Moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard for the floor: how to choose the right one, advantages, installation and price for moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard. Chipboard on a linoleum floor: types, selection and technology for installing chipboard on a wooden floor. Is it possible to lay chipboard on a wooden floor?

Construction or renovation of any building almost always involves leveling the surface: floor, ceiling, walls. The best way to cope with such work is tongue-and-groove moisture-resistant chipboard, the distinctive features of which are: resistance to environmental conditions, especially dampness/humidity, as well as convenient groove-connections (tongues) for attaching the boards to each other.

Chipboard (or the exact name of chipboard) with tongue and groove is a building board material made from wood chips, which has grooves on one side of the board and protrusions on the other, so that even one person can easily fasten them together. To increase the moisture resistance of wood, during the production of such boards, wood chips are pressed and impregnated with a special resin. As a result, even when immersed in water for a day, such a slab absorbs moisture and swells by only 10%.

Sheets of tongue-and-groove chipboard

At the same time, during the process of hot pressing, this material acquires high density and strength, so tongue-and-groove chipboard is especially often used for leveling and rough finishing of floors.

To enhance the effect of resistance to environmental conditions, laminated moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is also produced: a special film is applied to 1st grade sheets (without visible surface defects). At the same time, product quality indicators increase many times over.

Advantages

Let's consider the advantages of moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard in more detail:

Increased density (820 kg/m3) ensures the rigidity and strength of structures made of chipboard (can be installed on joists - the special structure of the material allows you to effectively distribute the load over the entire surface of the floor);
The process of processing chipboard in production allows you to achieve a perfectly flat surface of the board;
Simplicity and ease of installation, dismantling, replacement of the entire structure or its parts, due to the system of protrusions and grooves, as well as the small size and weight of the plate itself;
Increased resistance to humidity, dampness, temperature changes, unfavorable climate, as well as fungi, mold, microorganisms;
Thermal/sound insulation;
Low price (compared to similar building materials);
Possibility of reusing dismantled slabs.

Flaws

Installation of chipboard on joists

In order to eliminate undesirable consequences in the future, it is worth carefully considering the disadvantages of particle boards:

Purely aesthetically, the appearance bears little resemblance to wood, so it is recommended to use it in rough finishing, as well as for hidden interior work;
The use of various formaldehyde resins for impregnation can be toxic, therefore, when purchasing a moisture-resistant type of chipboard, you should read the operating instructions: is it allowed for use in residential premises or for furniture production (the manufacturer indicates on the label the amount of harmful substances in the chipboard);
If the resin content is low, then additional insulation from environmental conditions is necessary;
Not suitable for curved surfaces.

Where is it used?

Leveling the floor under laminate

The use of moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is especially effective for:

Leveling walls for finishing (wallpaper, plastic panels, wood and PVC lining, laminate, boards, etc.); creating interior partitions;
Leveling the ceiling for finishing, as well as using chipboards instead of plasterboard to create a suspended ceiling;
Leveling the floor for finishing (laminate, parquet, linoleum, etc.), assembling the subfloor, installing a “floating” floor;
Heat/sound insulation of ceiling, floor, walls.

Dimensions, specifications and prices

The cost of building materials usually depends on their size.

Chipboard QuickDeck

Here is a comparative table on the characteristics and prices of particle boards in Russia using the example of a building material:

Moisture-resistant chipboard for QuickDeck flooring

Name		sheet size	leaf area	wholesale price		retail price
Name		sheet size	leaf area	rub./m 2	rub./sheet	rub./m 2	rub./sheet
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 12 mm.	Professional	183060012	1,098	266	292	280	307
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 12 mm.	Professional	244090012	2,196	266	584	280	615
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 16 mm.	Professional	183060016	1,098	295	324	310	340
	Professional	244060016	1,464	295	432	310	454
	Master	183060016	1,098	365	401	380	417
	Master	244060016	1,464	365	534	380	556
	Plus	120090016	1,08	590	637	630	680
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 18 mm.	Professional	183060018	1,098	371	407	390	428
	Professional	244060018	1,464	371	543	390	571
	Master	183060018	1,098	415	456	435	478
	Master	244060018	1,464	415	608	435	637
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 22 mm.	Professional	183060022	1,098	440	483	460	505
	Professional	244060022	1,464	440	644	460	673
	Master	183060022	1,098	535	587	560	615
	Master	244060022	1,464	535	783	560	820
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 38 mm.	Professional	120060038	0,72	840	605	880	634
Quick Deck (E1, P5), 38 mm.	Master	120060038	0,72	880	634	920	662

Installation of subfloor

The subfloor (or dry screed) is the base on which the main floor covering will subsequently be installed. With the help of tongue-and-groove moisture-resistant chipboards, the installation of a subfloor can be easily done with your own hands.

Arrangement of the subfloor

Below is a detailed description of how to properly lay moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard and make a subfloor.

Wooden logs are laid on the concrete base with gaps between them, depending on the thickness of the chipboard sheet (30-40 cm with a thickness of 16 mm and 40-60 cm with a thickness of 22 mm). If the floor is uneven, then all gaps are filled with sand or slag. Also, you need to leave a gap of 2 cm near the walls;
If additional thermal insulation is needed (private house or apartment on the ground floor, etc.), then foam plastic or any other insulation is laid between the joists, while a vapor/waterproofing film is placed under the beams on the concrete;
The building level checks the evenness of the laying and horizontality of the floors. Next, the floor surface is covered with special plastic or paper to prevent squeaking when walking and further use;
Chipboard sheets are laid starting from the far corner of the room. Having laid the first sheet, it is fixed with self-tapping screws - first the central part, and then - with fastening increments of approximately 20 cm. The screws are screwed in deeply - the caps must be recessed into the slab by at least a millimeter;
For better sealing of joints, joints of fastening grooves are coated with PVA glue or latex construction mastic;
Then, the next one is pressed tightly against the first sheet. Usually, chipboard comes with special bars for fitting, with the same fastenings, so as not to damage the base material. In this way, all sheets are adjusted and fastened (it is desirable that the seam passes over the joists). If the subfloor is made for a narrow corridor, then the wooden frame made of beams should be located across the movement;
If vertical irregularities appear, they need to be cleaned and sanded. After which, you can lay parquet, laminate, or do any other fine finishing of the floor.

Laying sheets

Laying a floating floor

A “floating floor” is the best way to finish floors with severe unevenness or other rough surface imperfections.

Moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is laid on the floor using the following technology:

If the main floor is concrete, then first a vapor barrier film is placed on it, but if the base is wooden, then glassine;
Next, expanded clay or slag is poured in and leveled;
Construction paper is placed on the expanded clay;
Wedges are installed near the wall from which installation begins;
Just like when assembling a subfloor, the installation of chipboard slabs is carried out “onward” - from the far wall; connections are fixed with PVA glue or latex mastic;
There should be a gap of 1 cm between the wall and the sheets.

Leveling a concrete floor

Wall and ceiling mounting

A moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove chipboard is mounted on the wall using self-tapping screws at intervals of 300-400 mm, and no additional lathing is required. If they are fastened with nails, then they are driven in at an angle of 45 degrees from the edge to the middle.

If you decide to renovate your home and change the flooring, then you will almost certainly have to level the floor. Concrete and wood surfaces deteriorate and deteriorate over time, so they need to be repaired. The easiest and fastest way to do this is to cover the floor with sheets of chipboard. They can perfectly level any surface, insulate it and impart heat and sound insulation properties.

Chipboard for floor is an excellent choice. Why? It has good density and is not pressed under loads; the material practically does not conduct heat, and due to its size it effectively levels the surface. Another undeniable plus is that installation does not take much time, and the finishing coating can be laid almost immediately.

Leveling a chipboard floor is very simple - you don’t need any special skills for this

Note:When leveling the floor using a classic screed, the finishing coating can be laid on it only after complete drying (20-25 days). Chipboard can be covered immediately - this is an excellent choice for quick repairs.

Another advantage of the coating is its low cost. The disadvantages are the need to treat the sheets with an antiseptic. Be sure to cover them on both sides with a special mixture that will protect the chipboard from rotting.

Laying the sheets will not cause you any particular difficulties. To carry out the process you will not need much:

required number of chipboard sheets;
jigsaw or regular saw;
self-tapping screws for fastening to a wooden floor or dowels for concrete;
a screwdriver for self-tapping screws or a drill with a Pobedit drill bit for dowels;
hammer;
sander

You can do without a sander, but in this case you will have to suffer with cutting the corners of the chipboard. Usually, when laying on a not entirely level base, small differences appear between the sheets - they must be smoothed out by any means.

How to lay chipboard sheets correctly

First of all, you need to purchase material. Measure the area of your room, taking into account all the niches and the threshold, then purchase material with a small margin. Be sure to stack it indoors to allow it to reach room temperature and humidity. Then treat the slabs with an antiseptic on all sides.

Note:Some craftsmen do not recommend treating joints, believing that excess moisture escapes through them. But practice shows that it is the joints that swell first if the room is humid or flooded.

After this, you need to create the most effective layout of the sheets. We recommend that you place solid large sheets in the center of the room and where you will walk. This will eliminate drops and squeaks. And along the edges of the room you can safely attach scraps. The easiest way to create a diagram is to draw a large-scale plan of the room on checkered paper.

Special chipboards with a lock make installation easier

Laying on a wooden plane

After the preparatory work is completed, inspection of the surface should begin. Remove the baseboard and remove the old flooring. Inspect the boards - if they have begun to rot, they will have to be removed and replaced with new ones. The same will have to be done with the joists, otherwise it will not be possible to create a normal floor.

If the base is in good condition, then you can begin installation. It’s easiest to start laying from a long wall - this way you can maintain the corners. Lay the first sheet, secure it with several screws so that it does not move, and then lay the second one next to it. It is recommended to leave a gap of 2-5 mm between the sheets. After installation is completed, these cracks are covered with a mixture of PVA and sawdust (chipboard sawdust can be used). It is necessary to dilute the glue with sawdust to a thick cream and cover the cracks, carefully stuffing the resulting mixture into them. Such chipboard floor will be very warm and practical - it does not allow cold air to pass through from below and retains sounds due to its structure.

Note:A gap of 10-15 mm should also be left around the perimeter of the room to ensure thermal expansion. There is no need to seal it - it will simply be covered on top with a floor covering or baseboard.

Some builders practice coating the slabs with PVA glue around the perimeter for better fastening, but in our opinion this does not play a special role. Just after completing the installation, tighten all the sheets with self-tapping screws in increments of 30-50 centimeters - this is quite enough for high-quality fixation. If there is a large difference in height between the sheets, then place wood chips under it - this will level the surface.

In some cases, OSB boards can be used for leveling

Some styling details

If you decide to cover a wooden floor with chipboard sheets, then use the following tips:

Be sure to treat the base with antiseptics and fire retardants - you can buy them at any hardware store. Even if your floor looks good, don't skimp. Usually the previously applied composition lasts for 3-5 years.
It is not recommended to waterproof between the subfloor and chipboard. Air should circulate freely between the two surfaces.
Never seal the subfloor tightly - leave gaps in the corners and under the radiators. This promotes air circulation and removes moisture from the underground.
Don't skimp on screws. First, secure 3-4 sheets on different sides so that they do not move, and then move along the perimeter and do not forget to screw in the screws in the center of the sheet. Along the perimeter, fasteners are screwed in every 30-40 cm, in the center - every 50 cm.
For high-quality leveling, you can buy special plates with a lock. They fit into each other, so there is no height difference between them. The lock is pre-treated with glue or a special compound so that it does not rot or collapse.
Buy chipboard only from trusted places. Modern sheets are produced without the use of formaldehyde and are considered completely safe, but the material made in “garages” can be harmful.
Some sheets have a high density and do not include screws. In this case, simply drill smaller holes in the required places, and then drive fasteners into them.
The screw caps should be recessed into the surface of the material by approximately 2-3 mm. The resulting holes are filled with wood putty.
You can lay a substrate on top of the surface, which will not only even out all the differences, but also give it additional sound and heat insulation properties.
Sometimes the sheets are laid on joists or sheathing. The distance between the lags should not be more than 40 centimeters so that the material does not sag.
Insulation can be laid in the gaps between the joists - this will significantly improve the comfort of the room.
After the sheets are laid, treat them on top with varnish or drying oil. This will protect them from rotting, fungus or insects. A well-laid chipboard lasts at least 10-15 years.
It is not recommended to lay chipboard in rooms with high humidity (baths, toilets, shops).

Laying on concrete surface

The first step is to assess the condition of your floor. If it is well preserved, then a simple putty is enough - fill the cracks and potholes with it. If leveling is necessary, you will have to pour the screed and wait at least 20 days until it dries. Then the surface is covered with drying oil in two layers, a vapor barrier is laid on top of it (an ordinary film with an overlap can be used), and then the slabs are laid. They are fastened with dowels - first, a hole is drilled directly through the chipboard, then the chopper and the dowel itself are driven into it.

Note:The dowels need to be buried into the surface, so we recommend that you drill a hole from above with a drill of a larger diameter. The dowel itself is clogged with a nozzle, and the remaining hole is filled with putty.

Seams can be treated with sealant when laying

This option is good for quick alignment. But if you want to make high-quality insulation, then it is better to put logs on the base. This is done as follows:

Concrete is cleaned of dust and debris.
Waterproofing is laid on it.
Logs are laid out on top in increments of no more than 40 cm. They are attached to the base with anchors and leveled to the same level.
Insulation is placed in the gaps. You can use cotton wool, penoizol and other types of insulation.
The top of the logs and insulation is covered with a vapor barrier. It is necessary to ensure that the vapor barrier does not reach the level of the joists by 20 mm.
Chipboard sheets are laid on top of the logs. They are firmly attached with self-tapping screws in increments of 30-40 cm. The caps are recessed by 2-3 mm, the cracks are sealed with the mixture of PVA and sawdust described above.

This completes the installation of chipboard on the floor. is considered completed. The gap around the perimeter after laying the finishing coating is closed with a plinth.

In contact with

Linoleum is a high-quality, durable, relatively inexpensive material for finishing floors. That is why it continues to be considered one of the best options for finishing flooring in apartments and houses. However, linoleum has certain requirements - its installation must be done on a leveled and cleaned surface. Chipboard on a linoleum floor is one of the most common ways to create a level base for laying the material.

There are several common materials suitable for creating a smooth subfloor. They differ from each other in some characteristics and installation requirements. However, the materials under consideration are united by the fact that they are all made using wood shavings or sawdust.

Table. Floor leveling materials made from wood waste.

Type of material	general information
	The material is made from small wood chips, which are glued together using special synthetic wax. The resulting mixture is fed under a press, from where the finished material comes out. OSB boards, when laid under linoleum, are fixed on a rough base or laid without fixation at all. For installation of this material, dispersion adhesives are not used, since it practically does not absorb liquids.
	This is a rather thin and soft material made from fine-grained wood fibers. The elasticity of fiberboard is its main drawback: if the rough base is too soft or has voids, then fiberboard cannot be laid - the material easily breaks under the pressure exerted on it when walking. However, fiberboard is an environmentally friendly product that is not harmful to health, and is inexpensive. Therefore, such slabs are still used for laying linoleum, and quite often.
	Layers of this material are made by gluing several thin sheets of wood together using natural resins. The plywood is also pressed, resulting in a strong connection between the individual plates. The material is inexpensive, quite durable, which largely depends on the thickness of the sheets. Plywood is often used to level floors before laying linoleum.
	This material is made from cement compounds, wood shavings using additional components. A fairly durable material that is not prone to getting wet, which is used for cladding walls, creating subfloors, as well as for building partitions indoors.

On a note! When choosing any material, it is important to take into account several factors - the microclimate of the room and the work for which it will be used. However, in order to choose a product for creating a rough base, it is important to pay special attention to the thickness of the material, because too thin can easily break under the weight of a person or furniture.

All of the above materials have certain characteristics, including installation requirements, which are important to consider when choosing. For example, fiberboard can only be used in dry rooms - where there is high humidity, it has no place. The material easily absorbs water, as a result of which it deforms and loses its performance characteristics. But on a level base and in a dry room, it will serve as an excellent substrate for linoleum and will even make the floors warmer.

There is another type of building material made from wood waste. This is a chipboard familiar to many.

What is chipboard

Chipboard can be found in various fields. The material is used to make furniture, elements used in construction (for example, formwork), room partitions, containers, etc. The material is also used in the installation of floors.

Characteristics of particle boards

Chipboard (or chipboard) is made in the form of a fairly large sheet obtained from sawdust and shavings, pressed using hot pressing technology (pressure about 0.2-5 MPa at a temperature of more than +120 degrees) with the addition of resins and additional chemicals components. The volume of special additives by weight of the entire sheet can range from 6% to 18%.

On a note! The production of chipboard was carried out back in the 30s of the twentieth century - inventor Max Himmelheber came up with the material. However, chipboard was first produced for sale only in 1941. And in 1951 the scientist received a patent for this material, but of a modern type.

Now chipboard has spread widely throughout the world and is an affordable and popular construction material for creating furniture and building elements. Thanks to the appearance of this product, less wood waste has been recycled - now the volume of completely unusable material is only about 10%.

Tabletop made of chipboard sheets

Table. Characteristics of chipboard.

Parameter	Meaning
Density	0.5-1 g/cm3
Ultimate tensile strength	About 0.5 MPa
Fracture strength	Not less than 10 MPa
Swelling in water	Up to 30%
Humidity	Up to 12%
Thickness	From 1 mm (gradation 1)
Length	From 1.8 m
Width	From 1.2 m with 10 mm gradation

Types of chipboard

There are two main types of particleboard. Laminated and extruded options are available for sale. The first is designated by the abbreviation LDSP; the sheets are covered with damage-resistant melamine film or varnish (for more expensive types of boards). Thanks to this, the material is not afraid of moisture. Laminated chipboard has increased strength characteristics and is often used to create furniture.

Extruded chipboard has less strength and can easily break when bent, but the effort required to do this is still quite large. The material is practically not produced in Russia.

Chipboard - pros and cons

Chipboard, like any other material, has its pros and cons. Knowing them, it is easy to decide whether it is worth using such a slab to create a subfloor.

Advantages of chipboard:

low price (much lower than solid wood flooring);
smooth and even surface that does not require additional leveling;
some species have sufficient density and strength. Suitable for installation on joists;
The chipboard coating will be reliable and durable;
good heat and sound insulation characteristics;
high adhesion rates - you can use glue when carrying out work;
ease of installation;
Suitable for laying under linoleum.

However, chipboard, for all its advantages, also has many disadvantages, which manifest themselves quite strongly during operation. Disadvantages of chipboard:

nails and screws are often used to fasten chipboard, but the material does not hold them well;
does not like dampness and can deteriorate in a damp room;
the edges of the slabs often crumble and collapse;
This is a fire hazardous material.

The main disadvantage of chipboard is the lack of environmental safety. The material releases formaldehyde vapor into the environment, a substance hazardous to human health, especially in high concentrations.

One of the main parameters when choosing slabs is the maximum permissible concentration of formaldehyde per specific volume. This indicator is determined by sanitary standards. Unfortunately, in Russia there are many chipboard production companies whose managers do not care about the health of consumers and produce low-quality and sometimes even dangerous material.

It is impossible to answer unequivocally whether it is good to use chipboard for installing a subfloor under linoleum. Very often, the decision whether or not to purchase material for this purpose appears after assessing the operating conditions of the slabs. If the conditions are not suitable for using chipboard, then it is better to abandon the material in favor of another.

Preparing the base and laying chipboard

In general, laying chipboard is quite simple and can be done quite quickly, even by one person. However, it is important to remember that the base for the material requires some preparation. The surface of the concrete screed must be thoroughly cleaned of construction debris, dirt, dust - even a small pebble can negate all the work done. All surface defects - cracks, bumps - must be removed. The bumps are polished, and the cracks are sealed using mortars.

The rough wooden base is tested for strength - rotten boards are removed and replaced with strong and new ones. All irregularities and cracks are removed/sealed, and construction debris is also removed.

It is important to know! The chipboard must be securely attached to the floor, otherwise the linoleum laid on top, due to the movement of the material, will itself lie unevenly, and the entire floor will turn out to be very unreliable.

The base, after carrying out the above-described series of works and after drying, is subjected to priming. It is advisable to use formulations with antiseptics. The applied primer layer dries within approximately three days.

You should also pay special attention to the purchase of chipboard. You should choose a thicker one for the floor, especially if you plan to install the slabs on joists. Chipboard is a somewhat fragile material. It is recommended that each sheet be additionally treated with an antiseptic and dried well before installation. Otherwise, fungus and mold can reach the material, although chipboard is not prone to infection by them.

Installation technology: laying linoleum on chipboard

Step 1. A lag system is mounted on the prepared rough surface. It is convenient to use bars with a thickness of at least 25 mm and a width of 80 mm. The logs are laid in such a way that there is a small gap of 2-3 mm between the sheathing and the wall of the room. The distance between individual lags in the sheathing is at least 40 cm. For chipboard sheets thicker than 18 mm, a larger distance can be left. The space between the joists can be filled with insulation for better thermal insulation of the floor.

Attention! Chipboard sheets are also cut before starting work. By the way, it is not recommended to throw away the pieces remaining during sawing. They can be useful for forming a subfloor in hard-to-reach and non-standard places.

Step 2. The chipboard log system is covered. The material is attached to a wooden frame using self-tapping screws at 30 cm intervals. It is important that the fastener heads do not protrude above the surface of the chipboard - they go slightly deeper into the material. A small gap of 1 cm remains between the chipboard and the wall to compensate for the expansion of the material if its dimensions change due to the effects of temperature and humidity.

On a note! If many sheets of chipboard are laid, then the joints must be positioned so that they do not run in one row. It is best to move them 10-15 cm away from each other.

Step 3. All cracks and gaps between the chipboard boards are puttied.

Step 4. Next, the prepared chipboard surface is cleared of debris. The linoleum is spread on the surface and left for some time so that it can “sit down”. A special adhesive for linoleum is applied to the chipboard surface with a notched trowel, and then the linoleum itself is glued.

Let's start laying linoleum. It is important that the material “rest” before this

Step 5. The compensation gap along the wall is closed with a plinth.

You can also glue linoleum to the base using double-sided tape, but usually it is used only to fix the material in the area of the joints.

Video - Installation of chipboard on the floor

Video - How to lay linoleum correctly

A few tips will help improve the quality of the final work.

Linoleum can be laid on almost any flat surface. A prerequisite is the absolute absence of grooves and tubercles. Otherwise, all these flaws will be visible on the surface of the already fixed linoleum and will spoil the overall appearance of the final work. That is why chipboard can be used to level the floor - the surface of the slabs is smooth. But this, unfortunately, is far from the best option for creating a subfloor.

When making flooring from tongue and groove boards, technology is often violated. Each row is nailed, not 4 - 5; after the lumber dries out, after 1.5 - 2 years, the boards are not re-attached and not sanded. Therefore, longitudinal warping of each row or individual deck boards often occurs.

A humped wooden floor can be leveled with chipboard sheets.

To even out these “waves,” a budget option is to install chipboard on a wooden floor as a sublayer. Less commonly used is laminated or veneered chipboard with a thickness of 16 mm or more as a finishing coating.

The industry produces sanded, tongue-and-groove, moisture-resistant chipboard, but this guide will consider a budget option - leveling the boarding (edged board or tongue and groove) with chipboard as a subfloor for the finishing coating.

You can restore the geometry of the floor covering in several ways - putty with a mixture of sawdust and PVA glue, scraping or sanding, re-placing the tongue and groove, leveling with plywood.

Why does a floorboard hump occur?

However, laying chipboard on a wooden floor with leveling pads has minimal labor costs and repair budget.

The main nuances of the technique are:

leveling is a cosmetic repair, so no changes are made to the design of the floor/floor pie;
layers of insulating materials (insulation, vapor and waterproofing membranes) must be laid under the boardwalk during its installation;
floors are partially opened if necessary, but only to eliminate squeaks or replace defective areas;
in the absence of a horizontal plane of the existing floor covering, only plywood pads are used, but not logs;
The developer decided to leave veneered or edged boards to reduce the labor intensity of repairs.

Advice! Before starting work, you should dismantle the floor plinth and make sure that the boardwalk has a gap around the perimeter of 5 - 10 mm from the wall cladding.

Laying chipboard on plank flooring

At the initial stage, you should prepare tools and material in the following quantities:

laser plane builder or level - marking the horizontal and marking strips of plywood;
screwdriver or drill with speed control, reverse – screwing in self-tapping screws;
saw - hand saw, jigsaw, circular saw or electric reciprocating saw;
self-tapping screws 32 mm and 51 mm for wood - to fasten chipboard through plywood spacers;
plywood 6 mm - cut into strips 10 cm wide and square spacers, the thickness of which can be conveniently adjusted by removing layers of veneer;
Chipboard 16 mm - quantity taking into account the format, dimensions of the room, cutting waste.

To level the flooring with sheet material, it is necessary to prepare its surface, make markings, install gaskets and lay down chipboard.

Currently, extrusion chipboard is not produced in the Russian Federation, but fine-textured boards are produced that do not have sufficient strength for operation as a subfloor. It is necessary to choose regular or coarse-grained chipboard, which is more resistant to foot traffic from users.

Below is a table of the size/cost ratio of 16 mm particle board from leading manufacturers:

Preparing the base

This operation is necessary due to increased requirements for the wooden floor of the room:

chipboard joints should be located in the middle of the boards;
rotten or fungal-affected areas should be replaced or treated with an antiseptic, respectively;
the surface does not need to be dusted, but large debris must be swept away.

Sweep the floor enough.

Advice! The paint coating with high adhesion to the base does not need to be removed; protruding nails must be pierced over the entire floor area without fail.

Marking and horizontal markings

The laser plane builder must be secured closer to the center of the room in order to mark the room:

Then, taking into account the size of the chipboard sheet and its location in the rows, markings of the joints of the sheet material are applied to the floor according to the layout diagram. Strips of antiseptic-treated plywood 10 cm wide are laid on this marking so that the chipboard joints are located exactly in the middle.

Laying plywood strips according to the markings.

Spacers are placed under the strips to ensure a uniform horizontal level along the beam of the laser tool. The strips are attached to the flooring underneath with self-tapping screws.

Adjusting the level of plywood joists.

Advice! It is difficult to recess the heads of the screws into plywood, so for each hole a countersink is pre-made with a countersink or a homemade cutter from the heads of the same screws.

Chipboard installation

Particleboards are laid on improvised plywood logs, taking into account the requirements:

After that, the wood-containing slabs are laid and fastened with self-tapping screws, taking into account the nuances:

Depending on the type of floor covering, it may be necessary to putty the heads of hardware and seams between chipboard boards (for example, for PVC linoleum without a base). In this case, it is better to choose a starting mixture that hardens quickly. Minor shrinkage is not a problem here, since the surface will be hidden by the facing material.

Puttying joints and checking the flatness of the chipboard subfloor.

Thus, with limited resources or lack of time, leveling a wooden floor with chipboard is the best option. The technology is extremely simple; the home master does not require high qualifications. The necessary tool is usually present in its arsenal in full.

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Chipboard flooring has fairly good strength indicators, so it is often installed in apartments and houses not only by professionals, but also by private craftsmen. This modern coating can be used as a rough or independent flooring, which has an attractive appearance. It can be laid on any type of surface, including old coatings, without resorting to their preliminary dismantling, which reduces the cost of coating and work.

Features of application

Using this material you can hide base defects, crevices, cracks and irregularities. Quite often, for such work, a 3-mm plate is used, which has moisture-resistant qualities. During the production process, it is impregnated with oil, and at the installation stage, as a rule, it is placed on the first floors.

If you have to work with a floor that has significant unevenness, then it is worth purchasing a 6 mm slab. On sale you can find chipboard of the desired variety, among them: soft boards, hard boards with a refined surface, hard boards with a tinted front layer, as well as material with a front layer of thin dispersion wood pulp. You can also purchase hard slabs of increased strength, which have a front layer in the form of a thin dispersion mass.

Why choose chipboard

A chipboard floor has many advantages over those installed using other materials. The advantages include low cost, environmental safety, as well as a dense structure that can be obtained by hot pressing of sawdust. Among other things, the plates cope well with mechanical stress, are durable and strong. If you cover the floor with this material, it will be well sound and heat insulated.

The flat surface of the material allows you to get a flat floor on which you can lay any covering. Even an inexperienced person can cope with the work, since the material is easy to install. During manufacturing, synthetic resins and antiseptics are added to the raw materials, which are designed to improve the properties of the material, because in terms of quality characteristics it is compared with natural wood.

If you use chipboard correctly, it will last a long time. Recommendations include applying waterproof paint or water-repellent varnishes, which can also improve the appearance of the coating.

Installation of chipboard floors: preparation of slabs

Before you start laying a chipboard floor, you need to prepare the slabs, which must undergo acclimatization in the room and also gain normal humidity. This will prevent swelling of the material during operation. For two days, the sheets are kept indoors in a calm state. If the floor surface has large differences, then you should lay the flooring from logs or fill the solution. You can check the horizontalness of the rough surface using a building level, which will help you make marks at the same height along the perimeter of the walls. Once the marks are connected, it will become clear whether the floor requires leveling.

Preparing the base and laying sheets

If you decide to make a floor from chipboard, then you should prepare the base for installation. A perfectly flat surface can be achieved using a screed based on cement and sand, which is poured to the line marked in the previous step. Before pouring, the surface should be cleaned and dried by pouring a 50 mm layer of sand, and the finished solution should be distributed on top. After drying, a primer or bitumen is applied to the screed, which is pre-dissolved in gasoline. After waiting 8 hours, you can begin laying the chipboard using glue or mastic.

The entire surface of the screed is covered with mastic or a thin layer of glue. The slabs should also be treated with an adhesive composition. Bituminous mastic dries quickly enough, so it should be applied to the area where one sheet is laid. Afterwards, the composition is leveled with a rubber comb and the slabs are fastened. After this, pressure must be applied to the surface, which will act for some time until drying. The resulting coating can be used after a few days.

Laying chipboard on joists

Chipboard can be laid on the floor after installing the log system. Before this, you should measure the dimensions of the sheets in order to make markings on the floor. You should use beams treated with an antiseptic that have been well dried beforehand. They are attached directly to the floor, the distance between them should not be more than 40 cm. If you use undried wood, this may cause it to rot or deform. In this case, after 2 years the floor will require repairs. It should be noted that the width of the material slabs should not be greater than the width of the joists, otherwise the floor will be uneven and large pieces of furniture will fall over.

The tongue-and-groove chipboard for the floor is laid using a certain technology. Before starting work, the material must be inspected for the presence of mold, in which case a primer and antiseptic are applied to the surface. Having retreated about 10 mm from the wall, you can begin to lay the material, this will allow you to form it. After completion of the work, it is decorated with a plinth. The plates must fit well to each other and not form distortions. Installation must begin from the wall opposite the exit.

The slabs are laid out near adjacent walls, preventing the formation of a narrow strip along them. If chipboard is installed with glue, then it should be leveled over the entire surface of the sheet, allowing it to dry. To achieve higher strength, the floor is primed before applying the glue. If there is a vertical pipeline in the room, then a gap around the circumference should be left near it, which is filled with cement-sand mortar.

Chipboard or plywood are laid on the floor in such a way that the joints of the slabs do not fall in those places where the floor is used with the greatest intensity. This should include areas near the refrigerator, stove or sink. Fastening is carried out using nails, screws and self-tapping screws. If the slabs are 19 mm thick, then nails should be used. They need to be driven in at an angle of 30°, spaced 10 cm apart from each other. Chipboard should be laid on the floor in such a way that the nail heads are firmly driven into the material and do not protrude from above. Traces from fasteners should be repaired using a material that matches the color of the coating. Do not use long nails as this may cause damage to wires and pipes located under the base.

The joints are sealed with putty to make the floor attractive. If you place the structure on joists, this will make the floor warmer. If you need to perform complex cutting of the slab, you need to use a template prepared in advance from cardboard. If laying is carried out on a wooden base, then it is not used.

Final works

Quite often in houses it is used to repair chipboard; it can be coated with this material to obtain a perfectly flat surface. At the final stage, the glue should be removed with a rag, and the resulting gaps should be sealed with putty. Such a surface is often primed and sanded, but this is not necessary if there is laminate, parquet, carpet or linoleum on top. If you nevertheless decide to paint, then you can use a painting compound or alkyd enamel, which has water-repellent characteristics.

The tongue and groove floor can also be used as a stand-alone covering if you need a budget solution.