Laying a plinth on a laminate flooring is not a difficult task and even a beginner can easily cope with it. One of the finishing touches in the formation of any interior is the plinth. Such a seemingly inconspicuous detail is indispensable in any room, because without it, the impression of inferiority in the design of the interior decoration of each building is created. After laying any floor, including laminate, installation work on the baseboard becomes inevitable.
Why do you need a plinth?
The plinth is nothing more than a decorative element of the floor covering.
- It hides all defects made when laying the floor.
- Camouflages laid cables or unaesthetic joints, gaps formed between floors and walls.
- Performs a decorative function.
When installing the plinth elements, do not use excessive force in tightening the screws.
§ 5. MODERN METHOD
When it comes to plastic skirting boards, experts have virtually no questions about the installation method. To do this, special rivets are installed on the wall in pre-made holes, to which the profile is attached. To create a durable structure, you need to lightly tap the plastic with a hammer, placing a rubber protection.
You can install a plinth under the laminate in a similar way, but first hide the wires running along the floor in the profile. The design consists of several components, which are connectors for cables. They pass from above and below, the middle remains empty, which is attached to the wall with screws. Then it is covered with another part of the plinth and the result is a smooth and beautiful structure.
Rules for choosing floor plinths
In order for the plinth to fit harmoniously into the floor design and correctly perform its functions without disturbing the structure of the floor covering, it must be selected correctly.
Also read materials:
- When selecting a baseboard for a laminate, you must first evaluate its compatibility with the color and texture of the floor covering.
- You should also pay attention to the fact that laminate is a “floating” type of coating, that is, when the air temperature or humidity level in the room changes, it is able to change its size. Although these changes are minor, if the baseboard is installed incorrectly, the floor will deform over time.
After laying the baseboard around the entire perimeter of the room, it is not recommended to lay cables in it
Important! With laminate flooring, the baseboard is not attached directly to the floor. It only needs to be attached to the wall.
- One of the important aspects in choosing a plinth for a laminate floor is the material from which this decorative detail is made. In second place, no less important, is the choice of color and texture. These two criteria in choosing the main decorative component of the floor arrangement will make the interior design of the room complete and harmonious, with the successful selection of the baseboard.
§ 1. INSTALLING SKIRTING BOARDS ON LAMINATE
Once you have chosen a plinth for the laminate, the price and properties of which suit you to the fullest, you can begin installation. Installation is carried out at the very last stage, when the flooring is laid, doors and arched bases are installed.
Installation of baseboards for laminate flooring
It is not difficult to calculate the amount of material needed - measure the length of all walls, with the exception of the doorway. There is no point in buying skirting boards for future use.
Clips, corners, couplings, dowels and screws are sold complete with the plinth. All this is useful for high-quality installation. Installation of a plinth on a laminate can be carried out in several ways, depending on the design of the first. Let's take a closer look at each type of installation.
Plank material
Proper selection of the material from which the plinth is made will help to hide all flaws in the floor installation as efficiently as possible.
For laminate, skirting boards are mainly used from materials such as:
- Polyvinyl chloride
PVC skirting boards are most often used for laminate flooring. Thanks to its rich color range, chic choice of textures and convenient fastening system, it is significantly superior to skirting boards made from other materials. The polyvinyl chloride skirting board is flexible, which makes it possible to easily use it for flooring on uneven walls, making their “waves” invisible, and can also easily bend around built-in gypsum plasterboard structures of round shapes with a large diameter.
The planks are pressed tightly against the wall, and the floor ends up looking very neat. It’s a good idea to find out what you need to lay laminate flooring.
Attaching the baseboard with glue is important if the floor covering is not a temporary option and is installed for many years
The width and dimensions of PVC plinths can be very diverse; the choice of plinth width depends on the height of the ceilings in the room: the lower the ceiling, the thinner the plinth should be selected.
Important! In rooms with low ceilings, a wide baseboard will look rather ridiculous.
Also, PVC plinth can be used to hide the seam when joining the laminate with another floor covering when installing a combined floor.
- Wood-based materials
Laminated MDF skirting boards are also one of the most popular decorative options for laminate flooring, giving it a finished look. MDF is a little more expensive than plastic, but it looks quite effective. The only drawback of chipboard plinth is its fragility.
It is important to choose a color that perfectly harmonizes with the color of the laminate
- Natural wood
Wooden veneered plinth is used least often for laminate due to its high cost. You can use solid baseboard. For example, pine will cost much less than rare wood species, performing the same decorative functions for flooring.
How to choose skirting boards for laminate flooring
The plinth plays not only a functional, but also an aesthetic role. With its help, the gap between the wall and the floor is closed, and the room itself takes on a finished look. If you choose the wrong baseboard, then all impressions of the renovation can be completely ruined. To emphasize the merits of the room design, you should take the issue of choosing a plinth responsibly.
By color
Match the color of the laminate
If you are afraid of making a bad choice, then select the baseboard according to the color of the laminate. But to create a unique design, it is better to use tones that are slightly darker or lighter than the floor covering. The baseboard, which matches the tone of the floor, blends in with it and does not visually attract attention. The color of the plinth can be matched to the tone of the walls.
If wooden doors are installed, then the baseboard can be matched to the trim. For such a solution to look harmonious, the trim and baseboard must be the same thickness and size.
To match the trims
Recently, designers have begun to use white skirting boards. It can look beautiful if you consider many factors such as the color combination of the walls, floors and furniture. Perhaps, before choosing a plinth for laminate, it is better to sketch the interior in a special architectural program and experiment with colors. This is due to the fact that the contrast in the colors of the laminate and baseboard is a rather bold decision. How successful it will be depends on the thoughtfulness of all the details of the repair.
To size
Dimensions of plastic floor plinths
To make the renovation in the room look harmonious, you should decide on the size of the plinth. It depends on the color of the floor, walls and ceiling height. In large and high rooms it is unacceptable to use small-sized plinths. This will visually change the space not for the better. In this case, it is more appropriate to install a wide plinth of a contrasting color, which is attached to the wall.
In order to visually increase or at least not reduce the height of low walls, you should choose a thin plinth, preferably matching the tone of the walls.
A room with a high floor plinth
If you have a standard room, then you can use plinths that have a standard height, ranging from 4.5 to 7 cm.
By material
Depending on the quality of the floor covering, you should choose the material for the plinth. If you have expensive laminate flooring in your room, you can combine it with a wooden baseboard. If the flooring is of average quality or even below average, then there is no point in laying a wooden plinth; in this case, it is quite possible to get by with its analogue made of MDF, veneered wood or PVC (plastic).
The times when baseboards were of one shape, color and size are a thing of the past. A wide range of skirting boards are available on the modern market from different materials, differing in shape, color and texture.
Wooden floor plinth
The most environmentally friendly material is wood. Skirting boards made from this material have a presentable appearance, are easy to install, and do not require special care. The material is sensitive to changes in moisture, so it cannot be installed in rooms with high humidity. The most cost-effective plinth is made from pine. Oak and linden are more expensive, but they also look more noble. Wooden skirting boards are sold without a varnished coating, which makes it quite difficult to determine the final color. To get an approximate idea of the color of the varnished plinth, run a wet sponge over the wood. This shade will look like a varnished baseboard.
Solid oak plinth
The base of the veneered plinth is spruce or pine. Veneer or a thin plate of noble wood is glued to the finished form under the influence of temperature. It can be acacia, oak, walnut, pear, bamboo, etc. Such products are produced with a cable channel, which allows you to hide the wires under them.
Veneered
If the walls in your house are finished with MDF panels and the floor is covered with laminate, then it is best to choose MDF baseboards. They are made from compressed wood fibers and binders. Such products are not afraid of dirt and moisture, they do not fade in the sun.
MDF plinth
The most budget option is PVC. The range of plastic skirting boards is very wide. Thanks to this, everyone can choose the appropriate option in shape and color. Among the advantages, it is worth noting resistance to moisture, corrosion and rotting, however, the strength of the material leaves much to be desired.
PVC
Today they also produce polyurethane skirting boards, which are particularly flexible.
Polyurethane flooring
If you choose baseboards for laminate in accordance with the characteristics of the room, the flooring itself and the cost of the material, then your renovation will be completed on time, and the end result will delight you and your guests. Do you have any questions on the topic or just want to comment on the article? Then we are waiting for your questions and comments.
Video
Alexey Zemskov will share the main secrets of selecting skirting boards, laminate flooring and doors:
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How to install plastic skirting boards
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Skirting colors
The most harmonious choice of decor for laminate flooring is a plinth made of PVC or laminated MDF, imitating the structure of wood. Wooden laminated plinth or uncoated natural wood plinth is also suitable.
It is important to choose a color that perfectly harmonizes with the color of the laminate. If light-colored material is laid, a dark veneered plinth or plinth imitating the colors of natural dark wood will look very elegant. Also, edging made of any white material will look great on a dark laminate floor. This article will be useful on the color of the laminate.
The most harmonious choice of decor for laminate flooring is a plinth made of PVC or laminated MDF, imitating the structure of wood
Installing skirting boards from different materials
Even when purchasing a plinth, you need to check its contents.
The set should include:
- corners;
- end caps;
- fastening elements.
Skirting boards made from different materials are attached in different ways:
- using dowels;
- glue;
- self-tapping screws
None of these mounting options will cause damage to your laminate flooring.
Attaching the baseboard with glue is important if the floor covering is not a temporary option and is installed for many years.
- Using the clips included with PVC and MDF plinths, it is more convenient to mount models without additional cavities for cables. This installation technology is suitable for a room with perfectly smooth walls, since otherwise the baseboard will not hold firmly. When fastening, it is necessary to maintain a distance between the clips of 300 - 500 mm. The clips themselves are attached to the wall using self-tapping screws.
- Models of skirting boards, which have gutters for cables, are laid together with the laying of communications that need to be hidden by the skirting board. The cable location should be below the level of fastening the clips with self-tapping screws.
Important! After laying the baseboard along the entire perimeter of the room, it is not recommended to lay cables in it.
The width and dimensions of PVC plinths can be very diverse; the choice of plinth width depends on the height of the ceilings in the room: the lower the ceiling, the thinner the plinth should be selected
Installation of the plinth, regardless of what material it is made of, always starts from the corner of the room and is done in a clockwise direction.
- Marking the locations of screws for fastening is done after installing the base of the plinth.
- Next, holes are drilled, a plinth is installed, and self-tapping screws are screwed in, after which the strip is mounted.
- Installation of the connecting element is carried out before fixing the subsequent overlapping element. When all structural elements are installed, end caps are installed on all baseboards.
Important! When installing plinth elements, do not use excessive force in tightening the screws. PVC skirting boards can be dented and dented, while wooden or MDF skirting boards can crack or become deformed.
Choosing the size of the plinth
The choice of the size of the plinth, as well as its color scheme, should be carried out in accordance with the height of the ceilings. Small thin skirting boards should not be used in high rooms with a large area. This is explained by the fact that a thin baseboard will visually distort the geometry of the room. In this case, a wide and thin plinth that is attached only to the wall is more suitable. It is preferable that it be a contrasting color or white.
Note! In a small room with low ceilings, thin baseboards made to match the walls will look good. They will, as it were, continue the walls, visually extending the room in height. In small rooms, skirting boards with a height of 45–70 mm are often used.
Useful tips
- It is better to cut off excess material not with improvised means, but with a grinder.
- With perfectly smooth walls, you can fix the baseboard using liquid nails.
- When purchasing a skirting board, you must check the color match of the additional components to the purchased slats.
- To avoid unnecessary costs or shortages of material, you need to carefully calculate the required quantity before purchasing.
Laying skirting boards on a laminate flooring is not a difficult task and even a beginner in the construction business can easily cope with it. The main thing is to know the technology of its installation and the features of fastening in different ways. This material will tell you about the installation of plastic skirting boards.
Video material
Fastening wooden baseboards is done using self-tapping screws; if the wall surface is perfectly flat, you can use liquid nails.
In this article, we looked at the various options for laminate baseboards, and we hope that with this information you were able to decide which material is best for your home. And if this is so, then you have managed to complete the interior, and now you are pleasant and comfortable in your home. And this is the most important thing. Enjoy the comfort!
