Lamiate foor on tiles...what is needed?

[Tamara]

ok...here goes.

Im going to lay a laminate floor in my didng room. The flooring currently down is tiles. There are lumps and bumps in the floor..one lump is pretty big.

Can i knock some of the big lump off? What can i use to take care of the dips....they are realy small but might effect the flooring when put down.

What suggestions do you have?...

Ive been told to put in layes as follows:

1 damp proof membrane
2 mdf
3 underlay
4 laminate

Is this correct? i know the dpm need to be under the skirting boards...i havent intalled them yet for this reason.


Any input would be of great help....this is my first home and am ready to learn!

Thanks!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi
When you speak of laminate flooring, doe you mean the plastic stuff (with paper print of wood) or wood-engineered flooring (with 0.6 to 6mm Solid wood top layer)?
The total thickness of 'plastic' stuff is really thin (8mm max) and then you need either a more smoothly underfloor or thicker underlayment.

Knock of the big bump. The small dips, if indeed small, can be 'filled' when using proper insulation.

DPM and sound-insulation (available in a combined product) would be sufficient, 9 out of 10 times no need to install mdf first

Well thought with the skirting boards. They must be thick enough to cover your expansion gap (10mm) and small part of the floor.

Suggestion: since it is your first house reconsider laminate (plastic) flooring and go for wood-veneer or wood-engineered flooring. Increases the value of your property more (when you want to sell it in don't know how many years) because it is real wood.

 

[Tamara]

ok...not sure what type of laminate it is...this is what im getting http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/produ...28&entryFlag=false&PRODID=8070486&paintCatId=

there ae several reasons for chosing it...i like it...its in my budget range...seems easy to put down. another is that it seemed thiscker when viewed in store them nost ive seen. its seems to be a mid-range product ive seen cheaper and nastier stuff out there...im not a big fan of laminate...but i cant afford real wood on my budget unless i start stealing construction workers scaffold boards ( not many ppl around here are doing much work to thier houses...so i think it would take me a wile to collet them...hee hee)

they also sell under lay...how about this one? http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/produ...12&entryFlag=false&PRODID=7000003&paintCatId=

or is that ott?

they do sell cheaper ones....but even tho i am an a budget...i dont want to skimp too much on the things that are necessary, im tyring to avoid future problems with damp ect...

what would you suggest the layers be? and if i get the good underlay...and the mdf to flatten the floor more...will i still need to do the layers like in my first post?

Sorry for all the questions...but i realy would like to know all my options and possible results before even starting the project.

Any other suggestions you might have would be recieved warmly.

Thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

Yes, is 'plastic stuff', but suitable for the room you plan to install it in. Heavy duty underlayment sounds good, but only if you install it directly on the tiles. If you first install mdf don't use underlayment with dpm (might create 'sweat').

As you can read in the product info:

Must be laid on top of level floors (2mm deviation over a 2m area)

it is able to 'fill' the small dips so no need for mdf (IMHO)

Go for it

 

[Tamara]

ok...there is more then 2mm difference...and the dips while not too deep...apx 4mm are pretty wide. They may cause problems with creaking and if a joint falls into the center of it. I think my best option is to put mdf down first.

Now...mdf is ok?
now my layers with mdf and such should be?

1 dpm
2 mdf
3 underlay (no dpm)
4 laminate

is that correct?

and oh...how should i fix the mdf to the floor....i havent a clue...screws...nails...glue...or let it 'float' as well?

thanks again

 

[WoodYouLike]

Well, little trick of the trade: get some extra insulation (without the dpm) and place that on the dipped areas. Then lay the heavy duty underlayment on it: solves small dips without having to install mdf or creating creaky sounds.