What types of flooring are there for an apartment? What types of floor coverings exist and what is best to choose? Adviсe. Living room floor

Floors, in addition to the interior, perform many other important functions - they protect the house from moisture, soundproof, and heat in cold weather. When choosing which flooring is best, you should take into account not only their aesthetics, but also functionality, and the place/conditions of use. That is, the choice of flooring should be approached as seriously and thoroughly as possible.

The materials used to make floors are varied - wood, laminate, tiles, parquet, porcelain stoneware, self-leveling floors, vinyl and even glass.

Laminate

It is a coating consisting of the following layers:

• Kraft paper.
• Printed drawing.
• Protective layer made of polymers.

Panels are divided into classes depending on the load they can withstand. Wear resistance, impact resistance, sensitivity to light, and fire resistance are taken into account.

• Installation is carried out on a prepared, perfectly flat surface.
• Afraid of moisture.
• Impossibility of restoration.

• Attractive price.
• A huge range of colors to suit every taste.
• Ease of installation.

When choosing a laminate, you need to consider some features:

On light laminate The dust is hardly noticeable, it looks very noble. Better not to use dark colors, if the room is on the sunny side - in the side rays of the incident sunlight Even the smallest specks of dust settling on the floor will be noticeable.

The moisture-resistant laminate has a greenish tint, its facing part has a protective coating against fungus, and the middle of the panel contains substances that absorb moisture.

Parquet board

Parquet boards are the most natural and environmentally friendly type of flooring. Consists of several layers wooden slats, up to 5 mm thick, connected to each other by strips glued on top.

• Parquet boards are much easier to scratch, they are less durable and more difficult to use than laminate.
• If even a medium-sized dog is kept in the room, such a coating will quickly deteriorate due to claw marks.
• Damaged by sharp heels and stilettos.
• Does not tolerate dry air, in which it dries out and cracks.

• Natural, environmentally friendly product, with a real wood pattern and appropriate appearance;
• Undergoing restoration.

Parquet is made from hard wood. The most common materials are oak, ash, beech, and maple. These materials are durable and recommended for high traffic areas.

Ash has a more pronounced pattern than oak, which is why the latter is used for standard flooring, while ash is used for mosaic parquet.

The board itself can be made in completely different configurations - rectangle, rhombus, “Christmas tree” and even round. Parquet is much more durable than laminate and is used in living rooms and bedrooms.

The choice of color can be anything, the main thing is to adhere to the rule that the floor and walls are of different shades. This is necessary so that their boundaries do not merge. That is, if the walls are light, then the parquet board or laminate should be a couple of shades darker and vice versa.

Due to the wide spread of the Scandinavian style, made in light colors, interiors with white floors are increasingly appearing.

Tile

The most wear-resistant type of flooring. Made from sand, clay and other natural materials. The tile plates are fired at high temperatures, so they are durable and wear-resistant.

They are not subject to deformation, so they can crack if something really heavy falls. But a damaged fragment can be replaced with another.

Key Features:

• Wear resistance.
• Moisture resistance.
• Fire resistance.
• It is not afraid of light and will not lose its color.
• Susceptible to external household influences.
• Easy to clean and hygienic.

A prerequisite for laying tiles is the evenness and smoothness of the base. This may include:

• Drywall.
• Plaster.
• Old tiles.
• Previous paint.
• Plywood.

The most common tile shapes are rectangular, square, and diamond. But there are also samples with six and eight corners, as well as specially shaped tiles for decorating corners and cornices.

The sizes are completely different - from huge slabs to small mosaics. Designers are increasingly using several shapes and sizes of tiles simultaneously when decorating the floors of one room.

Tiles can also be porous or dense. Since porous material absorbs moisture well, this type is more relevant in the bathroom or kitchen.

These rooms require a coating with high chemical and mechanical properties, such as surface hardness and bending resistance. For floors in these rooms, third and fourth class tiles are recommended.

This season, gray, beige, electric colors, as well as lavender and shades of blue are relevant. Oriental designs are popular in bathrooms.

Porcelain tiles for parquet

In fact, these are ordinary tiles that imitate parquet boards. It is based on two types of clay, it is environmentally friendly and natural. Unlike natural wood, wood-look porcelain tiles are more practical and are not afraid of water.

It can be used in any room of the apartment, especially in a Provence-style kitchen or bathroom, in the interior of which wooden furniture has been especially popular in recent seasons.

Glass floors

Recently, designers have increasingly begun to use glass floors and other translucent structures in their work, which can be found at www.glassproekt.ru, and not only in individual houses, but also in apartments.

This type of flooring is quite extravagant, giving a feeling of emptiness under your feet and creating a feeling of weightlessness. The room becomes airy and spacious.

Design possibilities are limited only by imagination. You can darken the surface using different colors, or apply photo printing or ornamentation. The niche under the glass is often decorated with interior items, which enhances the effect of transparency.

In addition, the impression made can be enhanced by decorating it with lighting. There is only one nuance that needs to be taken into account - halogen lighting produces a lot of heat, the glass can overheat and become deformed, so it is better to use other lighting materials.

A glass floor looks very good in a small hallway or as a zoning element for a living room or bedroom.

Self-leveling floors

They are made from polymers and based on materials they are basically divided into:

• Polyurethane.
• Epoxy.
• Methyl methacrylate.

This is the best price-quality option, which has recently become increasingly popular.

Advantages of self-leveling floors:

• Thermal insulation.
• Environmental friendliness.
• Durability.
• Strength characteristics.
• Fire resistance.
• Chemical resistance.

The minimum working life of such a floor is two decades, and with proper care it will last much longer.

Polymer floors are applied to concrete base, sometimes it is allowed to pour them onto a well-prepared wood base. The concrete must be perfectly smooth; after screeding, you must wait at least 28 days.

A special primer is laid under the self-leveling floor; the thickness of the floor must be at least 2 mm.

The compound is poured in a path onto the primed screed. In this case, it is necessary to maintain the evenness of its distribution. To avoid deterioration of adhesion between layers of a two-layer finishing coating, the time gap between application of layers should not exceed two days.

When rolling with an aerator, it should not be removed from the polymer until the viscosity increases.

When installing self-leveling floors, the surface is first prepared, leveled in advance, a pattern and decorative elements are applied, and the solution is poured. After a few days (when the coating has hardened), it becomes matte or glossy.

The self-leveling floor looks great in the hallway, and in contrast with the glossy suspended ceiling with well-designed light, it will significantly expand its space as a whole, as well as in the living room, where it will especially highlight the light from a large chandelier.

Vinyl floor

This surface imitates wood, marble, natural stone and even leather. It can be smooth or embossed, glossy or matte. Vinyl tiles - product innovative technologies, which has a number of unique properties:

• The vinyl backing is an excellent shock absorber. Provides spring underfoot, suppresses sounds, and makes movement silent;
• It is durable due to crushed quartz with plasticizers in the base;
• Strength, which is formed as a result of the use of the hot pressing method in manufacturing.
• Resistant to moisture and ultraviolet radiation.
• Easy to care for.

Depending on the simulated material, they are produced in rolls and in the form of slabs. The slabs may have locking devices, or they may have a bottom adhesive surface, or they may even be ordinary tiles, which require special glue.

Color solutions can be either monochromatic or multi-colored - it all depends on taste. There are also some disadvantages:

• Contact with rubber will leave stains on the surface, which are almost impossible to get rid of.
• Synthetic components in the composition.
• Difficulty in restoration.

Vinyl flooring is suitable for any room, especially the kitchen and bathroom, where there is high humidity. But because of the fear of rubber, it is better to avoid this coating in the hallway.

Of course, it is almost impossible to say unequivocally which flooring is better, since much depends not only on the characteristics, but also on the specific case. It should be remembered that a material that is ideal in the bedroom may not live up to expectations in the kitchen, and vice versa.

Which floor is better to make in an apartment: wood or concrete?

Which floor is better to make in an apartment?

Basic interior design issues include deciding how to make floors in an apartment, which determines the overall style of each room.

Not only the artistic part is important, but also resistance to wear, ease of cleaning, environmental friendliness and simply a feeling of comfort underfoot.

The desired effect will be achieved by choosing the appropriate one according to its features and following the technology of its installation.

Basic elements of the device

Repair the concrete base before finishing the floor

Regardless of the decision of what to cover the floor in the apartment with, whether fresh floors are laid or the floor in the apartment is replaced with your own hands, the work begins from the concrete base.

The slab floor may already have a good-quality screed, otherwise you will have to make one - concrete the huge differences and fill it with a self-leveling compound.

The horizontal plane will provide confident support to all areas and layers of future beautiful floors.

If the floors are not insulated, you need to install insulation

The structure of the floor for an apartment is a sequential alternation of the following levels:

• concrete floor slab;
• waterproofing (for bathroom, kitchen, toilet);
• thermal insulation (at the same time performing the task of sound insulation);
• flooring (includes additional technological devices - baseboards, ventilation meshes for wood floors on joists).

Determining which floor in the room is best (PVC tiles or parquet) is necessary for each room separately, depending on its purpose.

A children's room, a bedroom, a corner for sports activities differ in the overloads and intensity of action on the entire structure to the very foundation.

Security level

Each type has certain characteristics, including the minimum thickness at which they appear in standard values ​​and determine which floors are best made in the apartment.

It is necessary to consider the brand and type of insulation for different floor finishing options according to the following characteristics:

• thermal conductivity (an important indicator for the first floors, mansions with non-residential basement levels with low air temperature);
• recommended thickness;
• noise absorption;
• water absorption coefficient, vapor permeability;
• fire resistance;
• weight, ability to withstand load (density);
• application technology, consumption per 1 m², amount of waste;
• health safety.

The difference in floor levels between rooms is not desirable (not safe) with the exception of sanitary and hygienic premises, in which it is provided for by the building regulations for the event of accidents with water spills.

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Before you make the floor in your apartment with your own hands, you need to calculate the expected effect in comparison with the budget and the availability of the selected material for different types of finishing:

In rooms where it is planned to lay clay tiles, it is advisable to use “warm floor” technology.

Surface layer

With all the variety of coatings, it is necessary to understand which floors are best made for each specific situation (concrete floor or parquet).

So, what to use for flooring, which room it will correspond to, choose from these main positions:

• wooden board;
• parquet;
• clay or polymer tiles;
• laminate;
• linoleum;
• carpet;
• cork sheet.

A visual comparison of performance indicators can be seen from the table:

The presented flooring can cover a concrete, wood base, lined with sheets of plywood or waterproof plasterboard.

Manufacturers produce products for finishing the floor in an apartment, having a wide variety of colors, textures, patterns and entire compositions, panels.

Linoleum

A modern manufacturer provides a wide selection of colors and parameters for this finishing

It is one of the most popular coatings today. Easy to install, waterproof, fairly affordable, the range has a wide variety of colors and patterns. It can be insulated with fiber substrates, made on a foamed bottom layer, so that it can be immediately laid on the concrete floor in the apartment.

quite soft, subject to residual deformation from heavy objects, needs careful handling.

Of all the options for covering a finished base, this is the fastest.

Linoleum is made using a natural or polymer base. According to its purpose, it is divided into 2 types: commercial (intensive overloads in office and industrial buildings) and household (non-commercial).

When comparing which flooring to choose, type 1 wins in terms of wear resistance, but you need to pay attention to the fact that it was not initially designed for small rooms and poor ventilation.

The commercial type has higher levels of harmful components, so it is not recommended to use it in residential areas.

Laminate flooring

Laminate slabs imitate any texture and color

Natural wood has been replaced by multi-layer floor finishing artificial board with high performance characteristics.

The texture and outline successfully imitate parquet, stone, valuable wood species and almost everything else.

At the same time, laminate is much more affordable and easier to install than parquet. The usual size is 0.25×1.5 m, the design is prudently equipped with locks that connect the slats into the overall picture of the beautiful floor. The typesetting surface without breaks in area can reach up to m².

For rooms for various purposes When asked which floor to choose, use the corresponding strength class (marked with a two-digit number starting with 2 for domestic needs or 3 for commercial).

Carpet

It is a common decision when choosing which floor is best to install in a recreation area or children's (play) room.

The fabric is made from synthetic and natural threads.

The pile may be long or absent, like a rug. The base uses rubber, felt or jute.

The carpet structure can wrinkle under load, become clogged with dirt, and absorb water. Carpet requires careful handling, meticulous care, and cleaning. Therefore, they should not be used in the hallway or used in the kitchen, but rather placed in the living room or bedroom.

Cork covering

Available in 2 types: decorative and technical (for substrate).

It comes in roll and slab versions. Watch this video about the pros and cons of cork flooring:

Cork has a full set of desired properties in all characteristics, not counting the price. environmentally friendly, has good thermal resistance, low sound conductivity, mechanical strength with small thickness.

The roll is unrolled, cut to size, and placed on a base prepared with adhesive. The slab is laid end to end. When laying directly on a concrete floor, a softening substrate is needed so as not to push through small particles.

Floor covering in an apartment: what is better to do?

Every person wants his apartment to be comfortable, cozy and beautiful.

In solving this problem, the choice of flooring plays an important role. And since the floors in the apartment are subject to severe overload, the chosen one must not only be attractive, but also meet the requirements of safety, durability and ease of maintenance. Let's look at the more popular flooring options and find out which one is best suited for installation in an apartment.

Variety of floor coverings

Today's flooring market is replete with variety. Parquet, laminate, linoleum... Which one is better is a difficult question.

All coatings can be divided into three conditional groups:

1. Wooden - parquet and parquet boards, solid wood, cork, laminate.
2. Elastic - linoleum, carpet.
3. Ceramic or stone - clay tiles, porcelain stoneware, self-leveling floors.

Wooden group

A place of honor in the middle for finishing the floor is occupied by floor coverings, in the manufacture of which wood is used.

Natural parquet

Parquet is a classic flooring option.

It has not gone out of fashion for many years and is an indicator of the well-being and excellent taste of the apartment owners. The current parquet looks like a finished shield of quite a huge size, made of valuable wood with a pattern already on it. There is also piece parquet.

You can use it to create inimitable compositions. It is most often made from hardwood:

• oak;
• beech;
• maple;
• ash.

Whatever type of parquet you choose, with proper care it will last at least 50 years.

Parquet is environmentally friendly and one hundred percent safe, but it requires the preparation of a high-quality subfloor, is expensive and requires maintaining a certain temperature and humidity in the room.

Parquet board

Natural wood is also used to produce parquet boards, but any lamella is not a solid piece of wood, but a tightly glued three-layer structure.

This type of coating will be cheaper than parquet and is easier to install and maintain. Parquet boards are presented in various shades, they can be combined and composed. This type of floor will last about 15–20 years.

Solid wood plank covering

Floors made from ordinary wood boards laid on logs do not lose their popularity. Despite their apparent simplicity, they have many advantages:

• 100% environmentally friendly;
• accessibility, practicality;
• the ability to make the interior of a room in a certain style;
• This flooring is pleasant on the feet and looks great.

With proper care, this coating will provide owners with pleasure for about 30 years.

Cork

Cork coating is close to ideal:

• It is natural, warm, quite strong, pleasant on the feet and good for health.
• Cork floors come in a variety of colors, allowing you to create worthy of attention compositions.
• This one does not accumulate static electricity at all.

Cork can be coated with special oils and varnishes, or it can be used without coating.

The service life of cork floors is from 5 to 20 years.

Important! Keep in mind that with strong mechanical action Cork flooring may leave marks.

Laminate floors

Laminate is gaining immense popularity due to its outstanding characteristics:

• It is affordable, practical and quite reliable.
• Laminate perfectly conveys the color and texture of natural wood, stone, and tiles.
• Laminate boards are equipped with a locking system.
• Even a beginner in the renovation business can handle laying such a floor.

Laminate has several strength classes.

The higher the class, the stronger and more expensive it is.

Elastic coatings

These include two linoleum and carpet.

Linoleum

It is an absolute favorite among floor coverings:

• affordable;
• easy to install and maintain;
• absolutely not afraid of moisture;
• looks beautiful.

Linoleum can have a wide variety of colors and patterns, and is sold in sheets, rolled, or in the form of tiles. This coating is attached to the base floor with special adhesives.

After 5-10 years it will have to be replaced.

Carpet

It can be called a relative of the carpet, which has its own characteristics:

• Carpet can contain both artificial and natural fibers.
• Sold in rolls or as carpet tiles.
• It is extremely easy to install and is attached with glue.
• Diverse in texture and color, safe from injury.

The disadvantages of such a floor covering are its relatively short service life, lack of water resistance and difficulties in cleaning and cleaning.

The hardest

This type of flooring has excellent performance characteristics.

Ceramic coating

Ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles have many advantages:

• floors covered with this material are not afraid of moisture;
• have an extremely nice appearance;
• strong and durable;
• Easily attached to special adhesive mixtures.

But they also have disadvantages:

• The coating comes out hard, traumatic and cold.
• It is better to install heating systems under it; otherwise, walking on the floor without shoes will be uncomfortable.
• Before installation, special preparation of the base is required.

Self-leveling floor

Modern self-leveling floors are used not only as a rough screed.

They can become a beautiful finishing coating and contain highly artistic large pictures and various decorations under the polymer layer.

Self-leveling polymer floors are:

• epoxy;
• polyurethane.

Both are environmentally friendly and durable, are not at all afraid of water and other liquids, and do not require any special cleaning.

The disadvantage of this type of flooring can be called the extraordinary demands on the surface on which it is laid. The base under them must be completely level, dry and clean.

Important points when choosing coverage

Each person decides for himself how to make the floor in the apartment.

But when choosing, you should not miss a few fundamental points.

The main aspect for choosing a coating is the room in which it will be installed. The entire apartment can be roughly divided into zones:

• area for receiving guests and relaxation (these are bedrooms, living room, children's room);
• “wet” area (kitchen, bathroom);
• passage area (hallway, corridor).

For each of these zones, you need to choose your own based on their multifunctional features and the loads the floor bears.

What is suitable for the floor in the hallway

In any apartment, the hallway is an area of ​​greater stress on the floor. Dust, street dirt, water, bicycle wheels and sled runners require especially strong and durable floor coverings. At the same time, the hallway must be beautiful and not stand out from the overall interior of the entire apartment. What is the best material to make the floor from?

Of the ones listed above, porcelain tiles and clay tiles would be perfect for the hallway. They are actually not limited by their service life, they are easy to clean, tolerate water, dirt and are resistant to mechanical stress.

Glossy tiles will not fit in the hallway.

When snow hits, it becomes extremely slippery, which can cause injury.

Linoleum is also a good option for the hallway, the main thing is not to settle for cheap varieties. It is better to choose one with a natural composition, commercial or semi-commercial: such coatings can withstand almost anything.

If the choice falls on laminate, you need to pay attention to its strength class. For the hallway, coverage from class 32 is suitable.

How to make a floor in the bedroom

What floor should be in the bedroom? Everyone who makes renovations in an apartment faces this question. The bedroom is a room for relaxation; people often walk here with bare feet.

Therefore, the floor should be warm, pleasant for the feet and beautiful.

• Among natural coverings, solid wood, parquet and cork can handle these tasks perfectly.
• From the arsenal of synthetic carpets, carpet is perfect. It is pleasant to the touch, walking on it is soft and comfortable. In addition, it has good sound insulation, which cannot be achieved from other artificial ones.
• Laminate is also often used for flooring in the bedroom.

  It is durable and beautiful, but it is not very pleasant to walk on it with bare feet, so it is better to put small rugs on the floor near the bed.

Whatever gender is ultimately chosen, let it amuse its owners with its appearance for many years to come.

How to do the flooring in an apartment correctly: a review of practical options – Floor School

In this article we will look at how to make a floor in an apartment and at the same time be proud of your own work and enjoy the result. And for this it is important to do everything right.

Much depends on what kind of person he is at the moment and what kind of flooring in the apartment you want to do in the future.

New flooring is always good

• If you purchased a bare box in a new building, then you should definitely start with screeding the floor of the apartment.
• If the boards creak and sag, then you may be able to limit yourself to partial or complete replacement of the wood covering.
• If you want to insulate the base or increase sound insulation, then you can only add the necessary ones to the design.

Concrete floor

Preparing the base

In what cases might you need such a skill as how to make concrete floors in an apartment with your own hands? In almost all of them. This is a typical panacea for a disgusting floor.

So, the prerequisites for concreting:

• No coverage at all.

  If this, for example, is just a newly commissioned building.

• The need to level the surface for the next covering with parquet, laminate or tiles.
• Preparation for installation of “warm floors”.

If you are wondering which floors to make in an apartment are more reliable, then opt for concreting. A correctly placed screed will not bother you for a couple of decades.

Photo of cement screed

To realize the correctness of such a judgment, let's group all the advantages of this.

Benefits of concrete

• Ease of use.
• Relatively low price.
• Versatile functionality.

  Thanks to the presence of various additives, it can be the lightest, the strongest, the fastest setting and have other additional properties that, however, increase the cost.

• High strength and durability.

Installation progress

How to make a smooth concrete floor in an apartment? First of all, you should perfectly level the base using an expanded clay pad.

The following instructions will help you not to skip installation steps:

• We completely clear the base down to the ground, if this personal home, and up to the floor slab, if an apartment.
• We create a pad by filling it with sand or expanded clay.

  We also use this method to level the surface.

• We set up beacons.
• We take care of how to waterproof the floor in the apartment. Cover the surface with plastic film. We fasten the joints with mounting tape.

Protection against high humidity

• We install a metal mesh.

Steel mesh

• Using wooden blocks we roughly divide the surface into several parts.
• Pour in the prepared mixture.

Advice: use a ready-made cement-sand mixture. It has the most highest performance and significantly simplifies the workflow.

• Let's ram it.
• We take out the bars and fill the resulting recesses.
• Cover with film so that the screed does not weather during the drying process and cracks do not appear.
• We are waiting for complete hardening.

Dry screed

A very exciting and modern type of concreting is dry screed.

How to properly make floors in an apartment in this way? Much easier than classic concreting.

Installation process

Until the moment of using the DSP, the installation process points are the same as in the “wet” screed.

• We lay gypsum-fiber moisture-resistant sheets carefully, without fidgeting on the surface, with an offset to ensure greater durability of the coating.

Advice: get an assistant to install the sheets. Since they are huge in size and weight, when installing them alone, you can forget about accuracy.

• We fix it with self-tapping screws.

  For the most reliable result, you can also use glue.

• We putty the uneven areas and crevices.
• We process the surface with a grinding machine.
• We apply bitumen insulation.
• Easy to install. No dirt.
• High heat-saving properties.
• Ease of installation of communications.
• Fast installation.

Of course, using one is also the most expensive, but it all depends on the situation. If the question becomes how to quickly make a floor in an apartment with your own hands, then the use case gypsum fiber sheets It can help you out completely.

After concreting, the surface is ready for installation of the finishing layer of your choice.

Parquet laid on a concrete base

Wooden floor

The next problem is how to make wooden floors in an apartment.

After all, it can be incredibly pleasant to walk directly on wood flooring. Or you simply don’t have enough financial resources to completely replace the floor, and the creaking of the floorboards is already unbearable.

Then you can carry out a partial or complete replacement of the boards. At the same time, it would be completely reasonable to take care of sound insulation and insulation of the floor covering.

Let's do everything in order:

Workflow

• We check the condition of the lag. We replace those that sag and become unusable.
• Between the floor joists we install insulating mineral wool, glass wool, and expanded polystyrene. This will also serve as additional sound insulation.

Floor insulation

• Using a plastic film, we install a vapor barrier over the insulation.
• Reinstall the floorboards.
• We fasten it to the joists with self-tapping screws.

Tip: using an electric screwdriver will significantly speed up and simplify the process of fixing the boards.

• We use a spirit level to check for unevenness.

  If we find it, we cut it off with an electric planer.

• We treat possible cracks with putty.
• Carefully sand the surface.
• We carry out dry and wet cleaning.
• We treat the floor with olive oil.
• We install baguettes.

The wooden surface is ready for finishing. But since the wood itself is also beautiful, you can limit yourself to applying paint or varnish.

The beauty of wood coating

Conclusion

We showed you how to make a concrete floor in a new apartment and how to give fresh life to old wood flooring.

(see also the article Floor design: solutions worthy of attention)

The main thing is to do everything correctly, using all available new products and to suit your needs. During renovation work, do not forget about additional insulation and sound insulation.

The result of the work carried out

The video in this article for us will introduce you to pleasant information on this.

The video in this article will introduce you to pleasant information on this.

Let the flooring in your home constantly impress with its durability, warmth, dryness and its appearance!

How to properly lay floors in an apartment

The floor in the apartment is the most important part of it.

Firstly, furniture and most of the equipment, washing machine, stove, bath, shower, toilet and other plumbing are installed on the floor. A person is constantly in contact with the floor, walking on it, often with bare feet. From time to time you have to lie on the floor, even sleep. The floor must be perfectly adapted to cleaning, as any debris falls on it, water spills, and food remains. The floor separates us from the people living in the lower apartment, and the comfort of the apartment depends on how well it is insulated.

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That is, in addition to its strength, it must protect the apartment from extraneous sounds and foreign climates.

A concrete, well-executed floor adds completeness to the apartment ensemble.

Installing a floor is not a cheap undertaking. However, the abundance of materials and methods for its construction allows you to build a fairly comfortable and aesthetic floor on the basis of the most moderate budget.

Thus, the floor in the apartment carries the following multifunctional overloads, which must be taken into account when installing it:

1. Carrier.
2. Warming.
3. Soundproofing.
4. Moisture-proof.
5. Aesthetic.

Floor design in the apartment

The floor in the apartment is installed on the upper surface interfloor covering and consists of two main layers:

• intermediate;
• floor covering.

In the simplest versions, for example, in Khrushchev's apartment there is no intermediate layer.

The flooring in it, most often PVC tiles, linoleum, or thin cotter-less parquet strips, is glued directly to the top surface concrete slab covering with bitumen mastic, latex or PVA glue.

In the best case, the upper surface of the slab was smoothed with a thin layer of cement screed before gluing. It’s no wonder that in such apartments the audibility and thermal properties leave much to be desired. The horizontality of the floor plane in such apartments is also far from ideal.

In modern houses, inter-apartment floors are complex reinforced concrete or iron structures, equipped with layers of heat, moisture, and sound insulation.

In frame-monolithic structures, floors are most often cast from expanded clay concrete - an excellent insulating material. In these options, insulating layers should be installed in the intermediate layer if the insulating characteristics of the ceiling are insufficient.

The wooden beam floor may also contain heat, moisture and sound insulation. Most often this mineral wool, laid between the supports. A layer of waterproofing may also be provided there. Already on the beams an intermediate layer is installed, which can consist of joists, a subfloor, insulating layers of insulation and waterproofing, screed, and a floor covering is placed on top.

A wooden floor, which, thanks to the cottered boards, forms a single sheet, can be laid directly on the beams. If the beams are placed too far from each other, use joists attached to the beams.

There may be no ceiling, for example, in basements or basements. In this case, the floor is installed on a screed, which covers a specially prepared pad, consisting of compacted layers of sand and crushed stone, lying on the ground.

Types of flooring bases

The floor in an apartment, unlike an individual house, is installed on the existing floor “from the builders” in a new house, or on beam floor in the old one.

For this reason, before laying the floor, you need to carefully study the ceiling. In old houses, it is necessary to raise the old floor and carry out an examination of the floor beams. Replace or strengthen the warped beams or replace them with new ones. The best solution would be to replace the beam covering with reinforced concrete.

Floors in new houses, depending on the construction technology, can be made of reinforced concrete panel floors, or in monolithic frame houses - solid expanded clay concrete.

The following can be used as beams:

• wooden beam;
• reinforced concrete beam;
• metal profile (T- or I-beam support or rail).

During construction, beams are installed directly into the wall, or onto concrete crossbars mounted into the wall.

Beams can be wood or concrete.

In Khrushchev's houses, hollow-core panels were most often used as flooring, which served as the basis for the floor on one side and the ceiling on the other.

Floors from builders, in addition to surface defects, may have a slope. Therefore, the surface of the ceiling is covered with a screed, which solves two issues:

• makes the surface quite smooth for the position of the floor covering;
• makes the surface horizontal.

Cement screed

The simplest type of screed is a cement screed. The filling solution is prepared from grade cement and washed and sifted river sand.

Currently, ready-mixed dry mixtures are available for sale. But you can cook it yourself. Mixture composition:

1. Sand - 3-4 parts.
2. Cement - 1 part.
3. Water - so much so that the solution resembles sour cream.

Sequence of actions when installing cement screed:

• clean the floor surface from destroyed, cracked concrete;
• thoroughly clean from debris and dust;
• measure the slope and calculate the required amount of solution;
• decide on the composition of the consistency for the solution, prepare it or use it ready-made;
• add water and mix the solution in a concrete mixer or in a container using an electric drill with a mixing attachment;
• pour the solution, distributing it moderately over the floor area, immediately smoothing it along the guides to the desired level.

After completing all work, during the entire curing time, you need to moisten the pouring surface once a day by sprinkling it with water.

To maintain moisture, you can cover the pouring surface with polyethylene.

The final setting and drying time of the screed is 28-29 days.

Semi-dry cement screed

Recently, the method of semi-dry screed has become widespread. Its main advantages are:

• short hardening time of the consistency, sufficient for laying the floor covering;
• no risk of leaks to the lower floor;
• the plasticity of the screed and, as a result, the absence of cracks and cavities after hardening;
• additional heat and sound insulating properties.

The composition of the consistency for laying semi-dry screed differs from wet screed significantly less than water.

In addition, a significant amount of plasticizer is added to the solution - fiber fiber, which keeps the screed from cracking.

The consistency is as follows:

1. Clean construction sand, fineness modulus = 2.0; fraction up to 5 mm - 2 parts.
2. Cement grade D20 - 7 parts.
3. Water - 1 part.
4. Fiber - gr. per 1 cu. m of solution.

The installation procedure is the same as in the case of a cement screed with the difference that:

• the prepared solution should be a mixture of wet sand;
• level the beacons and guides;
• install thermal insulation along the wall in the form of tape, mineral wool or expanded polystyrene;
• pour the solution, spreading it moderately over the floor area;
• as a rule, smooth the solution into a horizontal surface in accordance with the beacons;
• when the solution begins to stick, wipe the surface clean.

The main advantage of semi-dry screed is that after 12 hours it hardens enough to be walked on.

After 42 hours, porcelain stoneware and tiles can be laid on it, and after 7 days - laminate, PVC tiles or linoleum. The fact is that although a semi-dry screed gains strength extremely quickly, the moisture evaporates from it little by little over the course of a month. Therefore, it is better to install a parquet floor on a fresh screed after a month of aging, since even insignificant fumes can spoil dry parquet.

Dry screed

The main advantage of a dry screed is that it can be covered with flooring immediately after installation.

The intermediate layer of dry screed is formed in the following way. Waterproofing in the form of a sheet of cellophane 0.2 mm wide is laid on the surface of the ceiling. From above it is filled with expanded clay or sand, which is painstakingly leveled and compacted with a flat vibrator or roller.

A special iron profile is laid on the layer formed in this way, which is covered on top with gypsum fiber boards arranged in a checkerboard pattern, which are attached to this profile with mounting screws. If the backfill is more than 7 cm thick, the top layer is reinforced with another layer of gypsum fiber boards.

The floor covering is immediately laid over the finished screed.

Self-leveling floors

In the case when you need to get a completely smooth horizontal surface, ready for laying linoleum, PVC tiles or laminate, the best intermediate layer can be obtained by pouring an aqueous solution of a certain composition onto a perfectly waterproofed base. Such a solution appears by diluting with water, in accordance with the instructions attached to each package of ready-made consistency, a huge abundance of which is currently available on the construction market.

The mixture consists of cement, gypsum, fillers such as small sand and contains various chemical components that promote rapid and uniform spreading, plasticization and stabilization of the resulting coating.

A flawless horizontal surface appears automatically under the influence of gravity. That is why these consistencies are called self-leveling. Different compositions are associated with different criteria and different widths of the formed coating.

Wooden floor

Before installing the floor, heat and sound insulation should be placed between the supports. This can be mineral wool, expanded clay or slag. Porous insulation largely loses its insulating characteristics when absorbing water or steam.

Therefore, it must be painstakingly insulated with a moisture-proof film, for example polyethylene or roofing felt. If the size of the film is insufficient, its sheets should be overlapped, sealing the edges with tape.

1. If the distance between the supports does not exceed 60 cm, then the floor can be laid directly on the beams. If not, then logs are laid on the beams, perpendicular to their direction at a distance of 50–60 cm.
2. The logs are also placed directly on the reinforced concrete floor or screed.
3. Logs are wooden beams with a cross section of 50× made of coniferous wood.

   When laying, you need to use a level to set the top edge strictly horizontally. The distance between the joists should not exceed 60 cm.

A pre-cut floorboard is placed on the joists, which, thanks to the cotter pin, forms a single floor sheet. In the walls you need to install ventilation ducts coming out of the walls at a distance of a couple of cm from the baseboard, closed with openwork hatches. These moves are needed to ventilate the space between the joists and the underside of the board. For greater strength, the boards are attached to the joists with self-tapping screws inserted at an angle at the level of the cotter pin in order to hide their heads and make it possible to process a single floor surface with a polishing machine.

The best flooring boards are redwood and oak, but they are most often made from softwood.

Boards made from Siberian larch have a good price-quality ratio.

After polishing, the floor can be varnished or painted. In both cases, you need to follow the instructions for painting and, if necessary, carry out a preparatory primer with special primers. This will significantly extend the life of the paint layer.

A subfloor can also be laid on the logs, on which PVC tiles, linoleum, or laminate can be laid as a floor covering. To do this, the subfloor is covered with an additional leveling sheet, for example fiberboard. A tile or porcelain stoneware covering over a wooden surface can only be applied if a reinforcing reinforced screed is applied on top.

The subfloor can be made from floorboards, chipboards, OSB.

In this case, an additional leveling layer is not needed. Parquet is laid on the subfloor.

Types of flooring

Floor coverings finish laying the floor. This is exactly the one that will be addressed to a person, will have specific contact with him and will take on all external influences.

Board

To cover with wood boards, a tongue and groove floorboard is used. It is a planed board in the form of a regular parallelepiped, along one of the narrow edges of which a ridge (tongue) is milled along the entire length, and on the other, opposite, there is a corresponding groove.

This form allows you to assemble boards so that the tongue of one fits into the groove of another, and form a strong, continuous floor from individual boards.

The thickness of the floorboards ranges from 25 to 45 mm. The thicker the board, the less it “plays”, that is, the floor bends. The thinner the floorboard, the smaller the distance between the joists should be. For example, with a board 25 mm wide, the distance between the joists cannot exceed 60 cm. When installing floorboards, you must leave a gap between the wall and the edge of the floor of at least 1 cm for expansion from moisture and temperature.

The board must be perfectly dried (at least 10% humidity).

After installation, the wood floor can be polished, varnished or painted. The gap near the walls, upon completion of installation, is covered with a plinth. The floorboard is not made from linden and alder.

Parquet and laminate

Parquet, in fact, is a small-sized floorboard that has grooves and cotter pins on all sides in pairs. This allows you to assemble the flooring from tiles of relatively small size.

1. The small size of the parquet board allows it to be made from valuable types of wood, while the yield of products without flaws (knots and other defects) is significant.
2. The small size of the parquet board requires a subfloor for installation. In this case, any fourth or fifth board is attached to the underlying subfloor with a self-tapping screw screwed into the tongue and groove obliquely and flush.
3. Parquet flooring can be set in patterns, the most common of which are herringbone and checkerboard.

   But the vast floors in the halls of palaces make it possible to assemble parquet from blocks various sizes and shapes that form a beautiful pattern. Such parquets are piece products and are very expensive.

Parquet is certainly the most peaceful floor covering in relation to humans. But it has a significant flaw. When even a small amount of water gets in, it warps, and when flooded, it “rears.”

An alternative to parquet is an unpretentious laminate. From the outside, laminate flooring is extremely similar to parquet.

In essence, it is a parquet board, but made not from solid wood, but from a four-layer one, the main, load-bearing layer of which is a narrow fiberboard impregnated with resins.

A mounting layer is glued onto it from below, ensuring hardness, on top is paper, with a pattern applied, usually imitating natural wood, covered with another layer of melamine or acrylic resin provides wear resistance. Structurally, the laminate board replicates the tongue-and-groove lock of parquet, which makes it possible to simply, quickly and reliably assemble the covering.

Linoleum and PVC tiles

Linoleum is probably the most common and most versatile coating available today. The first linoleum was a jute burlap, onto which was applied cork chips, pressed with linseed oil as a binder.

It has proven itself for almost all years as a coating for floors, walls and tabletops. Today's linoleum has retained the basic idea of ​​2 layers, fabric and surface, but both have undergone many configurations.

Basically, in modern linoleum, various woven and non-woven, such as felt, are used as a fabric base, which serve as both a base and insulation. Numerous wear-resistant materials are used as a surface layer, for example PVC in various versions and compositions.

Modern technological capabilities make it possible to imitate any texture on the surface of linoleum and paint it with indescribable patterns.

All this made it possible to produce an indescribable range of strength, insulating and other abilities. But a distinctive feature of linoleum, which distinguishes it favorably from ceramic tiles and stone, is its “warmth” feel and a certain softness. Dishes that fall on a linoleum floor will not necessarily break. And bruises when falling on linoleum will not be so painful.

PVC tiles are tiles made from a special multi-layer composite, which is based on crushed natural stone and very strong vinyl.

It comes in a variety of colors. Thanks to its modularity and variety of colors, it allows you to get indescribably designer decor on the floor. Its main advantages:

• ease of installation on bitumen mastics and adhesives;
• ease of installation and dismantling allows you to simply replace warped tiles;
• and cheapness means changing a boring pattern;
• The tiles are very wear-resistant and adhere well to the surface.

PVC tiles are the most affordable for flooring.

Ceramic tiles and porcelain tiles

Ceramic tiles are one of the oldest facing materials in the world.

Previously there were two varieties:

• facing tiles covered with glaze and having underglaze painting;
• metlakhskaya, unglazed, rough, for the floor.

Nowadays there are also clay tiles of various sizes and purposes. Their main advantage is strength and resistance to any brutal actions. But in the manufacture of tiles, heat treatment modes are also of great importance.

Such tile producing countries as Spain, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic have proven themselves to be excellent. By choosing tiles from new market participants such as Turkey and China, you can win on budget, but lose on quality.

But these manufacturers also have high-quality products, which allows you to save on cladding. The disadvantages of tile flooring are slipperiness when water gets on it, fragility when hit by a heavy object, “coldness” in sensation, hardness, which leads to the fact that dropped glass and ceramic dishes break into small fragments, which can pose some danger to children and pets.

If earlier the installation of tiles was carried out using mortar, then with the development of the industry, the construction of adhesives and installation is done with their help.

The main equipment is a wide spatula with cutouts for applying glue. Glue is applied to the tile, and then the tile is fixed to the prepared surface. You must remember to leave a small gap between the tiles, for which there is a standard and readily available equipment. This gap is needed to compensate for the thermal expansion of the tile when the ambient temperature changes. The seam is then sealed with special grouts and improves the aesthetic perception of the surface.

Porcelain tiles are extremely similar to tiles, but have some of the same properties.

Porcelain tiles were obtained in Italy at the end of the 1920s and are produced by sintering ceramics and natural minerals at extremely high temperatures and pressure. This process is extremely identical to the natural actions that occur in the bowels of the earth during the formation of granite. The result was indescribably strong, surpassing granite in strength and approaching corundum.

Technologies allow you to paint it in such a way that tiles made from it not only imitate all known gems and semi-precious stones, but also allow you to get any color and pattern, while distributed throughout the entire thickness, and not just on the surface.

Besides, it's easier natural stone and has additional thermal insulation qualities. It polishes well and is somewhat warmer than clay tiles.

The most important advantage of porcelain stoneware and ceramic tiles is their absolute hygiene, which makes them an indispensable floor covering for the bathroom and kitchen.

Conclusion

The topic of flooring is extremely broad. Of course, the abundance of technology makes it possible to build a successful, multifunctional and beautiful floor for every taste and for any means. However, I would like to note that, despite the simplicity and clarity of floor installation procedures, it is better to entrust this responsible work to a specialist, since to obtain a good result you need a synthesis of knowledge, experience and practical abilities of a person constantly engaged in work in this fundamental direction.

Last update: 04-01-2019

Below you will find basic information on the most common types of flooring, their pros and cons.

Laminate

This material is a hard coating, the elements of which consist of several layers, the appearance imitates the texture of wood, stone or tile. Laminate is available in the form of boards up to 200 mm wide.

Advantages of laminate:

• Attractive appearance.
• Strength, sufficient rigidity, structure resistant to mechanical loads.
• Easy to care for.
• Long service life (standard laminate retains its quality for up to 15 years).

Disadvantages of laminate:

• Limited use in rooms with high air humidity (not suitable for a bathroom).

Average cost of laminate:

• From 450 rubles per square meter

Parquet

This material is made in a 3-layer version: the top layer is made of valuable wood, and the intermediate and base layer is made of coniferous wood.

Advantages of parquet:

• Noble appearance, huge selection of textures and shades.
• Versatility of use in various interiors.
• Good wear resistance.
• Possibility of scraping and polishing if appearance is lost.
• Service life up to 25-30 years.

Cons of parquet:

• Fear of moisture.
• More complex care.
• High cost.

Average cost of parquet:

• From 1000 rubles per square meter, depending on the composition, manufacturer and collection.

Linoleum

This is a rolled material that is mounted using adhesive compounds, it is flexible, available in various shades, with a uniform texture and ornaments.

Advantages of linoleum:

• The ability to lay the material in a room of any size and layout in one piece, i.e. seamless.
• Resistance to humidity.
• Quality products have protective layer, preventing burnout.
• Low cost.

Cons of linoleum:

• Not the highest strength in relation to mechanical stress: linoleum wears out quickly, it can be damaged by sharp shoes, toys or pets’ claws, and is pressed through by heavy furniture.
• Relatively short service life (up to 10 years).

Linoleum price:

• From 150-850 rubles per square meter.

Cork

This is a natural material that is Suitable for installation in any living space, with the exception of those with high humidity.

Advantages of cork:

• Environmental safety.
• Increased service life.
• Resistant to wear and mechanical stress.
• Good thermal and sound insulation performance.

Disadvantages of cork:

• Sensitivity to moisture.
• Not the lowest installation complexity.
• Product price.

Cork cost:

• From 1000 rubles per square depending on the brand and collection.

Tile

This material is often laid on the floor in the hall, kitchen, or bathroom; it is durable and has a rigid structure.

Advantages of tiles:

• Increased strength.
• Insensitive to moisture, fading, temperature changes.
• Variety of shapes and shades.
• Easy to care for.

Disadvantages of the material:

• Labor-intensive installation.
• High price.

Tile cost:

• From 500 rubles per square meter.

Comparative table of characteristics of popular floor coverings

How to choose flooring for an apartment?

We must remember that each room has its own characteristics. The lifespan of the floor covering depends on this.

Below we will analyze the options of what and where it is better to use.

For the hallway

The floor in the hallway is exposed to the most frequent mechanical loads and comes into contact with dirt and moisture from the street, so it is advisable to use materials that are NOT afraid of water and temperature changes.

It is optimal to lay the following types of floor coverings on the hallway floor:

• Ceramic tiles are an ideal option.
• Laminate or linoleum - it is better to lay a rug on top of it.

Regular laminate and linoleum will not be resistant to mechanical abrasion and moisture, but a simple rug will reduce the impact of these factors. Replacing it is easier and cheaper than flooring.

Another option, combine different materials. The place where they walk in shoes should be finished with tiles, and the rest of the surface with another laminate.

For the bathroom

Ceramic tiles are most often used here: they are not only resistant to moisture, but are also easy to clean.

The only thing, it is better to do it with a “warm floor” system, since the tiles themselves will be cold (especially in winter), and this, although small, is still discomfort + there is a risk of catching a cold.

In this case, you don’t even have to think about it, but simply look for a suitable design.

For the hall

In the living room or hall, parquet or laminate is usually used:

• the coating blends harmoniously with the interior
• retains its quality for a long time
• looks beautiful

For the kitchen

For this room, tiles, linoleum, and laminate are usually used.

In some cases, these materials can be combined to create zoning of the kitchen space in the places where the refrigerator, stove and sink will be located.

For children's

In this room, cork covering would be optimal, because... itself is warmer and also has good soundproofing properties.

Simple example If you choose laminate flooring for your children's room, the neighbors downstairs are unlikely to thank you. Few people will be pleased after a working day by the clatter of a “herd of horses” overhead, and so on every day while the child grows.

For the balcony

If the balcony is not glazed, has sliding glazing, and is not insulated, then the floor will be exposed to moisture and temperature changes, so wood-based coatings are not suitable here.

On the other side, the use of tiles will make the structure heavier, which is not always possible, and the best option would be linoleum flooring.

Among the various materials, varieties such as linoleum, tiles and laminate have the optimal ratio of quality and price: they are considered the most popular when finishing the floor in an apartment.

It should be remembered that each room has its own optimal coating option:

• tiles are often chosen for bathrooms and bathrooms
• for the hallway and balcony - linoleum
• V living rooms, living rooms and halls usually have laminate flooring

Of course, if financial capabilities allow, then it is worth considering the option of using cork flooring in the rooms.

In most cases, a modern apartment is concrete box, subject to rough and finishing. In the case of the floor, the homeowner needs to decide several fundamentally important issues - which rough structure to choose, how to insulate it and soundproof it, and also what finishing coating to use in each room. Floors in an apartment - what to make of them so that they are not only aesthetically attractive, but also safe, durable and practical. This is what today's material is about.

Installation of most decorative coatings requires a level, solid base. Sometimes the quality of the floor slab allows finishing without preliminary preparation, but more often it requires leveling the base, its insulation and sound insulation. The type of floor construction ensures its reliability, practicality and durability. Therefore, it often consists of an intermediate (sub-floor) floor mounted on a floor slab and a finished (decorative) floor, which must also have characteristics and properties appropriate for the purpose of the room.

A rough screed does not require special qualifications of the builder, but, nevertheless, involves a large number of works associated with its creation. You will find the features of the device and a calculator for calculating the amount of ingredients for a floor screed solution

Previously, it was practiced to lay finishing material directly on the floor slab, but it soon became clear that decorative material in the form of linoleum, carpet or parquet does not provide the required level of heat and sound insulation, and therefore the required degree of comfort and safety for human health. In addition, the absence of a rough leveling structure affects the evenness of the coating and reduces its service life.

Nowadays, the floor structure in a modern apartment is a complex multi-layer technological system, in which each layer is thought out and technologically justified - hydro-, sound-, heat- and vapor barrier.

There are fundamentally two types of subfloors - in the form of a screed and a structure with joists. Each variety has its own characteristics and advantages.

Types of screeds

In addition to the fact that the screed is designed to level the base under finishing material, it influences the following factors:

1. Makes the base more rigid.
2. Forms a heat and waterproofing layer.
3. Allows you to create a slope to drain water in rooms where it is necessary.
4. Allows installation of utility lines and electrical networks in the floor structure.

When laying the floor in an apartment, one of three types of screeds is used:

1. Wet.
2. Dry.
3. Semi-dry.

Each of these varieties has its own characteristics, technology, advantages and disadvantages.

Wet screed

This is a traditional screed method, the significant disadvantage of which is the presence of water in the solution in large quantities. Before pouring it, it is imperative to provide a high-quality waterproofing layer of the base (floor slab), otherwise moisture will seep through it. To create a waterproofing layer, coating compounds are used that make it possible to obtain a monolithic, seamless coating or ordinary dense polyethylene, which is laid with an overlap of at least 15 cm and carefully taped with waterproof tape.

Important! Waterproofing is applied to the walls to the height of the screed.

A variation of this type of screed is one of the cheapest options. You can fill it yourself. And the issue of providing thermal insulation can be solved by laying penoplex in two layers with an offset. This will lead to an increase in the cost of the floor structure, but it will become much warmer.

To create the solution, use cement of a grade no lower than M400, which is mixed with sand and water. In order for the components to form a stronger bond and the screed to be strong and dense, add. As part of the screed, this substance affects the following points:

1. Increases the mobility of the solution.
2. Increases the strength of the solution by 50%.
3. Increases the adhesion of the mortar to the reinforcement by 1.5 times.
4. Reduces cement consumption by -20%.
5. Reduces the amount of water in the solution.

The strength of the screed is also ensured by its thickness, which should not be less than 2 cm. This type of base is suitable for any finishing coating, as well as for laying a “warm floor” system. The disadvantages of wet screed include the following:

1. The work is classified as labor-intensive.
2. The process involves wet, “dirty” work.
3. To obtain an even layer, you must have the skill of working with beacons and know how to install them correctly.
4. It takes a long time for the screed to dry (at least 3 weeks).
5. During the hardening process, the screed requires special care - wetting, in order to avoid the formation of cracks on its surface.

Semi-dry screed

This variety is excellent alternative option wet screed. This method is also quite inexpensive and uses a small amount of water. The result is a certain mass, which in a circle professional builders called “gartsovka”, which is sand mixed dry with cement and a minimal amount of water, barely moistening the mixture. The installation of a waterproofing layer when laying such a composition on a floor slab is, in fact, only a convention.

The advantages of this type of screed include the following:

1. Can be used in both new and old apartments, private houses and cottages.
2. The presence of a small amount of water allows the use of this type of screed regardless of the height of the floor where the apartment is located - moisture does not penetrate into the apartment below even without installing a waterproofing layer.
3. Possibility to create perfectly level base without air bubbles, which are removed during the tamping process of the semi-dry mixture.
4. Low probability of cracking. If you add fiber fiber to the composition, the screed will acquire additional strength and will definitely not crack.
5. Formation of an excellent soundproof barrier between apartments.
6. The ability to make even the floor on an unheated loggia warmer.
7. Can be used in a “warm floor” system with water or electric coolant.
8. Reliably protects internal communications from mechanical impact.
9. Due to the low moisture content, the screed dries quickly, which generally speeds up the repair process.
10. Availability and low cost of components.

The disadvantages of this semi-dry screed include the following:

1. Without specific work experience, difficulties arise with adding the optimal amount of water to the screed composition.
2. The low fluidity of the solution causes difficulties when laying the screed and forming a flat surface.
3. High-quality coating is obtained by using special tamping tools.
4. The height of the screed should not be less than 4 cm.
5. When forming a high screed, a reinforcing mesh must be used.

Dry screed

For an apartment located in multi-storey building, a screed made using this technology is an ideal option. This method can be called a screed conditionally; rather, it is a multi-layer flooring that does not use water.

To form a flat horizontal plane, as in the manufacture of other types of ties, guide beacons are used. The liquid solution is replaced with dry granular thermal insulation backfill, which is also distributed according to the rule. After this, to form a rigid base, two layers of gypsum fiber boards are laid. This type of screed is strong and reliable.

The advantages of a dry screed device include the following:

1. A significant reduction in the time required to complete the work - it can be completed in one working day.
2. It is possible to qualitatively level out differences in any height.
3. Laying of the finishing coating can be carried out immediately after installation of the screed.
4. Dry backfill provides high-quality heat and sound insulation of the room.
5. “Clean” work process.
6. The light weight of the floor structure allows this screed to be used in rooms with weakened floors, for example, in wooden houses or on balconies.
7. Dismantling of the structure is carried out quickly, which is especially important when laying communications and utility networks inside the floor.

Floor construction based on joists

This technology for creating a rough foundation is also traditional and has been used for a long time. It is endowed with special advantages that make this method of constructing a rough foundation the most optimal for apartments:

1. When installing such a floor, there are no “wet” processes.
2. The construction material is environmentally friendly and safe.
3. The installation process does not require any special skills or tools.

Similar designs differ in the method of laying the logs and the type of covering material. Logs can be simple and adjustable. They differ in the way they rest on the base. In the first case, to install the logs, bars or lumps are used, which must be selected in height so that all the logs, laid in increments of at least 50 cm, are located in a single horizontal plane.

A modern and convenient way to install a floor on joists is the method using adjustable supports in the form of studs and nuts. By rotating the latter, the required height of each beam is set. This technology is convenient and allows you to quickly install logs, but it is more expensive than the first option.

The following can be used as the flooring material for the rough foundation:

1. Boards. Moreover, such flooring can be either rough or finished, if you use a top-class tongue and groove board.
2. Plywood. The sheets are laid in two layers with the seams spaced apart. This is a smooth and durable, but rather expensive material.
3. OSB boards, They are laid like plywood, but are cheaper.
4. Chipboard. The most budget option for installing flooring. The characteristics are inferior to the above options.

What should the floor be like in rooms for different purposes?

Material finishing coating is selected depending on the purpose of the room, where it is subject to different requirements regarding appearance and performance characteristics.

Bedroom floor

The bedroom is the quietest place in the apartment. Here a person should have the opportunity to fully rest after a working day, relax, and get some sleep. The bedroom interior is usually decorated in soothing colors using environmentally friendly and, preferably, natural materials.

The flooring in the bedroom must meet the following requirements:

1. The surface should be pleasant to the touch, since you often have to walk barefoot in the bedroom when going to bed or getting up early in the morning. Natural coverings have a more suitable surface - boards, parquet, cork and soft carpet.
2. The covering should absorb noise when walking on it, especially if it is a spouse's room - excess noise can interfere with the rest of the second person. For the same reason, the coating should not creak. Cork and carpet meet this requirement to a greater extent.
3. Particular attention is paid to the aesthetics of the coating. It must match the style and color scheme room, take into account the level of illumination in it, help create a cozy, warm atmosphere.
4. An optimal microclimate must be created in the sleeping room, so preference should be given to natural, “live” ones. finishing materials. In the case of flooring - natural wood and products made from it.
5. The floor surface must be antistatic - this quality will ensure clean air and a minimum amount of dust in the room. This quality is especially important in a room where people suffering from asthma and other diseases of the respiratory system live.
6. The coating must be wear-resistant, smooth and durable. Despite the fact that the bedroom is a room with a low level of traffic, this way the coating will last longer.

Children's room

The surface of the floor in the nursery is subject to serious dynamic loads, there is a possibility of mechanical damage, wetting and contamination. At the same time, the floor must retain heat, be easy to clean and maintain its aesthetic appearance throughout its entire service life.

There are several requirements:

1. The material must be of high quality and meet all safety standards.
2. The coating must have soundproofing properties.
3. The surface of the material must be non-slippery, hygienic, hypoallergenic, environmentally friendly, free of odors and dyes.
4. The material must withstand repeated use wet cleaning, exposure to detergents and cleaning products. Also, the coating should not absorb dirt.
5. The coating must be antistatic (the property of not accumulating dust on its surface).
6. It is important that the material absorbs shock when walking on it - this property will protect the child from injury when falling and reduce the load on the spine.

Living room floor

The living room is a room where all family members meet, spend family holidays, and receive guests. Sometimes, a room performs several functions, being a living room and a dining room, a living room and an office, a living room and a bedroom. All this must be taken into account when choosing flooring.

Of the basic requirements for the floor in the living room, the following are noted:

1. The coating should be aesthetically attractive, organically combined with the rest of the decoration and furniture, emphasizing the style of the interior.
2. When choosing a floor covering, take into account the shade of the door and window openings.
3. The floor surface must be wear-resistant and durable - this way the coating will last longer.
4. The living room can be called the calling card of the house, so the flooring chosen here is expensive, creating a presentable appearance of the interior.
5. The coating should be easy to clean and durable, especially if children and pets live in the house.

Kitchen floor

The kitchen area has special operational characteristics. The floor material here is exposed to various adverse effects:

1. The floor surface is subject to the greatest wear and tear in work area kitchens.
2. The indoor microclimate is characterized high humidity and temperature changes.
3. The coating must withstand repeated wet cleaning with detergents, since it is subject to frequent pollution.
4. The floor surface must be durable because heavy or sharp objects often fall on it.
5. In addition to strength and wear resistance, the floor in the kitchen should be aesthetically pleasing.
6. The floor should not absorb dirt or liquids.
7. The hygiene of the coating will ensure the absence of pores and relief on the surface.
8. The material must be moisture resistant.

Hallway floor

The hallway is the room that is most susceptible to negative and even aggressive influences. This is where most of the sand, dirt, and water gets in. The coating is subject to mechanical stress and wear.

The floor material in the hallway must have the following properties:

1. The aesthetic appearance of the coating plays an important role.
2. Preference should be given to coatings on the surface of which scratches and dirt are less noticeable.
3. The surface must be resistant to mechanical stress and abrasives.
4. The material chosen is moisture-resistant, on the surface of which water can stand for some time without causing harm to the coating.
5. The material must be resistant to aggressive cleaning agents.
6. It is desirable that the floor surface has dirt-repellent properties.
7. The high strength of the material will protect the coating from impact loads.

Bathroom floor

Flooring in rooms with high humidity must include a layer of waterproofing. The most reliable type is coating method, which forms a monolithic hermetic coating. The main features of the bathroom coating include the following:

1. Moisture resistance.
2. Durability.
3. Hygiene.
4. Mechanical strength.
5. Non-slip surface.
6. Easy care.
7. Aesthetic appeal.
8. A minimum number of joints or their careful sealing.

Types of floor coverings and their characteristics

All floor coverings that can be used in an apartment differ in the installation method, requirements for base preparation, appearance and performance. Let's look at the most popular options.

tongue and groove board

Wooden floor is traditional way creating a warm, pleasant to the touch, natural coating. For finishing, a special type of board is used, which is called tongue-and-groove. In addition to the fact that it is equipped with a groove and a tongue, there are grooves on the back side that provide natural ventilation flooring

Important! The tongue and groove type lock provides uniform distribution along the surface of the flooring.

Table 1. Advantages and disadvantages of plank covering

Table 2. Board laying process

Image	Description
	The first board is laid with a groove to the wall at a certain distance, forming a gap of at least 1 cm.
	They are fixed with a self-tapping screw so that the head of the fastener subsequently ends up behind the baseboard.
	For further installation of the flooring, you can use long self-tapping screws that are twice as thick as the lamella. Self-tapping screws are screwed into the boards at the locations of the joists. The fastener caps are subsequently masked with special putty.
	The second method involves screwing self-tapping screws into the tenon of each board. This method provides more tight fit boards and allows you to hide the fasteners.

Parquet

One of the varieties of wooden flooring is piece parquet. You can also lay modular parquet, which looks like tiles with a geometric pattern made from several tiles.

Important! Parquet differs from other materials in that it is made from solid wood, so its cost is quite high. At the same time, this coating has a very long service life.

The presence of a groove and a ridge on each plank ensures their tight fit; in addition, the elements are attached with glue during installation. For the manufacture of parquet, wood such as oak, cherry, ash, beech, and maple is used.

Table 3. Advantages and disadvantages of parquet

Piece and modular parquet differ in cost and, if desired, you can choose the material at a fairly affordable price.

Table 4. Average cost of parquet

Parquet board

Parquet board is a three-layer flooring material with a locking joint, like a laminate, but differs from it in that the front layer, like all the others, is made of natural wood. Therefore, the parquet board looks noble and natural. The lamellas are highly durable due to the fact that the middle layer of slats is located perpendicular to the outer layer - the bottom plywood and the front decorative layer, impregnated with a protective composition.

Externally, a parquet board can imitate a piece of parquet. This effect is achieved due to the fact that the front layer of one lamella looks as if it was assembled from 2, 3 or 4 rows of dies.

Table 5. Advantages and disadvantages of parquet boards

Table 6. Laying parquet boards

Illustration	Description
	The material is left for 48 hours without unpacking.
	First, lay the substrate with the material placed on the wall around the perimeter of the room.
	The boards of the first row are cut on one side, removing the locking element. A gap is left between the wall and the first row of lamellas by inserting special plastic spacer wedges into the gap.
	To ensure a tight fit of the planks, the technology of tapping them with a hammer through a special block is used.
	To trim the lamellas, use a jigsaw.
	The locking system allows installation of the coating in a short time.
	Spacer wedges are installed around the entire perimeter of the room. This installation method is called floating and ensures the integrity of the coating when the material expands during periods of temperature fluctuations.
	To lay the boards in the area of ​​the doorway, the lamella itself and the door frame are cut.
	IN doorway install a threshold with a hidden fastening to match the coating.
	At the final stage, a plinth is installed around the perimeter of the room.

Laminate

Laminate is a coating consisting of multilayer lamellas, the front decorative layer of which imitates any type of wood, as well as other natural and artificial materials.

Slats from different manufacturers can have any technological layers that improve the performance properties of the laminate. The simplest instance consists of the following layers:

1. Bottom stabilization paper layer with melamine impregnation.
2. The load-bearing and thickest layer is based on HDF - slabs with interlocking connections at the ends.
3. Decorative paper layer with a pattern of natural material texture.
4. A protective polymer layer that determines the wear resistance (class) of the laminate. For residential premises, class 32 material is purchased.

Table 7. Advantages and disadvantages of laminate

PVC laminate is environmentally friendly and safe for humans and the environment. You can find a detailed list of the advantages of PVC panels.

Laying laminate flooring is carried out according to the same principle as parquet boards - in a floating way.

Laying is carried out on a flat and clean base on a substrate, leaving a compensation gap around the perimeter between the coating and the wall.

Linoleum

Linoleum is one of the most common types of flooring that can be used in rooms of any purpose and level of traffic. Its popularity is associated with many factors, one of which is the moisture resistance of the material and the ability to use it in wet areas.

Linoleum can be with or without a base. According to its structure, it is divided into homogeneous (single-layer) and heterogeneous (multilayer). The composition can be natural or artificial (PVC). By area of ​​application, the material is divided into:

1. Commercial.
2. Domestic.
3. Semi-commercial.
4. Special.

More often, three-layer linoleum for semi-commercial purposes is used in residential premises. It has higher performance properties, resistance to mechanical stress and abrasion. It consists of the following layers:

1. Protective polyurethane layer 0.4-0.6 mm thick.
2. Decorative (front) plain or multi-colored layer.
3. The bottom layer is in the form of a foamed PVC backing.

Table 8. Advantages and disadvantages of linoleum

Before you begin laying linoleum, the base must be prepared. If laying is carried out on a cement screed or reinforced concrete slab, then its surface is cleared of debris and primed. Laying can also be done on wooden (plywood) flooring.

Table 9. Laying linoleum

Illustration	Description
	At the first stage, the roll is rolled out indoors and allowed to rest for some time.
	Linoleum is cut around the perimeter of the room, adjusting it to size.
	After a day, you can start fixing the canvas using double-sided tape. The adhesive tape is first fixed on the floor, after first bending back part of the linoleum.
	After the surface of the tape is smoothed with a paint roller, remove the protective layer, freeing the outer sticky side of the tape.
	The linoleum is carefully returned to its place, fixing it in a given position. Do the same with the second half of the canvas.
	At the final stage, the plinth is fixed.

Marmoleum

A natural variety of linoleum is a modern material - marmoleum. It contains exclusively natural ingredients:

1. Coniferous resin.
2. Linseed oil.
3. Jute fibers.
4. Wood flour.

Important! To the touch, in terms of environmental friendliness and degree of shock absorption, marmoleum can be compared with cork.

Marmoleum can be rolled or slab. Rolled material must be laid on an insulated or heated base, since it does not have additional layers. Another option is slab, characterized by a multilayer structure, when a strip of marmoleum is fixed onto a load-bearing HDF board with a lock, and a cork backing is attached underneath. Laying such slabs is quick, and castle method connection ensures a tight fit of the elements and eliminates the occurrence of cold bridges.

Table 10. Advantages and disadvantages of marmoleum

Laying marmoleum is easy and does not require special skills.

Table 11. Marmoleum laying process

Illustration	Description
	The base must be cleaned of dirt and dust.
	Markings are applied to the floor surface, the middle of the room is marked, taking into account the distance from the wall along the perimeter of the room at a distance of at least 6 cm.
	Using a spatula, apply the adhesive composition.
	Use a notched spatula to level the solution, forming grooves.
	A fragment is laid out from a marmoleum tile.
	Excess glue that has bleed through is removed immediately with a damp sponge.
	Using a rolling roller, the tiles are pressed into a given position, passing in two directions.
	When cutting tiles, mark the cutting line using a sharp utility knife.
	The fragment is cut at an angle of 45 degrees using a special tool.
	After gluing the cut fragment, it is also rolled with a roller in two directions.

Video - Laying marmoleum with your own hands

Tile

This material occupies a special niche among floor coverings - according to technical specifications it is more suitable than others for rooms with special operating conditions and requirements for floor hygiene (kitchen, bathroom, hallway).

Table 12. Advantages and disadvantages of tiles

The surface of ceramic floor tiles can be matte or glossy. Matte tiles are safer, with a pleasant textured, porous structure. It does not slip, so it is recommended for bathrooms. It is easier to remove dirt from a glossy surface; its shine visually makes the room lighter and more spacious. One of the options for floor covering is mosaic, but its disadvantage is the large number of joints, which are the most vulnerable place susceptible to contamination, so the optimal place for its use would be the bathroom.

Important! When choosing floor tiles, take into account the operational characteristics of the room and the load. We'll show you how to choose the right floor tiles.

Self-leveling floor

The self-leveling floor differs in composition. In this regard, its surface can be:

1. Matte.
2. Semi-matte.
3. Glyantsevoy.
4. Semi-gloss.

By appearance floors can be multi-colored or plain, with patterns and patterns or . Self-leveling flooring makes it possible to use the most different ways decorating them - using a canvas with a pattern, introducing decorative inclusions into the solution, filling cuts of wood, stone, coins and other elements with a transparent composition.

They are entrusted to professionals with experience, since there are many technologies for producing the composition, depending on the components and methods of creating a decorative coating.

Table 13. Advantages and disadvantages of self-leveling floor

Carpet

Carpet is roll material with different thickness and height of pile, shade and pattern, which allows you to choose a coating for any interior. The thickness of the material varies from 5 to 10 mm.

Pay attention! Any carpeting consists of a base for fixing the pile (woven or non-woven), a latex-based fixing layer, a secondary base in contact with the floor, which gives the coating elasticity, heat and sound insulation qualities, wear resistance, and pile.

The carpet is different:

1. Material of manufacture.
2. Manufacturing technology.
3. The length and quality of the pile.
4. Base material.

Depending on the material used, carpet can be natural or synthetic. The first one is more difficult to care for and costs more.

Table 14. Advantages and disadvantages of carpet

Cork floor

Cork is made from natural raw materials by pressing. This floor is distinguished by its high shock-absorbing properties due to its porous structure. Cork is pleasant to the touch, which is why it is often used in children's rooms. When using cork in rooms with high loads and traffic, the front layer is varnished.

There are several varieties - in the form of a material with an adhesive base or slabs (laminate) with a tongue-and-groove lock. The latter may have different thickness. Tiles less than 6 mm are laid on any flat surface and fixed with glue. Material up to 12 mm thick can be installed using the floating method on wooden flooring, screed or linoleum.

Table 15. Advantages and disadvantages of cork covering

Summary table of materials for flooring in an apartment

To summarize, it is necessary to indicate which coatings are appropriate in certain areas of the apartment.

Table 16. What coatings are appropriate in certain rooms