Repair Design Furniture

Lay the tongue and groove boards on the floor. Laying a grooved board. Existing Fixing Methods

The construction market offers a wide range of quality flooring. Despite their diversity, many consumers prefer a wooden floor.

The tree has a lot of advantages, the main of which is its naturalness. But the natural origin of the material is its main drawback - the tree is sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature. Under influence adverse factors it swells, shrinks, gaps form between the lumber. To eliminate this drawback, laying the floor from a tongue-and-groove board is capable.

Extend the life of your floorboards right choice materials. And you can get a perfectly flat, seamless surface if you lay the boards with your own hands in compliance with certain rules.

What is grooved board

This definition applies to lumber that has a groove cut along one side and a tongue (thorn, comb) along the other.

Thanks to this feature, when the tongue enters the groove, providing a strong connection that guarantees no gaps.

During the production process, the material is dried, polished on both sides. In order to reduce the final cost of the product, lumber can only be sanded from the front side. On the back surface, special grooves are cut to ensure air exchange and the absence of fungus formation.

Criterias of choice

When choosing lumber, the following indicators are taken into account:

  • type of wood;
  • size;
  • quality category;
  • humidity.

The choice of wood species

  • pines, spruces;
  • larches;
  • oak, ash.

Features of pine and spruce

The main advantages of spruce and pine include the following indicators:

  • low cost;
  • elasticity;
  • high heat capacity.

Pine and spruce grow throughout Russia. The pine lumber floor is pleasant to step on with bare feet. It stays warm even in the cold of winter.

The disadvantages include the following:

  • softness;
  • high moisture absorption;
  • susceptibility to decay, damage by insects.

Such material requires a mandatory multi-layer coating with high-quality varnish that protects the board from moisture and other adverse factors.

larch features

Larch is a coniferous tree. Unlike the previous options, it is characterized by increased hardness. Under the influence of moisture, larch does not collapse, does not rot, but becomes harder.

Larch floor does not require varnishing. She is being processed oil impregnated preserving the natural texture of wood. The main disadvantage of this material is its high cost.

Features of oak and ash

Oak and ash are deciduous trees. The oak floor looks very good. And it can last for decades. Oak, ash floorboards do not require varnishing.

Sufficient oil treatment. However, laying tongue and groove boards made of oak and ash is not affordable for most consumers. The material is high cost.

Laying the floor with oak wood will require no small capital costs

Size selection

The size of the material is determined by the following indicators:

  • width (from 70 mm to 200 mm);
  • thickness (from 18 mm to 45 mm);
  • length (3-6 m).

The strength and durability of the floor depends on the thickness of the lumber. When laying on logs, it should be borne in mind that the thinner the board, the smaller the distance between adjacent logs should be. The joists act as supports, preventing the thin floorboards from sagging.

The choice of width depends on the preferences of consumers. Laying material that is too narrow will take a long time. Too wide floorboards are also not recommended. The optimal width is 130-150 mm.

The length of the material should be slightly longer than the length of the room in which it is supposed to be laid. If the room is too long, it is possible to splice the floorboards on the logs.

Quality categories

  • extra;
  • class A;
  • class B;
  • class C.

Class A - first-class material. It includes lumber that does not have defects on the surface, but differs in structure and shade. Class B is set if there are small brown spots, knots, cracks on the surface of the material. All three options can be used for finishing the floor.

Class C includes third-rate material with knots on the surface, a significant amount of brown spots, cracks, through holes. Such boards are suitable for arranging a subfloor.

Humidity

Drying is one of the stages in the production of grooved boards. Wood can be dried in autoclaves (chamber drying) and in natural conditions. Higher quality board dried in autoclaves.

The optimum moisture content of materials should correspond to 10-16%. This indicator guarantees the absence of shrinkage of the boards during operation.

Boards that have undergone chamber drying are packed in polyethylene, which protects the material from environmental influences. During the selection process, you should pay attention to the following:

  • when tapping on dried boards, a sonorous sound is made, on damp - deaf;
  • plastic packaging must be intact, and there must be no condensate inside;
  • a high-quality factory board has a light glossy tint, while wet floorboards have a dark matte tint.

Floorboard laying tips

Mounting Features

The purchased material should be in the room where it is supposed to be laid for a week. During operation, the boards are able to dry out, forming cracks.

Therefore, you need to lay the floor in two stages:

  • first, each 4-5 board is fastened;
  • after 6-8 months, the floor is pulled together, each floorboard is fixed to the log.

In the process of shrinkage, wood can lose its attractive appearance. To avoid unnecessary labor associated with grinding, the initial fastening with the back side up will allow. After six months, the floorboards are turned over with the front side remaining clean.

You need to purchase material with a margin, since in the process of shrinkage and contraction of several boards it may not be enough.

Preparation for installation work

Most often, grooved boards are laid on logs. The base can be a draft floor or brick columns.

Before starting work, prepare the following:

  • lags;
  • finishing floorboards;
  • self-tapping screws for wood (the length of the self-tapping screws should be 2.5 times the width of the floorboards);
  • electric screwdriver;
  • jigsaw or hacksaw with a wide blade;
  • level;
  • hammer;
  • building brackets;
  • wooden wedges.

Installation steps

On the initial stage the most long board(it is desirable that it corresponds to the length of the room). The floorboard must be laid with a tongue and groove against the wall, leaving a gap of 1-2 cm between the wall surface and the board.

The gap is necessary to compensate for the thermal expansion of wood. Wooden wedges are inserted into the space between the wall and the board. At the end of the work, the wedges will be removed and the gap closed with a plinth.

The extreme floorboard is fixed with self-tapping screws along the entire length to each log.

Next, the second board is taken and inserted with a tongue into the groove of the laid floorboard. To press the boards as tightly as possible to each other, you should attach to it wooden block and through it tap with a hammer along the entire length of the floorboard.

3 more boards are laid in the same way. A hole is drilled at the bottom edge of the groove of the fourth floorboard at an angle of 45-50 degrees. Through the hole, the board is fixed on the log with a self-tapping screw.

Next, we put the rest of the boards, fixing every fourth on the log with a self-tapping screw. The last floorboard in most cases has to be cut using a jigsaw. The width of the board is calculated taking into account the compensation gap. The floorboard is screwed along the entire length to the logs, the wedges are removed.

Six months later, the floor is disassembled and reassembled. In the process of laying the boards are pulled together and fixed on the logs with self-tapping screws.

Contraction methods

Floor screed is produced in several ways:

  • wedges and staples;
  • wedges and emphasis;
  • screw jack.

In the first case, the bracket is driven into the lag at a distance of 1 cm from the floorboard. A pair of wedges are inserted between it and the bracket, which are hammered. After tightening, the board is fixed with self-tapping screws, the bracket and wedges are removed. The second case is identical to the first. The difference is only in replacing the bracket with a wooden stop.

The jack is placed between the bonded floorboard and the joist. It is pressed against the floorboard through a wooden block.

To avoid the process of tightening the floorboards is possible only in the case of the purchase of lumber class "Extra".

By covering the floorboards with impregnation or stain, you can get the perfect floor covering. You can renew the floor surface by sanding and re-coating with impregnation or varnish.

Laying a tongue and groove floor is easy and does not take much time. If you have purchased quality material, then it is enough to have some building skills to complete it yourself.

Benefits of laying tongue and groove board

Thanks to the perfect geometry quality board tongue-and-groove lateral connections provide reliable hermetic connection. It turns out a flat surface without gaps. At the same time, the joints between the boards are practically invisible.

Tongue-and-groove board, dried to the required moisture in special drying chambers, does not warp or warp. Such a floor can last more than a dozen years.

On the wrong side, the grooved board has longitudinal groove, which provides constant ventilation and prevents moisture condensation and the formation of fungus.

The grooved board can be repeatedly subjected to the grinding procedure. This allows you to return the surface to its original appearance.

Plank flooring can be done in two ways: on logs or on a specially prepared surface. Material must be ordered with a 10% excess. This will allow you to freely lead the flooring, taking into account some curvature of the walls and leave a part for possible repairs.

Before installation, the boards must be freed from the shrink film and kept in the room for 5-7 days to even out the humidity. This will prevent shrinkage or warping in the future.

The grooved board is laid from the wall with a mandatory indent of 1.5-2 cm. Such a gap provides the necessary play for even distribution of the load, which inevitably occurs during the operation of the floor.

  • 1 Laying the board on the logs

    For premises of the 1st floor, a waterproofing device is required. Then the logs themselves are mounted from a dry and antiseptic-treated timber. After their installation, the gaps are filled with mineral wool for sound insulation.

    The first board is laid with a tongue and groove to the wall with a gap of 1.5 cm. It is fixed with nails or self-tapping screws to each lag so that the plinth closes the attachment points in the future. The following boards are fastened together with a tongue-and-groove connection. Self-tapping screws fix the boards to the log obliquely through lower part groove. Installation must be carried out in such a way that the joints of the boards along the length fall on the logs. The last board is again attached to each log with a gap of 1.5 cm from the wall.

  • 2 Laying on a prepared surface

    This method is used when it is undesirable to reduce the height of the room. Moisture resistant plywood is mounted on sheets of waterproofing. The tongue-and-groove board is fixed on it with self-tapping screws. The holes are closed with wooden plugs, planted on glue.

Our company produces grooved boards with perfect geometry. The quality of the goods offered by us allows not only to carry out installation without problems, but also to obtain a magnificent and truly durable floor as a result.

Natural materials are ideal option for floor covering. The tree serves as a reliable basis and can retain its qualities for many years. Before choosing a particular option, you should find out how the floorboards are attached. For example, tongue-and-groove boards are considered the most popular and can be installed in several ways.

This type of flooring material is a board with ridges and a milled groove, which allows you to create a completely flat surface without gaps. Distinctive characteristics- high installation speed, structural strength.

As a rule, connecting locks are located either on two or on four sides of the part. FROM reverse side the lock has bevels that provide optimal air circulation in the fixed structure. Boards should be attached to the floor joists carefully, adhering to the same level. Due to the same thickness of all elements, the floor overlap is perfectly smooth.

Treatment with special protective compounds should be carried out on both sides. When choosing cheap copies, you may encounter a low-quality product that is processed on only one side. Experts advise paying attention to the presence of ventilation holes.

Advantages and disadvantages of a tongue-and-groove floor on logs

The popularity of grooved material is explained by a wide list of advantages:

  • The floor covering provides reliable thermal insulation, and also has excellent noise insulation properties.
  • The wrong side of the boards has small grooves that are designed for good ventilation products and prevent the development of fungus on wood.
  • A special connection mechanism called "thorn-groove" allows you to distribute the load on the coating. Due to this, the service life of the structure is significantly extended.
  • This installation method does not take much time due to a simple locking connection.
  • The sizes of products are standard, which speeds up the installation process.
  • The absence of any chemical components makes the material absolutely safe to use.
  • Unique appearance.
  • In the event of defects and significant damage to the coating, it is enough to grind the surface and cover it with high-quality varnish.
  • The need for frequent painting of the surface of the boards.
  • The use of expensive antiseptics and varnishes.

Existing Fixing Methods

The floor covering is constantly under heavy load. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a mounting method based on performance characteristics material. With an irresponsible approach to solving the issue, there is a high probability of damage to the floor already in the first year of operation. The most important thing is to ensure the proper level of fixation rigidity.

The first sign of poor-quality fastening is loosening of the boards. After a while, the elements begin to gradually shift, which is accompanied by a characteristic creaking sound. As a result, there are two scenarios for the development of events - either break individual elements or the entire structure fails.

There are 4 main ways to fix floorboards:

  1. Nail mounting.
  2. Clamp fastening.
  3. Installation with special types of screws for floor rails.

Each of the presented methods differs in severity, so each of the methods should be considered.

Fastening boards with nails

This method allows you to correctly fix floorboard either on a solid basis, or on a lag construction. The mounting principle is simple:

  1. First you need to fix the first row of boards. To do this, the nails are driven through the comb at an angle of 45 °. The task is to attach the element to the base, thereby not damaging the part.
  2. When the next row is fitted, the nails must be hidden. Further fixation is made through the surface of the board.

Adhesive mounting method

When laying boards on a perfectly even base made of concrete or other materials, a special glue is used. The grooves in the products must be carefully coated with glue and put on the tongues of the already laid boards. Masters, showing how to properly fix the boards, use ordinary PVA glue. Such a composition is able to reliably hold joints for many years.

In this case, the glue must be distributed in a small layer. The grooved edges are also treated with glue to stiffen the corners.

Clamp fixation

Products that are sold in a set with clamps deserve special attention. Fasteners are inserted into a slot located on the inside of the grooved board. Details are able to rigidly fix the material between themselves.

  • The rough floor must be covered with a layer of high-quality waterproofing. The edges of the material should be attached to the walls with adhesive tape.
  • The clamps are driven into the slots of the first row with a hammer. Be sure to follow the direction of the tongue.
  • From the ends of the plank it is worth smearing adhesive composition, after which the installation of the first row is carried out.
  • Wedges are inserted between the sheets and the wall.
  • The second row, before fastening, is also equipped with clamps and mounted by tapping a bar with a hammer.
  • After that, you can lay all the remaining rows in the described sequence.
  • At the last stage, remove all wedges and fix the skirting boards.

Special screws, self-tapping screws for floorboards

The most popular fixing method is using self-tapping screws for attaching floorboards. This method is characterized by high speed of execution and durability of the finished structure.

The only difference from conventional screws is the high cost of professional floorboard fasteners. A special milling cut allows the self-tapping screw to quickly enter the wood and hold firmly in the material.

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

The process of installing grooved products on logs includes several stages. Following a certain procedure, you can install it yourself.

Required Tool

For laying and fixing elements, you will need the following tools:

  • hammer;
  • roulette;
  • chisel;
  • pencil;
  • Bulgarian;
  • milling cutter;
  • bar.

This is a basic set that can be supplemented with professional equipment.

Laying the first row

Because natural material over time, it will begin to dry out, the laying of the boards is carried out in 2 stages. The first stage includes fixing every 4-5 planks. After 6 months-1 year, all tongue-and-groove floor boards will be removed. This is done so that there are no gaps. However, the fastening of the first row is carried out immediately.

Boards should be distributed so that they are slightly separated from the wall. For this, wedges are used, the thickness of which is 1 cm. After fixing on nails or glue, the elements are removed.

When installing the first row, use the building level. Products must be perfectly aligned with the joists and the wall.

Laying subsequent rows

The remaining rows of material are installed in strict sequence with the principle of mounting the first row. It is necessary to check the absence of cracks. When tapping on the strip, a bar is applied to its edge, which softens the blow.

How to pull floor boards

Between themselves, the elements are best fastened with special screws at an angle. This will prevent the structure from moving during operation. Self-tapping screws have different length– from 30 to 50 mm.

More floorboard installation tips from the pros

Helpful Hints experienced craftsmen help you save time and money:

  • The pitch between the screws should be at least 25 cm. The most common scheme is with an indent of 30 cm.
  • Before fastening the floorboard, it is recommended to coat the product on the inside with parquet glue.
  • Material must not be allowed to adhere to the walls of the room.
  • Screw heads should be sunk slightly into the wood.

Installation of the last row

When installing the last row of boards, it is necessary to check the entire plane and separately the location of the final row. No distortion should be observed. The products are fixed to the lags, observing the indentation from the wall.

Any type of material can act as a base. However, lags are best suited because of the simple and fast way mounts. By following the steps described quality coating can be assembled by hand.

The tongue-and-groove board is used, as a rule, for fine finishing of a floor. It is made from solid pine or spruce. A tongue is provided 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. Mounted by connecting the groove and tongue boards form a single solid surface.

After laying, the floor surface is processed (polished and varnished) to acquire an attractive appearance and extend the service life.

Scheme of laying a tongue-and-groove board on logs.

There are various sizes of tongue and groove board 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% moisture and hermetically packed. Thanks to this, you can immediately begin its installation without prior preparation.

Mounting order

Laying of material is carried out in a certain order. It is necessary to keep it indoors from 3 to 14 days after delivery, so that the humidity in the room and the moisture content of the wood are equalized. The length of the holding period depends on the season of execution repair work. After a few days, you can remove the packaging film and, if necessary, cut the material to length.

Scheme of the grooved board device.

After cutting, the board must be laid on logs covered with insulation or film. In this position, the material is left for a few more days for acclimatization. Only then can the material be laid.

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

The first mounting unit is positioned with the tongue-and-groove side against the wall.

A small gap is left between them, 1-2 cm. The floor will be ventilated through this gap. In addition, if over time the floor moisture increases and the board expands, this gap will prevent the floor surface from deforming. Boards should not be concave. This should be checked before starting work.

To fix on the logs, it is best to use wood screws 5.5-6 cm long. They need to be screwed into the groove at an angle. First you need to drill holes with a drill with a diameter of 2.5 or 3 mm. Thanks to the hole, when screwing in, the groove will not crack. Drills for this work, due to their small thickness, break quickly enough, so it is recommended to stock them up for future use.

The second board is attached to the first. It is unlikely that it will be possible to ideally fit them under each other with the help of a mallet, so do not be overly zealous with it. For the best result, you can use a wooden wedge, which must be driven through the entire board, while screwing in the self-tapping screw.

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The fastest and most convenient way is to use a car jack. But in this case, it is necessary to provide for the protection of the material from damage. For this purpose, small boards are used, which must be rested against the following mounting elements. When using a jack, the use of a mallet is not required.

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

Didn't find the answer in the article? More information on this topic:

High-quality installation of a wooden floor is a difficult task. But it can be simplified if you use not an ordinary board for assembly, but a tongue-and-groove board. The presence of spikes and grooves on the side edges makes it possible to connect such boards to each other, like building blocks. The result is a flat, environmentally friendly floor without gaps and, if necessary, without the visual presence of fasteners. For the result to be just that, you need to know how to choose grooved boards, how to lay them and connect them together, how to replace failed floorboards. Let's talk about this in more detail.

What is a grooved board?

A grooved floorboard is called, on one edge of which a longitudinal groove is cut, and on the other - a tongue (thorn, comb). When assembling the floor, a spike is inserted into the groove of one board. The connection is tight, almost without cracks.

Unlike edged boards, the front side of a grooved board is polished to smoothness and does not need additional leveling and planing. The wrong side may not be processed, but in any case, special grooves for ventilation are provided on it. They provide free air circulation in the floor space, respectively, prevent wood decay.

With proper laying and rallying of tongue-and-groove boards, there are no gaps between them. This prevents squeaks and rapid wear of the wood flooring.

The disadvantage of the grooved floor is considered to be a high tendency to deform (warp, swell) with fluctuations in humidity in the room or when used when installing wet boards.

Choosing good building materials

To avoid problems with the finished floor, you should responsibly approach the choice of grooved boards and the way they are stored.

Aspect #1 - type of wood

The first thing they pay attention to is the quality and type of wood. Groove boards are made from:

  • Spruces and pines are inexpensive, easy-to-process species. Their main advantage is their low price. In addition, they have excellent heat capacity, so spruce and pine floors always feel warm. However, for floors in rooms with high traffic, it is better not to use them. Women's heels, furniture legs, dropped objects - all this can leave noticeable dents on a wooden surface. Mandatory varnishing.
  • Larch is a hard coniferous species, characterized by moisture resistance and durability. The board from a larch has beautiful, accurate structure, saturated color. Thanks to this, it is not necessary to cover it with stains and varnish.
  • Oak and ash are durable, hard woods. Their wood has a distinct texture, rich hue. Ash and Oak planks are considered the most reliable and durable. However, they are also the most expensive.

Aspect #2 - board sizes

The dimensions of the grooved boards should also be taken into account. They may differ significantly. Ideally, the length of the boards should match (or be slightly less than) the length of the wall along which they will be laid. The reliability of the coating and the price depend on the thickness. Standard sizes tongue-and-groove boards are:

  • length - 1-6 m;
  • width - 70-200 mm;
  • thickness - 18-45 mm.

Aspect #3 - quality class

Tongue-and-groove boards are sorted by quality class. There are 4 classes in total:

  • Extra - top class or, as it is also called, europunch.

    This is the most expensive material, without knots, cracks, with a uniform structure and shade.

  • A - material without cracks, knots, some heterogeneity of shade is allowed.
  • B - single spots and cracks are allowed.
  • C - economy class, with the presence of multiple knots, single through holes, cracks. Usually class C boards are used for subfloor installation.

Here's what it looks like:

Aspect #4 - Humidity

The ideal moisture content of grooved boards is 12-16%. If the boards are poorly dried, then deformation of the already finished floor is inevitable. Often there are cracks, warping of the boards. There will almost certainly be gaps between the boards, so the floor will have to be redone.

The moisture content of the boards can be determined using a moisture meter. If this device is not available, you can get by with simpler evaluation methods:

  • When tapped with the knuckles, dry (suitable for the floor) wood makes a sonorous, well-audible sound. A wet board, on the contrary, sounds muffled, barely audible.
  • If you touch a wet board, you can feel the dampness. On a dry board, there is no feeling of moisture.
  • color y wet board darker than dry. Also, after high-quality industrial drying, the surface of the board acquires a noticeable sheen. Wet board remains matte.
  • There must be no condensation inside the packaging film. Moisture droplets on the film always indicate excessive moisture in the boards.

On what basis is it better to lay the sheet pile?

After purchasing the grooved boards, you can proceed to laying them. As a basis, you can use:

  • Wooden logs fixed on top of any coating - screed, plywood, wooden floor.

    Groove board floors, floor laying procedure, its advantages, disadvantages

    Also, logs can be laid on brick supports.

  • Concrete floors with screed.
  • Moisture resistant plywood.
  • Old wooden floor.
  • Subfloor made of tongue-and-groove boards or low-grade lumber.

The gold standard in construction is the laying of tongue-and-groove boards on pre-fixed joists. They allow you to qualitatively tighten the boards during installation and prevent further occurrence of floor deformations. Therefore, we recommend that you stop at this option.

Technology for mounting tongue-and-groove boards on logs

It is important that the laying of tongue-and-groove boards is carried out in two stages. First, the boards are mounted with partial fastening (usually fastening is performed only for every 4-5 boards in a row). After six months or a year, the floor is re-layed with the fastening of each board. Such measures are necessary, since the boards usually shrink a little during the first six months of being in the room, there are small gaps between them. Therefore, the boards have to be laid again, rallying them more tightly.

To assemble a grooved wooden floor, you will need:

  • grooved boards;
  • fixed logs - as a base;
  • self-tapping screws (or nails);
  • screwdriver;
  • hammer;
  • level;
  • brackets or stops, wedges (or screw jack).

Step #1 - laying the first board

The first board is selected as even as possible, along the length equal to the length walls. The board is laid with a spike against the wall, at a distance of 10-15 mm from it. This will allow the wood to expand freely under the influence of temperature and humidity. In the future, the gap will be covered with a plinth.

The first board is fixed as tightly as possible by screwing the self-tapping screws vertically tightly through the entire thickness into each lag. Instead of self-tapping screws, you can use nails, hammering them into the board and log with a hammer.

Step #2 - Mounting and rallying subsequent boards

The next board is laid next to the previous one. With a hammer blow, through a block-gasket, a groove is put on the tongue. In the same way, 3 more boards are laid, without fastening. In the lower part of the groove of the fourth board, holes are drilled at an angle of 45 ° above each log. Self-tapping screws are screwed into the holes. Such fastening is temporary and requires re-laying the floor with the fastening of each board (and not just the fourth) after the final aging of the wood.

To ensure a tight rallying of the boards during fastening, they are pulled together. You can do this in the following ways:

  • With staples and wedges. At 10-15 cm from the board, a bracket is hammered into the log. A wooden gasket is applied to the board - a piece of board 50-70 cm long. Two wedges are driven in between the gasket and the bracket. The wedges are set opposite each other with sharp ends. By hitting the free ends of the wedges with a hammer (or two hammers at the same time), the boards are pulled together. The tongues fit tightly into the grooves, no gaps remain. Then screws are screwed in.
  • With the use of stop and wedges. Rallying is performed similarly to the previous method. The difference is that wooden stops are used instead of staples. An emphasis is an ordinary bar or board, which is attached to the log with nails or self-tapping screws. The distance from the top of the stop to the board to be laid must be equal to the total thickness of the narrow parts of the two wedges.
  • By means of a wedge-shaped clamp with a movable bracket and wedges. The clamp is fixed on the log, two wedges are hammered between its supporting parts. There is a rallying of boards.
  • Via screw jack. At a short distance from the floorboards to be laid, they nail support board. The heel of a screw jack is supported on it, which is laid along the log. The floorboard is pulled together through a piece of tongue-and-groove board (gasket).

Step #3 - laying the last row

The last board is laid in place, a wedge is driven between it and the wall. After rallying, the board is fixed with self-tapping screws (nails) tightly through the entire thickness. The wedge is taken out.

If the last board does not fit in width, it is cut along circular saw. A deformation gap of 10-15 mm should remain between the wall and the board.

Repair of grooved floors

Grooved floors are quite reliable, but damage to one or more boards may occur during operation. Then they are taken out of the common floor monolith and replaced with new ones. To do this, the ridges of the boards are cut with a circular saw with a rounded end of the blade. You can also use a jigsaw or a hacksaw with a narrow blade.

Replacement of boards is carried out according to the following scheme:

  • Several cuts are made along the board to be replaced with a saw, jigsaw or hacksaw. The depth of the cuts is slightly less than the thickness of the board, that is, without through slots.
  • With the help of a chisel, the ridges of the boards are punched through the slots.
  • Remove the damaged board, the remains of the ridge from the groove.
  • A new board is inserted in place of the removed board.

Thus, by replacing damaged boards as needed, you can extend the life of the tongue and groove floor for many decades.

Based on site materials: http://pol-master.com

Ways to fix the floorboard
Fixing floorboards with nails
glue method
Clamp fixing
Special screws for floorboards
Recommendations for installing floorboards

Equipping the floors in the house, in addition to choosing the type of flooring, it is necessary to carefully approach the selection of the method of fixing the purchased material. For any building material, their fastening methods are used, including for the floorboard. Consider how to fix the floorboard with the most reliable and popular methods.

Ways to fix the floorboard

The floor covering is experiencing quite serious loads, so it is necessary to approach the choice of the method of fastening with all responsibility. If some floorboards are not fixed well enough, then after a while they will begin to loosen.

As a rule, this happens after a short period of time. The floorboards move, the initially flat floor begins to make an unpleasant creaking sound, and often it simply collapses.

There are some of the most common ways to fix floorboards:

  • secret method, that is, the use of screws or nails;
  • with glue;
  • clamp fastening.

Fixing floorboards with nails

In this case, the fastening of the floorboard is carried out on wooden base, which can be solid or made of lag.

The first row of floorboards is fastened with nails, which are driven at an angle of 45 ° through the comb into the base. Then they are driven into their place. Pre-drill holes for the fasteners. This is done in order not to damage the combs.

When fitting the next row, the nails must be hidden. All subsequent rows of boards are fixed by driving nails through the surface.

When a plank floor is repaired and several floorboards are changed, care must be taken to ensure that all floorboards end under the center of the crossbar. Otherwise, you can get a non-durable coating.

glue method

If the floorboard flooring will be carried out on solid base you can fix it with glue. To do this, the grooves of the boards are coated with an adhesive, you can use ordinary PVA glue, and then they are mounted on the tongues of the previous row.

Glue should be applied in a thin layer with a step of 50 cm along the entire groove. Adhesive should also be applied to the end tongue-and-groove edges.

Clamp fixing

Some types of boards come with special clips that fit into a slot on the inside of the board. These elements are designed to connect boards to each other.

So, how to lay the floorboard using this way mounts?

To do this, follow the following technology:

  • Laying on the subfloor waterproofing material, which should be fixed to the walls with construction tape.
  • Clamps should be driven into the slots of the boards laid in the first row with a hammer. This is done in the direction of the tongue.
  • The ends of the planks are smeared with glue, and then the first row is laid.
  • Insert wedges about 1 cm thick between the wall and the boards.
  • Clamps are also attached to the second row of boards. The floorboards are locked in place by gently tapping with a hammer through the block along the edges of the row.
  • The rest of the rows are laid in the same way.
  • Then the wedges between the wall and the coating are removed.
  • Skirting boards are being installed.

Special screws for floorboards

Professional craftsmen for fastening floorboards use special self-tapping screws for the floorboard. The use of such fastening material allows you to get a securely fixed and with a fairly long term flooring service.

Compared to conventional self-tapping screws, the cost of this type is an order of magnitude higher.

How to lay a grooved floor board

However, they are more efficient in their properties.

Special screws designed for floorboards have the following features:

  • These fasteners are available in various sizes. Standard section 3.5 mm, length can be 35, 40, 45 and 50 mm. Depending on the thickness of the floorboards, the size of the screw is selected.
  • This fastener for the floorboard is not subject to corrosion, as it has a protective coating.
  • There is a cutter at the end of the self-tapping screw, which allows it to be screwed into wood without pre-drilling holes. In addition, this structure allows the screw to enter more tightly, which means that the fixing of the floorboards to the floor base will be more durable.
  • The self-tapping screw has a special milling cut. It has an angle at which fastener easily enters the wood and does not split.
  • Self-tapping screws for floorboards have another structural feature, which consists in the absence of threaded threads in the upper part. This design allows the floor covering to adhere more closely to the base.

Here are some tips on how to properly lay the floorboard:

  • It is necessary to fix the floorboards to the base with screws in increments of 25-30 cm.
  • Some masters recommend that before laying the floorboard and fixing it to the base, apply glue to it, which is used when installing the parquet floor. This option can be used if the waterproofing layer (for example, polyethylene film) did not fit. The adhesive fixing method cannot be used by itself. It is used only as an addition to the main method of fastening with nails or screws. Without them, it will not be possible to obtain a strong and reliable fastening of the floorboards (read: "How to lay floors from boards - step by step instructions").
  • Along the entire perimeter of the room there should not be a tight adjoining of the boards to the wall. It is necessary to leave a gap between the wall and the floorboards equal to approximately 10 mm. It will act as a expansion joint.
  • The screws that are used when installing the plank floor can be completely hidden. To do this, the caps of the self-tapping screws should be sunk into the wood by about 3-4 mm. The resulting holes can be hidden with pieces of wood that will match their shape and size. It should also be the same type of wood as the floorboards. Most companies that produce high-quality lumber complete their products with similar corks.

The strength, reliability and service life of the flooring will depend on how the floorboard is laid. Therefore, the correct fixation of the floorboards is very important point in the installation of the floor, therefore, it is worthwhile to approach the choice of the method of fastening the boards with special care.

Grooved board device
Choice of boards
Base for laying grooved boards
Installation of tongue-and-groove boards on logs
Groove board floor repair

Arranging a floor from boards cannot be called the easiest task - there will be many difficulties in the process. However, the task can be made easier by using ordinary boards grooved. They have spikes with grooves along the edges, which makes it possible to connect the boards without the use of additional fastening materials.

Using tongue-and-groove boards will create an environmentally friendly floor with no visible fasteners, with much less effort than traditional plank flooring. About how to make a floor from a grooved board, and will be discussed in this article.

Grooved board device

Structurally, a grooved board is an analogue of a regular one, but it has a longitudinal groove on one side and a tongue (thorn) on the other side. Due to these elements, a simple installation of a grooved board floor is ensured: the groove of the next board is inserted into the groove of the previous board, resulting in a reliable and tight connection.

Grooved boards, unlike edged boards, have a perfectly smooth surface, so additional polishing of the floor from the grooved board is not required. The seamy side of the boards is often not processed, but at the same time it is necessarily present ventilation holes, providing air circulation in the underground space, which significantly extends the life of the coating.

High-quality laying of a grooved board floor allows you to assemble a structure without gaps, and such a structure will not creak and wear out, as is often the case with a coating of edged board. Of course, if you lay wet boards or do not prevent moisture from getting on them, then sooner or later even the highest quality material will rot, so these nuances should be taken into account in advance.

Choice of boards

To install the flooring, you must first decide how to cover the grooved floor so that it is as reliable as possible. When choosing boards, it is necessary to build on several parameters:

wood species

This parameter directly affects the quality and characteristics of grooved boards:

  1. Spruce and pine. The main quality for which coniferous trees stand out is their low cost. In addition, spruce and pine boards retain heat well, even in the coldest time.

    Among the shortcomings of such boards, weak wear resistance can be noted: any point loads, such as furniture legs or fallen objects, will immediately affect the tree. Also, softwood boards should not be used in rooms with high traffic.

  2. Larch. Being solid softwood, larch differs from spruce and pine in durability and good resistance to moisture. Apart from their strength characteristics, this breed has good visual qualities, so it does not require additional varnishing.
  3. oak and ash.

    Boards made from these types of wood are of the utmost quality and reliability. Nice texture and a noticeable shade are also among the advantages. Disadvantage, coming from all positive qualities, is obvious - oak and ash boards are much more expensive than coniferous counterparts.

Board sizes

It is necessary to select the dimensions of the boards depending on the size of the room in which they will be laid. It will be much easier and more convenient to lay boards whose length matches the length of the walls along which they are laid. The thickness of the boards affects their cost and reliability.

Standard dimensions of grooved boards range from:

  • Length - from 1 to 6 m;
  • Width - from 70 to 200 mm;
  • Thickness - from 18 to 45 mm.

Quality class

This indicator allows you to select boards depending on their purpose and quality requirements.

Grooved boards are divided into four classes:

  1. Extra class (euro dowel). Such boards are distinguished by the highest price, but at the same time they are distinguished by a uniform structure, shade and lack of flaws.
  2. A-class. More cheap option, which also does not have cracks and knots, but may have a non-uniform shade.
  3. B-class. This quality class allows the presence of small spots and small cracks on the surface of the boards.
  4. C-class. Most cheap material having all kinds of defects: knots, cracks and small single holes. As a rule, economy class boards are used to create a subfloor.

Humidity

This aspect is incredibly important for tongue-and-groove boards: poorly dried boards are bound to deform and start to rot after laying, and eventually the entire floor will have to be re-paved.

It is for this reason that before attaching a tongue-and-groove board to logs or another base, you need to monitor the moisture content of the material using the following recommendations:

  • A suitable value for the moisture content of the boards is about 12-16%. To determine this parameter, it is best to use a moisture meter, and in its absence, you will have to use simple but effective methods:
  • Light tapping on dry wood will give a clear and sonorous sound, while wood that is too wet will sound muffled and almost indistinguishable;
  • Wet boards usually feel quite damp to the touch. Well-dried boards don't give that feeling;
  • Dry board usually has more light shade than wet. In addition, the dried board after high-quality processing begins to slightly shine, while the board with a high moisture content looks completely matte;
  • If condensation collects on the inside of the package of boards, it always means that the boards are too wet.

Base for laying grooved boards

Having chosen suitable boards, you can proceed with their installation, but before laying the floors of the grooved board, you need to take care of qualitative basis on which the tongue-and-groove boards can lie as securely as possible.

There are several types of bases:

  • Wooden logs installed on any base coat(screed, plywood or brick supports);
  • Concrete screed;
  • Moisture resistant plywood;
  • Old wood flooring;
  • Draft coating of economy class boards or other cheap materials.

Practice shows that the best result is the laying of a tongue-and-groove board on logs: this design has ultimate strength and prevents possible deformation of the boards that occurs during the operation of the floor. Further we will talk about this option.

Installation of tongue-and-groove boards on logs

First of all, it is worth noting one nuance - tongue-and-groove boards should be laid in two stages. At the first stage, the boards are partially attached (as a rule, one of the five boards in a row is fixed), and after about six months, the entire floor must be re-layed, knocking the boards more tightly and attaching the tongue-and-groove board to the logs.

This technology is very important: the humidity of the boards in the room gradually decreases, and after a while gaps appear between them. It is for this reason that the boards must be laid again, securely fastening each of them - this will create a dense finishing floor, and the quality of such a coating will be extremely high.

Do-it-yourself floor from a tongue-and-groove board is equipped as follows:

First, the first board is laid. As the first board, it is desirable to choose the most even and corresponding to the length of the wall board. It is laid with a tongue and groove to the wall, with a gap of about 1-1.5 cm - so the tree can easily expand under the influence of temperature and moisture. Do not worry that the gap will be visible - the plinth will hide it. The first board should be fastened as tightly as possible: screws or nails should fit tightly into the log.

Further laying of the tongue-and-groove floorboard requires the installation and padding of the following boards. Each subsequent board is laid next to the previously laid one. Using a rubber block and a hammer, you need to knock out the board so that the tongue enters the groove. We must not forget that initially only every fifth board is attached to the lags. To temporarily secure it, you need to screw the self-tapping screw into the hole drilled at the bottom of the groove.

In order for the boards to be held in place when fastened, they must be tightly rallied using one of the following methods:

  • Staples and wedges. At a distance of 10-15 cm from the board, a bracket is hammered into the log, and a wood spacer about 60 cm long. Two wedges are driven into the space between the gasket and the bracket, and their sharp ends should be located one opposite the other. By hammering the free ends of the wedges, the boards are tightened: the tongues go into the grooves quite tightly, as a result of which all the slots are tightened.
  • Cohesion with stops and wedges. The technology looks exactly the same as in the previous example, but this time the role of the staples is played by wooden stops (small bars firmly fixed to the log). It is important that the thickness of the two wedges on the narrow side and the distance from top edge the stops to the board matched.
  • Wedged clamping with movable shackle and wedges. Having fixed the clamp on the log, you need to hammer two wedges between its supports, as a result of which the boards are pulled together efficiently and reliably.
  • Cohesion with a screw jack.

    Groove board for the floor

    Not far from the boards to be laid, one support is nailed on which the jack will rest. As a result, the tightening of the floorboard will be carried out through a wooden gasket.

By installing and moving all the boards, you can lay the last row. The edge board is mounted in its place, and a wedge is driven into the space between it and the wall. When the board has tightly entered the previous rows, it must be tightly fixed with self-tapping screws or nails. After that, the wedge can be removed. Naturally, between the wall and the edge board, it is necessary to leave a gap for thermal deformation. When the last board is installed, the tongue and groove flooring can be considered complete.

Groove board floor repair

The grooved floor is quite reliable coverage, but sometimes troubles arise: individual floorboards, tongue and groove, eventually become unusable. If we are talking about one or more boards, they can be removed from the floor and replaced. To do this, you need to cut the ridges of the boards with a circular saw that has a rounding at the end of the blade. A circular saw can be replaced with a jigsaw or a narrow hacksaw.

Directly replacing the boards is simple: making small cuts on the board, with the help of a chisel, all the ridges are knocked out in them. The damaged board is removed, the grooves are cleaned of the remnants of the spikes, and a new board is installed in place, and the flooring again performs its functions in full.

Attractive appearance, resistance to external destructive factors, light weight and simple installation process - these qualities today ensure the popularity of grooved boards, allow it to compete with other modern building materials. A non-grooved board is practically not used today - the joint of fragments end-to-end as a result of operation will quickly upset the deformation of the surface and the formation of cracks.

What is the difference between grooved board

The main difference between grooved boards is the longitudinal protrusion on the edge of the board. The tongue, this is what the ledge is called, has dimensions and a configuration that allows it to fit tightly into the groove on the edge of the second board.

Depending on what material the grooved board is made of, it can be used:

  1. For the subfloor - in the event that soft coniferous trees, such as pine, served as the material for the manufacture. Such boards have a fairly high moisture resistance, but after installation they must be opened with varnish.
  2. For a finished floor - if solid wood was used as the source material High Quality- oak or ash. It has a higher cost, its moisture resistance indicator is medium. Of the shortcomings of such a material, it should be noted instability to the effects of fungi. The highest quality is considered to be a tongue-and-groove board made of larch. It is resistant to moisture and is not afraid of fungi and mold. Its cost is 2 or even 3 times higher than the cost of an analogue from coniferous wood. In addition, a larch board is very decorative, has a beautiful pattern and a pleasant shade. It can be laid with or without varnishing, but it should be borne in mind that varnished boards will last much longer.

Insofar as wood materials tend to deform when dried, it is recommended to choose a board dried in an autoclave, with a minimum moisture content (up to 10%). Before you start laying - you should withstand it in the conditions of the room where it will be mounted.

Commercially available tongue and groove boards have a length of 1 m to 5 m, buying them should not be forgotten that about 10% of the material may be scrapped.

How to choose a quality grooved board

Creating a beautiful and durable flooring depends on the quality of the material used and on the diligence of the person who installs it. Therefore, the choice of material is a very important task, which will need to be solved competently. Since the design of the grooved board involves installation with the exact entry of the tongue into the groove, you should verify the quality empirically - after a slight click when connecting the boards, they should form perfectly flat surface, without gaps.

At proper processing wood during the production process, the board acquires high sound and heat insulation characteristics. If the laying technology has been sustained, and the floor is maintained according to the rules, then it will serve for several decades.

Before buying a grooved board, you need to correctly calculate its quantity. Take into account the dimensions of the room, as well as the length and width of the commercially available standard boards. They usually have the following options:

  • length - from 3 m to 6 m,
  • width - from 70 mm to 145 mm
  • thickness - from 28 mm.

It is quite difficult to select fragments that are optimal in size, if possible - it is better to contact the company that produces them and order sawing according to the drawn plan of the surface to be covered.

Make sure the board is low humidity- in any type of drying, natural or industrial, optimal for quality material humidity range - from 10 to 16%. Humidity control is carried out by inspection - its surface after drying becomes shiny, haze inherent raw wood should disappear completely. When tapped, it should make a ringing sound. When touched by hand, there should not be a feeling of a wet surface.

The grooved board is classified by quality - grade from A to C and Extra. For the subfloor, a class C board is used, which may have knot holes and a permissible number of black knots. Installation of a grooved board of the Extra class involves the creation of a high-quality finished floor.

You can install a wooden floor on logs or on a concrete surface. In any case, the base is leveled to an ideal state, cleaned of debris, and dried. If the floors are laid on logs, then the wood will need to be treated with antiseptics. The logs are laid at regular intervals of 0.5 m, at the joints they leave a gap of 2 cm - this will prevent the possibility of the bars sticking out to each other. If the tongue and groove floor is to be laid diagonally, the distance should be reduced to 35 cm.

To ensure a long period of operation, good ventilation of the flooring should be ensured; voids under it should not be filled.

The fragments are fastened to the logs using self-tapping screws (3x40 or 3x35), holes are drilled for them every 0.4 m.

A gap of about two to three cm is left along the edge of the perimeter of the room; the plinth will close it. Solid boards should be laid on both sides of the room near the wall, they are fixed with horizontally screwed self-tapping screws. When installing the central part of the floor, you can use shorter pieces of the board.

To ensure a tighter fit of the elements, they are tapped with a rubber or wooden hammer, placing a wooden block between the board and the hammer - to prevent damage to the comb.


In the same way, the grooved board is laid on a concrete base. With this method, the arrangement of a waterproofing layer will be required, as an insulator, you can use moisture resistant plywood 16 mm thick. Plywood sheets are laid diagonally, the distance between them should be 2-3 cm, gaps of 1.5-2 cm are also left near the walls.

To give the floor a perfect smoothness after laying, the tongue-and-groove boards are polished.

How to lay a tongue and groove board

When constructing the floor in a room, it is customary to choose the option of orienting the boards parallel to the light flux coming from the windows. When installing the floor in a corridor or vestibule, the boards are placed along the movement vector. Laying is carried out separately or without displacement of the elements.

When mounting in a run-up, very careful trimming of each element will be required, impeccable execution right angle can be a difficult task for a person who does this kind of work with their own hands for the first time. Therefore, experts recommend getting a template and marking the sawing lines in strict accordance with it.

Along the perimeter, you should leave an indent from the walls by 1.5-2 cm (the so-called. expansion joints) at the end of the work they will be closed with a plinth.

Laying the first board is done with a tongue and groove to the wall, this will simplify the laying and fastening of the following fragments. When laying the second - be sure to combine the spike and groove. It is not recommended to use nails for fastening boards - their caps will begin to “climb out” over time, the nails themselves can be destroyed by rust. As we mentioned above, it is better to use self-tapping screws.

Subsequent rows are laid in the same way, while it should be noted that for the fifth row you will need to use a full-length board. Thus, they cover the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room. Solid boards will also be required for laying the last two rows. To fit the last board, if necessary, cut lengthwise with a circular saw.

Fastening can be done in different ways:

  • without a slope of self-tapping screws, then it will be necessary to seal each hat with a sealant,
  • with a slope of 45º, this option looks more aesthetically pleasing. Fasteners are also carried out around the entire perimeter, then the plinth is mounted. Laying boards begin after complete installation log, the joints of the boards should be in the middle of the log.

The next step is to prepare the floor for finishing work: if the boards are even, then it will be enough to process them sandpaper(grain size 180), if there are significant defects, scraping will be required. It should be done carefully so that chips do not separate from the boards.

The final stage of work is to clean the floor from debris and dust, it is best to use a vacuum cleaner. Then the boards should be treated with a primer - it will provide increased adhesion. When choosing paintwork materials preference should be given to polymeric one-component formulations made on a water basis.


They dry quickly, harmful substances and unpleasant odors while not distinguishing. They are applied in two layers, the first should be thin, the second can be applied only after a couple of hours. Such a floor finish will increase its moisture resistance and attractiveness. Improving performance will significantly extend its service life.

House made of grooved board - practical and convenient

Contemporary cottage construction involves not only laying the floor from a grooved board, but also building houses from it. The thickness of the board used to build the walls can be different. Low level moisture content of the board (about 15%) allows you to get a quick shrinkage of the structure.

Among the advantages of houses made of grooved boards, one should remember:

  • high environmental friendliness,
  • the opportunity to get significant savings on finishing,
  • attractive appearance,
  • sufficiently high heat-insulating and sound-proofing qualities,
  • the ability to get a building of any size,
  • the ability to use it as a material for walls, ceilings and floors,
  • long service life.