a special glue created for this purpose. First, one part of the sheet is coated and glued, then the second. The surface should then be rolled with a roller, and the room should not be filled with furniture for at least seven days. That is, the linoleum will take another week to harden.

It happens that when laying linoleum, two pieces are connected. They need to be glued with a slight overlap. In the place of this overlap, two layers are cut off at once with a sharp knife (cut along a ruler). The so-called cold welding must be applied to the seam.

Laying linoleum (video)

Conclusion

Laying the linoleum itself goes quickly, and problems rarely arise in this matter. But floor unevenness shows through even the most perfectly fixed linoleum. Make sure that the plank floor is free of rotten boards, does not creak or wobble, make the surface level, and then in the second part of the event - installation - there will be no difficulties.