Flooring is a long-awaited step in the transition from the state of “when will this construction end” to the state of “it seems it will end soon.” The premises take on a more or less normal appearance, and it is easier to estimate areas and volumes. On open roads, verandas, and in outbuildings, the plank floor is laid from edged boards. But there are cracks in it, which, in this case, is acceptable. In residential premises, a special tongue and groove board is usually used. Its installation has its own characteristics, which we will discuss in this article. So, laying a tongue and groove floor - details and techniques.

What is a tongue and groove board and why is it better?

A tongue and groove board is a board that has a groove cut along one side and a tenon along the other. When laying, the tenon fits into the groove, creating a more durable connection, eliminating “blow-in”. And this is a plus compared to edged or deck boards.

Another advantage is related to the technological process: the tongue-and-groove board is “adjusted” to its geometry by cutting off the sidewalls, grinding the front side, and cutting longitudinal grooves on the back side for better ventilation. Then a tenon and groove are formed on the treated sidewalls using a milling cutter. After this, the tongue and groove board is ready. With such processing, there is certainly a difference (especially in low-grade goods), but not so great and sanding is needed, but not to the same extent as when using edged lumber.

A little about why it is so much more expensive. There is a lot of work, which is why this material is much more expensive, but the floor is stronger and more reliable.

How to choose quality material

Installing a tongue and groove floor begins with choosing the material. First let's talk about sizes. The width of the floorboard varies from 70 mm to 200 mm. If you choose one that is too narrow, it will take a lot of time to install; if it is too wide, there is a very high probability that when it dries, the edges of the board will rise and the floor will turn out ribbed. The problem can be solved by grinding, but this requires additional time and money. Therefore, most often they take a tongue-and-groove board of medium width - 130-150 cm.

The thickness of the tongue and groove board is from 18 mm to 45 mm. It is not profitable to lay a thin one - so that it does not sag when laid on the joists, they (the joists) must be installed often. Therefore, lumber with a thickness of 28 mm, 36 mm, 45 mm is often used for flooring.

The tongue and groove board is sold in different lengths. The standard ones are 3 m and 6 m, but they produce 4 m and 5 m. The choice here is simple: the length of the material should be slightly greater than the length of the room in which it will be laid. Splicing in length is not very beautiful, that’s why they do it this way more often.

Choosing a wood type

The floorboard is made from pine and spruce, larch, oak or ash. Pine and spruce are not expensive, but their wood is soft. Traces remain from heels, fallen objects, and are pressed through furniture. In places of active movement, “trails” are formed over time. The situation can be saved by covering with wear-resistant varnish in several layers. If this option suits you, it’s a good choice.

A tongue and groove larch board is a more expensive material, but also more wear-resistant. The wood has a pronounced pattern and a pleasant color. Can be used uncoated or coated with oil-based formulations without creating a hard film on the surface.

Oak and ash are very beautiful hardwoods with dense, wear-resistant wood. But the price for them is completely inhumane. As in the previous version, floors made of these types of wood can be used without coating or with more gentle compositions.

Type of tongue and groove board and its characteristics

All lumber is divided into four grades:

Grade C is used when constructing a subfloor. There are too many defects in it to be finished. The remaining classes are suitable for fine coating, but which grade you choose depends on your financial capabilities - the difference between the classes is significant.

Humidity

For comfortable installation of tongue and groove flooring, choose kiln-dried wood. In this case, after sawing, the raw material is kept in drying chambers, in which it is brought to a humidity of 8-14%. Such material is unlikely to dry out after installation - this is almost impossible, but the cost is approximately 50% higher compared to naturally drying material. This is due to the costs of equipment (drying chambers) and fuel for drying.

Humidity is measured with a special device, which professionals have, and even then not everyone has. You can also try to determine by appearance. Most often, kiln-dried lumber is packaged in polyethylene so that it does not absorb moisture from the air. Naturally, the packaging must be undamaged and free of moisture (condensation on the inside). If you knock on dry wood, it makes a clear, ringing sound, while wet wood sounds dull.

What happens if you lay a floor made of tongue-and-groove boards with high humidity? The first thing you have to deal with is the formation of cracks as it shrinks. After six months or a year, the floor will have to be re-laid, removing the resulting cracks. Secondly, when drying, cracks often appear and the wood is twisted in different directions. Sometimes these curvatures can be compensated for by pressing the board harder, sometimes not. So you have to keep a couple of boards “in reserve”: to add when reassembling from shrinkage and to replace severely crumpled fragments.

Geometry

When choosing, be sure to pay attention to geometry. In addition to the fact that the thickness and width of the board must match, and there should be no significant curvature, you need to pay attention to the correct formation of the tongue and groove:

In normal production, this is all monitored, but in reality there is a very large spread - 5 mm is not the limit. It is clear that such a floor will have to be sanded. But the smaller the discrepancy, the smaller the amount of work will be. Therefore, try to find a manufacturer whose difference will be minimal.

Installation of tongue and groove flooring

Due to the possible shrinkage of wood, laying a tongue and groove floor is carried out in two stages. The first time, only every 4-5 planks are attached; after 6-18 months, the coating is sorted out, eliminating the resulting cracks. For the second time, each board is already attached to each joist.

If the premises are residential, the wood will dry out over the course of a year and lose its attractive appearance. To prevent this from happening, the first time the tongue and groove board is fastened with the back side up. When re-installing, turn it face up. We have a clean coating.

Laying a tongue-and-groove floor on joists is the most acceptable option

When purchasing material, do not forget to leave a few strips so that you can add them after tightening. Depending on the initial moisture content and the width of the boards, one or two (or even more) additional ones may be required. They are also left to dry. Preferably in the same room, but possible in the attic. On the street this is already a problem, since the appearance will not be the same.

Mounting method and fastening

Laying a tongue and groove floor can be done using nails or self-tapping screws. The nails are made of flexible steel and can withstand significant loads. When you “twist” the boards, they bend, but do not break. Only there is another problem: removing them without damaging the wood is very difficult, and sometimes impossible. And it is necessary to remove fasteners when replacing boards that are too curved or when reassembling the floor after drying the wood. That’s why they use self-tapping screws more often, and not black ones, but yellow ones. Black ones are made of brittle hardened steel. Under lateral loads that occur when the boards “twist,” the caps simply fly off. So, to lay a tongue and groove floor, it is better to use yellow self-tapping screws.

There are three ways to attach the floorboard, two of which are hidden:

When using a hidden fastening, the self-tapping screw must be installed so that it does not interfere with the installation of the next board. To do this, pre-drill a hole (the diameter of the drill is equal to the diameter of the head), and then install self-tapping screws. The dimensions of the fasteners depend on the thickness of the board, but most often they are used with a length of 70-75 mm and a diameter of 4-4.5 mm. Such a long length is needed due to the fact that during a hidden fastening the screw goes in at an angle, which turns out to be not very deep.

If you still decide to make a reliable fastening into the surface, it can be made less noticeable. This is achieved by deepening the head into the wood (you can pre-drill a hole). The resulting recess is sealed with wood putty and sanded. The second option is to cut out the chop, install it in the recess and also sand it. But all this requires a significant amount of time and skills, therefore, when installing tongue-and-groove boards, they prefer to use hidden fastening methods.

General flooring rules

The first row is laid with a gap of 5-7 mm from the wall and secured at a distance of about 1 cm from the edge into the front surface - into the face. This place will be covered with a plinth, so this is possible. If the “tenon” installation method is chosen, the groove is turned towards the wall, and vice versa.

The last board is also laid so that there is some gap to the wall. This can be achieved using pads and wedges that are driven between the wall and the last board. It is also attached “into the face”, retreating about 1 cm from the edge.

How to tighten floor boards

If you take a tongue and groove board of class AB or B, there will be a lot of curved board. The longer the board, the more obvious the curvature will be. The first few pieces from the wall try to choose the most even ones. They are laid and secured. This will be the basis by which you can navigate. Next, they try to select the boards so that the curved places alternate. They are pressed or even “pulled”, trying to make sure that there are no gaps.

On the right is the traditional method of screeding crooked floorboards.

Various devices are used to screed floorboards. For example, a support bar and several wedges nailed at some distance. This method is good for everyone, except that you have to screw the support every time. During rough laying, when only 4-5 boards are attached, this is still normal - you can pull together several pieces at a time. But if you need to fasten each one, it takes a lot of time. That’s why they use clamps, special staples, and other devices. The clamps are simply fixed to the joists, the staples are hammered into them, after which ordinary wooden wedges are used, which hold the covering together, eliminating cracks. Both options take less time.

There are also factory options (pictured below). The main thing here is a clever mechanism for attaching to the joists on the clamp. The mechanism for holding the boards in the desired position is also interesting.

When working, make sure that the tongue-and-groove flooring does not “go away”. This can be seen if you look at the laid floor from the side: the flooring may bend along the edges in one direction. To prevent this, periodically measure the distance from the board being laid to the walls in several places, and adjust its position to acceptable values.

The video shows in more detail how to work with such devices. The first is the traditional method with a thrust board and wedges.

The second is an unusual homemade clamp made from a hairpin and an angle for ceiling mounting of beams. An interesting option - you can adjust the length of the clamp, that is, you can rearrange it every other time.

A very interesting way for quick installation. But in this case, laying the floor from a tongue and groove board is done by two people: one presses, the second installs fasteners. You just have to pre-drill holes for the desired width of lumber.

Can laying a tongue and groove floor avoid this step? Maybe if you buy “extra” class material or lay meter (or so) pieces. On a meter length, if there are gaps, they are small and can be easily corrected without tools.

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.

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, processed on a thickness planer and using a cutter, a tongue-and-groove joint 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.

Categories

Finished boards are selected and divided into the following categories:

• The highest category “extra” – boards with an ideal surface.
• Category A – the surface of the boards is uniform, without stains, with a minimum number of knots.
• Category B – small stains, cracks and knots may be present on the surface of the boards.
• Category C – boards are not of high quality, but suitable for making floors or finishing walls.

The choice of category largely depends on the intended purpose of the floor. If you are making floors as a base for another type of covering, then buying boards of the first three categories does not make sense. If you are going to use a floor made of tongue and groove boards as the main covering, which is also varnished, then it is better to buy boards of the highest category.

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 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 a bad purchase, 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 is a more reliable way to check 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, under no circumstances, do not buy boards from stacks located in the 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

It is best to make floors from tongue and groove boards after all finishing work has been completed. 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 the option of finishing the 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.
• Measuring tape.
• Pencil.
• Square.
• Level.

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

1. Install the first row of joists at a distance of 10-15 centimeters from the wall.
2. Connect the logs together with brackets, plates, or simply screw them to each other with screws.
3. 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.
4. Install the second row of joists at a distance of 40-50 centimeters from the first row.
5. Install the remaining rows, remembering to check the level.
6. 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. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Do not forget that along the entire perimeter of the coating, you need to leave compensation gaps of 1 to 2 centimeters.
4. 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.
5. 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:

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

1. 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 you decide to use paint as a decorative coating, then wipe the floor with a damp cloth and start painting.

1. If you want to use transparent varnish as a coating, then first you need to do additional work on sanding and giving the floor the desired shade.
2. To sand tongue and groove floors, it is best to use a belt sander. Use it to sand the entire floor surface.
3. After sanding, vacuum up all the dust and wipe the floors with a damp cloth.
4. To give the floor the desired shade, use stain, applying it to the boards with a brush or roller.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. After applying the final coat of 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 work order and failure to follow instructions when using paints and varnishes can lead to rapid wear of the coating, and in the worst case, to the need for a new floor finish!

You can also find out how to coat a wooden floor with oil 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 poor 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. The most effective way to eliminate this problem is to dismantle the boards and re-lay them on the joists. 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 happen from getting a large amount of water on the surface 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 of joists and the inside of the 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!

When replacing an old floor covering or installing a new floor, a floorboard is the best option, which is practical, affordable and safe to use. Despite the popularity of flooring, the process of installing it seems quite complicated for many. Therefore, we will consider the features of laying floorboards further.

Manufacturing technology and advantages of floorboards

The floorboard has high performance and technical properties. Based on its attractiveness, it is on a par with more expensive laminate and parquet boards. When making a floorboard, the wood is thoroughly dried to a certain point in its moisture content. Therefore, this material has a long service life.

One of the undeniable advantages of flooring is its affordable price, which makes it so popular. In addition, it has high thermal insulation ability and provides good sound insulation.

The floorboard fits perfectly into any type of interior, does not change shape during use and has an attractive appearance.

The main components of this material are:

• thorns;
• grooves;
• grooved ventilation ducts.

The most optimal type of wood suitable for making floorboards is larch. Due to its strength and durability, it has good performance characteristics.

If we compare the installation of laminate flooring with the installation of parquet boards, then the second one requires less time for installation. At the same time, it is environmentally friendly and harmless, since no foreign impurities are added to it during the manufacturing process.

The floorboard has the appearance of a massive product, which is made from solid trees. If the length and width of the products are compact, then the installation process is quick and easy, since special grooves have been developed in it to ensure the connection of the boards. The procedure for installing floorboards in large areas does not take more than two days.

The main indicator of the quality of a floorboard is the material from which it is made. But, almost all types of flooring boards have the following advantages:

1. Low coefficient of thermal conductivity and sound conductivity allows you to retain heat for a long period of time and ensures comfort for people living in the house.

2. If all wood drying processes and wood harvesting technology are followed, the floorboard has a high strength coefficient, the duration of its use is twenty years or more.

3. Characterized by the absence of chemicals, harmful components and other impurities, it is excellent for furnishing the home of people suffering from allergies.

4. If you compare the cost of a floorboard with similar materials, then its price is much lower and more affordable.

5. If wood covering is present in the room, then a healthy microclimate is ensured, since wood is able to accumulate moisture when there is an excess of it in the air, and release it when there is a deficiency.

6. Does not require lengthy preparation for installation. Quickly installed and removed. The work requires a standard set of tools.

7. Easy to care for, washes and cleans well.

There are several categories by which the quality of floorboards is distinguished:

• A-class;
• B-class;
• C-class;
• Extra class.

They differ in the quality of wood used in the production process, in the number of knots, nicks, cracks, chips, and also in price. Extra-class floorboards have the lowest cost.

After the tree is cut down, it goes into drying chambers for storage and drying. When the finished products are already dried, the process of sorting them into classes occurs. Sorting depends on the number of defects that the tree acquires during the preliminary processes.

Before installing the floorboard, it is necessary to construct a base in the form of a subfloor. The main requirements for it are high strength to avoid deformation of the material.

When purchasing floorboards, choose options that are made from larch, as they have the highest strength and are practically not inferior to floors made from solid oak.

Types of bases for laying floorboards

The arrangement of a plank floor is arranged over any type of ceiling or support pillars. There are such types of bases that are suitable for laying floorboards:

• concrete covering, previously leveled with polymer or concrete screeds;
• surface made of logs installed on brick supports or any type of covering;
• surface made of moisture-resistant plywood;
• old wooden flooring;
• subfloor made from scrap lumber.

Installing a floorboard is most often the final stage in arranging a room. Before this process, windows, doors, walls and ceilings are usually replaced. When installing the floorboard, keep in mind that it is very unstable in the face of high humidity. Before installing it, you should measure the humidity of the subfloor, which should not exceed twelve percent.

In this case, the air humidity in the room should not be more than sixty percent, and if the humidity is less than forty percent, the boards will dry out and crack.

When considering the design of a floorboard laid on a concrete base, it should be noted the presence of:

• hollow core slab;
• technoflora;
• waterproofing;
• screeds made of cement-sand mortar;
• directly to the floorboard.

Tip: Before installing the board, you should remove it from the boxes and place it indoors for at least 24 hours. The material must adapt to the microclimate of the room.

Types of rough coverings for laying floorboards:

1. The most common installation method for floorboards is to lay them on joists. Logs are called wooden block boards with a rectangular cross-section. They are fixed to the rough base using mastic or a self-tapping screw. The lags are laid in a direction perpendicular to the installation of the floorboard.

After installing the logs, the process of leveling them occurs. To do this, put wood chips under them. In addition, there is a special system of adjustable logs, allowing for mechanical leveling by twisting the required areas.

2. When installing a floor made of moisture-resistant plywood, it is laid on almost any base, including joists, if necessary, additional strengthening of the multi-layer structural parts of the floor. The standard set of works for installing a floorboard on such a covering involves its preliminary leveling. Laying of plywood sheets cut into longitudinal parts occurs diagonally in relation to the laying of floorboards. The plywood is fixed with screws or dowels. It is recommended to leave seams for technological purposes when installing a plywood floor in order to compensate for its expansion and contraction during temperature changes.

Installation of such a floor includes the presence of:

• rough base;
• insulating substrate;
• directly moisture-resistant plywood;
• flooring;
• boards

Tip: If the floor covering is concrete with a sand-cement screed, then ordinary glue is used to fix the plywood. When choosing an adhesive, make sure that it is suitable for working with both plywood and concrete. This procedure is also acceptable for wooden floors.

When the plywood is laid, the process of sanding it and removing all dirt and dust occurs. Before installing the floorboard, the surface is treated with a primer, and then the boards are fixed. The main floor also needs to be sanded and covered with varnish and oil.

3. Installing floorboards on an existing floor involves checking the old floor for defects, the reliability of fasteners and the strength of the base. If necessary, old worn boards or damaged fasteners must be replaced.

Tip: Install the floorboards over the old floor in such a way as to ensure a perpendicular connection.

Experienced builders give recommendations on dismantling the old floor and installing a concrete screed, since such a floor can last much longer, but if financial capabilities do not allow this, then it is quite possible to install a floorboard on an old wooden floor.

In addition, a lot of attention should be paid to the choice of insulation and waterproofing. These materials must have high quality characteristics. The insulation must be inedible for rodents, moisture resistant and not shrink. Waterproofing should differ in the duration of operation.

If the floor is located in a building on the first floor, then its insulation is mandatory. It is allowed not to insulate the floor of the first floor if there is a heated basement. For insulation, it is recommended to use basalt or mineral wool; it is characterized by vapor permeability and good thermal insulation characteristics.

Thermal insulation is laid in the space between the joists, and a tight fit should be ensured. Vapor-permeable waterproofing is installed on top of the thermal insulation. Please note that between the subfloor and these layers it is necessary to leave a space up to four centimeters thick to ensure natural ventilation of the floor. Otherwise, fungus and mold will form on the floor, which will lead to premature deterioration.

To protect a multilayer structure from moisture coming from below, it is recommended to use waterproofing membranes with high vapor permeability. If fumes circulate freely in the underground space, the tree will last much longer.

The best floorboards are those made from Siberian larch or oak. These types of trees are resistant to ultraviolet radiation, moisture and temperature changes. In a room in which people are not constantly present and there are small loads, for example, in a nursery or bedroom, a floorboard made of aspen or alder wood is used. Quite rarely, floorboards are used, the basis of which is pine or fir. They are more suitable for the construction of subfloors or ramps.

The shape of the floorboard depends on the personal preferences of the owners of the room. Based on strength, the best option is to use a forty-millimeter board. Boards that are too thick can become deformed over time, since due to their large thickness, moisture remains in them during the drying process.

The choice of flooring boards belonging to a particular grade is influenced by the purpose of the room, the laying area, subsequent finishing and the financial capabilities of the owners. The highest grade floorboard has a smooth surface and a beautiful, clear pattern. Therefore, after installation, such a floor is opened with varnish. Options of the first or second grade have a small number of knots, which also look beautiful without painting. If you plan to subsequently paint the floor, then undoubtedly choose a third or fourth grade floorboard.

When laying floorboards, in most cases only tongue and groove materials are used, which are easy to work with and easy to install. Straight boards become deformed after a certain period of time and cracks appear in them.

Laying tongue and groove floors

A tongue and groove plank is a standard plank design that has grooves that snap onto each other as they are installed. This way it is possible to achieve better fixation and a strong connection.

When choosing the direction of laying the floor, you should focus on the luminous flux. The boards are laid parallel to it. If you plan to install the floor in a vestibule or in a corridor room, then you should proceed from the vector of movement along which the floor is installed.

There are two ways to lay boards:

• with displacement of elements;
• without moving elements.

When laying flooring boards, a perfect cut of the boards is required. Lack of experience in this matter will not help you achieve perfectly even right angles, so in this case, it is better to trust a specialist. When laying boards in this way, it is recommended to purchase or make a template according to which the cutting will be made. Along the edges of the room you also need to maintain a certain indentation. To ensure longitudinal movement, there must be a gap between the board and the wall, the size of which ranges from 0.5 to 2 cm. To complete the installation, the plinth is attached.

For a clearer understanding of the process of installing tongue-and-groove floorboards, we suggest that you read the brief instructions:

1. The presence of a fastening or protrusion on the boards allows you to connect them to each other. But, when laying the first tongue-and-groove board, the protrusion should be located right next to the wall. This installation will facilitate the process of fastening subsequent boards.

2. The connection of the second board to the first occurs using a tongue-and-groove contact. It is not recommended to use nails during this procedure, as they are susceptible to corrosion, which can be caused by frequent cleaning of the floor, and there is a possible risk of their heads coming out, leading to injury.

3. As a fastener, use self-tapping screws with an optimal diameter of four millimeters and a length of up to seven centimeters.

4. There are two ways to fix the boards:

• with a screw inclination of forty-five degrees;
• without tilting - in this case, all screw heads are sealed with sealant.

The first option is distinguished by aesthetics, and the second by reliability.

5. Fastening of the extreme parts of the boards located near the walls is carried out exclusively with the help of self-tapping screws.

Finally, the floor is sanded. To do this you will need sandpaper or a sander. If there are large irregularities, sanding is required. Next, the surface is covered with varnish and painted during production.

Laying parquet flooring: technology and features

Wood is used to make parquet boards. There are several types of parquet boards:

• massive - has three layers, for the first one uses hard deciduous wood, for the second - hard coniferous wood, and for the third - soft wood;
• extra-board - its first layer is also hard, but waste components or soft wood are used to make the second and third.

To style the parquet with a wood texture, another top layer is glued onto it. In relation to the thickness, parquet varies from 7 mm to 2.5 cm. The thickness of the parquet board determines the quality of sound and heat insulation, as well as the ability to withstand certain loads.

When laying boards up to two centimeters thick, a flat concrete base is required. If the thickness exceeds this limit, the parquet board is laid on logs.

When the parquet board has already been purchased, you need to unpack it and leave it for a day in the room where it will be installed. Before installing it, it is necessary to complete all repair work, especially wall finishing. Since it will be tightly adjacent to them.

If the parquet board is installed on an old wooden base. It is recommended to check it for the presence of unsuitable boards and replace them. If there are large gaps, it is recommended to use PVA glue to fill them. Next comes the process of scraping the floor.

If the parquet board is installed on a concrete base, make sure it is even and there are no large differences. The concrete coating should not be wet; to check for the presence of moisture, you should use plastic film to cover the floor for a day. If, after removing the film, there is no condensation, feel free to proceed with laying the parquet, but before that, apply a primer to the concrete base.

Conditions for installing parquet boards:

• room temperature about +17 degrees;
• air humidity from 45 to 60%.

If these parameters are observed, the coating will last longer.

There are two ways to install parquet boards up to 2 cm thick:

1. Floating - first, a polyethylene film is installed, with an overlap of 18 cm, adhesive tape is used to fix them, then foamed polyethylene or cork is installed, metallized cattle is used to glue the joints, then the parquet board is installed.

The parquet board is installed perpendicular to the window. The first board is laid with a tenon base against the wall, which is pre-cut to ensure a tighter fit of the boards. The interval between the wall and the board depends on the total length of the room. For a length of one meter, a one and a half centimeter gap is required. To fix the board against the wall, you need to install special pegs.

2. Adhesive - suitable for spacious, large rooms. This method involves installing moisture-resistant plywood on a rough base, applying glue to the surface, and then installing a parquet board.

Wooden floors allow you to retain heat in the house using minimal technical and material means. It is thanks to this feature that such floors have remained and remain the most widespread throughout their centuries-old history and do not yield their leadership even to the most modern high-tech flooring and coatings.

Floors made from high-quality wood, with proper care, retain their performance characteristics for centuries, are relatively inexpensive, universal (they can be installed on any type of base), harmless to the human body and look very impressive. If necessary, they themselves can serve as the basis for installing floors of a different type. In addition, wooden floors are quite easy to install and can be installed in a private house or apartment with just one person.

General principles of wood flooring

Directly genital boards are always laid on joists, but the logs themselves can be laid either on a concrete or even earthen base, or on supports - usually brick, wooden or metal pillars. Rarely, but still used is a technology in which the ends of the joists are embedded in opposite walls or laid on specially provided ledges near the walls and operated without intermediate supports. However, in this case, it is very difficult to cover wide spans - logs of a very large cross-section and weight are required, and it is almost impossible to install them correctly alone...

Installation of wooden floors on a concrete base practically no different from installing floors in an apartment with floors made of reinforced concrete slabs. The situation is much more complicated with installation of flooring on the first floor of a private house, since in this case it is highly desirable to arrange a ventilated and DRY underground. Its presence largely determines the strength and durability of the finished floor, especially in cases of high groundwater.

A few words about the instrument

The chosen method of installing the floor determines what tools you will need for the job. But in any case, you can’t do without:

• laser level; as a last resort, you can use a hydraulic level, but you will need an assistant to work with it;
• a regular or cross construction bubble level with a length of at least 1 meter; a cross level is preferable, as it allows you to align the plane simultaneously in two directions;
• a hammer weighing no more than 500 g;
• chain saw or circular saw, or a good hacksaw.
• jointer and/or grinder.

The usual carpenter's tools - a square, a small axe, a plane, a chisel, a nail puller - will also not be superfluous.

Floor installation on support pillars

Traditionally, a wooden floor is assembled from the following “layers” (from bottom to top):

• the basis of the entire flooring is logs;
• rough (“bottom”) floor;
• waterproofing layer;
• thermal insulation layer;
• directly wooden floor (finish flooring);
• finishing floor covering.

This entire multi-layer “sandwich” is usually supported by supporting pillars - concrete, brick, wood or metal.

Installation of brick pillars

The best choice today is brick pillars, which have acceptable strength characteristics, are quite affordable from a financial point of view and do not require special labor costs during construction. The only limitation is the height of such support pillars should not exceed 1.5 m; if it is larger, in order to maintain the strength of the supports, their cross-section will have to be increased, which will lead to a sharp increase in the required amount of brick and, accordingly, an increase in material costs for construction. For columns with a height of up to 50-60 cm, a section of 1x1 brick is sufficient; for a height of 0.6-1.2 m, the section is made of at least 1.5x1.5 bricks; for columns up to 1.5 m high, at least 2x2 bricks are laid out.

Anyway under brick supports it is necessary to pour concrete “nickels”, the area of ​​which exceeds the cross-sectional area of ​​the columns by at least 10 cm in each direction. The distance between the centers of the sites is selected within 0.7-1 m ALONG the logs and 0.8-1.2 m BETWEEN logs with a section of 100...150x150 mm. After marking, holes about half a meter deep are dug in the places where the pillars are erected; the main thing is that the bottom should be below the fertile layer of the earth. At the bottom of these mini-pits, a sand and gravel “pillow” is made, onto which the concrete mixture is poured. It is desirable that the surface of the resulting “penny” be several centimeters above ground level.

It is at the stage of laying out the support pillars the horizontality of the future floor is laid, and it is at this stage that it is best to use a laser level. With its help, the level of the LOWER EDGE OF THE JOINT plus 1 cm is marked on the walls, a construction cord is stretched between the opposite walls along this level, and the height of the pillars is adjusted according to its level. It is not at all necessary to extend it strictly to the millimeter - a gap of a couple of centimeters is quite acceptable. When calculating the total thickness of the floor, it should be taken into account that at least its upper plane must be higher than the level of the building’s basement - otherwise it will be extremely difficult to avoid “cold bridges”.

Some features of support pillars

It is worth providing in them availability of fastenings for joist beams. Typically, such fasteners are used as vertical “studs” embedded 10-20 cm deep with threads or anchor bolts - then through holes are drilled in the logs in the appropriate places, with which the beams are “put on” the resulting pins and tightened with nuts and washers. The protruding excess threads are cut off with a grinder.

The side surfaces of the columns and, especially, their upper plane, on which the logs will be laid, preferably cover with a layer of durable plaster– it will further strengthen the structure and play the role of additional waterproofing. Lay on the surface of the finished columns 2-3 layers of small pieces of roofing felt.

After the masonry mortar has completely dried and hardened (this takes about a week), logs can already be laid on the finished support pillars.

Laying logs on brick columns

The length of the joists is selected depending on the floor design. When laying on support pillars, there are only two options for such structures - “floating” and rigid.

Floating or hard floors?

In the first case, the entire “sandwich” of the floor lies and is supported solely by posts, without being rigidly tied to the walls or. In the second, the ends of the joists are rigidly attached to the walls in one way or another; This design practically eliminates the “walking” of the flooring, but when the building settles, it may well lead to deformation of the finished floors.

With a “floating” floor option, the length of the joists is 3-5 cm less than the distance from wall to wall. In the second case, the gap should be no more than 2 cm - otherwise it will be difficult to firmly attach the logs to the walls. If necessary, logs can be made from two or more pieces, connecting them into “half-legs” - but the joint must be on the support post and be nailed or (for lag cross-sections up to 10x100 mm) screwed with self-tapping screws.

If the final length of the logs is less than three meters, then they can be laid directly on the supports (not forgetting about the waterproofing gaskets made of roofing felt!); however, it is much better to place flat pieces of board 25-50 mm thick between the roofing felt and the lower plane of the joist beam. In the case of joint joists, this must be done!

Alignment of logs

After laying the logs on the prepared support pillars, they must be “aligned” according to the level. This is done as follows: using thin wooden spacers the two outer beams are laid strictly horizontally, according to a pre-calculated and marked height level. Spacers are currently used only on the outer support pillars; for now, you can ignore the intermediate ones. The ends of the exposed logs are nailed to the walls; In the case of “floating” floors, this fastening will be temporary.

On both sides, at a distance of 0.3-0.5 m from the walls, along the upper planes of tightly laid joists The construction cord is stretched. All other intermediate beams are derived from it; then, if necessary, spacers are installed between the remaining posts and joists. ALL gaskets must be RIGIDLY tied (nailed) to the joists, and, if possible, to the support posts. The beams must lie tightly on the pillars; in extreme cases, gaps of no more than 2 mm are allowed - but not on adjacent pillars.

Subfloor

After laying the joists, a subfloor is made. To do this, a narrow beam (“skull” beam) is nailed along the entire length of the lower cut of the log on each side. Untreated boards with a length equal to the distance between the logs are laid on it between the lags. After laying, these boards are completely covered with a vapor barrier film, onto which insulation is applied or poured. From above, everything is completely covered with a windproof fabric.

Underfloor ventilation

When installing a floor on brick pillars in an underground space ventilation must be provided– forced (with a large cubic capacity of the underground) or natural. A mandatory element of such ventilation is the so-called "produkhi": through holes in or walls located below floor level. Such openings should be located along the entire perimeter of the building and under internal partitions, the distance between them should not exceed 3 m.

The dimensions of the vents are usually chosen 10x10 cm, the center of the hole should be at a height of 0.3-0.4 m from the ground level (above the thickness of the winter snow cover). It is imperative to provide for the possibility of shutting off the vents in winter. In addition, in order to protect against rodents, the vent holes are covered with a fine-mesh mesh.

In case if the underground is not too deep(no more than 0.5 m) and the installation of vents is difficult, ventilation holes are made in the floor itself - usually in the corners. These openings are covered with decorative grilles and must always be open.

How to lay floors correctly

Before laying the floorboards, the insulation is covered with a windproof cloth. The choice of board depends on what exactly the surface of the finished floor will be. If it is intended to be natural, a tongue-and-groove floorboard (with a lock) will be required; if you are laying linoleum or laminate, you can get by with a regular edged board. BUT IN ANY CASE, THE WOOD MUST BE WELL DRYED!

Attach the tongue and groove board to the joists

The first board is placed with a gap of 1-1.5 cm from the wall, and not close to it, with the tenon to the wall. The next boards are pressed against the previous ones using some kind of stop (clamps, for example) and a pair of wooden wedges. Boards, especially if they are thicker than 25 mm, are nailed - self-tapping screws are not suitable in this case, they do not attract the board well to the upper surface of the joist. The specified gap of 1-1.5 cm must be maintained along the entire perimeter of the room. The existing joints of the ends of the floorboards must be placed in a checkerboard pattern.

Final finishing of the laid floor

After laying the floorboard, the floor is ready for finishing treatment, which consists of grinding (scraping) and coating with paint or varnish. It is almost impossible to do this manually - you should use an electric jointer or grinder. After this very dusty procedure, it is recommended that all “opened” Treat cracks and crevices between boards with wood putty made on the basis of drying oil. The last operation before painting is to attach the baseboard around the perimeter of the room.

The sanded surface is painted or coated with varnish, for example, yacht varnish; Modern paints and varnishes allow you to imitate almost any type of wood or surface of the material. Usually at least two layers of coating are applied; a paint roller and a good respirator are used for the job. If you want to get a matte rather than glossy floor surface, you can use wax or oil.

Without exaggeration, we can say that this flooring option has been tested for centuries. The technology of laying wooden floors on logs has been used for several centuries with minor changes. This is the most environmentally friendly solution for flooring, but at the same time, this coating has a number of disadvantages and important nuances that you need to know before starting work.

Currently, the main area of ​​application for wooden floors is the construction of small private houses. Especially often, floors on logs are installed in wooden houses and log houses, in which the floors between floors are made of beams.

Much less often, wooden floors are laid in city apartments with reinforced concrete floors. However, the technology is still used, especially in cases where pouring a full leveling screed is impossible for some reason.

Sometimes plank flooring is a finishing coating and part of the designer’s idea when creating a renovation concept. In this case, beautiful wood species such as oak, larch or pine are chosen for the flooring. The boards are thoroughly polished, impregnated with an antiseptic and covered with varnish or wax. The result is a very beautiful and durable coating that pleases the eye with the natural texture of wood.

Wooden floors can be used even when arranging wet rooms, such as baths and bathrooms. However, this is done infrequently, as it requires careful selection of wood, reliable waterproofing and impregnation of the boards with very expensive solutions that prevent moisture absorption.

Features of laying wooden floors on joists

The main feature of this type of floor, which must be taken into account, is that wood can absorb moisture from the environment, deform due to temperature changes, and is also susceptible to rotting. Therefore, when laying a wooden floor, it is extremely important to take care of reliable vapor barrier and impregnate the joists and boards with an antiseptic.

The joists must be attached to the base and the floor boards to the joists as securely as possible; it is necessary to prevent the formation of cracks, voids and “sagging” of the boards and joists. When laying the finishing boards, be sure to use expansion wedges that will press the boards together as tightly as possible.

Wood screws provide maximum security of fastening. The length of the screw must exceed the thickness of the board being fixed by at least 2.5 times. To prevent the board from splitting when you screw in the screw, you must first drill a hole in it with a diameter 2-3 mm smaller than the diameter of the screw.

If the boards are planned as a finishing coating, then care should be taken to hide the heads of the screws or nails. To do this, use either a special putty or small plugs made of the same type of wood as the entire floor. But the best option is to screw the screw into the chamfer of the board at an angle to the joist. The disadvantage of this option is that it is more labor intensive.

You should also make sure that all the finishing boards are from the same batch, because the color of the wood depends on the growing conditions, and the shade of different batches may differ.

What are the consequences of mistakes when laying a wooden floor on joists?

The biggest mistake you can make when laying a wooden floor is insufficient vapor barrier. It is usually made of dense polyethylene or foam foam, which will also provide additional sound insulation. If this step is neglected or the insulating coating is damaged, the floor will very soon begin to rot and mold will appear on it. This will not only significantly shorten the life of the floor, but can also negatively affect people’s health.

The second most common mistake is using wood that is not dry enough. The humidity of boards and joists should be no more than 15%. It is important to remember that in wet weather, even initially dry boards very quickly absorb moisture from the air. If there are prolonged rains outside the window, then it is better to refuse to lay the floor on these days. If you lay a floor with wet planks, they will begin to warp as they dry. This will lead to creaking, the appearance of cracks and differences in height between adjacent boards, which, in turn, will affect the finishing coating.

An insufficiently precise level when laying joists will lead to creaking of the floor and gradual loosening of the boards. This will greatly reduce the service life of the coating and will require periodic repairs.

Another common mistake is insufficient distance from the end board to the wall; it should be at least 10 mm. This distance is necessary to compensate for the thermal expansion of wood. If it is neglected, then with seasonal temperature changes the floor will experience very serious internal loads, which will lead to cracking of some boards and the appearance of creaks.

Advantages and disadvantages of wooden floors on joists

The advantages of this coating

Disadvantages of wooden floors on joists

Step-by-step instructions for laying a wooden floor on joists

Below are step-by-step instructions for installing wood flooring. The installation of such a floor in a private house with a soil foundation is somewhat more complicated than in a house with a reinforced concrete foundation, but in general the stages of work are the same in both cases.

Laying logs on the ground base

If you are laying a wooden floor directly above the soil, then it must be cleared of turf and plant roots and a layer at least 20 cm thick must be removed. After which the soil is covered with fine crushed stone and thoroughly compacted.

On this basis, brick columns with a cross-section of 250 x 250 mm and a height of at least two layers of brick are built. The tops of all columns should be at the same level, this will prevent sagging of the joists and floor boards.

If beams 100 x 50 mm and up to 3 meters long are used as logs, then two columns at the edges of the logs are sufficient. The distance between the logs, and therefore between adjacent columns, should be 600 mm. If the length of the log is more than 3 meters, then one is strengthened with an additional column in the middle.

The top of the column is lined with a rigid waterproofing material, for example, dense polyethylene film. Wooden spacers or wedges are installed on top of it, which are necessary for the final horizontal adjustment of the joist.

After this, you can begin laying the joists. Initially, the two outermost logs are laid level. A fishing line is stretched between them, along which all other logs are set. Adjustment is carried out using spacers or wedges. The lags are fastened to the posts using anchor bolts.

In this case, the procedure is much simpler; it is enough to cover the floor with waterproofing, for example, made of polyethylene, and logs are laid on top of it at a distance of 400-600 mm on wooden adjusting spacers. First, the two outermost logs are laid level, after which a fishing line is stretched between them, along which the height of all other logs is adjusted.

Adjustment is carried out by adding or, conversely, removing adjusting shims.

Currently, the use of adjustable logs is sometimes practiced. These logs have drilled and threaded holes into which a special pin is screwed and secured to the concrete base using dowels. Rotating the pin adjusts the height of the log.

After all the logs are aligned to the same level, the protruding parts of the studs are cut off using a grinder. This method greatly simplifies the horizontal alignment of the logs, but is not used very widely due to the noticeable increase in the cost of the structure.

Adjustable lags with clamps

It is important to remember that there must be a distance of at least 10 mm between the edges of the joist and the wall. It is necessary to compensate for the thermal expansion of wood.

Preparing for flooring

Before you begin laying the boards, you need to lay a layer of thermal insulation between the joists. This can be mineral wool or polystyrene. At the same stage, wires in plastic corrugation can be laid between the joists, if necessary. The standard width of insulation sheets is most often 600 mm, which makes it easy to lay it between the joists.

After all the necessary communications and insulation have been laid, you can begin laying the rough or finished floor.

Laying rough wood flooring

If laminate, carpet or linoleum is intended to be used as a finishing coating, then, as a rule, a rough covering of uncut boards, plywood or fiberboard is laid on the logs.

Sheets of plywood or fiberboard are laid on the joists and secured with nails or screws. You should not skimp on fastening points; screws should be screwed into each joist at intervals of no more than 30 cm. The head of the screw or nail should be recessed into the slab by 1-2 mm. It is important to leave a distance of at least 10 mm between the wall and the coating. This gap will also provide ventilation of the space under the floor. 2-3 weeks after completion of work, it can be covered with a plinth.

When laying a subfloor made of boards, you need to start work from the far corner of the room and move towards the entrance. The length of the boards is selected so that their joint is in the middle of the log. The boards are laid as closely as possible to each other and fixed with screws. To prevent the board from splitting when screwing in a screw, you must first drill a hole for it with a drill bit with a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw. Using a drill of a slightly larger diameter, you need to make a small recess into which the screw head will hide.

Laying finished wood flooring

A folded board or a board made of laminated veneer lumber is usually used as a final finishing coating. These boards must be soaked in a protective antiseptic solution. There are some nuances in laying such boards. Since this floor will no longer be covered with anything, it is extremely important to avoid the slightest gaps between the boards, and it is also important to hide the screw heads so that they do not spoil the appearance of the floor.

Laying folded boards is carried out according to the same principle as laying boards for a subfloor with the only difference being that two adjacent boards are pressed against each other as tightly as possible. To do this, a bracket is driven into the joist at a distance of 4-6 cm from the board, between which and the edge of the board a wedge is installed, pressing the board. When the pressure on the board is maximum, it is fixed with screws, after which the wedge and bracket are removed. The operation must be repeated for each row of boards, this will prevent the formation of cracks. The board is attached to the joist using a screw, which is screwed into the chamfer at an angle, this allows you to hide its head and improve the appearance of the floor. You can also use special decorative nails for the floor, driving them in strictly at equal distances, but this is a compromise option; the absence of visible fastening looks much better.

Comparative characteristics of floorboards

Batten. Prices

Floor board. Name, material, size	Price, rub./m2
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (25x90) 1.8m	250
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (25x90) 1.0m	250
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (28x130) 1.8m	290
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (28x130) 2.0m	480
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (28x130) 6.0m	480
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (32x100) 5.4m	570
Floorboard Pine K1-2 (32x130) 5.85m	570
Floorboard Larch K2-3 (27x90) 5.4m	460
Floorboard Larch K2-3 (27x90) 5.1m	460
Floorboard Larch K2-3 (27x90) 4.8m	460
Floorboard Larch K1-2 (27x130) 3.0m	560
Floorboard Larch K1-2 (27x110) 3.0m	560
Heat-treated pine LUNAWOOD (Finland). Floor board (tongue and groove) 26x92	195 rub. /linear m
Europol (pine, 32 mm)	grade 0 (Extra) 970.56 rub/m2; grade 1 (Prima) 676.80 rub/m2; grade 2 (B) 460.00 rub/m2; grade 3 (C) 384.00 rub/m2; grade N/K (D) 301.76 rub/m2.

Video - Laying a wooden floor on joists