Waterproof Laminate for Kitchen: Stacking Instructions

The floor, covered with laminate, always looks beautiful, effectively, stylish and cozy. Many are used to using a similar type of cover in residential rooms: bedrooms, halls, halls and living rooms. But fortunately, such material can be decorated even with rooms with high humidity, such as kitchen or bathroom. In this case, the waterproof laminate will have to use.

Why it is worth using laminate in the kitchen

Even ordinary laminate is less susceptible to the destructive action of moisture than the parquet or massive board. The reason for this is the smaller content of wood in the composition of the material. As for the waterproof laminate, the process of its production is constructed in such a way that the finished products have good water-repellent properties, which is why such a material is great for use in the kitchens and in the bathrooms.

Of course, the floor in the kitchen is not necessarily laminate, you can use a linoleum or tile. But, nevertheless, waterproof laminate for the kitchen has several advantages over its analogues:

1. The decorativeness of the material is considered one of its main advantages. Laminate always looks stylish, beautiful and attractive. Such a coating simulates real wood, and often to distinguish the imitation from the original is quite difficult. Such a floor fits perfectly in almost any interior, regardless of its stylistic design. In addition, laminate, imitating the noble breeds of wood, looks luxurious and expensive.
2. The price of waterproof laminate is lower than the cost of ceramic tiles.
3. Cover the floor with such material will not be difficult, even if you are new in this case and have never come across such work before.
4. If for any reason the need to replace part of the coating or remove it entirely, then dismantle the laminate in a short time will not be difficult. But remove from the floor a ceramic tile will be much more complicated and longer.
5. Waterproof laminate 32 and 33 classes is very durable, its service life reaches 25 years.

Types and characteristics of the material

Modern laminate is made of HDF-plates, which contains resins that glue all the components among themselves. Resin, like a water-repellent substance, does not give water and dampness to penetrate inside the material, however, the structure of wood assumes the presence of so-called bridges through which a certain percentage of moisture still falls into the stove. These bridges of wood fibers can often be seen on the ends of individual elements where castles are located. It is worth noting that the more difficult and intricate the structure of the castle, the greater the amount of water can get inside the laminate.

Total distinguishes 3 main types of laminate:

1. Material made from standard HDF panels with a density of 900 kg / m ³. This type of coating can withstand a 3-hour exposure to water, while not deforming.
2. The laminate produced from HDF panels with an elevated resin content is more reliable because it is able to withstand a 6-hour exposure to water. After drying such a material, swots and other damage are not formed. As a rule, on such products, manufacturers put the mark "Aqua", which indicates that the laminate is moisture resistant.
3. The most resistant moisture is plastic laminate made of polyvinyl chloride. Due to the fact that among the components of the material there are no wood, such a laminate is absolutely not subject to negative impact of humidity and water.

Waterproof laminate made of wood materials protect against dampness in such ways:

• apply to the surface of the plates of the resin layer;
• impregnate products with resin compositions;
• provide a laminate a reliable lower layer, which also contains an increased amount of resins;
• the ends and castles of products are impregnated with wax or paraffin substances.

Differences of waterproof and moisture-resistant laminates

Many believe that waterproof and moisture-resistant call the same type of material, but these concepts have some differences. Consider more, which is a moisture-proof laminate:

1. This type of material is made from HDF-stove. Looking at the end of the laminate, the slab can be noticed with a naked eye according to a characteristic green shade.
2. Locks on moisture resistant laminate are covered with a layer of wax or paraffin, which allows you to protect the most vulnerable places of wood from water and moisture.
3. Material in production is treated with special antibacterial compositions, so that fungi and mold did not develop on the floor.
4. Moisture-resistant laminate is designed to impact high humidity, but here's direct water from entering it is not able to withstand a long time. This type of material is suitable for use in the kitchen, but it is undesirable to apply as an outdoor coating of the bathroom.

Waterproof material distinguish features:

1. It is made from the plates that are manufactured by pressing wood under high pressure.
2. As in the previous type of material, the structure of the waterproof laminate includes several layers, but in this case all the ends and joints are additionally sealed with the help of molten wax.
3. A layer of a special polymer is applied to the surface of the waterproof material, which not only protects the plates from the water, but also prevents the formation of scratches. With such a coating, you can be sure that the moisture will not fall inside due to any physical damage to the laminate.

Important: acquiring waterproof laminate, carefully inspect the locks on the ends of the products. High-quality impregnation of wax makes them shine and look like they are wet. If you scratch the shiny surface of the nail, nothing happens to it, and it will remain in the same form. If the wax remains under the nails, it means that the material has low quality and should not buy it.

Features of the choice of waterproof laminate

Fortunately, the modern building materials market offers buyers a wide range of diverse products. The same applies to laminate. Due to the variety of textures, colors, shades, drawings and images, everyone will be able to choose products to their taste, implementing designer ideas and enters such a coverage in any style of the interior.

When choosing a waterproof laminate, you should pay attention to some features:

1. Before you buy a waterproof laminate, you need to explore information about manufacturers that represent your goods on the market. It is desirable to give preference to those brands that have proven themselves among consumers. Waterproof laminate produced by Germany is considered high-quality and reliable: "Egger", "Kronotex", "Tarkett" and others.
2. Selecting the material, pay attention to its upper coating - it should have a good wear resistance, then the laminate will serve you for many years.
3. Laminate does not always resemble wooden boards in its species, sometimes its texture imitates tile. If you decide to give preference precisely this type of material, then some of its features should be noted. First, laminate with imitation under the tile has non-standard dimensions and shape. It is represented in the form of tiles with 40x40 cm sides and 120x40 cm. This laminate also has a glossy surface.
4. There are 6 classes of waterproof laminate, which is used to cover the floor in residential premises. You need to acquire the material for reasons what rooms are you going to use it. The class of laminate is indicated on the package with the goods.
5. On factory packaging, information on the maximum permissible loads, which can withstand over or other coating should also be present.
6. The service life of the material is also of great importance.

Important: Before buying a product, check if the seller has quality certificates for the products that it implements. Most often in specialized stores or pavilions with construction materials, sellers are ready to provide all the necessary documents.

12 mm waterproof laminate is suitable for use in the kitchen. Such a coating withstands strong physical exertion and is able to serve several decades. Laminate classes 32 and 33 has very high quality, so many manufacturers provide lifelong warranty on such products. The only condition is that it is necessary to use such a laminate only in residential premises.

By purchasing waterproof laminate, you need to take into account some moments:

1. Even the highest quality coating can deteriorate from time or various influences to which it is not calculated. Therefore, buying products is needed with a small margin, which will be approximately 15% of the total amount of material. In case of damage to individual fragments, they can be replaced.
2. When installing the laminate, you should not use a plug as a substrate, it is better to prefer PVC materials. Cork, like a tree, well absorbs moisture, subsequently evaporating it into an external environment.
3. The substrate thickness during laminate laying should be approximately 3 mm.
4. All joints between individual elements should be carefully sealed. As a sealant, silicone compounds can be used, which close the slots when installing windows, because such materials have an acceptable cost and not bad quality.

Laying laminate with your own hands

Preparatory work

All construction and repair work begins with the preparatory stage. When laying a laminate, preparation provides for a thorough inspection of the floor, in the process of such an inspection, determine the quality and strength of the coating, as well as the presence of level drops. Wooden floor must be seized with a special typewriter, which will help to smooth out all the irregularities. If there are too large cuts between individual boards, it is desirable to eliminate them. It happens that the boarded floor is in a very unsatisfactory condition, in a similar case, it is best to lay plywood sheets on it.

Preparation of concrete floor is carried out faster and easier. To align the plane and eliminate all drawbacks, you just need to make a coupling, latex or silicone solution.

Laying the substrate for waterproof laminate

The substrate is the necessary layer between the floor and laminate. Its value is determined by several functions:

1. With the help of the substrate you can hide small disadvantages of the base coating: minor level differences, small recesses, cracks, protrusions.
2. The substrate performs a depreciation function, making a laminate on the laminate soft and comfortable.
3. This layer is also noise absorbing.
4. The substrate from synthetic materials waterproof and has vapor insulation properties.

In the construction market you can find several types of substrates: synthetic, cork, and a substrate from a tape with rubber filling. As mentioned earlier, when laying a waterproof laminate, it is recommended to use synthetic materials, because in rooms with constantly high moisture levels there is a risk of penetration of damp for laminate. The plug, in contrast to the polyvinyl chloride, is inclined to absorb water, which does not best affect the durability of the coating.

The substrate is usually sold in rolls. The process of its laying does not represent anything complicated, the roll must be rolled up to a suitable length and cut off the desired fragment. Stop the substrate is better than a mustache, the adjacent sheets of the material must overlap each other by 5-10 cm.

Laying of waterproof laminate

The process of laying laminate also does not require any special skills or skills. First you need to decide in which direction separate items will be located: along the room, across the room or diagonally. Those who are engaged in such work for the first time, it is better to stay in the first version and lay the laminate along the room. Such styling is carried out easier and faster, and the joints between individual fragments are not as visible in daylight.

We describe the process of laying laminate step by step:

1. To begin with, the perimeter of the room you need to install spacer wedges, they are located on the walls, focusing in terms of laying laminate. The wedges are small in size wooden or plastic products, with the help of which a gap of 8-10 mm is created between the wall and laminate. Since when the temperature drops in the room, the flooring will be expanded or narrowing, such a gap will provide the material to the supplementary space.
2. Laying laminate is better to start with the angle of the room. To begin with, 2 panels of the first row are mounted, after that the second row is stacked. In the process of work, fragments of laminate are set in such a way that they reminded the type of brickwork. It is necessary in order to ensure that future loads are evenly distributed over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe room.
3. The first fragment of the second row is half of the solid panel. After its installation, the second panel is stacked nearby, which no longer needs to be cut into 2 parts.
4. Similarly, the entire floor is covered with waterproof laminate. All elements are fastened with the help of locks. There are 2 types of similar systems: Lock and Click. The Lock system panels are connected in a horizontal plane. In the second case, the elements are inserted into each other at an angle of 30-45 °, and after lowering the part you can hear a characteristic click.
5. When laying the last elements, difficulties may occur, so when installing a laminate near the wall, it will be convenient to use clamp. One end of the clamp is installed on the edge of the laminate, and on the second one should be mumbled with a hammer.

Waterproof laminate, photo:

Step-by-step laminate laying. Video