It is useful for any master to know how to level the floors under the laminate in an apartment. This expensive coating requires careful preparation in order to get a result that will delight the owner for a long time. Uneven floors can cause laminate flooring to swell and crack. It is important to consider the specifics of the procedure if you want to perform it yourself.

How to level the floor under the laminate

To know how to level the floor under the laminate in an apartment, you must first decide how to do it. For those who want to do without the help of workers, for a free result, you will have to invest in materials. There are several options, the choice of which depends on the type of coverage:

1. If the subfloor in a private house is concrete, then it is leveled with a mixture of sand plus cement, or with ready-made materials with increased noise and heat insulation properties.
2. If the floor is wooden, it is better to level it with plywood, but when it is old and rotten, then a concrete or dry screed will be required to help the surface self-level.

The screed is long and difficult to carry out, so all the nuances of its implementation should be taken into account - raising the floor level, monitoring the absence of a slope at the surface. In addition to plywood, wooden floors are leveled with cement-bonded particle boards of DSP or chipboard, which simplify the procedure. The alignment process includes the placement of beacons for the screed, the correct preparation of the mixture. The rest of the processes are easy and require minimal knowledge.

Floor preparation for laminate

The second important issue in laying the flooring is how to prepare the floor for the laminate in the apartment. This material is whimsical in terms of operation and maintenance, so it should be laid on a carefully prepared base. This process includes the elimination of cracks, bumps, cracks, irregularities. If they are not removed, the coating will be damaged due to the increased load in the places of the remaining defects. Also, high humidity in the screed, rotten boards, cracks in the concrete base are terrible for the material.

The preparation itself consists of the following stages:

• Dismantling of the old coating. It is not always necessary - parquet, tiled, linoleum or carpet can become the basis for a laminate, if their height differences are minimal and amount to 3 mm per square meter. If the differences in level are higher, then the coating is removed as carefully as possible so as not to damage the screed. Rotten and creaking planks are replaced in wood floors.
• Alignment is carried out in accordance with the base. The concrete floor can be leveled with a screed that allows for self-leveling, and the wooden floor can be leveled with plywood. Before these processes, you need to clean the base well so that there is no debris or dirt on it. If a screed is being made, then you need to prepare a homogeneous mixture without lumps.

How to level wood flooring under laminate plywood

If you do not know how to level the wooden floor under the laminate, then pay attention to plywood as the most affordable and easiest way. It does not require extensive knowledge of construction, it is carried out simply and quickly. Thanks to this, leveling the floor with plywood under the laminate becomes an operational process, and the owners are able to get the desired result in a short time.

The leveling of the wooden floor under the laminate is carried out using the following technology:

1. Determination of differences in height using a laser or water level. This is done by measuring the entire room and placing marks on the walls. With differences of more than 3 mm, you will have to lay plywood to level and fix the base.
2. The simplest way of leveling is without mounting lags (additional boards) and installing support bars. In this case, it is necessary to indent from the walls by 2 cm, lay the plywood sheets with an interval of 5 mm. With two layers of laying, brickwork is made, and the fastening passes along the highest points, evenly distributed.
3. If the differences are large and up to 8 cm, then you will have to install mini-logs, mount slats and wooden boards in order to create a single network of supports. First, accurate calculations and measurements are made, the dimensions of the elements are calculated, then gratings are laid and plywood sheets are placed on top. The lags are fixed with glue or self-tapping screws, and the gaps between them are filled with a sealant or sealant.
4. The third method of installation is called the lathing, using chiseled supports. First, they are cut from boards or plywood, and their thickness takes into account the differences in height in the field. A grid is made from the supports in the form of a square, laid on the floor, covering with sheets of plywood. Sheets are fastened with self-tapping screws with dowels, varnished on top.
5. To level the floor, plywood with a thickness of more than 1 cm is suitable, of the FK or FSF brands, which withstand mechanical stress, water and wear resistance. It is better to choose the first grade that does not contain defects and deformation, pre-treated with an antiseptic.
6. Before laying plywood, it is advisable to check the condition of the communication pipes, if any, because after leveling the floor, access to them will be closed. Before laying, it is better to pre-fold the plywood sheets, see how they look, and only then proceed to the finishing fixation.

How to level a concrete floor under a laminate

If the base of the floor is concrete, then it is useful to know how to level the floor under the laminate. This is done in the following order:

1. Dismantle the old coating, assess the condition of the old screed, inspect for irregularities, cracks, voids. If the self-leveling base is in perfect even condition, then you can immediately lay the laminate on it, placing heat and sound insulation materials under it.
2. If the base is wet and uneven, you will have to make a screed from concrete or modern mixes.
3. The preparation of the rough base is carried out - a primer, sealing of cracks and holes with a dry mixture.
4. The concrete screed will make the floor horizontal. To do this, you need to install beacons at the height of the screed, make a mortar of cement with sand, level with a level with a layer of at least 7 mm.
5. After drying, you need to prime the base, pour a mixture on it, which can self-level, leave for a day until it dries completely.
6. Make noise and waterproofing, lay laminated material.

Video: leveling the floor under the laminate with a self-leveling mixture