DIY Home Improve

Whenever you lay a new flooring whether it’s laminate or carpet you should check to see if your sub-floor is level as this will determine a good job from a bad. First establish whether your sub-floor is wood or concrete as this will confirm how you need to level it. 

With wooden sub-floors there is a choice of two materials. Your choice is either to use hardboard which is available in different size sheets or the more durable plywood. The main advantage of using hardboard is it is a much more manageable material however this means it is leaves a less solid foundation. For the best wooden sub-floor finish you should always use plywood, also be sure to fix it down with screws rather than pins. 

Levelling a concrete sub-floor is rather tricky and requires using a floor-levelling compound, you may want to leave this to the experts. You will also need to lay a membrane layer over the screed to stop moisture escaping and damaging your flooring. 

Having prepared your sub-floor you can now turn your attention to the laminate. Always start by fitting the underlay to the sub-floor first. Fix your underlay to the sub-floor either by using glue for concrete or staples for wood as this helps the underlay to stay in place when laying your laminate boards. 

Having laid your underlay you can now start to lay your first pieces of laminate. Make sure you start laying your laminate on the opposite wall to the door or entrance. Lay the laminate boards from left to right allowing a 5-8mm gap with spacers. Having moved across the entire width of the room your last piece of laminate will need to be measured and then cut to size so as to fit neatly leaving a 5-8mm gap at both ends. Laminate boards are designed with a wood veneer which is glued on top of mdf so great care should be taken when sawing the board. If you have a particularly cut which you don’t want any chipping to ocur then use some masking tape over the veneer before cutting.
 

Repeat the above procedure for rows 2 and 3 ensuring plenty of wedges are used. Having used plenty of spacers your 3 rows should be well and truly fitted so they will not slide around whilst you fit the remaining laminate boards. 

For the remaining boards just lay as you did the first 3 rows and then when you get to the end allow a 5-8mm gap and cut the boards to size.

Before you consider sanding any floors bear in mind that it will require great attention to detail . As with many jobs the better the preparation the better the finish. It’s always worth investing in good quality tools and equipment as this tends to save you time and effort when carrying out any home improvement projects.

One of the best known and respected names in floor finishes are Bona, they have manufactured many different types of lacquer which can be used both commercially as well as domestically. For those of you who want to use environmentally friendly products Bona Mega is the perfect choice as this is made from sustainable vegetable oil.

There are many different lacquers offered by Bona in a very competitive market. One of the newer range to evolve has been Bona Traffic, this has been designed for heavy commercial wear areas and gives a long lasting finish to any wood floor. Traffic has been used at many high class locations across the UK thanks to its expert delivery.

Finding a Bona stockists is as easy as going onto the internet and using one of the many search engines. You’ll get clear and simple advice on which product to use for which flooring surface saving a lot of time. Still having trouble locating a stockists try contacting Bona directly at their website and they’ll help.

Sports floors require a much stronger lacquer which is why Bona produced Bona Sportive. As with other Bona products this can be relied upon to give a great finish to any sports floor. Thanks to their built in ant-slip resistance Sportive rises well above the competition in finishing . You can also use it for domestic wooden floors if you think you’re going to get a lot of wear.

If you are sanding a commercial area such as a shop or a office the quicker this can be done the better so not having to prim or seal your floor will reduce the time involved. If you need your floor coated as quickly as possible then Bona Naturale is a good option as it only requires 2 coats. By using Naturale you will be able to spot repair any areas of the floor which may get marked or damaged.

If you are just looking to re-coat a wooden floor and are not sanding then Osmo stockists will be able to supply you with just what you need. It will cover just about any wood although it’s not recommended for exotic woods like Merbau or Wenge but it will happily cover your cork floors.

As with Bona Naturale Osmo offers a quick drying option for those who need to get their floors finished as quickly as they can. There are 2 different finishes with the Osmo Polyx Oil Rapid you can opt for a matt or satin finish. You can also use it for furniture in particular tabletops and worktops as it is very hard wearing. If you are looking for a nice sheen to your furniture or floors then go for Osmo Polyx Oil Matt.

Within the Osmo Polyx Oil range you’ll find many different choices so getting advice from the professionals is a wise decision. As with any floor finish the better prepared the floor is before applying lacquer the longer lasting the floor. Any of the above lacquers come highly recommended by us here.