How to lay linoleum with your own hands: the right base, trimming, laying

Linoleum is a practical and externally attractive flooring that is found in houses, apartments, cottages, offices, shopping centers, public institutions … Almost everywhere. How to lay linoleum, how to do it right – read on. 

On what basis

Even when choosing a floor covering, the question arises of what to lay linoleum on. Is it necessary to prepare the base and if so, how seriously. The answer is simple: linoleum can be laid on any base. The main thing is that it be even, strong and clean. Preparation takes place and can be easy and quick if the ground is even. In this case, the floor is simply cleaned and dried. If the floor is with potholes, large irregularities, preparation takes longer. For correction, a screed or self-leveling mixtures can be used, a dry screed with sheet building material (plywood, OSB, MDF boards) is also used. It all depends on the type of foundation.

Concrete and wood floor

You can easily lay linoleum on a concrete floor. In general, there may be drops on the surface, the main thing is that they are not local – small and deep pits and tubercles are excluded. Changes can be, but smooth. If there are significant irregularities, before laying linoleum, it is better to fill in the leveling screed.

Lay this finish on a flat wooden floor. Many people think that under it the wood will rot. If the wood is dry, without signs of infection with fungi and mold, then nothing will happen to it. With proper installation, an airtight layer is obtained, so that moisture does not penetrate inside. If there are seams, they are welded, so that moisture penetration into them is unlikely. To prevent water from getting under the skirting boards, choose wide models and press them well to the floor. A more reliable way is to lay a self-adhesive sealing tape under the linoleum around the perimeter.

If the boardwalk itself is made correctly, with normal ventilation, then there is nothing for it to rot. If you are very worried, before laying linoleum, treat the floor with antiseptics.

If there are noticeable gaps in the plank floor, they will be visible on the floor after a while. If they are small, they can be puttied, using grinding to level the surface. Sometimes the floorboards buckle, rising slightly at the edges. Sanding such a floor will not work – a lot of nails. In this case, or if the gaps are too large, it is recommended to put sheet material on top of the boards – plywood, OSB, MDF. They are good because they do not have a very large thermal expansion, and the OSB does not yet absorb moisture (you can take moisture-resistant plywood), and this is important in wet rooms (in the kitchen, for example).

Chipboard and fiberboard as a base for linoleum is not a very good option – with increasing humidity, they swell, fiberboard goes in waves. After drying, the original form is not restored, so that the linoleum laid on top is hunched and wrinkled.

Before laying linoleum, you need to lay OSB or plywood. This is necessary if the plank floor “plays”, the boards sag. If you lay the coating immediately on the boards, it will crack in the places of deflection, and quite soon. And this means – the replacement of the flooring, and there may be problems with the boards – moisture can seep into the cracks.

When laying any sheet material for leveling the floor under linoleum, it is laid with a run-out of seams – so that they do not match (like brickwork). Small seams are left between the sheets, which are then filled with elastic (non-hardening) mastic.

Is it possible to put new linoleum on the old coating

We must say right away that it is advisable to remove the old coating before laying linoleum. But this can be problematic and then flooring is allowed on top of an existing one. True, only if the old floor is even or irregularities can be repaired. New linoleum is placed on the old one, on tiles, on parquet. If there are defects in the base – chips, dents, protrusions – they are eliminated, sealed with putty, cut off, the seams between the tiles are rubbed so that the surface is even.

With old linoleum, as with a substrate, there are usually no problems. If there are bumps, they are pierced, filled with glue, the cracks are smeared with a repair compound – cold welding for type “C” linoleum or sealant. When laying new linoleum on the old one, there may be another problem – it will turn out too soft and significant depressions can form under the legs of the furniture.

On parquet, as well as on a plank floor, it is advisable to lay a substrate of sheet material – the planks can also “walk”, tearing the coating.

Glue or not

Before laying linoleum, you need to decide whether you will glue it or not. There is an opinion that it is not necessary to glue it in houses and apartments. It is pressed against skirting boards, furniture, large appliances, etc. All this “holds” him in place. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It usually works on hard semi-commercial and commercial types of coating, and does not work on softer household ones.

It’s a matter of thermal expansion. In summer, when it’s hot, linoleum expands “creeping out” from under furniture and appliances. In autumn, it shrinks to its previous size, but does not return under furniture. Waves and bumps form. Therefore, the majority agrees that it is necessary to fix it.

Just keep in mind that linoleum either does not need to be glued at all, or glued completely. Glue in some places – almost guaranteed to get humps and swellings after a while.

What to glue

Before laying linoleum, you need to figure out how to glue it. If the room is small, household linoleum is laid in one piece on a smooth base (sheet material, old linoleum, etc.), you can fix it with double-sided tape. It is fixed securely, but due to thermal expansion, humps can form between the adhesive tapes. Therefore, if you glue linoleum, then glue it.

There are two types of adhesives:

• Glue, which, after drying, creates a rigid bond between the floor and the coating (the most famous and often used for linoleum flooring is PVA);
  • wet gluing, applied with a roller or brush (for absorbent substrates);
  • dry gluing are applied with a spatula (universal, including for non-absorbent substrates);
• Fixation – a composition that is first applied to the base, dries, forming a sticky layer (like on adhesive tape). Linoleum is rolled onto this layer, which sticks and, during operation, does not move.
  

The first option is more familiar to us, but when changing the coating, we have to suffer for a long time, tearing off the coating and glue residue from the base. The fixation holds “on shift” no less reliably, but allows you to calmly re-lay it several times (from 5 to 8, depending on the composition).

Fixations

Fixings are used for laying residential and semi-commercial linoleum. If we talk about the price per liter, then fixing is much more expensive. But her consumption is much less (100-180 g / square), so gluing one square meter will be cheaper. From all points of view, this is the best option. Here are a few normal fixers you can work with:

• Homakoll 186Prof (Homakol) is a universal fixing compound for repeated gluing of flexible floor coverings.
• Fobo 541 Eurofix Anti Slip – fixation for materials with a vinyl or bituminous backing on an absorbent or non-absorbent substrate.
  

• Fobo 545 Polaris is an adhesive-fixative for medium-duty residential and public buildings (any absorbency base).
• Arlok 39 (Arlok 39) – adhesive fixative for flexible floor coverings, including linoleum.

There are other manufacturers, new products appear every day. But, before buying, carefully read the instructions. See what can be used on your base, with your type of coverage.

Glue for linoleum

Definitely do not use glue with a solvent (neoprene). Technologies have changed so that such glue gives a color change (red spots appear). Only marmoleum (material based on natural ingredients) can be glued with this glue.

If you decide to use glue, here are brands that give good results:

• Forbo 522. High tack adhesive for roll flooring, can be used in rooms where there is furniture on casters. Suitable for sticking linoleum on linoleum or for underfloor heating. Applied with a notched trowel, consumption 220-270 gr/m².
• Polynom 105. Designed for gluing household and semi-commercial linoleum without a base or on a foam base. Apply with a notched trowel. Consumption 300-400 gr/m².
  

• BOLARS LinoleumFix. Suitable for gluing commercial PVC-based linoleum, semi-commercial and domestic – on a base with pile, on fabric or on a foamed bottom layer. Can be used for gluing on underfloor heating. It is applied on concrete, gypsum-sand screed, cement, plywood, fiberboard and chipboard. Consumption 400-500 gr/m².

If you need to save money, household linoleum “with pile”, on a jute or foam base, can be glued to PVA or Bustilat M. If it is placed on concrete, screed or other similar coating, first the glue is diluted with water (1 to 1), the surface is primed with this composition (possibly twice). After that, PVA or Bustilat is applied and the coating is rolled “wet”.

How to glue the joints of linoleum

To connect the joints of linoleum there is a special glue. It is called “cold welding for linoleum”. These are small tubes with a sharp nose, which the composition is filled directly into the joint. It does not so much glue as it dissolves adjacent areas of the coating, creating an airtight seam.

There are two types of cold welding for linoleum:

• type A – for connecting freshly laid canvases (for example, SINTEX H44, Werner Muller, Tytan (Titan);
• type C – for repairs (if it is necessary to fill a gaping seam, a burst canvas, etc.).
  

When laying linoleum, of course, type A is used. Pay attention to the instructions for use. There are different types, they require different drying times.

If you haven’t worked with cold welding for linoleum joints before, practice on scraps beforehand. When you work out the technology, and understand what and how to do, you can start gluing joints indoors.

Another point: the glue for connecting the joints of linoleum emits harmful substances until it polymerizes. Therefore, windows and doors are opened in the room, providing ventilation. It is better to work with gloves, and a respirator will not hurt.

How to lay linoleum with your own hands

In order for self-laid linoleum to please the eye, not swell and wrinkle, it is necessary to complete several mandatory points. The first is related to the preparation of the foundation. You already know that it should; but be even. In addition, it must be dry and clean. No dust, no greasy or other stains. We collect everything with a vacuum cleaner, remove stains with a suitable agent, dry everything thoroughly. We do all this carefully: dust impairs adhesion to the base, debris particles will eventually come through the coating.

The second prerequisite: before laying linoleum, it must be “aged” for some time in a straightened state. Preferably on site. It is rolled out, left for at least 2 days, but better – for 5-7 days. So he straightens out, takes “working” dimensions. After that, you can start cutting.

How to trim

Let’s start with how to cut linoleum. There are two options – a knife and scissors. Both of them can work normally, they just have to be sharp.

It is more convenient for someone to use a clerical knife, but a shoemaker’s or a sharply sharpened kitchen knife is also suitable, although there are special ones. They have a retractable blade, like utility knives, but the handle is curved and the blade hardly bends.

On a clerical knife, the protrusions that hold the blade must be iron. In this case, the blade is more elastic and there is less chance that the cut will go to the side. That’s precisely because the blade can “lead” some craftsmen prefer powerful scissors. To make it easier to cut, they make an incision, and then, without making cutting movements, they simply rip the coating along the intended line.

Now about where to cut. Roll out the linoleum so that it goes a little on the walls. If there are several canvases, an overlap of at least 5 cm is made at the junction. If there is a pattern, lay out the canvases in such a way as to achieve a match. Then the junction will not be noticeable.

Linoleum is cut in the corner, the joint remains overlapped and cut off after gluing the main part. The canvas is pressed to the floor, cut off with a knife or scissors. Please note that if work is carried out in a cool room, in summer the coating from high temperatures will increase in size. If you cut the canvas close to the wall, in the summer a roller forms near the baseboards. Then, at lower temperatures, it can stretch, but in the summer it spoils the look. Therefore, when cutting, step back from the wall about 1 cm.

Glue to the base

If you decide to lay linoleum without gluing, it is usually fixed along the baseboards with double-sided tape. The same material is glued in the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe doors. In this case, turn off the edges, stick adhesive tape on the base. We return the edges to their place, carefully level the coating. After making sure that it lies evenly, without distortions and waves, remove the protective tape from the adhesive tape and glue the coating.

If you work with glue, you act a little differently. We twist the coating to half the length. The composition is applied to the floor (strictly according to the instructions). If there is a junction, a strip about 35 cm wide without glue is left on both sides of it. After waiting for the time set according to the instructions, the linoleum is rolled out again, pressed well.

According to the technology, a pressure roller is required – a heavy cylinder (about 50 kg in weight), movably fixed on the handle, which squeezes out air and presses the coating to the base, ensuring good bonding. If there is no roller, they take a plastic trowel, which is used when sticking heavy wallpaper and press everything well with it. You can use a board wrapped in felt or felt, or something similar.

Then glue the other side. If the canvas was laid in one piece, we can assume that the laying of linoleum is over. It remains to fix the plinth. If there are joints, we continue.

Seam processing

If there are two or more canvases, the seams will need to be processed. There is a simple way – take a T-shaped metal bar and fix it at the junction (attached to self-tapping screws or dowels, depending on the type of base). The method is not very aesthetic, but reliable. This is exactly what they do if two pieces of linoleum with different colors are joined under the door.

A more aesthetic way is to use “cold welding for linoleum” glue. First you need to cut off the excess material at the junction. We take a metal ruler (a level or a rule will do), apply it at the junction, cut both sheets with a knife along it, remove the extra strips. It is very important to cut through both canvases at once. In this case, if the pattern is chosen correctly, the connection is imperceptible, since the two canvases match perfectly. If the base under the linoleum is hard, you can put something soft under the joint – a piece of felt, linoleum, etc. Then it will be easier to cut both canvases at a time.

We unscrew the non-glued parts of the coating along the seam, apply glue, wait, if necessary, for time according to the instructions, glue the coating in place, roll it with a roller. We wait for the time required for the glue to dry (according to the instructions).

Next, we take cold welding for linoleum joints and wide masking tape. We glue the junction with this adhesive tape, then, with a clerical knife, cut it along the junction. This is necessary to protect the coating from accidental ingress of the composition. It is reactive and will melt the coating, leaving an unsightly stain. The next steps are:

• We open the glue. He has a nozzle with a needle, we wind it on a tube.
• We insert the needle at the very beginning of the seam, gently press the tube until a spot of glue with a diameter of 3-4 mm appears on the masking tape. After that, we slowly guide the needle along the cut, making sure that the amount of glue squeezed out is the same throughout.
• After filling the seam, we wait 15 minutes (see the instructions for the exact time), after which we remove the adhesive tape with excess glue.
  

If everything is done correctly, the joint is almost invisible. While it is not necessary to test it – several hours are required for the final polymerization. But that’s all. Linoleum is laid and you know how to lay it with your own hands.