Linoleum is a high-quality, durable, relatively inexpensive material for finishing floors. That is why it continues to be considered one of the best options for finishing flooring in apartments and houses. However, linoleum has certain requirements - its installation must be done on a leveled and cleaned surface. Chipboard on a linoleum floor is one of the most common ways to create a level base for laying the material.
There are several common materials suitable for creating a smooth subfloor. They differ from each other in some characteristics and installation requirements. However, the materials under consideration are united by the fact that they are all made using wood shavings or sawdust.
Table. Floor leveling materials made from wood waste.
| Type of material | general information |
|---|---|
| The material is made from small wood chips, which are glued together using special synthetic wax. The resulting mixture is fed under a press, from where the finished material comes out. OSB boards, when laid under linoleum, are fixed on a rough base or laid without fixation at all. For installation of this material, dispersion adhesives are not used, since it practically does not absorb liquids. |
| This is a rather thin and soft material made from fine-grained wood fibers. The elasticity of fiberboard is its main drawback: if the rough base is too soft or has voids, then fiberboard cannot be laid - the material easily breaks under the pressure exerted on it when walking. However, fiberboard is an environmentally friendly product that is not harmful to health, and is inexpensive. Therefore, such slabs are still used for laying linoleum, and quite often. |
| Layers of this material are made by gluing several thin sheets of wood together using natural resins. The plywood is also pressed, resulting in a strong connection between the individual plates. The material is inexpensive, quite durable, which largely depends on the thickness of the sheets. Plywood is often used to level floors before laying linoleum. |
| This material is made from cement compounds, wood shavings using additional components. A fairly durable material that is not prone to getting wet, which is used for cladding walls, creating subfloors, as well as for building partitions indoors. |
On a note! When choosing any material, it is important to take into account several factors - the microclimate of the room and the work for which it will be used. However, in order to choose a product for creating a rough base, it is important to pay special attention to the thickness of the material, because too thin can easily break under the weight of a person or furniture.
All of the above materials have certain characteristics, including installation requirements, which are important to consider when choosing. For example, fiberboard can only be used in dry rooms - where there is high humidity, it has no place. The material easily absorbs water, as a result of which it deforms and loses its performance characteristics. But on a level base and in a dry room, it will serve as an excellent substrate for linoleum and will even make the floors warmer.
There is another type of building material made from wood waste. This is a chipboard familiar to many.
What is chipboard
Chipboard can be found in various fields. The material is used to make furniture, elements used in construction (for example, formwork), room partitions, containers, etc. The material is also used in the installation of floors.
Characteristics of particle boards
Chipboard (or chipboard) is made in the form of a fairly large sheet obtained from sawdust and shavings, pressed using hot pressing technology (pressure about 0.2-5 MPa at a temperature of more than +120 degrees) with the addition of resins and additional chemicals components. The volume of special additives by weight of the entire sheet can range from 6% to 18%.
On a note! The production of chipboard was carried out back in the 30s of the twentieth century - inventor Max Himmelheber came up with the material. However, chipboard was first produced for sale only in 1941. And in 1951 the scientist received a patent for this material, but of a modern type.
Now chipboard has spread widely throughout the world and is an affordable and popular construction material for creating furniture and building elements. Thanks to the appearance of this product, less wood waste has been recycled - now the volume of completely unusable material is only about 10%.
Tabletop made of chipboard sheets
Table. Characteristics of chipboard.
| Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Density | 0.5-1 g/cm3 |
| Ultimate tensile strength | About 0.5 MPa |
| Fracture strength | Not less than 10 MPa |
| Swelling in water | Up to 30% |
| Humidity | Up to 12% |
| Thickness | From 1 mm (gradation 1) |
| Length | From 1.8 m |
| Width | From 1.2 m with 10 mm gradation |
Types of chipboard
There are two main types of particleboard. Laminated and extruded options are available for sale. The first is designated by the abbreviation LDSP; the sheets are covered with damage-resistant melamine film or varnish (for more expensive types of boards). Thanks to this, the material is not afraid of moisture. Laminated chipboard has increased strength characteristics and is often used to create furniture.
Extruded chipboard has less strength and can easily break when bent, but the effort required to do this is still quite large. The material is practically not produced in Russia.
Chipboard - pros and cons
Chipboard, like any other material, has its pros and cons. Knowing them, it is easy to decide whether to use such a slab to create a subfloor.
Advantages of chipboard:
- low price (much lower than solid wood flooring);
- smooth and even surface that does not require additional leveling;
- some species have sufficient density and strength. Suitable for installation on joists;
- The chipboard coating will be reliable and durable;
- good heat and sound insulation characteristics;
- high adhesion rates - you can use glue when carrying out work;
- ease of installation;
- Suitable for laying under linoleum.
However, chipboard, for all its advantages, also has many disadvantages, which manifest themselves quite strongly during operation. Disadvantages of chipboard:
- nails and screws are often used to fasten chipboard, but the material does not hold them well;
- does not like dampness and can deteriorate in a damp room;
- the edges of the slabs often crumble and collapse;
- This is a fire hazardous material.
The main disadvantage of chipboard is the lack of environmental safety. The material releases formaldehyde vapor into the environment, a substance hazardous to human health, especially in high concentrations.
One of the main parameters when choosing slabs is the maximum permissible concentration of formaldehyde per specific volume. This indicator is determined by sanitary standards. Unfortunately, in Russia there are many chipboard production companies whose managers do not care about the health of consumers and produce low-quality and sometimes even dangerous material.
It is impossible to answer unequivocally whether it is good to use chipboard for installing a subfloor under linoleum. Very often, the decision whether or not to purchase material for this purpose appears after assessing the operating conditions of the slabs. If the conditions are not suitable for using chipboard, then it is better to abandon the material in favor of another.
Preparing the base and laying chipboard
In general, laying chipboard is quite simple and can be done quite quickly, even by one person. However, it is important to remember that the base for the material needs some preparation. The surface of the concrete screed must be thoroughly cleaned of construction debris, dirt, dust - even a small pebble can negate all the work done. All surface defects - cracks, bumps - must be removed. The bumps are polished, and the cracks are sealed using mortars.
The rough wooden base is tested for strength - rotten boards are removed and replaced with strong and new ones. All irregularities and cracks are removed/sealed, and construction debris is also removed.
It is important to know! The chipboard must be securely attached to the floor, otherwise the linoleum laid on top, due to the movement of the material, will itself lie unevenly, and the entire floor will turn out to be very unreliable.
The base, after carrying out the above-described series of works and after drying, is subjected to priming. It is advisable to use formulations with antiseptics. The applied primer layer dries within approximately three days.
You should also pay careful attention to the purchase of chipboard. You should choose a thicker one for the floor, especially if you plan to install the slabs on joists. Chipboard is a somewhat fragile material. It is recommended that each sheet be additionally treated with an antiseptic and dried well before installation. Otherwise, fungus and mold can reach the material, although chipboard is not prone to infection by them.
Installation technology: laying linoleum on chipboard
Step 1. A lag system is mounted on the prepared rough surface. It is convenient to use bars with a thickness of at least 25 mm and a width of 80 mm. The logs are laid in such a way that there is a small gap of 2-3 mm between the sheathing and the wall of the room. The distance between individual lags in the sheathing is at least 40 cm. For chipboard sheets thicker than 18 mm, a larger distance can be left. The space between the joists can be filled with insulation for better thermal insulation of the floor.
Attention! Chipboard sheets are also cut before starting work. By the way, it is not recommended to throw away the pieces remaining during sawing. They can be useful for forming a subfloor in hard-to-reach and non-standard places.
Step 2. The chipboard log system is covered. The material is attached to a wooden frame using self-tapping screws at 30 cm intervals. It is important that the fastener heads do not protrude above the surface of the chipboard - they go slightly deeper into the material. A small gap of 1 cm remains between the chipboard and the wall to compensate for the expansion of the material if its dimensions change due to the effects of temperature and humidity.
On a note! If many sheets of chipboard are laid, then the joints must be positioned so that they do not run in one row. It is best to move them 10-15 cm away from each other.
Step 3. All cracks and gaps between chipboard boards are puttied.
Step 4. Next, the prepared chipboard surface is cleared of debris. The linoleum is spread on the surface and left for some time so that it can “sit down”. A special adhesive for linoleum is applied to the chipboard surface with a notched trowel, and then the linoleum itself is glued.
Let's start laying linoleum. It is important that the material “rest” before this
Step 5. The compensation gap along the wall is closed with a plinth.
You can also glue linoleum to the base using double-sided tape, but usually it is used only to fix the material in the area of the joints.
Video - Installation of chipboard on the floor
Video - How to lay linoleum correctly
A few tips will help improve the quality of the final work.
Linoleum can be laid on almost any flat surface. A prerequisite is the absolute absence of grooves and tubercles. Otherwise, all these flaws will be visible on the surface of the already fixed linoleum and will spoil the overall appearance of the final work. That is why chipboard can be used to level the floor - the surface of the slabs is smooth. But this, unfortunately, is far from the best option for creating a subfloor.
Chipboards made from waste from the woodworking industry are one of the most popular composite materials used in finishing work and furniture production.
A large amount of heat in the house escapes through cracks in the floor; in addition, an uneven floor looks extremely unaesthetic. To insulate it and make it perfectly smooth, to prepare it for laying laminate, parquet, linoleum and other finishing coatings, it is advisable to use chipboard: an inexpensive sheet material, the installation of which does not require special skills and tools. It is easy to cut; self-tapping screws, dowels, and nails can be used to fasten it, but due to its fragility, it is not recommended to reuse fastening elements in one place.
Installing chipboard on a wooden floor
Installing chipboard on a wooden floor is necessary in cases where its base is not level enough for high-quality finishing of the flooring: parquet, laminate, linoleum. It is done as follows:
- It is necessary to carefully inspect all wooden floor boards and replace those that have significant mechanical damage, mold and fungi.
- Check the quality of fastening of the floor boards to the joists, identify places where squeaks occur when walking, and eliminate all shortcomings.
- Chipboard sheets are laid out on wooden boards, placed in one level and secured with self-tapping screws. A gap of 12-15 mm wide must be left between the edges of the particle boards and the walls.
- The joints and screw heads are puttied, after which the surface is protected with sandpaper and varnished.
See what it looks like in practice:
Laying chipboard on a concrete floor
Laying chipboard on a concrete floor can be done either directly on the concrete base or on logs. The first method is done as follows:
- Chipboard should be laid on a perfectly flat surface, so in most cases work begins with a concrete screed.
- After the floor has dried well (at least 30 days), it should be cleaned of dust.
- Chipboard sheets also need to be prepared for installation: cut so that there is a gap of 12-15 mm wide between them and the walls, and soaked in drying oil.
- Fix the sheets in several places on the concrete base using dowels, holes for which are drilled in the concrete directly through the chipboard.
Laying chipboards on joists
Installing chipboard on logs allows for higher thermal insulation characteristics and faster completion of work, since in this case a concrete screed is not required:
- Install logs from wooden blocks and secure them with anchors. The distance between them should be no more than 40 cm, from the walls 2-3 cm, it is important to place them in the same plane, for which wooden wedges of the required thickness are placed under the bars.
- Lay the heat insulator on a concrete base - this step can be skipped, since the air layer also has thermal insulation properties.
- Lay them out so that their joints are located in the center of the joists and secure them with nails or self-tapping screws, recessing their caps into the slabs. The distance between fasteners is no more than 30 cm.
Having laid the chipboards on the joists, wooden or concrete base, you can begin laying the final flooring. This is not particularly difficult, but it is important to know some of the features of performing this or that type of work.
Laying laminate on chipboard
Laminate will last a long time only if it is laid on a perfectly flat base, otherwise the locks will quickly wear out and cracks will appear at the joints. If water gets into them, the coating is deformed. The installation of laminate on chipboard is carried out as follows:
- The quality of laying the base is checked - the difference should not exceed 0.5 mm per meter. If this indicator is slightly higher, the surface is sanded in two stages, using first coarse-grained and then fine-grained sandpaper. After finishing the sanding work, the floor must be vacuumed so that no dust remains on it.
- A substrate with a thickness of at least 3 mm is placed on the prepared surface. It can be made from either balsa wood or foamed propylene. Its stripes are connected with wide tape.
- The laminate begins to be laid out from the wall opposite the entrance. A wedge is inserted between the first row and the wall, allowing you to leave a temperature gap of 10-12 mm wide. At the end of the work, it is removed and the gap is closed with a plinth.
- Each subsequent board is inserted into the end lock of the previous one at an angle of 25 degrees, the last one is cut depending on the width of the room.
- To make the joints as inconspicuous as possible, the laminate strips are tapped through a wooden extension with a hammer, thereby making them adhere more tightly to each other.
- The last stage is securing the skirting boards around the perimeter of the room; they are necessary for fixing the laminate strips and giving the work a finished, neat look.
Laying linoleum on chipboard
Before starting work, you need to make sure that the particle boards are in good condition, have no mechanical damage or fungal damage, and are not deformed.
Laying linoleum on chipboard can be done in three ways:
- Without gluing linoleum to the floor - such savings in time and labor are possible only in rooms whose area does not exceed 12 m2, but leads to accelerated wear of the floor covering;
- By connecting the linoleum sheet and particle boards with double-sided tape - this method is convenient in cases where after a short time you plan to remove the linoleum and use it in another place;
- By connecting linoleum sheets and particle boards with universal glue, the costs of time, labor and glue will pay off by increasing the service life of linoleum by 20-25%.
The work is carried out in five stages:
- Spread the linoleum in a dry room on a smooth surface at a temperature of at least 16°C so that it straightens;
- Place it in the place of installation, smooth it thoroughly, leaving a margin of 5-10 cm at the edges;
- Fold in half and apply a layer of glue to the opened slabs with a brush, unfold and smooth out thoroughly again, leave for 20 minutes for the glue to dry;
- Repeat the operation on the other half of the room;
- Trim excess linoleum around the edges and install baseboards.
Laying tiles on chipboard
Often, when carrying out repair work, a fairly durable floor covered with chipboard must be covered with tiles - durable, moisture- and wear-resistant, which are easy to keep clean even with high traffic. Experts do not recommend laying tiles directly on particle boards - they are not strong enough to withstand the weight of the tiles over a long period and begin to collapse. You can increase their strength in two ways:
- Laying a metal reinforcing mesh on top of the base, which is secured to it with a furniture stapler. It should be taken into account that in this case the consumption of tile adhesive, which should fill the mesh cells, will significantly increase;
- By treating the base with a special primer - concrete contact, it not only increases the strength of the base, but also makes its surface rough, which improves adhesion between the chipboard and the tiles.
Construction or renovation of any building almost always involves leveling the surface: floor, ceiling, walls. The best way to cope with such work is tongue-and-groove moisture-resistant chipboard, the distinctive features of which are: resistance to environmental conditions, especially dampness/humidity, as well as convenient groove-connections (tongues) for fastening the boards together.
Chipboard (or the exact name of chipboard) with tongue and groove is a building board material made from wood chips, which has grooves on one side of the board and protrusions on the other, so that even one person can easily fasten them together. To increase the moisture resistance of wood, during the production of such boards, wood chips are pressed and impregnated with a special resin. As a result, even when immersed in water for a day, such a slab absorbs moisture and swells by only 10%.
Sheets of tongue-and-groove chipboard
At the same time, during the process of hot pressing, this material acquires high density and strength, so tongue-and-groove chipboard is especially often used for leveling and rough finishing of floors.
To enhance the effect of resistance to environmental conditions, laminated moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is also produced: a special film is applied to 1st grade sheets (without visible surface defects). At the same time, product quality indicators increase many times over.
Advantages
Let's consider the advantages of moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard in more detail:
- Increased density (820 kg/m3) ensures the rigidity and strength of structures made of chipboard (can be installed on joists - the special structure of the material allows you to effectively distribute the load over the entire surface of the floor);
- The process of processing chipboard in production allows you to achieve a perfectly flat surface of the board;
- Simplicity and ease of installation, dismantling, replacement of the entire structure or its parts, due to the system of protrusions and grooves, as well as the small size and weight of the plate itself;
- Increased resistance to humidity, dampness, temperature changes, unfavorable climate, as well as fungi, mold, microorganisms;
- Thermal/sound insulation;
- Low price (compared to similar building materials);
- Possibility of reusing dismantled slabs.
Flaws
Installation of chipboard on joists In order to eliminate undesirable consequences in the future, it is worth carefully considering the disadvantages of particle boards:
- Purely aesthetically, the appearance bears little resemblance to wood, so it is recommended to use it in rough finishing, as well as for hidden interior work;
- The use of various formaldehyde resins for impregnation can be toxic, therefore, when purchasing a moisture-resistant type of chipboard, you should read the operating instructions: is it allowed for use in residential premises or for furniture production (the manufacturer indicates on the label the amount of harmful substances in the chipboard);
- If the resin content is low, then additional insulation from environmental conditions is necessary;
- Not suitable for curved surfaces.
Where is it used?
Leveling the floor under laminate The use of moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is especially effective for:
- Leveling walls for finishing (wallpaper, plastic panels, wood and PVC lining, laminate, boards, etc.); creating interior partitions;
- Leveling the ceiling for finishing, as well as using chipboards instead of plasterboard to create a suspended ceiling;
- Leveling the floor for finishing (laminate, parquet, linoleum, etc.), assembling the subfloor, installing a “floating” floor;
- Heat/sound insulation of ceiling, floor, walls.
Dimensions, specifications and prices
The cost of building materials usually depends on their size.
Chipboard QuickDeck Here is a comparative table on the characteristics and prices of particle boards in Russia using the example of a building material:
Moisture-resistant chipboard for QuickDeck flooring
| Name | sheet size | leaf area | wholesale price | retail price | |||
| rub./m 2 | rub./sheet | rub./m 2 | rub./sheet | ||||
| Quick Deck (E1, P5), 12 mm. | Professional | 1830*600*12 | 1,098 | 266 | 292 | 280 | 307 |
| 2440*900*12 | 2,196 | 584 | 615 | ||||
| Quick Deck (E1, P5), 16 mm. | Professional | 1830*600*16 | 1,098 | 295 | 324 | 310 | 340 |
| 2440*600*16 | 1,464 | 432 | 454 | ||||
| Master | 1830*600*16 | 1,098 | 365 | 401 | 380 | 417 | |
| 2440*600*16 | 1,464 | 534 | 556 | ||||
| Plus | 1200*900*16 | 1,08 | 590 | 637 | 630 | 680 | |
| Quick Deck (E1, P5), 18 mm. | Professional | 1830*600*18 | 1,098 | 371 | 407 | 390 | 428 |
| 2440*600*18 | 1,464 | 543 | 571 | ||||
| Master | 1830*600*18 | 1,098 | 415 | 456 | 435 | 478 | |
| 2440*600*18 | 1,464 | 608 | 637 | ||||
| Quick Deck (E1, P5), 22 mm. | Professional | 1830*600*22 | 1,098 | 440 | 483 | 460 | 505 |
| 2440*600*22 | 1,464 | 644 | 673 | ||||
| Master | 1830*600*22 | 1,098 | 535 | 587 | 560 | 615 | |
| 2440*600*22 | 1,464 | 783 | 820 | ||||
| Quick Deck (E1, P5), 38 mm. | Professional | 1200*600*38 | 0,72 | 840 | 605 | 880 | 634 |
| Master | 1200*600*38 | 0,72 | 880 | 634 | 920 | 662 | |
Installation of subfloor
The subfloor (or dry screed) is the base on which the main floor covering will subsequently be installed. With the help of tongue-and-groove moisture-resistant chipboards, the installation of a subfloor can be easily done with your own hands.
Arrangement of the subfloor Below is a detailed description of how to properly lay moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard and make a subfloor.
- Wooden logs are laid on the concrete base with gaps between them, depending on the thickness of the chipboard sheet (30-40 cm with a thickness of 16 mm and 40-60 cm with a thickness of 22 mm). If the floor is uneven, then all gaps are filled with sand or slag. Also, you need to leave a gap of 2 cm near the walls;
- If additional thermal insulation is needed (private house or apartment on the ground floor, etc.), then foam plastic or any other insulation is laid between the joists, while a vapor/waterproofing film is placed under the beams on the concrete;
- The building level checks the evenness of the laying and horizontality of the floors. Next, the floor surface is covered with special plastic or paper to prevent squeaking when walking and further use;
- Chipboard sheets are laid starting from the far corner of the room. Having laid the first sheet, it is fixed with self-tapping screws - first the central part, and then - with a fastening step of approximately 20 cm. The screws are screwed in deeply - the caps must be recessed into the slab by at least a millimeter;
- For better sealing of joints, joints of fastening grooves are coated with PVA glue or latex construction mastic;
- Then, the next one is pressed tightly against the first sheet. Usually, chipboard comes with special bars for fitting, with the same fastenings, so as not to damage the base material. In this way, all sheets are adjusted and fastened (it is desirable that the seam passes over the joists). If the subfloor is made for a narrow corridor, then the wooden frame made of beams should be located across the movement;
- If vertical irregularities appear, they need to be cleaned and sanded. After which, you can lay parquet, laminate, or do any other fine finishing of the floor.
Laying sheets Laying a floating floor
A “floating floor” is the best way to finish floors with severe unevenness or other rough surface imperfections.
Moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is laid on the floor using the following technology:
- If the main floor is concrete, then first a vapor barrier film is placed on it, but if the base is wooden, then glassine;
- Next, expanded clay or slag is poured in and leveled;
- Construction paper is placed on the expanded clay;
- Wedges are installed near the wall from which installation begins;
- Just like when assembling a subfloor, the installation of chipboard slabs is carried out “onward” - from the far wall; connections are fixed with PVA glue or latex mastic;
- There should be a gap of 1 cm between the wall and the sheets.
Leveling a concrete floor Wall and ceiling mounting
A moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is mounted on the wall using self-tapping screws at intervals of 300-400 mm, and no additional lathing is required. If they are fastened with nails, then they are driven in at an angle of 45 degrees from the edge to the middle.
All new building materials are conquering the market, but laminate and any interesting tiles now surprise no one. And chipboard is far from the newest material that can be used for floor finishing. However, now another new product has appeared on the construction market - this is moisture-resistant chipboard, tongue-and-groove, used for flooring as a leveling material. Let's take a closer look at it and find out how to use it correctly and how to work with it.
Chipboard (abbreviated as chipboard) is a material that has been used in construction for many decades. Furniture is also made from it and used for other purposes. Therefore, it cannot be called a completely new material. However, conventional chipboard has certain disadvantages that significantly limit the possibilities of its use. Such a slab does not like moisture very much and can swell under its influence, despite its high density and strength. But, since science and progress do not stand still, we have now learned how to make a type of chipboard that is not afraid of water.
Tongue-and-groove moisture-resistant chipboard is a real find for those who want to level floors quickly, without creating gaps between individual elements, and to get a base that is not afraid of water. The difference between such chipboard and regular chipboard is that during manufacturing, special components and compositions were added to the raw materials to provide the same protection from water. For example, these could be paraffin emulsions. In general, the same woodworking waste (shavings of inexpensive coniferous and deciduous wood) and resins that connect them together are used in production. The process of making plates takes place at high temperature and pressure.
Advice! To distinguish moisture-resistant chipboard from regular chipboard, just look carefully at the color. The one that is not afraid of water has a lot of emerald green inclusions all over its surface. However, if such chipboard is completely wet and left in water for a long time, the board will deteriorate and swell anyway.
Tongue-and-groove chipboard has a special type of connectors - on one side of such a board there is a so-called tenon, and on the other there is a groove for this tenon. When laying several slabs in one row, they are butted together and firmly connected precisely thanks to this technology, which has the simple name “tenon and groove”.
On a note! Typically, moisture-resistant chipboard is tongue-and-groove on all four sides. That is, each end will have either a tenon or a groove, which will ensure the connection of not only vertical, but also horizontal rows of slabs with each other. This allows you to simplify and speed up the entire installation process.
Such a slab is usually marked as B, which means “moisture resistant”. Chipboard also has classes - P3 and P6, which are suitable for rooms with low or medium humidity levels, respectively. But class P5 is useful where the humidity is very high. Also, chipboards can be divided into several types depending on the number of layers - single-layer, three-layer or multi-layer. Most often, slabs of the latter type are used, with a large number of layers. In their manufacture, small and large chips are used, while the outer layers consist of smaller components. The dimensions of the slabs are usually the following - 2440x600 mm or 1830x600 mm. In this case, the thickness of the products is either 16 mm or 22 mm.
Advantages of tongue and groove slabs
It is not for nothing that it is in great demand in the construction industry, because it has many advantages. It can be used for various purposes, including laying subfloors. The advantages of moisture-resistant chipboard with tongue and groove are given below.
- First of all, this is, of course, ability to resist water. If you compare this material with OSB or plywood, then chipboard has maximum moisture resistance. Even if you leave such a slab in water for a day, it will increase in size by a maximum of 10% of its original volume. And it won’t even bend or deform.
- Environmental friendliness– another useful quality. Yes, the board is made using polymer resins, but in general it is not a source of harmful substances when used correctly. Chipboard is allowed to be used even in educational institutions where children study, or in those where there are special sanitary requirements. Chipboard is now recognized as the most environmentally friendly among all similar materials with similar characteristics.
- Extraordinary strength. Moisture-resistant chipboard with tongue and groove does not break, does not sag, and can withstand significant pressure without damage. Even the strongest point loads do not matter to such a foundation.
- Easy to install and process. If necessary, the slab can be easily sawed with a jigsaw or hacksaw, which is especially useful in cases where it is necessary to repair or replace the coating. Also, the presence of a tongue-and-groove system allows you to reliably connect individual slabs into one durable covering - they simply snap together, and if installed correctly, no gaps even form between them. You also don’t need any special tools to carry out the work - as a rule, the thrifty owner always has everything necessary at hand. In addition, chipboard is lightweight, which simplifies the process of working with it. The weight of one sheet 16 mm thick does not exceed 15 kg. If tongue-and-groove, moisture-resistant chipboard is used as a subfloor, then there is no need to additionally level the floors with cement screed, and this is a considerable cost saving.
- Long service life This is achieved due to the fact that chipboard is not afraid of mold and rot.
Moisture-resistant chipboard, tongue and groove - texture
- Low cost. Compared to plywood, this material is much more affordable.
- Wide range of applications. Tongue chipboard is suitable not only for flooring, but also for many other purposes.
- Thermal and sound insulation characteristics are excellent. Chipboard does an excellent job of retaining thermal energy and noise coming from neighbors. It doesn’t let heat out of the house, and it doesn’t let sounds into the house.
- Chipboard makes it possible to get a perfectly flat base without any additional costs. At the same time, there is no need to prepare a special coating for laying the final finish.
- Chipboard can be easily dismantled and reinstalled, which makes it possible to repair the foundation if necessary without problems and without the involvement of specialists.
On a note! It is not necessary to cover the chipboard layer with finishing material, unless, of course, we are talking about a living space. If there are no special requirements for the interior decoration of the building, then the chipboard can simply be coated with paint, and the floor is ready.
Before deciding to purchase chipboard, you should familiarize yourself with the disadvantages of this material:
- Chipboard cannot be used for installation on a strongly curved surface;
- sawn ends of the material must be treated with moisture-protecting agents;
- It is not advisable to install chipboard in houses where people suffering from allergies live, since it still emits formaldehyde, albeit in small doses. Processing of sawed ends is also necessary to reduce the amount of substances released into the environment that have a negative effect on the body.
Multifunctionality of tongue and groove slabs
Chipboards - both regular and tongue-and-groove - can be used in rooms for various purposes:
- residential - apartments and houses;
- administrative buildings, offices;
- at enterprises;
- in buildings that are used for public purposes (galleries, shopping complexes, etc.).
In apartments, moisture-resistant chipboard is used in any room - in bedrooms and halls, bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, etc. Due to its ability to withstand moisture, it is sometimes even installed on balconies and loggias that are not particularly isolated from the effects of weather factors. Chipboard feels great and does not lose its quality even in unheated rooms.
In general, tongue-and-groove chipboard is ideal for arranging a subfloor. It can easily cope with the task of leveling the base for laying any covering, be it tiles, laminate or parquet. Moisture-resistant chipboard is also ideal for leveling walls and is mounted under the finishing touches of a room. Various interior partitions are often created from it.
Prices for moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard "QuickDeck"
Moisture-resistant chipboard
On a note! Suspended ceilings, despite the popularity of suspended ceilings, have not gone out of fashion. And chipboard makes very interesting ceiling structures, which, by the way, are much easier to install than drywall.
Another purpose of using such chipboard is to create formwork when pouring the foundation. It is easy to install and can be removed just as easily as it was installed.
Table. Types of moisture-resistant chipboard.
Type Purpose of application
It is used only for finishing walls under the finishing coating or for creating ceiling structures.
A rough base for the floor is made from it.
Can be used for any purpose. Popularity of tongue and groove connections
Not ordinary, but tongue-and-groove slabs have gained particular popularity. It is explained by the presence of the tongue-and-groove system, which allows you to create the most durable and motionless base. Due to the fact that there are no gaps between the slabs, the subfloor is as durable as possible. Especially if the joints of the plates are glued with a special glue - in this case the structure will be as airtight as possible, not requiring the installation of waterproofing.
Thanks to the tongue and groove, another goal is achieved - uniform distribution of the load across the entire floor. And this type of connection is much stronger and more reliable than between sheets of plywood nailed to the floor.
Making the right choice
When choosing chipboard for the floor, it is important to pay attention to the main characteristics of the material in order to avoid mistakes. Otherwise, the coating will not be strong enough and will quickly collapse.
What to look for:
- bending strength (10-25 MPa);
- tensile strength (0.2-0.5 MPa);
- tendency to swell in liquid (5-30%).
It is also worth choosing thicker slabs - at least three-layer, and better - consisting of five layers. It is important to pay attention to the choice of the manufacturer (you should choose the one that has held a strong position in the market for many years), as well as the brand of the product. It is worth purchasing moisture-resistant chipboard for the floor.
Table. Chipboard parameters and cost.
Dimensions Cost, rub/sq.m. 1.83 m x 0.6 m x 12 mm 200 2.44 m x 0.6 m x 12 mm 238 2.44 m x 0.9 m x 12 mm 360 1.83 m x 0.6 m x 16 mm 240 2.44 m x 0.6 m x 16 mm 300 1.83 m x 0.6 m x 22 mm 300 2.44 m x 0.6 m x 22 mm 416 2.44 m x 0.9 m x 22 mm 400 Options for laying tongue-and-groove chipboard floors
Installation of a rough foundation made of tongue-and-groove chipboard can be done in two ways - conventional and floating. In the first case, various materials are first laid on the floor to provide waterproofing, after which logs are installed, between which insulating material is laid. Only after this the slabs themselves are installed using glue. The plates are also additionally secured with self-tapping screws.
Chipboard can also be installed in a floating manner, when the boards are not fixed to the base. They are simply laid on insulation or a sand cushion and connected to each other. Such floors are considered more durable. It turns out a kind of dry screed.
Installation of a floor made of waterproof tongue-and-groove chipboard
For this type of work you will need:
- chipboards;
- insulation;
- timber for logs;
- waterproofing material;
- roulette;
- mounting adhesive for chipboard;
- waterproof PVA glue;
- construction level;
- screwdriver, hammer drill;
- self-tapping screws;
Step 1. Chipboard slabs are brought and placed in the room where they will then be laid. They are left here for 48 hours in order to adapt to the microclimate of the room. This is especially important if the material was transported in winter.
Step 2. A layer of waterproofing film is laid on the rough base, cleared of debris, overlapping the walls. Then log beams are installed in increments of no more than 30-40 cm, provided that slabs with a thickness of 16 mm are used. For thicker material, you can install logs in increments of 60 cm.
Step 3. If the pitch between the joists is larger, a sheathing of boards is installed perpendicular to the joists.
Step 4. The distance between the lags is filled with insulation. For example, mineral wool. In this case, the insulation layer should be 3 cm lower than the expected level of the subfloor.
Step 5. Assembly adhesive is applied to the edge of the joist. And the tongue of each slab is treated with waterproof PVA D-3. The latter procedure will protect the slabs from water.
Step 6. The board is laid on the joists and pressed so that the previously applied glue is distributed over the entire surface of the joists. The slab is mounted with its long side perpendicular to the joists. Along the perimeter of the room it is secured with self-tapping screws on the joists. Step – 20 cm.
Attention! It is important to leave a gap of 10 mm between the walls and the slabs.
Step 8 Remains of PVA protruding at the junction of two slabs are removed with a soft cloth. All slab joints must be located on joists. If the joint is located between the lags, then an additional supporting jumper is made. It is installed perpendicular to the joists.
Step 9 The joints between the slabs are additionally hidden using sealants or wood coating mastic.
To reduce the amount of waste, large enough pieces of slabs can be used to begin the installation of any row. The main thing is that the piece of slab rests on at least three logs, that is, covers two spans. You can move on such a floor after 24 hours - this is exactly how long it takes for the glue to harden.
Video - Installation of tongue and groove slabs
Moisture-resistant chipboard can be an excellent rough (and in certain cases, finishing) base for laying the finishing floor. Its installation is not complicated, but on the contrary, it is quick and easy, and does not place any special demands on the master. Therefore, after studying the instructions, almost anyone can install such a floor.
In order to renew an old wooden floor or insulate a concrete floor before laying the finishing coating (laminate, linoleum, parquet, etc.), chipboard is laid. Using this procedure, you can make a perfectly flat surface of the subfloor, and the material itself is cheaper than, for example, plywood, not to mention boards.
Do not forget that particle board is not suitable for laying on surfaces with significant loads (offices, etc.). And it is undesirable to lay it in places with high humidity (bathroom, etc.), because exposure to moisture will cause it to deform and collapse.
Laying on concrete floor
Chipboard can be laid on concrete in two ways.
The first method is to lay it directly on concrete, in which case the base should be level. To do this, you can fill.
The base must be dry, free of dust and small debris. Then sheets cut to size can be laid on it, so that there is a distance of 1 - 1.5 cm between the wall and the sheet.
Before laying, they must be coated with drying oil or antiseptic. After this, they are attached to the base with dowels. To do this, holes are drilled in the concrete directly through the chipboard. When installing, distribute the dowels over the entire surface of the sheet.
Option two – we lay it on joists. In this case, the thermal insulation will be better than when laid on concrete.
Since the air gap serves as an excellent heat insulator, the space can also be filled with insulation. With this method, no screed is required.
This results in not only financial savings, but also time savings (drying the screed lasts at least 1 month). Wooden blocks are used as lags.
Chipboard is more fragile than wood, so logs are placed more often than with a wooden floor. The work begins with installing the logs. The outermost logs are placed at a distance of 2 - 3 cm from the walls. The next ones are placed 40 cm apart (no more).
They must be placed in the same plane, placing wooden wedges under each if necessary. We fix it with anchors.
At the next stage of work, if necessary, a heat insulator is placed in the free space. Then we lay the chipboard. The sheet must be cut so as to provide a gap from the wall of 10 - 15 mm, and the joint should be made in the center of the joist.
This will ensure a secure fit. We fix it with nails or self-tapping screws every 30 cm. The heads of the nails (screws) must be recessed into the slab so that there are no rough spots on the floor.
Now you need to wipe the gaps and cracks at the joints of the two sheets; to do this, you can mix PVA glue and sawdust (this will help avoid squeaking).
Laying on a wooden floor
To lay flooring, it is often necessary to make a fairly flat subfloor (under laminate, etc.). This is difficult to do on an old wooden floor.
And here chipboard comes to our rescue. First, you need to check the integrity of all boards; we check not only for mechanical damage, but also for fungus and mold, and replace damaged boards.
We also check the places where the boards are attached to the joists, including for the absence of squeaks; if necessary, we eliminate the latter and give the fastenings the proper appearance.
At the end of the preparatory work, we lay the sheets, level them, then fasten them with self-tapping screws to the wooden floor, leaving a gap of 10 - 15 mm between the wall and the sheet.
And the last stage is puttying the joints and heads of nails or screws. We sand the surface with sandpaper and cover it with 2 layers of varnish. After the varnish has dried, .
Watch the video:
Discussion: 11 comments
Tell me how to correctly lay out the chipboard sheets so that there is less cutting, is there any form of calculation? And is it possible to coat the joints of the sheets (ends) with glue or silicone?
Hello, Alexander.
In principle, there is no form of calculation; it all depends on the size of the room.
And it is better to coat the joints of the sheets in the old and proven way: mix PVA glue with sawdust.
Using this mixture, you can avoid the occurrence of squeaking floors in the future.
Hello, Alexander.
To improve thermal insulation, is it possible to put an insulator with a shiny film under the chipboard on the concrete, and lay it with foil to the concrete or chipboard.
Hello Andrei. My name is Pavel.
Of course, foil insulation can be placed under chipboard; it is always placed with foil to the concrete.
Sorry, I looked in the wrong place.
Thanks for the consultation.
No problem, please contact me if anything happens.
HELLO! WHAT MIXTURE CAN BE USED WHEN LAYING CHIPBOARDS ON UNEVEN
CONCRETE FLOOR?
Hello Sergey.
If differences on a concrete floor do not exceed 2 mm per 1 meter, then rubber-based parquet adhesive can be used.
If the differences are large, then it is better to level the floor.
Good afternoon.
I have an old wooden floor that is not level, covered with hardboard, I want to put an insulator with a shiny film and a tongue and groove chipboard on top. there is an uneven angle; lowering the beam is problematic; a house built in 1924 will the chipboard withstand a difference of 3 cm per 1 m. the chipboard will not burst. I read that they are strong enough that they can be placed on a 30*40 sheathing. The question is, can the slabs be laid on an uneven floor or should it be leveled?
Hello Mikhail.
It is better to level the floor before laying chipboard; 3 cm is still a lot.
You can level it with wood putty. You can make the putty yourself; to do this, you need to mix PVA glue and small sawdust.
Is it possible to put plastic film on the screed under the chipboard?
Loading...