How to lay tongue and groove boards on a subfloor. Installation of a floor made of tongue and groove boards on joists

A competent choice of tongue and groove boards, laying the material on different bases, the advantages of coatings with a tongue-and-groove side connection.

The content of the article:

Tongue-and-groove boards are products made from a single solid wood with milled grooves and ridges on opposite ends of the material, which, when joined, form a gapless joint. Used to create high quality seamless coatings for floors and other surfaces. We will talk about methods for laying tongue and groove boards in this article.

Advantages and disadvantages of tongue and groove flooring

Due to their design features, tongue and groove boards have significant advantages over other lumber:

The tongue-and-groove connection ensures uniform load distribution on the boards and increases their service life.
There are special grooves on the back side of the board to supply air to the underside of the material, which prevents the appearance of fungus.
The covering made of tongue and groove boards has good sound and heat insulating properties.
Thanks to the tongues and grooves, installation of the material is very fast.
Tongue and groove boards are produced standard sizes, which also speeds up installation work.
The board is made from a single solid wood, without the use of chemical components.
The coating has a beautiful appearance.
Boards connected by groove and tongue do not deform or warp.
The tongue and groove boards form a durable, seamless coating.
To restore its attractiveness, it is enough to cycle or sand the front side and cover it with drying oil or special varnishes.
Boards match European standards. Front part- smooth, does not require additional improvement, paint or varnish lies perfectly evenly on it.
In rooms with floors made of natural wood a healthy spirit is always present.
A tongue and groove floor looks good in any room decor.
Docking elements (groove and tenon) are manufactured using high-precision milling machine, so the connection quality is very high.

Tongue and groove coverings have weak spots: to protect the surface from mechanical influences and insects, boards must be periodically painted, varnished, and treated with antiseptics, which requires considerable funds; such material is expensive.

How to choose tongue and groove floor boards

When purchasing a tongue and groove floorboard, pay attention to the main characteristics of the lumber, which determine the durability and visual appeal of the flooring.

Type of wood for tongue and groove boards

Extra class tongue and groove boards made of hardwood (larch, oak or ash) are used to create a finished floor. This is the most expensive product, without knots, cracks and other defects, with a uniform structure and color shade. Extra class boards are highly water resistant, but are expensive.

The subfloor is assembled from soft rocks(pine, spruce), as well as any boards of class C. Lumber of this class is distinguished by the presence of knots, cracks, and single holes. In addition, pine and spruce boards are soft, quickly damaged by thin heels, and have poor resistance to moisture. TO positive aspects can be attributed to the low cost of the material.

Dimensions of the tongue-and-groove board blank

Measure the length of the room's walls. Determine which wall the boards will be laid parallel to. Calculate the approximate total length of the boards for the entire room and decide what length of blanks you should buy.

The following information will help you make a decision:

The length of the boards should be equal to the length of the room.
You can buy short samples, but on the condition that they will not hang in the air.
Boards from 1 to 6 m are sold on the market. For flooring, lumber from 3 to 6 m in length is most often purchased, which allows you to select the optimal length of the workpiece and reduce the length of the trim.
When purchasing, increase the estimated length of the material by 10%, which may end up in scraps.
Recommended dimensions of tongue and groove boards: width - 70-145 mm. Thickness - from 28 mm.

Humidity of tongue and groove boards

For work, tongue-and-groove floorboards with a moisture content of 12-16% are suitable. If you have a choice, purchase products that have been dried in autoclaves - for them this figure does not exceed 10%. If the humidity is high, when drying the floor will deform, cracks and warping will appear.

Humidity is determined in several ways:

The most reliable way is to obtain this parameter using a moisture meter.
It is not difficult to distinguish very wet boards - just place your palm on the surface.
When tapped with your knuckles, wet material sounds dull, while dry material sounds ringing and loud.
Wet boards are darker in color than dry boards.
A well-dried board has a noticeable shine, while a wet board has a matte tint.
If the boards were in plastic packaging, inspect it for condensation. The presence of drops of moisture indicates high humidity boards

Checking the manufacturing quality of tongue and groove boards

Check the accuracy of manufacturing of grooves and tenons and the quality of processing of the front side:

The tenon should fit into the groove with a slight application of load, with a slight click when connected to the groove.
The front side must be carefully sanded.
The reverse side is usually roughly processed, but there must be grooves for ventilation of the flooring.
Buy lumber only in original packaging, which guarantees the safety of the product for a long time.

Requirements for the base for laying tongue and groove boards

The method of laying tongue and groove boards depends on the type of supporting structure of the floor. Classic option are considered to be logs or load-bearing supports that raise the floor 70 mm above the base. In low rooms, boards are laid on plywood.

Logs for tongue and groove boards

Logs are beams with a thickness of 50 to 70 mm, which are installed on a continuous, flat, hard surface, for example, on cement screed. If the base is uneven, install joists instead load-bearing beams, which are installed on point supports. Each beam of the supporting structure is leveled individually. For load-bearing supports, beams with a thickness of 100 mm or more are used.

When installing logs, follow these recommendations:

The distance between the lags depends on the method of fastening the material and the thickness of the tongue and groove board. If the boards are laid perpendicular to the joists, the pitch of the supporting structures should be 60 cm. If the boards are laid at a different angle, the pitch is reduced. At a laying angle of 45 degrees, the distance between the support beams is 30 cm.
The space between the joists and the ground cannot be filled. The floor is ventilated through it.
So that walking is not accompanied by dull sounds, sound insulation is placed on the beams - glassine, laminate substrate, padding polyester.
In the room, the beams are fixed in such a way that the boards are laid parallel luminous flux coming from the window.
In the corridor, the boards should be located along the main direction of movement.

Plywood backing for tongue and groove boards

Plywood is used so as not to raise the floor level. Moisture-resistant plywood with a thickness of at least 18 mm is suitable for the substrate. Do not use thin plywood; it reduces the rigidity of the base and can lead to deformation of the boards.

Install plywood as follows:

Check the non-flatness and horizontality of the base on which the plywood will be placed, and if necessary, modify it. Most often, plywood is laid on top of a concrete screed.
Cut the sheet of material into several equal parts. For example, a sheet of 1.5x1.5 m is cut into 4 parts to relieve internal stress.
Place the blanks on the floor diagonally to the floor boards and secure with dowels at the rate of 15 pcs. per m 2. Leave gaps of 2-3 mm between the parts, and 15 mm between the walls and plywood for temperature expansion.
Press the fastener heads into the wood.
Treat the surface grinder or a drill with an abrasive head. For sanding use sandpaper with coarse abrasive, P24 or P36. After sanding, remove dust with a vacuum cleaner.
Make sure there are no greasy or other stubborn stains on the surface. If necessary, clean it with solvent.

Concrete floor for tongue and groove boards

Boards directly on concrete screed do not place it, only on joists or plywood. But the properties of concrete to absorb liquid lead to high humidity under the flooring and rapid rotting of the floor. Therefore, before installing a tongue and groove board, make sure that concrete base meets the following requirements:

The maximum moisture content of concrete is 3%. The value is determined with a moisture meter. If you do not have the device, you can use the folk way. Put plastic film on a concrete floor, glue with tape. If after a day droplets of water appear on the bottom of the film or a wet spot appears on the floor, it means that the concrete is not dry enough.
It is also necessary to check the condition of the surface of the screed, which should be smooth and flat. To check you will need a long ruler. Place the tool on the floor in random places and check that there are no gaps between it and the concrete. Surface deviations of more than 2 mm per 2 m ruler are not allowed. Unevenness causes creaking and sagging of the floor.
Using a hydrostatic level, measure the levelness of the floor. A slope of more than 0.2% of the maximum length rooms.
To level the floor high areas should be sanded, low ones should be filled with self-leveling mixture.
After leveling, impregnate the concrete screed with a polyurethane primer mixture in several layers.
To create a moisture-proof barrier between concrete and wood floors, foam film and soil mastic are used. The mastic is applied to the floor with a roller, and a film is glued to it.

Technology for laying tongue and groove boards on joists

There are several ways to lay tongue and groove boards. The choice of option depends on the variety load-bearing structures floor. Installation of coating on logs consists of several stages: preliminary installation, final fastening, finishing.

Pre-installation of tongue and groove boards

Preliminary work is performed as follows:

Bring the lumber into the room where you plan to lay it and leave it for 1 week. During this time, the humidity of the air and the material will level out.
Choose a flat board that is wall-to-wall length.
Place the board on the joists with the ridge facing the wall, moving 10-15 mm away from it. The gap allows the board to expand when high temperature and changes in humidity. At the end of the work, it will be covered with a plinth. The size of the compensation gap depends on the length of the boards; more precisely its value can be found in reference books on building materials.
Fasten the first board very securely. Screw self-tapping screws into each joist to the full thickness. Instead of self-tapping screws, you can hammer in nails.
Place the second board next to the first and align the tongue and groove. For a tight connection, hit the end of the second product through the block with a hammer. Attach three more boards in the same way.
Hammer staples into the joists at a distance of 10-15 cm from the last board. Instead of staples, you can nail boards or bars to the joists, which can also be used to tie products together.
Place a block 50-70 mm long on the logs and slide it all the way into the board.
Install two wedges between the bracket and the block, with their sharp ends facing each other.
Pull the boards together by hitting the wedges with a hammer until the tenons fit tightly into the grooves, opening the gaps between the boards.
Screw self-tapping screws into the bottom groove of the last board at an angle of 45 degrees and secure the board to the joists. To prevent the plank from bursting, make holes for self-tapping screws in the board and joists.
Instead of wedges, you can use a screw jack to tie the boards together. On the joists, nail bars or boards against which the jack will rest. Place the tool on the beam. Place a wooden block (spacer) between it and the board and slide it all the way into the board. Through the block the jack will act on the boards.
Cover the entire floor with boards, fixing every fourth to the joists with self-tapping screws.
The middle rows can be assembled from short boards, the main thing is that the edges are located on the joists. Place the short joints in a checkerboard pattern. Installation of boards in a staggered manner is made difficult by the large number of cuts, which must be strictly perpendicular to the ends of the boards. For reliability, cut the boards according to templates.
Tighten the last boards with wedges, which are driven into the gap between the wall and the board.
If the end board does not fit into the gap, cut off the excess pieces circular saw.
The installed floor is left temporarily fixed for six months. The boards will age and take their final shape.

Final fastening of tongue and groove boards

At this stage, identified floor defects are eliminated and its re-laying is performed:

Inspect the surface for any cracks that may form due to shrinkage of the lumber.
To eliminate gaps, the floor is re-laid and each board is finally secured.
The cuts are fixed with 3x35-40 mm self-tapping screws (for boards 40 mm thick), which are screwed in at an angle of 50 degrees from the tenon side. Hardware is installed every 30-40 cm. It is recommended to drill holes before screwing in the screws.
During fastening, the boards must be tightened using one of the methods described above.

Finishing of tongue and groove boards

The front side of tongue and groove boards is usually processed very well at the manufacturing stage and does not require additional sanding. But products made from soft wood sometimes require modification.

Surface grinding is carried out using grinding machines - surface and angle grinders. The first device is used to treat the entire floor. Angular is necessary for grinding hard to reach places. If there are no mechanisms, you can use a sanding block or a hand scraper.

Processing occurs in three stages - along, across and diagonally of the boards. After sanding softwood boards, pile rises. To eliminate it, use triple priming and sanding of each layer.

After sanding, pine and spruce boards must be varnished to increase strength, which compensates for their softness. The varnish is applied in several layers. Larch boards do not need to be covered with a protective layer.

Fixing a tongue and groove board with glue

Boards are glued to the base in rooms with low ceilings. To work, you will need glue that contains synthetic resins - polyurethane or epoxy-polyurethane. Such solutions are characterized by strength and ductility, which ensures the movement of the flooring during thermal expansion.

Fixing the boards in this way does not allow you to adjust their position, therefore, before laying the tongue-and-groove board with glue, perform a mock-up assembly of the floor dry. Only after satisfactory results have been obtained can the boards be glued.

Laying boards on glue is done as follows:

Measure the length of the wall and cut a board from the workpiece 30 mm shorter than the result.
Place the first product near the wall with a gap of 15 mm between the canvas and the three walls. The tenon of the board should be facing towards the wall.
Trace the outline of the board with a pencil, which will allow you to apply glue to a section of plywood for only one board.
Place the second board on the other side and slide until the groove aligns with the tenon.
Similarly, cover the entire floor of the room. Don't forget to trace the outlines of the boards. Periodically tap them with a hammer through a wooden strip.
After installation, mark the position of the boards relative to each other and disassemble the floor.
Apply a thin layer of glue to the plywood using two spatulas. The first one should be smooth, with its help the solution is spread on the floor. The second is serrated, it evenly distributes the glue over the surface. Apply it to the area highlighted with a pencil.
Place a board on the solution and press it well to the floor. For reliable gluing, secure it with nails, which are driven into the tenon at an angle of 50 degrees.
The remaining boards are glued in a similar manner and laid according to the relative position marks.
After installing all the boards, you should not walk on them until the glue has completely dried.

How to attach a tongue and groove board to the floor - watch the video:

Tongue and groove boards allow you to get practical and high-quality coating with minimal effort. The main condition for obtaining a good result is adherence to installation technology and a serious attitude to work.

Tongue boards are products made from solid wood with milled tongues and grooves on opposite ends, forming a joint without gaps. This material used to create seamless floor coverings and cladding other surfaces. In the article we will talk about the advantages of tongue and groove and the rules for installing finishing.

Tongue and groove coatings - reasons for popularity

Compared to other materials, tongue and groove boards have a number of advantages due to their design features. The tongue-and-groove connection ensures distribution of the load across all elements of the coating and increases the service life of the cladding as a whole. On back side the board has narrow slots for air supply to back side cladding, thereby minimizing the likelihood of mold and mildew.

The tongue is different good characteristics heat and sound insulation, allows you to perform installation work without hiring specialists and as soon as possible. The material is environmentally friendly, as it is made from a single solid wood, without the use of chemicals, has an attractive appearance and can retain its visual characteristics for a long time with periodic sanding and updating the coating.

In addition to periodic sanding and coating with paints and varnishes, the material may require re-treatment with antiseptic compounds to prevent the occurrence of fungus and mold. Because of this, the cost of operating the coating increases, which is its only drawback.

You can make a tongue and groove board with your own hands if you know how to work with wood, the main thing is to create a tongue-and-groove joint. For most owners, such work is too complicated, and they prefer to purchase the cladding in a store; it will definitely be of high quality and allow for simple installation.

Choosing a tongue and groove - what characteristics should you pay attention to?

Floor boards can differ in properties and characteristics, which determine the visual appeal and durability of the coating. First of all, when choosing a material, you need to pay attention to the type of wood. The most expensive and attractive boards are made from hardwood:

ash;
larch.

These boards have no defects, knots or cracks, are distinguished by uniform color and structure, increased resistance to humidity and other negative impacts, so they are used for finishing. The subfloor is installed from soft wood, for example spruce or pine. Such lumber may have knots, cracks and small holes; they quickly lose their original evenness and attractiveness due to mechanical stress. Such material is damaged especially quickly if it is walked on in shoes with thin heels. The only advantage of softwoods is their low cost.

After choosing the material, you need to determine how long the boards you need. To do this, measure the length of the walls in the room and decide parallel to which partition you will lay the boards. When choosing a floorboard, you must consider the following nuances:

1. The length of the tongue and groove must be equal to the length of the room.
2. It is better to add an extra 10% to the estimated length.
3. Recommended board sizes for finishing the floor of a house: thickness - from 28 mm or more, width - from 70 to 145 mm.

The boards differ from each other and in the degree of humidity. It is best to choose lumber that has been dried in special autoclaves, with a moisture content of no more than 10%. Although tongue and groove products with a moisture content of 12% to 16% are also suitable for floor finishing. If the humidity is higher, the floor may become deformed when drying. To check humidity, it is best to use a special moisture meter.

On what type of substrate can the flooring be laid?

Exist different ways laying tongue-and-groove cladding, directly dependent on the floor structure. Most often, the covering is installed on special logs or load-bearing supports, which is why the floor height can increase by 70 mm or more. They are called lags wooden beams 50–70 mm thick, installed on a hard, flat surface, for example on a concrete screed. If the base is not level enough, then instead of joists, load-bearing beams are installed on point supports. To create load-bearing supports, beams with a thickness of 10 cm or more are used.

When installing the log, you must remember that the distance between wooden blocks determined taking into account the chosen method of fastening the material and the thickness of the purchased board. To lay the boards perpendicular to the joists, the support spacing should be 60 cm. To install the boards at a different angle, the distance between the supports is reduced. For example, to lay boards at an angle of 45°, the distance between the supports should be 30 cm.

The empty space between the base and the joists cannot be filled; ventilation will be provided through it flooring. To ensure that movement on the floor is not accompanied by dull sounds, the beams must be additionally insulated using a laminate backing, glassine or padding polyester. IN living rooms We lay the beams so that the boards can be laid parallel to the light rays from the windows, and in the corridor the boards should be located along the direction of movement.

If the room has low ceilings and you don’t want to increase the height of the floor too much, then you can use plywood instead of joists. Plywood sheets thicker than 18 mm are suitable for this. It is not recommended to use thin plywood for laying on the floor, as it can reduce the rigidity of the base and cause deformation of the boards.

It is customary to lay plywood only on flat bases, so before installation it is necessary to check the horizontalness of the floor. If necessary, a new concrete screed is made on the base. When the base is prepared, it is necessary to cut the plywood sheets into several parts. For example, a sheet measuring 1.5x1.5 m is cut into 4 parts to reduce internal tension material.

The completed blanks are placed diagonally to the flooring boards and secured with dowels. For every 1 m² of plywood, 15 fasteners must be used. A gap of 2-3 mm must be left between individual plywood elements, and a gap of 15 mm must be left between plywood sheets and walls. The heads of the fasteners must be sunk into the plywood, after which the surfaces are sanded and the room is cleared of dust.

How to install tongue and groove covering on joists

Installation of tongue and groove on joists begins with preliminary stage, which involves bringing the boards into the laying room, where they should be left for one week. This is necessary so that the humidity in the room and the moisture content of the materials are equalized. After this, you need to select a board equal in size to the length from one wall to the other and place it on the logs with the ridge to the wall with a gap of 1–1.5 cm. The gap is necessary so that the material can expand freely when the temperature and humidity in the room changes.

The board must be securely attached to the joists with self-tapping screws. Self-tapping screws should be screwed into each joist for the entire length. If necessary, self-tapping screws can be replaced with ordinary nails. The second board is placed after the first and their tongue and groove are aligned. To ensure a tight connection, you need to hit the end of the second workpiece several times with a hammer.

To avoid damaging the board, you need to use a mallet or strike with a regular hammer through a wooden block.

After installing a total of 5 boards, at a distance of 100–150 mm from the last board, the staples necessary for tying the products should be driven into the joists. Instead of staples, you can use boards or bars nailed to the products. Now place a 5–7 cm long block on the joists and slide it into the board until it stops. Place two wedges with sharp ends facing each other between the block and the bracket and, by hitting them with a hammer, pull the boards together so that the tenons fit tightly into the groove and remove the gaps between the workpieces.

You need to screw self-tapping screws into the bottom groove of the last board at an angle of 45° to secure it to the joists. To avoid deformation of the board and the appearance of cracks, it is better to first make holes for fastenings in the board itself and the joists.

You can tighten the boards not only with wedges, but also with a screw jack. To do this, you need to nail boards or bars onto the joists so that the jack has something to rest against. Then install the device on the beam, place a wooden spacer between it and the board and slide the board until it stops, after which it can be attached or nailed to the joists.

Thus, you need to fill the entire base with tongue and groove, fixing every fourth element of the covering. It is allowed to fill the middle rows of the floor with short boards, the main thing is that their ends are located on the joists. It is best to place short boards so that their joints create a checkerboard pattern.

The last board for covering the floor must be pulled together with wedges, which are driven into the empty space between the workpiece and the wall. If the board is too wide, it can be pre-cut with a circular saw. The floor installed in this way is left for six months so that the boards can age and take their final shape.

After six months, it is necessary to inspect the entire surface of the coating for defects. Due to shrinkage, cracks could appear in the boards. In this case, the floor is disassembled and reinstalled in the manner described above, but each board is already permanently fixed. To fix the cuts, it is better to use self-tapping screws, which are fixed at an angle of 50° from the tenon side. Hardware is installed every 30–40 cm. Before fastening, the boards are tightened using one of the methods described above.

Hardwood tongue and groove has an attractive surface and does not require finishing cladding, and softwood boards sometimes have to be modified with your own hands. Typically, boards need to be sanded using an angle or surface grinder. The processing is carried out in three stages. First, they sand along, then across, and then diagonally the boards. At the end, all that remains is to varnish the boards to compensate for their lack of hardness.

Learning to install tongue and groove with glue

In rooms with very low ceilings, tongue and groove boards can be installed directly on the floor (on plywood) using glue. To do this, you need to first buy glue with synthetic resins - epoxy-polyurethane or pure polyurethane. The resins in the glue provide it with plasticity and high strength, thanks to which the flooring can move slightly due to changes in humidity and air temperature.

Since installation with glue does not allow you to adjust the position of the flooring, you must first assemble the entire floor dry. When satisfactory results are obtained, the boards must be marked so as not to forget their location and laying sequence. To begin with, it is recommended to measure the length of the wall and prepare the first board, which should be 30 mm shorter than the distance obtained when measuring.

We lay the workpiece next to the wall with a gap of 15 mm between the three adjacent walls. The tenon of the workpiece should be directed towards the wall. You need to trace the outline of the board with a pencil so that during final installation you can apply glue to the plywood only under one piece.

After this, we apply the second one to the first board and move it so that the groove and tenon of the blanks are aligned. You can hit the second board several times with a mallet for a better connection. We also trace the second board with a pencil, after which we proceed to install the third, etc. When the entire floor is assembled, the boards need to be marked and disassembled.

Now you can begin installation. Apply glue to the plywood sheet thin layer two spatulas. Using a smooth spatula, transfer the glue to the floor, and with a serrated spatula, spread it over the plywood within the area marked with a pencil. Place the board on the glue and press it to the floor. To increase the reliability of fixation, the workpiece can be secured with small nails; they need to be driven into the tenon at an angle of 50°. All boards are glued in the same way to create a level base. After fixing the coating, you cannot walk on it until the glue has completely hardened.

IN modern renovation, wooden floors are made mainly from tongue and groove boards. This allows you to avoid many disadvantages such as creaking, cracks, changes, etc., inherent in floors made of regular boards. If you also decide to make a floor from a tongue-and-groove board, then in our article you can learn how to choose a tongue-and-groove board, how to install it and how to repair floors made of this material.

For the right choice tongue and groove boards, you need to know about the features, classification, manufacturing method and categories of boards.

Manufacturing

The tongue and groove board is made from coniferous and deciduous wood. The boards are cut from the core of the logs, after which they are dried to 8-10% moisture content. After drying, the boards are cut to size and processed planer and using a cutter, a tongue-and-groove connection is made along their edges. The boards have dimensions: width from 80 to 200 mm, thickness from 15 to 22 mm, length from 600 to 6000 mm. The tongue-and-groove connection can be on either two or four sides; this criterion mainly depends on the length of the board. There are also boards with other parameters on sale. At the end of the manufacturing process, the boards are treated with antiseptics.

Advantages

A tongue and groove board has a number of advantages compared to a regular edged board:

The main advantage of a tongue and groove board is the tongue-and-groove connection, thanks to which the floor elements are securely connected to each other and attached to the joists. The result is a perfectly flat surface, without cracks, differences or defects, and does not require additional sanding.
Tongue and groove boards are produced in the same size, so there is no need to adjust the elements, which greatly facilitates installation.
The boards are made from already dried wood, so there is no risk of cracking and deformation of the boards during installation.
During the manufacturing process, special recesses are made on the inside of the tongue-and-groove board for air circulation. This allows you to avoid the formation of mold and rotting of the boards in case of high humidity under the floor.
The tongue and groove board is produced with an already planed surface, this in turn allows you to save installation time.
Thanks to all the advantages listed above, the installation of tongue-and-groove boards is so easy that you can do it yourself.

Features of choice

When choosing floorboards, consider the load factor on the coating. For floors with heavy loads, buy tongue-and-groove boards made of hardwood: oak, alder, mahogany, birch. If a small load is expected on the floor, then it is quite possible to get by with cheaper ones. coniferous species: pine, cedar, spruce.

When making a purchase, be sure to pay attention to the appearance of the boards. If there are white or dark spots on the surface, this may be a symptom of wood infection by fungus or mold. Also carefully inspect the boards for insects living in the wood.

Not all board sellers comply with the storage conditions for lumber. For this reason, the boards you purchase may end up being wet. To save yourself from happy shopping, check the moisture content of the wood. This can be done using a moisture meter or traditional methods:

- Knock on wood; wet boards will make a dull sound; therefore, the drier the board, the louder the knock will be.
- Inspect the board for any escaping resin. If there are droplets of resin on the surface, then most likely it is dry.
- Run your palm over the surface of the board. If you feel even the slightest moisture, then you should not buy such a board.

- There are more reliable way checking the board for moisture, but it requires a drill. Drill through the board; if the wood is wet, steam will be generated during drilling, and instead of dry sawdust, wet fibers will fall out.

And the last rule, in no case, do not buy boards from stacks located under open air. Even if the stack is covered with cellophane or tarpaulin, this does not protect the boards from increased air humidity during precipitation, and they may end up wet.

When buying a tongue and groove board, ask the seller to show you a certificate of conformity.

Installation of tongue and groove boards

Making floors from tongue and groove boards is best done after all finishing works. The temperature in the room where the boards are installed should not be less than five degrees Celsius. Air humidity should be no more than 30-20%.

As mentioned above, the material from which the tongue and groove board is made is selected depending on the expected load on the floor surface. When there is a heavy load on the surface, boards made of hardwood are used. In rooms with low traffic, coniferous boards will be sufficient.

Choose the quality of the boards and, accordingly, the category based on your financial capabilities and options finishing floor. If you want to cover the floor with transparent varnish, then buy a tongue and groove board of the highest category or category A. For a floor to be painted, boards of category B are suitable. If the floor is made as a base for another coating, then boards of category C will be suitable for its manufacture.

Installation of logs

Installation of logs is carried out on a concrete base or on beam floors. To install joists and boards you will need:

Bars with a cross section of 50x100 millimeters.
Brackets or connecting plates.
Wood screws or nails.
Hacksaw or electric jigsaw.
Hammer.
Screwdriver or screwdriver.
Yardstick.
Pencil.
Square.
Level.

The logs are laid on the base, perpendicular to the position of the boards.

Install the first row of joists at a distance of 10-15 centimeters from the wall.
Connect the logs together with brackets, plates, or simply screw them to each other with screws.
Using a level, check the correct position of the entire row of joists. If necessary, level the position of the joists by placing wooden or plastic pads under them.
Install the second row of joists at a distance of 40-50 centimeters from the first row.
Install the remaining rows, remembering to check the level.
If you use boards that are shorter than the length of the room and that do not have a tongue-and-groove lock at the ends, then you need to install additional logs at the joints of the boards.

Installation of boards

Please note that before installation, the boards must “acclimatize” by lying in the room where installation will take place for at least two days.

1. Install the first board on the joists with the tenon facing the wall, at a distance of 10-15 millimeters from the wall.
2. Attach the board to the joists with screws, driving them from the edge of the board and into the base of the tenon at a 40-degree angle.
3. Take the second board and insert its tenon into the groove of the first board. If necessary, carefully tap the board with a hammer for a tight connection and also secure it with screws.

Install the remaining boards this way. Try to recess the screw heads 1-2 millimeters into the board so that they do not interfere with the tenons entering the grooves.
Installation of the last board often involves the need to saw it longitudinally. You can reduce the width of the board using a hacksaw or an electric jigsaw.
Do not forget that along the entire perimeter of the coating, you need to leave compensation gaps of 1 to 2 centimeters.
If you are laying boards that are smaller than the size of the room, then it is better to join them not in one line, but in a checkerboard pattern, this will give the coating greater strength.
Since the door threshold bears the greatest load, it is recommended to install additional logs in this place.

You can also see how to install tongue and groove boards in the video:

Finishing the floor

The final finishing of the floor is best done after all repair work has been completed. Otherwise, there is a risk of damaging the decorative layer of the coating.
For finishing you will need:

Putty knife.
Vibratory and belt sanders.
Sandpaper.
Putty.
A set of brushes or a spray gun.
Solvent.
Stain.
Water based varnish or acrylic base. If the floor is to be painted, then paint.
Vacuum cleaner.
Mop bucket and rag.

1. Carefully inspect the floor for cracks, chips, rotten areas, knots and irregularities.
2. All detected defects must be leveled with a plane and covered with putty to match the color of the wood from which the boards are made.
3. After the putty has dried, sand the treated areas with fine-grained sandpaper.
4. Check the smoothness of the putty areas and, if necessary, repeat the procedure again.
5. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove all debris and dust from the floor.
6. If as decorative covering If you decide to use paint, then wipe the floor with a damp cloth and start painting.

If you want to use transparent varnish as a coating, then first you need to make additional work for sanding and flooring the desired shade.
To sand tongue and groove floors, it is best to use a belt sander. Use it to sand the entire floor surface.
After sanding, vacuum up all the dust and wipe the floors with a damp cloth.
To give the floor the desired shade, use stain, applying it to the boards with a brush or roller.
After the stain has dried, you can apply the first coat of varnish. It is better to do this using a spray gun, evenly spraying the varnish over the surface.
Before applying the second coat of varnish, it is necessary to lightly sand the first layer. This can be done using a vibrating sander and fine-grained sandpaper.
The number of layers applied depends on the quality of the varnish and your desire, but usually 3-4 layers are enough for a normal-looking floor.
Having applied last layer varnish, let the floors dry completely for a week, after which you can treat the floor with polish and begin using the room.

Detailed instructions for applying varnish to a wooden floor are in the video:

Now it has become fashionable to use special oil to treat floors instead of varnish. There is a reason for using oil, especially for high-traffic areas, because oil is absolutely resistant to abrasion, unlike varnish. In addition, the oil perfectly emphasizes the texture of wood, giving it a soft and warm color.
It is much easier to coat a floor with oil than with varnish, since oil does not require sanding each layer. Oil is applied to wood using both cold and hot methods. Mostly cold application with a brush is used. The number of layers applied depends on the absorbency of the wood; usually two coats are enough.

When painting the floor with oil, make sure it is evenly distributed over the surface and promptly remove smudges. After the oil has dried, the floor surface can be treated with wax.

Please note that violation of the order of work and non-compliance with instructions when using paint and varnish materials, can lead to rapid wear of the coating, and in the worst case, to the need new finishes floor!

How to cover wooden floor oil, you can also find out by watching the video:

Floor restoration and repair

During the operation of a floor made of tongue and groove boards, certain problems may arise caused by low quality materials or violation of installation technology. Let's look at common breakdowns and how to fix them:

Gaps between boards– occur due to the high moisture content in the boards during their installation. After the laid boards have completely dried, the wood contracts, resulting in the formation of cracks. Most effective way To eliminate this problem, this means dismantling the boards and their new styling on the logs. If the cracks are not large, you can cover them with putty.

Floor creaking- a very common problem that occurs due to friction of joists and boards against each other. Most often, floors begin to creak due to improper installation technology. Perhaps the joists were spaced too far apart, so the boards began to sag when walked and squeak. Another reason may be weak fastening of the boards to the joists. You can try to eliminate the cause of the squeak by screwing in additional screws; if this does not help, you will have to redo the floor again.

Cracking of boards– can happen for two reasons. The first is the wrong choice of flooring material. If the boards are made of soft wood, and the load on the surface is too intense, then over time, the floor will not only crack, but may even completely collapse. The problem can be solved by reducing the load or replacing boards with stronger ones. The second reason is wet wood. After drying, the wood tends to crack. In this case, it is enough to cover the cracks with putty.

Appearance of resin on boards– caused by the final drying of the wood. To get rid of resin, just remove it with a spatula, sand the area where it appears, and if the floor is covered with varnish or paint, apply a new layer of coating.

Varnish peeling– can occur from contact with the surface large quantity water or due to applying varnish to wet wood. In any case, it is necessary to remove the old coating with a spatula and a sander, let the boards dry and apply new layers of varnish.

Rotting logs and inside boards - occurs due to high humidity and insufficient air circulation under the floor. The problem will have to be solved by opening the floor, installing ventilation, replacing joists and rotten boards.

If after reading the article you have questions, you can ask them in the comments, we will be happy to answer them!

The tongue and groove board is used, as a rule, for finishing the floor. It is made from solid pine or spruce. There is a tongue and groove on one edge of the tongue-and-groove board, and a groove for it on the other. This greatly simplifies the installation of the material. The boards mounted by connecting the groove and tongue form a single solid surface. After installation, the floor surface is treated (sanded and varnished) to acquire an attractive appearance and extend its service life.

Exist various sizes tongue and groove boards for ease of installation. You can find mounting units from 2 to 6 meters in length, from 9.6 to 15 cm in width and thickness in the range of 2.5-4 cm. After production, the boards are dried to 10-15% humidity and hermetically packaged. Thanks to this, you can immediately begin its installation without prior preparation.

Installation procedure

The material is laid in a certain order. You need to keep it indoors for 3 to 14 days after delivery so that the humidity in the room and the moisture in the wood are equal. The duration of the holding period depends on the season of repair work. After a few days you can remove it packaging film and, if necessary, cut the material to length.

After cutting, the board must be laid on logs covered with insulation or film. The material is left in this position for a few more days to acclimatize. Only after this can the material be laid.

It is not recommended to use glue or any other synthetic substances during installation. To secure the board, self-tapping screws are used, with which the floor covering is screwed to each joist. The distance between the logs should not exceed 59 cm.

The first installation unit is located with the tongue-and-groove side facing the wall.

A small gap of 1-2 cm is left between them. The floor will be ventilated through this gap. In addition, if the floor's humidity increases over time and the board expands, this gap will prevent the floor surface from deforming. The boards should not be concave. You should make sure of this before starting work.

To secure it to the joists, it is best to use wood screws 5.5-6 cm long. They need to be screwed into the groove at an angle. You must first drill the holes with a drill with a diameter of 2.5 or 3 mm. Thanks to the hole, the groove will not crack when screwed in. Due to their small thickness, drills for this work break quite quickly, so it is recommended to stock up on them for future use.

The second board is attached to the first. It is unlikely that you will be able to perfectly match them to each other using a mallet, so you should not be overzealous with it. For best result you can use a wooden wedge, which you need to drive through the entire board, while screwing in the screw.

The fastest and convenient way- This is the use of a car jack. But in this case, it is necessary to protect the material from damage. For this purpose, small planks are used, which need to be rested against the following mounting elements. When using a jack, the use of a mallet is not required.

Thus, the installation of a floor made of tongue and groove boards is quite simple. You can install the flooring elements yourself. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the material.

In modern renovations, wooden floors are made mainly from tongue and groove boards. This allows you to avoid many disadvantages such as creaking, cracks, drops, etc., inherent in floors made from ordinary boards. If you also decide to make a floor from a tongue-and-groove board, then in our article you can learn how to choose a tongue-and-groove board, how to install it and how to repair floors made of this material.

To correctly select a tongue and groove board, you need to know about the features, classification, manufacturing method and categories of boards.