Is it possible to re-lay laminate flooring? How to re-lay laminate flooring. How to completely disassemble laminate flooring

Laminate is a popular floor covering, beautiful, reliable and durable. You can see what the material looks like in the photo. But it happens that the boards are laid incorrectly, or defects arise during operation. In such situations, you have to figure out how to remove the laminate from the floor, and, if possible, use it again.

Previously, when the choice of flooring was limited only wooden planks covered with paint, no one worried about the appearance of cracks, scratches and marks from the furniture. Modern flooring is a decoration of the room, and not just necessary part interior Of course, imperfections in the floor surface can be hidden with all sorts of rugs, but this is not always a good solution.

Despite the fact that laminate is quite durable finishing material, it still gets damaged over time. Therefore, when purchasing, it is not enough to inquire about such material characteristics as wear resistance and abrasion; it is also recommended to find out how repairable it is.

“Can laminate be taken apart and put back together?” - this question comes up often. Yes, this repair option exists, although there are other methods for restoring planks.

This flooring cannot be sanded like parquet, but it can be repaired using the following means:

• wax pencil;
• Soundal sealant;
• special staff FloorFil.

If you decide to repair the damage with a pencil, you need to take into account that when it dries, its shade may change (darken).

You should think about whether it is possible to remove the laminate and reinstall it if the coating contains not only chips and scratches, but also more serious damage. In this situation, you will have to perform partial or complete replacement coverings.

Laminate replacement tools

To replace damaged panels, you need to carefully remove them and install new ones.

For this you will need:

• laminate removal tools;
• hammer;
• mounting bracket for gripping the panel in inaccessible places;
• screwdriver for removing baseboards;
• chisel for removing dies;
• pencil for marking.

Partial removal and replacement

In most cases, it is necessary to replace only one or several damaged panels (more details: "").

Work in this situation occurs as follows:

1. Using a marker, outline the outline of the damaged area so that it runs along the perimeter of all panels that need to be replaced. An indent of approximately 5 millimeters is made from the joint.
2. If you are interested in how to disassemble the laminate without damaging it, then it is best to do this work using a jigsaw, cutting out the previously designated area.
3. From general coverage using special devices remove the dies. The remaining material is carefully pryed off with a chisel, being careful not to damage the locks on the lamellas.
4. The board prepared for laying should be 3-5 millimeters smaller than the removed area and match the shade. Then the ends of the workpiece are cleaned and a sealant designed specifically for wood surfaces is applied around its perimeter.
5. A new, prepared panel is installed in place, and excess sealant is removed rubber spatula or a rag. You need to wait until the composition is completely dry - the time is indicated in the instructions for the glue.

After such repairs, the floor covering can still last long time.

Complete laminate removal

If the damage is significant, it may not be enough to replace only a specific area of ​​the floor. How to dismantle the laminate if the scale of the repair is rather large? It depends on the type of connections. In most cases, the Click-Lock system is used. It is not difficult to disassemble the floor covering in such a situation.

Click is considered the most reliable type of connection. But the Lock system is more susceptible to damage. There will be more waste when working with panels that have the second type of connection, and additional boards will be required in order to put the laminate back in place.

So, how to remove the boards:

1. Use a screwdriver to remove the baseboards.
2. The first panel (which was laid last) is lifted through the specially left thermal gap. It is carefully lifted to release the connection. In this case, sudden movements are unacceptable, you need to act smoothly. Do the same with all other panels. That is, you need to disassemble the laminate in the reverse order, from the place where installation was completed. Usually this is a window.
3. When removing each panel, it is recommended to mark them with a serial number to make re-installation easier later.

If you follow the rules for using the coating, damage will not appear on it soon. But if it so happens that the floor covering has been damaged, before thinking about whether it is possible to re-lay the laminate, you should try to repair the damaged panels using wax pencils, sealants or repair kits.

The situation is different if the laminate is damaged significantly, and the matter is not limited to scratches and chips. Then you really will have to replace the damaged panels.

How to open the laminate and put it back was described in this article. If you follow the instructions given and do the work carefully, after restoration the floor covering will last for many more years. And such repairs, of course, will cost much less than laying new flooring. It is only important to try to ensure that the new panels match the old ones in shade as closely as possible, and even better, they are from the same batch. Therefore, when laying laminate flooring, it is advisable to buy material with a reserve.

Typically, laminate lasts about 15-25 years. The class of a material characterizes its service life. But due to various unforeseen circumstances, the laminate does not in the best possible way protected. Many people have already decided to base their choice not only on the main qualities of the laminate: resistance to moisture and abrasion, impact resistance, appearance and environmental friendliness. Now it is common to think about the maintainability of the floor covering. No one is immune from getting a defect on their floor. These may be: scratches, dents, chips and severe abrasions. What to do? How to solve the problem? Is it possible to disassemble the laminate and put it back together with your own hands? Let's figure it out.

Do I need to disassemble the laminate?

Serious defects in the coating indicate that it is time to start dismantling. But is it possible to disassemble the laminate and put it back together so that it is suitable for further exploitation. Before answering, let’s look at the most common “problem” cases:

• The floor creaks. This may be due to the fact that the installation was not carried out as carefully as necessary, and here is the result.
• Swellings and strange formations. Such a case has widespread, since moisture can penetrate under the laminate and destroy the material.
• And some simply want to move, but do not want to leave their original laminate flooring. Why not take it apart to put it in another room?

Important! Sometimes it happens that only a few lamellas break. Experienced owners will not throw away excess material after installation and will take several spare boards from the storage room. Partial renovation It is very easy to do - we remove the old panels and replace them with new ones.

Preparation for work

How to remove laminate? In fact, installation is not the most difficult thing. Modern materials They assemble and disassemble perfectly. There is an expression: “To break is not to build,” but disassembling the laminate should be carried out with extreme care, even if only a few “cells” need to be replaced.

Floor connections

First, you should familiarize yourself with the type of boards used. So far, there are only three types of floor covering locks:

1. Lockless (adhesive). This floor is assembled using glue. In other words, pieces of material simply stick to each other. This laminate cannot be dismantled and used again.
2. Lock panels. On one side of such a panel there is a spike in the form of a protrusion, and the other side is equipped with a special groove. With a few light blows with a hammer, such “cells” are easily connected. The “signal” of readiness is given by a characteristic click during assembly.
3. Click is the most common connection system. This is where it is easiest to carry out repeated operations on the laminate. The panels are simply placed at a 45 degree angle to each other and lowered to the floor. This is how the lamellas adhere together through this system.

Partial installation

Is it possible to disassemble laminate flooring and put it back together? Of course, but let’s start getting acquainted with this procedure with one “small” task.” If you have already decided to dismantle the defective boards, then follow the following instructions:

1. Using a marker, indicate the required scope of work.
2. Using a jigsaw, saw off the unusable parts. It is necessary to leave at least 5 millimeters from the edges to prevent damage to the connection of the locks.
3. Using tools, hook the blade and remove it.
4. Prepare a workpiece with the same geometric dimensions, sand the edges and coat them with some kind of sealant. Now it is necessary to place the new parts in place of the old ones with extreme care.
5. Don't forget to remove any excess sealant.
6. To replace just a few planks, you will first have to dismantle the baseboard, and only then carefully pry and lift the outer lamella in order to disconnect the connections of the locking system. Remove the slats from the covering until you reach the “broken” parts.

Important! We recommend numbering the panels. This advice is due to the fact that many people very often make mistakes when assembling. If the “cell” has not been trimmed, then the numbering can be neglected and simply mounted in any order.

We remove the laminate completely

Well, first you have to start dismantling the baseboards.

But with modern and technologically advanced Click locks, things are going very well. Flooring This type can be removed without difficulty, maintaining the ideal condition of each lamella, which will play into your hands during subsequent work.

Important! It is customary to start dismantling from the wall where you last completed the installation procedure.

Simply lift the end panel until it clicks, which will tell you when the lock will open, then release the panel. Carry out these manipulations with all parts, not forgetting about the numbering, which was discussed a few words above. Numbering will facilitate the installation process in a new room and significantly speed it up.

Laminate flooring is becoming increasingly popular due to its practicality and beautiful appearance. appearance, durability and affordability. Self-installation laminate attracts with its simplicity, but errors are possible here unpleasant consequences. Gradually, cracks may appear in the locking joints, warping of panels and unpleasant creaking when walking. These problems may arise some time after installation, when it is too late to change anything.

Laminate is sensitive to unevenness

Special attention You need to pay attention to preparing the foundation. It must be perfectly smooth, dry and clean. Unlike linoleum or carpet, laminate is very sensitive to changes in the base. Even small irregularities above the norm of 1–2 mm per linear meter will lead to creaking and disruption of locking connections during operation. On top concrete screed For manual leveling, we recommend finishing self-leveling mixtures that level out rough terrain errors.

Monitoring the indoor climate

Take your time with laying the laminate after purchase. It must be kept for at least a day in a room with a temperature of 18–24 degrees and a humidity of 40–60%. This will be a normalized laminate, climatically adapted to its place of service. It will be great if by this time all the “wet” processes in the room have already been completed: plastering, puttying, priming and wallpapering. By the way, for the normal well-being of both the person and the laminate flooring in the apartment, we advise you to constantly maintain exactly these temperature and humidity indicators in the room.

Lay on a dry base

Laminate contains crushed wood in its multilayer structure and behaves like ordinary wood - it changes its geometric dimensions depending on humidity. No matter how much you would like to quickly move into new apartment, you must be patient and wait completely dry concrete base. With a screed thickness of 4 cm, you will have to wait at least a month, and maybe longer if the drying conditions are insufficient. It seems to you that the screed has already dried, but this impression can be deceptive - it has only dried upper layer. Any haste will lead to dampening of the laminate base. This especially applies to new buildings, where moisture can migrate in the ceilings for quite a long time. Laminate flooring can be laid on concrete base with a moisture content of no more than 2–3%.

Which substrate is better?

Big question occurs when choosing a substrate for the coating. It performs the function of heat and sound insulation and compensates for the load on the locking joints. There is a temptation to buy cheap polyethylene foam, but you need to remember its fragility in places increased loads. There it quickly compresses into thin tracing paper and no longer performs its main functions. There is a fairly common misconception that the substrate serves to level out base errors. Many are even interested in whether it is possible to lay a polyethylene backing in two layers to hide these unevenness. But the substrate, as we have already said, has very little to do with the problem of leveling the base, and two-layer polyethylene will gradually lead to the destruction of the interlocking joints. More successfully, in comparison with other substrates, sheets made of fibrous wood 5–7 mm thick level out minor unevenness. However, technical cork remains an unsurpassed material for laminate substrate, which does not change its characteristics throughout the entire period of operation.

Laminate flooring – freedom of movement!

To the number typical mistakes When laying laminate flooring, non-compliance with technological clearance standards around the perimeter of the coating can be attributed. We already know that when the humidity in the room changes, the laminate flooring “breathes” and increases or decreases in size, like any wood. This floor represents a kind of floating membrane. Increasing in size, it should not rest against walls, thresholds and heating pipes. A gap of 1.5–2 cm is needed at the junction points. The gaps along the walls are covered with skirting boards, which must be attached to the wall, ensuring free movement of the covering. Violation of this rule leads to deformation of the panels. Sometimes even such a gap is not enough if the room is quite large in area. Then additional intermediate seams are made, decorating them with flat sills.

Heavy furniture installed in the room after renovation can also interfere with the free movement of the laminate flooring. Bookcases, for example, can firmly fix a thin membrane and cause annoying defects in the coating. It is worth prudently making an expansion joint along the legs of the cabinets. We close the seam with thresholds.

Experienced craftsmen assemble laminate flooring without a hammer. If you are not yet ready to call yourself one, remember the main rule - using a steel hammer is completely unacceptable. In some cases, you can carefully use rubber or wooden mallets through wooden blocks or trimming laminate panels. It must be said that locking joints are quite fragile things and can be easily damaged by careless movements. Small debris can get inside the lock - then a thin gap is formed, which becomes more and more noticeable over time. In this process, special cleanliness and accuracy must be observed.

Very often, the consequences of improper installation of laminate flooring are visible almost immediately. The floorboards begin to creak when you walk, they simply crack or collapse completely. It is then that the logical question arises: how to disassemble the laminate so as to replace several boards, and then use it without problems?

Properly done work allows you to reuse such finishing material.

Why disassemble laminate?

There are several reasons why you need to do dismantling. Among them:

1. Flooding;
2. cracks;

Today many people ask, is it possible to disassemble laminate flooring? This is not only possible, but in most cases it is simply necessary. During a flood, the faster you dismantle the structure, the greater your chances of saving the material. According to statistics, this is very effective method only within an hour after exposure to water. If water has penetrated in a very large volume, then the finishing elements cannot be restored.

To replace individual lamellas, you need to disassemble a specific section and replace the damaged parts with new ones in the same sequence.

How to disassemble laminate: types of coating during installation

• Option 1. Adhesive fastening

IN in this case dismantling and replacing individual parts is a very difficult and time-consuming process. Sometimes it is almost impossible to carry it out without damaging other parts of the flooring. This is why many of us calculate this outcome in advance and simply buy boards with a locking system OR use the services of a professional master.

• Option 2. Lock fastening

If you bought slats with a locking connection system, then you can disassemble the structure very quickly, and without damaging the entire flooring. This option is often used in cases where you move to another place (office or apartment) and literally take the flooring with you.

! For greater convenience, laminated flooring boards can be marked so as not to make a mistake with the sequence of their location in the new room.

There are significant differences between the products:

1. The Click system guarantees simple dismantling that does not take much time;
2. The Lock system requires more time and more effort.

So, how to properly disassemble laminate flooring? Let's start with what tools need to be used, and is it necessary to use them at all?

During the process of dismantling a structure, tools are usually not used at all. Their help is resorted to only in cases where the lamellas are grabbed very tightly, and there is no way to remove them manually. You can use any available tool.

! Do not overdo it so as not to damage the boards, because if the flooring was laid a long time ago, then in the store you may no longer find a covering of the appropriate structure and color.

Replacing one panel

Method 1: lock system

For replacement individual element, which has obvious chips or scratches, dismantle the flooring only up to the boards with the defect, replace them with new ones, and then lay the canvas in the same order as it was laid before.

First you need to remove the baseboard and number all its parts. The canvas is disassembled from the last row so that the small lock comes out of the large one when lifting the whole row. All boards are signed and numbered. This makes the process of assembling the lamellas easier. Uncut elements do not need to be labeled, as they can later be inserted into any row.

How to avoid damaging the lock when disassembling laminate flooring? You need to remove all parts very carefully. After dismantling, the lamellas should be collected in three stacks:

• 1 – uncircumcised;
• 2 – extreme right;
• 3 – extreme left.

Method 2: glue system

Maintain a 5mm offset from the joint. Using a jigsaw, mark the area of ​​work and carefully cut it out. Remove the damaged dies from the flooring using installation tools.

Use a chisel to pry off the saved 5 mm. This way, nearby structural elements will not be damaged. New part should match the texture and color. At its ends and around the entire perimeter. It is also applied around the perimeter of the hole. Then the new board is installed into the floor.

Even if the flooring remains in perfect condition already a long period However, there are some cases when complete disassembly is indispensable. For example, when moving to another office, another apartment, etc.

To ensure that the flooring can be reassembled later, the procedure must be carried out with the utmost care.

• Rule 1. The flooring can only be completely removed if a locking system has been used. With adhesive assembly, you can only replace a few panels. It cannot be safely completely disassembled.
• Rule 2. When dismantling, sign all elements so that when re-flooring you can easily and quickly complete all the work.
• Rule 3. First, remove the baseboard around the entire perimeter of the room using a screwdriver or screwdriver. Start removing the panels from the wall because there is an expansion gap there. This way you can easily pick up the panel and open the locks.

Interlocking laminate has one nice feature: It can be dismantled and reassembled. Quality coatings from European manufacturers can withstand up to four installation and dismantling cycles, and budget options- only two.

Why is there a need to re-lay laminate flooring?

The most common reason for dismantling and subsequent new styling laminate - these are mistakes made during the first installation:

• uneven subfloor;
• no gap of 10 mm between the planks and the walls;
• construction debris under the slats.

If the difference in floor height exceeds 2-3 mm per square meter, then a few weeks after laying the coating, a creak appears, gaps form between the panels, and the material begins to “walk.” In this case, the laminate must be removed from the floor as quickly as possible before its elements become deformed. Then the base should be leveled and all construction debris removed from it. Is it possible to re-lay it later? old laminate instead of buying a new one? Yes, you can.

If there is no gap between the covering and the wall, then the floor begins to “hump”: the planks rise at an angle, and a creaking occurs. In this case, removal of the laminate is also required. When re-installing, you need to make a 10 mm indentation from each wall, and the unpleasant “symptoms” will disappear.

How to lay laminate flooring correctly?

Removing the laminate and its subsequent installation does not require special skills, so you can handle it House master. The main thing is to know the sequence of actions.

• Remove furniture from the room.
• Remove the baseboards.
• To remove old laminate without damaging it, find the end strip and pry it off as carefully as possible.
• Lift the bars at an angle of 45 degrees and carefully remove them, being careful not to damage the lock.
• Number the strips to facilitate subsequent installation.
• Clean the floor surface and, if necessary, level it using a self-leveling mixture.
• Before laying the laminate, place a polystyrene or natural backing on the base.
• Start laying the laminate again, making a distance of 10 mm from the walls.
• Replace damaged strips with new ones. If you couldn't buy the same shade, hide the new panels under the furniture.
• Install baseboards.

Ready! You can arrange furniture and enjoy the updated floor.