It’s not the repair process itself that scares many people, but the many preparatory work that precedes it. As a rule, these works lead to confusion and ruin, but you cannot do without them. However, there are exceptions to all the rules, and one of them is the process of laying linoleum. Consider whether it is possible to put linoleum on linoleum in order to avoid the accumulation of dirt and dust and not to carry out any special damage in the room.
What to do if linoleum is too old and pretty shabby?
If the flooring was laid back in Soviet times, and this “relic of the era” became so dilapidated that it rubbed in places and began to swell, remove it without any hesitation. Without a doubt, the old coating has acquired many defects over the years of operation. The following arguments can be made in favor of this:
1. Dust. In past years, linoleum was made on a fabric basis, which is not particularly reliable and gradually rots and collapses over the period of service. Even if you tried to treat the coating as carefully as possible and protected it from excessive loads, over the years a lot of dust has accumulated in the substrate. Glue, overlapping materials, pieces of fabric - all this probably remains in the lower layer. It is unlikely that you will want to breathe such a mixture for several more years, so it is much more reasonable to remove the old coating before laying a new one.
2. Mud. Even in a material without a fabric base, dust, bacteria and much more accumulate. Especially a lot of dirt in the seams between the sheets.
3. Roughnesses on the floor. Linoleum defects can be very different: dents, holes, wavy patches. In this situation, the only right solution is to completely replace the coating. According to technical requirements, the permissible differences in the height of the coating should not be more than 1-2 mm per 2 square meters. If there are areas on the floor with waves or dents, linoleum on them will wear out much faster. This is due to increased load on the surface.
4. There is another, no less important argument in favor of replacing the material. Agree, if you lay a new coating on an uneven floor, it will also deform, and walking on it will not be very convenient and safe. In addition, such a floor will not look very aesthetically pleasing, and over time you will again have to decide on the next repair.
What to do if linoleum has been laid recently?
If the main floor was well leveled and the cover was laid relatively recently, it is not necessary to remove it. Of course, you don’t want to mess with tightly glued material, in addition, there will be a lot of dust and dirt in the room. If the installation of linoleum is done qualitatively, it will serve as an excellent insulating and leveling layer for a new coating. Leaving the old linoleum, you will significantly save labor costs and can reduce the time to complete the preparatory procedures.
Before putting linoleum on the old linoleum, carefully inspect the old coating. Check for defects in it: furniture holes, scratches, cracks, bubbles, waves or dents. All detected defects must be corrected, since it will not work to hide them under the next coating layer, and the floor will not be perfectly smooth.
Great, you still have unused linoleum strips. They are useful for eliminating holes in the old coating. Another option - when buying a new coating, ask the seller for unnecessary residues from linoleum rolls.To choose the right material, measure the thickness of the damaged coating and determine what substrate it has and its density. Cut out pieces of linoleum of the required size and shape and stick them on the areas with holes to make the coating even.
To eliminate the crack, make transverse cuts from both ends so that the letter “H” emerges. After that, bend the edges of the crack and cover the substrate of the material and the floor with special adhesive mastic. Press the material firmly to the floor, place a load on it and leave it for a while so that the glue grabs well.
After the old coating is repaired, you can safely proceed to the direct installation of new linoleum.
How to lay linoleum in large rooms
Is it possible to put linoleum on linoleum in large rooms? Experts say that to lay a new coating on the old in rooms with an area of more than 25 square meters. m, pretty hard. As a rule, in rooms with such an area, linoleum is laid by gluing. If the layers of linoleum are glued together, their adhesion will not be very reliable, and the new material may peel off together with adhesive mastic.
Therefore, if you decide not to remove the old linoleum coating, it is better to lay a new one without using glue. You can also use a special double-sided tape for bonding the material, which reduces sliding.
In this case, linoleum is fixed along the walls with baseboards, and near the threshold - with a special decorative strip. And of course, speaking of laying linoleum on an old coating, it should be noted that it is not worth moving heavy pieces of furniture on the floor without taking them off the surface.
Video: Removing the old glued linoleum
