The strict and refined beauty of wood has always been appreciated by man. Until now, wooden floors have not gone out of fashion, creating worthy competition for laminate, tile or linoleum. But it is not enough to equip such a floor in the house - for its long service, it requires protection from mold, mildew and wood-boring insects. The question arises - how to cover a wooden floor to ensure its protection and preserve the structure of the wood.

For this purpose they are used various impregnations. Depending on the purpose of the room in the house, the thickness and composition of the wood used, necessary properties impregnating solution. They will provide the floorboards with maximum protection from external influences.

What types of impregnations can there be?

The construction market boasts a huge range of impregnations. They differ in protective properties, chemical composition and basis. They may have the following protection methods.

Antiseptic

Prevents the appearance of rot, fungus and mold. This type of solution is the most toxic, and when working with it, care must be taken when using protective equipment and ensuring adequate ventilation in the room.

The most commonly used for this purpose are clay, silicate and bitumen compositions. Some antiseptics can be made independently from low-toxic liquids available in the house, for example, oils and their products.

The use of such “homemade” impregnations on new, pest-free floors gives a long-term positive effect and allows you to protect people and pets from the effects of toxic substances.

Fire retardant

Reduces the wood's ability to ignite. Such impregnation usually contains various phosphates or boric acid. When the temperature rises significantly, a film forms on boards treated with such chemicals, preventing them from igniting.

Water repellent

Wood has strong moisture-absorbing properties. Getting on its porous surface, water causes swelling and creates favorable conditions for the appearance of fungus and rot. This is especially true for the floor in the kitchen or bathhouse. Using impregnation will help you avoid such troubles, because by filling the wood pores with its composition, it creates a moisture-repellent layer.

Combined

Presented with a combination of antiseptic + water repellent. Sometimes flame retardant components are added.

As a rule, when performing protective treatment on a wooden floor, combined compounds are used.

They may differ based on:

1. Soil protection. Such impregnations combine the qualities of primer mixtures and the necessary protective properties. After their application, in compliance with all priming rules, the final application of the decorative layer is carried out on the floor surface.
2. Impregnating solutions that require subsequent priming and painting with paints and varnishes after drying.

According to the chemical composition, such a primer can be:

1. Epoxy. More often it is a primer-impregnating mixture based on epoxy resins and with the addition of various components that have antiseptic properties. It creates a durable water-repellent film on the surface of the board. Epoxy compounds have excellent protective properties. They are best used in damp areas, in the kitchen, bath or bathroom.
2. Alkyd impregnating mixture is considered one of the best. Ideal for damp areas in the home, low toxicity, can be produced on a primer basis or as a pre-treatment solution before priming. Using it in a kitchen or bath will reliably protect the flooring from dampness and mold. The downside is that it takes a long time to dry. The drying process takes about 18 hours.
3. Shellac - based on methyl alcohol and the milky juice of insects. It is used when it is not possible to ensure high-quality drying of the floor; it has high protective properties. After applying it and before subsequent priming, you must wait until methyl alcohol penetrates the wood structure and displaces water.
4. Acrylic is the easiest to use. As a rule, this impregnating soil mixture is made on a water-dispersion basis, easily fills the pores of wood, dries quickly and reliably protects against rot.

The choice depends on the room

Choosing what to cover floorboard for her reliable protection, it is necessary to take into account the purpose of the room in the house and on the street.

Rooms with high humidity

When treating floors in the kitchen or bathroom, as well as in any other frequently visited room in the house, it is necessary to choose solutions with low toxicity. For the kitchen and bathroom, it is better to use products with low toxicity and water-repellent protection with an antiseptic.

In rooms such as a kitchen or bathroom, additional anti-slip treatment of floors with special agents, which are either part of the impregnation primer or are applied on top of it before decorative coating and give the floor a slightly noticeable roughness. Treatment with anti-slip agents significantly reduces injuries.

This is especially important for the kitchen, where there is high humidity and the likelihood of grease getting on the flooring.

Living rooms

When choosing what to cover the floor of a room in a house, you can take any low-toxic composition, because these rooms have moderate humidity and do not require the same protection as in the kitchen or bathroom. But here decorative floors require more careful processing of each parquet element.

Outdoor floors

For verandas, gazebos and terraces, impregnating agents of any toxicity with antiseptic properties and high water repellency are suitable. It is best to make several layers of impregnation here for reliable protection.

How to ensure maximum protection during processing

This process is simple and the same for floors in a residential building and other premises:

• the floor must be dried, leveled and dust-free (it is better to treat it with white spirit to degrease);
• apply the impregnating solution using a roller or brush;
• wait for it to dry;
• prime if non-primer impregnations were used;
• apply a decorative coating.

Deciding what to cover a wooden floor in utility rooms or in the house, it is necessary to take into account all external influences to which the flooring will be exposed during operation.

In this case, it is better to play it safe and use a more reliable protective treatment than to spend money on replacing rotten boards later.

Due to the fact that wood is a natural material with a porous structure, it can serve as a humidity regulator in the bathroom. At high level moisture in the atmosphere, it will absorb it, but when it is low, it will give it back. But in order for such a natural regulator to work properly, the wooden floor in the bathroom must be treated with special means. Otherwise, dampness and fungus will appear. Let's consider this issue in more detail.

Despite the tendency to be damaged by microorganisms, natural is characterized by a number of attractive properties for any owner:

• Excellent appearance;
• Warm, cozy atmosphere;
• Natural purity of wooden material.

The tree is very environmentally friendly material, capable of bringing a touch of comfort to any interior

Therefore, the only question is to choose the right type of wood. Moisture-resistant wood is required for the arrangement. Optimal options The following are presented here:

1. Teak. Teak wood is widely known for its unique characteristics. It has a beautiful grainy texture and is completely moisture resistant. If the longitudinal conductors at the joints are treated with sealant, then even ceramic tile will be able to envy its resistance to moisture. The only disadvantage of this breed is its high cost. For the tree grows in South Asian latitudes.
2. Larch. This domestic breed is practically not inferior to the previous version, since the high resin content prevents the penetration of moisture. Perhaps it is somewhat less beautiful, but this is compensated by a more adequate cost.
3. Thermowood. By treating the wood with steam, it is possible to obtain a moisture-resistant and attractive coating. It is necessary to specifically choose an option designed for the bathroom, since it will already come complete with structural elements.

Preparatory stage

The work is aimed at protecting the wooden floor from the harmful effects of moisture. They start from the installation stage.

Advice. When conducting waterproofing works in the bathroom it is recommended to lower the level flooring below average for the house, and arrange a decorative threshold. This will delay water leakage in case of force majeure.

At the first stage of waterproofing installation wooden base thoroughly cleaned of debris. Then the wood is impregnated with antiseptic compounds to protect the wood from mold.

In order for a wooden floor to please its owners for a long time, it requires careful care.

Waterproofing methods

Often craftsmen use one of three technologies: coating, painting and pasting method. Let's look at how to properly protect a wooden floor in a bathroom using each of these methods.

• Coating. This technique is characterized by simplicity of the process and excellent water-repellent qualities. Despite the fact that the solution can be prepared independently, ready-made mastics are often used. The bitumen mixture is applied to the rock surface in a dense layer (2 kg/m²) using a roller and brush. The walls below are also treated with bitumen mastic, forming a protective “trough”. The procedure is repeated twice, with an interval of several hours.

Attention! The second layer must be applied perpendicular to the previous one.

There are several in various ways wood floor protection

Then the bathroom is left to dry for 24 hours.

• Painting. This technology is considered more accessible to consumers, but is short-lived. Painting technique guarantees protection wooden surface only for 3-4 years. The paint mixture (usually bitumen-polymer) is also applied using a roller. However, it involves not two, but three stages, which are extended over time. If three days of drying are needed between the first dyeing procedure and the second, then about a week between the second and third. This is necessary to restore the natural properties of wood after impregnation. To ensure that the wooden floor is reliably insulated from moisture, you can also use safety nets. Namely, purchase soft linoleum.
• Pasting. This technology involves laying multi-layer waterproofing. Use of roll and various sheet materials necessary to create a moisture-resistant carpet. Moreover, all work is carried out at high temperatures.

Attention! Thermal conditions are the main condition for using this technique. Therefore, the work should be trusted exclusively to professionals with tools and many years of experience.

To reliably glue such a carpet to a wooden surface, bitumen mastic is used. It should be applied sufficiently thin layer over the entire plane (about 1.5 mm), after which you can roll out rolls of bitumen-polymer materials. This procedure is carried out as many times as necessary to achieve the desired effect. Then the edges are processed bitumen material polymer putty.

Proper care of wooden floors is the key to its long service life.

There are many ways to protect wood from moisture. This is the use of various oils, waxes and varnishes. However, all of them are not suitable for use in the bathroom, since they violate the natural hygroscopicity of the material. Wood will simply stop regulating the level of humidity in the room. Therefore, it is recommended to deal with high humidity other methods. Equip good ventilation, purchase a thermohygrometer. Constant monitoring of moisture levels in different time day and year will allow you to determine the optimal microclimate in the room.

Thanks to the use modern technologies processing natural material, a wooden floor is easy to imagine even in difficult bathroom conditions. The main thing is to choose the right type of wood, and then the bitumen solution of protective mastic.

Video: Processing a wooden floor in a bathroom

Wood is one of the most popular and ancient building materials. She has a number of positive qualities, which allow it to be used even today.

Moreover, if used modern impregnation for the floor during installation, the finished surface receives additional properties that significantly expand the scope of application of this material.

Types of primer and impregnation

First of all, it should be noted that there is whole line various wood processing products, which differ in their qualities and are intended for a specific type of work. That is why, before impregnating floor joists or other structural elements, you should familiarize yourself with the types of material and choose the most suitable one.

Moisture protection

• To begin with, it should be noted that all impregnations have the property of penetrating to a certain depth into the material. At the same time, they fill all the channels through which liquid can penetrate, and after drying, they clog them.
• The deeper the impregnation fills the pores in the wood, the more it will be protected from moisture. Also, this property will significantly increase the service life of the finished product.

• Considering this effect, many craftsmen, when choosing what to impregnate plywood for the floor, prefer to focus on deep-penetrating components.

Advice!
When purchasing these materials, you should check that they are intended for specific surfaces.
This is very important because the mixture contains special ingredients that work best with a particular substance.

Antibacterial compounds

• Quite often, floor impregnations contain special components that can fight various types of bacteria.
• They prevent the appearance of mold and fungi, and can also protect wood from the effects of various types of insects.
• Such compositions should be used when covering surfaces that are located in damp or damp rooms, as well as those elements that are located in the open air.

Advice!
Professional craftsmen prefer to use such materials for floors, since these surfaces have close contact with water during cleaning and are often exposed to moisture.

Fireproof compounds

• Such floor impregnations are considered the most popular when working with wood.
• They have the unique qualities of giving the material special properties, thanks to which it can resist fire.
• It is worth noting that such compositions for floors are used very rarely. However, if there is a fireplace or stove in the room, then it is recommended to use this material for processing the finishing coating.

Whitening or darkening

• There are wood impregnations that affect its fiber structure and color.
• They are most often used in decorative purposes, giving the floor surface a certain appearance. However, these impregnations also protect against moisture and may contain antibacterial substances.
• Currently, there are many varieties of such mixtures. They differ in a range of shades and allow you to imitate expensive types of wood on simple pine or other types wooden covering floor of an apartment or house.
• It is worth noting that the price of such compositions can be quite high, but the result obtained fully justifies such expenses.

Advice!
It is necessary to select such materials based on samples that must be in the store.
They are the ones who can display real color composition and its influence on the structure of the tree.

Application

• First of all, it is necessary to pre-treat the surface. There should be no protruding fibers or roughness on it
• For processing wood, the installation instructions recommend using special sandpaper or sandpaper with different abrasive fractions.

• Then remove dust from the surface using a damp rag.
• On next stage Impregnation is applied to the wood. You can do this yourself using a soft roller or brush.

• If it is necessary to apply several layers, then an interval of 4 hours should be maintained between coatings.

Advice!
When you need to treat not a finished floor, but wooden elements Before assembly, professionals recommend adding a little colored material to the impregnation.
The fact is that most of these compositions are colorless and it is very difficult to determine where the surface is treated and where it is not.

Conclusion

In the video presented in this article you will find Additional information on this topic. Also, based on the text presented above, we can conclude that there are quite a large number various materials, intended for impregnation of wood floors. Moreover, they all have their own unique properties, which must be selected taking into account the scope of application.

Wood as a building material has a number of advantages, but is very vulnerable to the influence of negative external factors: sunlight, rodents, insects, moisture and decay.

To improve strength and durability wooden structures, they are treated with special compounds - impregnations, which are designed to protect the surface layer of wood from various adverse influences.

How important is impregnation for wood?

To be convinced once and for all of the need to protect wood that is under constant influence of aggressive external environment, you just need to compare photographs of identical structures - treated with a special compound and left in their original form.

Classification of wood impregnations

By main substance

Water-based impregnations

They are considered the most versatile. The principle of operation is the creation of a protective layer due to deep penetration impregnation inside the wood. Application to the surface can be done using the following tools: brush, roller, spray gun, vacuum chamber. They can have different functional purposes: fire-retardant, antiseptic, moisture-repellent, decorative.

Advantages:

• Possibility of use both indoors and on the façade of buildings
• Possibility of processing wet wood
• Fast drying
• No smell
• Safety and environmental friendliness
• Easy to apply

Flaws:

• Impossibility of processing dry wood due to its swelling
• Short duration of action

Acrylic impregnations

Used at all stages of construction - both to protect untreated wood and to finishing in order to give the surface desired color or texture. Application of impregnation can be done with a brush or spray gun.

Advantages:

• Can be used for façade treatment wooden houses, and for interior decoration floors, ceilings and walls
• Reliable protection against fungus, insects, moisture and rotting
• No toxic substances in the composition
• Preservation of natural wood texture
• Water repellent properties
• Low price

Disadvantages include the inability to use at low temperatures

Solvent based impregnations

They serve to protect wood from various destructive factors: mold, mildew, rotting, changes in color and surface texture. Significantly extends the service life of wooden structures. Surface treatment is done with a brush or roller.

By purpose

Sphere possible application depends on the substances included in the impregnation. For example, toxic bitumen-based liquids with a strong odor or containing biocides should not be used indoors. So, according to functional purpose wood impregnations are divided into:

Antiseptic

They protect wood from the effects of negative biological factors: fungus, mold, wood pests (boring beetles, bark beetles, wood borers) and insects. Prevents the appearance of rot.

Despite the intensive development construction technologies and appearance large quantity modern materials, the tree does not lose popularity. Numerous advantages, such as durability, reliability, beautiful appearance, a wide selection of design options, do not leave the slightest chance for competitors. But in order to make the most of the opportunities provided by Mother Nature, you need to think about protection. That is why the question of how to cover a wooden floor worries many owners of eco-friendly housing.

How to choose a protective agent?

Products for covering wooden floors can protect against exposure to chemical liquids, moisture, premature abrasion, and mechanical damage. In addition, this is a sure way to give the interior a complete, perfect view and add finishing touch, without which even a flawlessly executed collaboration builders and designers seems incomplete.

The range of coatings is quite wide, but not every one of them is suitable for one type or another. wooden flooring. When choosing, you need to consider some points:

• wood species;
• admissibility of preliminary preparation;
• expected operating conditions (humidity, intensity of mechanical impact, antistatic);
• possibility of secondary processing;
• compatibility of the new coating with the old one, if any.

The choice also depends on the purpose of the room. In an apartment, unlike an office, the load is not so great, so you can use wax or oil. This The best way highlight the natural component of the wood and give the floor a pleasant matte shade.
If it is expected that the wooden floor will experience significant loads or high humidity, it is better to coat it with varnish, which will not only reliably protect it, but also give it a delightful shine and volume.

Materials for covering wooden floors

By appearance, protective materials are divided into:

• transparent coatings. This category includes impregnations and varnishes containing substances that emphasize the natural structure of wood;
• opaque coatings. These are organic-based paints (alkyd, oil, polyurethane, acrylic, perchlorovinyl) and water-dispersion mixtures. Polyurethane and acrylic paints especially appreciated for ease of application and high quality. Alkyd varnishes and paints are good due to their low water resistance and durability;

Depending on the main component, the materials for final processing There are 2 varieties:

• with fire retardants that protect the wood from fire. They do not in any way affect the beauty of the array and reduce the risk of fire;

It is important!
Impregnations based on fire retardants are especially recommended for industrial and public floors.

• with biocides that protect wood from the effects of mold, mildew, and insects.

What to prefer?

There are two staining methods.
1. Surface painting is used in cases where maintaining aesthetics and appearance wood is extremely important. This type of protection and decoration is used everywhere, on final stage floor finishing in timber houses, bathhouses and other wooden buildings.
2. Deep coloring is possible only in industrial conditions, because for its implementation we need special baths and autoclaves, in which a solution is injected under high pressure into wood capillaries, filling the entire free volume.

Oil impregnation

Oil for treating wooden floors is made from natural substances (linseed, sunflower, soybean oil) or artificial components, with the addition of, for example, polyurethane. The oil penetrates deeply into the thickness of the coating, leaving only a thin layer on the surface. As a result of the procedure, the floor becomes strong and acquires a silky shine.

It is important!
When choosing an oil, pay attention to the label: avoid products that say “contains solvent.”

Oil solutions come in different viscosities:

• thick (contain 90% natural oil);
• medium viscosity (dry residue is 40-50%);
• liquid (dry residue 20-40%).

Professionals strongly advise applying oil in high-traffic areas (living room and hallway). They can be used without fear in unheated rooms, in open areas, on bars in constant contact with water (bathtub, swimming pool).
Oiled floors are easy to refresh: just add special remedy into the water when washing. Before application, the floor must be sanded, cleaned and dried.

Varnish coating

The use of varnish creates the effect of volume and contrast of the wood pattern. The varnished floor shines and perfectly decorates the room. The varnish composition protects against moisture and mechanical damage.

It is important!
Despite protective functions varnish, the coating is quite elastic, which, if the wood is damaged, will move along with its fibers. Therefore, according to wooden floor varnished, it is better to walk in soft shoes.

What types of varnishes are there?

The following types of varnishes are distinguished:

• Solvent-based varnish for wooden floors saturates the wood well and changes its color. It should be applied in a thin layer in a well-ventilated area to prevent wrinkles and ensure rapid hardening. This varnish is ideal for “capricious” wood - ash, maple, beech.
• alkyd varnish is colorless, stable and durable. The only negative is that it takes quite a long time to dry.
• reactive varnish has high adhesive properties and forms an elastic film that does not affect the structure and original appearance. It will take at least 10 days to form a strong film.
• Polyurethane based varnish is used for valuable species tree. Such compositions are durable, resistant to abrasion and chemical attacks.

According to the level of gloss, varnishes are high-gloss, glossy, semi-gloss, matte and semi-matte. The gloss level of glossy varnish is 90%, which makes the wood floor look like a mirror; matte and semi-gloss varnishes reflect a small amount of light from the surface.

Painting the floor

Paint can increase the service life of the floor several times, and also protect the wood from biological factors(fungi, bacteria, mold). The paint can be applied to previously painted surfaces that have been pre-treated with an antiseptic.

The safest paints are water-dispersion paints. They do not contain organic solvents, are waterproof, lie easily on the surface and do not lose their original color.
Moisture-resistant acrylic paints are recommended for kitchens and bathrooms, while alkyd solutions are suitable for parquet.
Before painting, the floor must be cleaned of dirt, sanded and dried.

It is worth mentioning another means of protecting the floor - applying a composition based on wax and linseed oil. True, this method cannot guarantee impeccable resistance to various factors, therefore, today it is practically not used.

The modern building materials market provides a huge number of products for covering wooden floors. When choosing, do not forget to take into account the characteristics of the wood, the character environment and purpose of the premises. Properly selected materials will make any floor luxurious and elegant, a real decoration of the interior.