HOW TO INSTALL LAMINATE FLOORING ON A WALL?

By cladding a wall in your home with laminate flooring, you can give it an incredible look, break up the design, and create an accent.

If you want to add more height to the room, you should install the laminate vertically.

And if you want to make it feel more spacious, lay it horizontally.

PREPARATION

  1. Calculate the square footage

Measure the height and width of the wall to calculate its square footage. Multiply the two values to get the square footage.

  1. Allow for extra material.

Get more than the calculated square footage. To have enough, you need to have some left over. Allow for extra material.

  1. Color selection

The choice of the right color depends on its harmony with the other colors (everything surrounding, furniture, floor, ceilings, coverings, absolutely everything) in the room, as well as your taste.

  1. Prepare the room for work.

Protect the floor around the wall you want to clad.

  1. Dust the wall with a damp cloth.

  2. Measure the center of the wall for symmetrical placement

If we want the panels to be arranged symmetrically, then measure and mark the center of the wall and the center of one panel. This way, we can check how the wall will be arranged. For symmetrical arrangement, we start either with the center of the wall and the center of the plank, or the center of the wall and a plank joint. This way, we will see what pieces we get at both ends and will have symmetrical pieces on both sides. This applies to both laminate and tiles if we want a symmetrical arrangement.

  1. Allow it to acclimatize:

A very important part of the preparation is to allow it to acclimatize in the room for 48 hours before installation, whether on a wall or on the floor. It needs to get used to the temperature and humidity of the room. This prevents anomalies from differences in temperature and air humidity.

  1. Separate and mark defective pieces.

While the laminate is acclimatizing in the room, inspect the pieces for defects. Set aside those that are damaged or have defects. Mark them on the back side where the plank is damaged. This way, you can use that piece for cutting. The damaged end is not desirable to be placed in the middle of the wall.

4 METHODS OF ADHESION

  1. For a curved wall, use a frame.

You can use drywall profiles, hangers for CD profiles, or wooden battens, to which the laminate planks can then be glued.

Advantage: You can run electrical wiring, add insulation behind it, straighten a very curved wall, or apply to walls that have a very weak base. If you have "Vinerweiß" (a type of chalk paint), it cannot be glued directly to it.

Disadvantages: It reduces your floor space.

To check if your walls are uneven, you can use a straightedge. If you don't have one, you can make one by taping two laminate planks together. Be careful not to break the joint between them.

  1. Using polyurethane adhesive – foam

We use TYTAN 60 seconds polyurethane adhesive to avoid unnecessary waiting time.

Only 30 seconds of shaking before working with it is enough.

If you want an even faster bond, you need to wipe the surface you are gluing with a damp cloth. Polyurethane foam hardens from the moisture in the air, and the more humid it is, the faster it hardens.

It is good to wear gloves while working.

When applying the foam, be careful not to get it too close to the edges of the boards so it doesn't squeeze out. Do a test before gluing.

After the initial adhesion, peel it off for a few seconds, let the foam breathe for a few seconds, and re-adhere it.

Keep in mind that the foam sets very quickly, and you need to ensure everything is mounted correctly.

This is a contact adhesive; it's not for leveling. You cannot fill with it; it doesn't expand, it's applied in a thin layer. You can glue drywall, skirting boards, plinths, chipboard, MDF, OSB, window sills and other construction elements. It is also suitable for aerated concrete masonry. You can also glue thermal insulation.

It is recommended to use at room temperature and shake for 30 seconds before use.

You can choose whether to apply it with a gun or manually.

Disadvantages:

During hardening, harmful fumes are released which should not be inhaled. It is necessary to ventilate or work outdoors. Initial setting in 60 seconds. The maximum setting time during which harmful gases are released is 2 hours.

  1. Using polyurethane adhesive – Sausage

This is polyurethane adhesive in a sausage form. A special gun is needed for its application.

For high productivity, use an automatic gun.

Dust the wall and planks before applying.

Advantages: No expansion whatsoever. Bonds tightly and has a good price for the package size. There is also a neutral silicone-based option, which does not release harmful fumes.

Disadvantages: 24 hours bonding time during which harmful fumes are emitted. Requires working outdoors or ventilation.

  1. Polymer adhesive

This is the safest and easiest method – the polymer adhesive TYTAN FIX2 GT. This polymer adhesive is suitable for all types of surfaces such as glass, metal, wood, bricks, ceramics, stones, plastic, mirrors, etc. Initial bonding takes 5 seconds. After 30 minutes, it can withstand loads, and its maximum drying time is 3 hours. At that point, it can withstand loads of 400 kg per 10 sq cm. It can be painted, is UV-resistant, has no shrinkage, and can even bond underwater.

When applying, use the nozzle for heavy objects. The peculiarity of this nozzle is that it has a specific direction of application. Hold it at 90 degrees and move it with the opening facing backward, creating a strip applied precisely like with a comb. You can work with both a manual and an automatic gun.

  1. Combination of adhesive types

INSTALLATION METHOD

  1. We start from top to bottom.

For this purpose, it is necessary to cut off the small tooth of the laminate planks on the first row with a jigsaw. We leave the larger part of the joint on the bottom side so that each subsequent piece can interlock with it. This prevents the upper piece, which is already installed, from lifting.

  1. Leave a few millimeters from the ceiling, as well as from all sides of the walls, for the linear expansion of the laminate.
  2. Measure the end pieces at both the top and bottom. This is because there might be differences.
  3. Leave a few mm distance from the wall to allow the laminate to expand linearly and avoid tension. You can leave a smaller distance at the top.
  4. When cutting with a jigsaw, pay attention to the direction of the saw blade teeth.

If the teeth face downwards, you can cut while looking at the front side of the laminate.

If the teeth face upwards, you should cut the planks from the back to avoid chipping the front side.

  1. If necessary, you can use a rubber mallet if you don't want to hit with your hands. It is good for it to have white rubber to avoid leaving marks. You can use it to directly secure pieces that are not well attached. Hit obliquely.
  2. If you have switches or sockets on the wall, you must disassemble them beforehand. Use a right angle and paper tape to measure the dimensions and transfer them to the laminate plank. Drill the hole with a hole saw to ensure it fits precisely in place.
  3. When you reach the last row, take measurements every 30 cm and write them down to make the piece as accurate as possible. This is because there may be differences, and otherwise, the planned pieces may not fit.
  4. When you have skirting boards, you can leave a larger gap.
  5. When installing skirting boards, you must first drill the wall with a 6mm drill bit, and then the laminate itself with a 12mm drill bit, to allow space between the fasteners and for the laminate to move as it contracts and expands due to linear expansion.
  6. You can fill the gap between adjacent walls with TYTAN TURBO acrylic silicone. It hardens in 10 minutes, after which it can be painted. You can smooth it with spatulas designed for this purpose.