The floor in the garage is subject to serious loads, so it is used durable materials with high wear resistance. More often it is a concrete screed, less often porcelain tiles, and very rarely made of wood. But a wooden floor in a garage is actually a durable structure with a long service life, but with the condition that floor base will be competently assembled from lumber of a certain quality. Therefore, in this article we will talk about wooden floors, about the materials from which they are constructed, and about the methods of constructing the floor structure.
Wood for garage floors
Let's start with the choice of lumber, because this is the basis of the entire structure. So, for the floor in the garage you need boards with a thickness of at least 50 mm and beams for logs with a cross-section of at least 100x100 mm. The material must be dry (no more than 20% humidity), without visible defects and flaws. Optimally - first class lumber.
As for wood types, there is no need to choose expensive models such as oak or walnut boards. Traditional coniferous ones are also suitable. Of course, it is better to choose durable wood, but constructing a garage floor from it will be expensive.
Advantages and disadvantages of wooden floors
Let's start with the positive characteristics:
If choose the right lumber, if you properly process and lay them, then the floor will metal garage(brick or block) will last for decades.
Myself installation process uncomplicated. Yes and the service for its assembly is inexpensive.
High structural strength. The floor, assembled from boards 50 mm thick, can easily withstand a load of up to 175 kg/m².
Plank flooring easy to repair. Replacing one floorboard will not be difficult. And it won't cost much.
Wood absorbs well from excess moisture , so even in a metal garage with a wooden floor, the humidity will always be normal. And this is very important indicator for car storage.
Tree doesn't generate dust, How concrete base.
Fallen to its surface metal object will not create sparks. And this is already a criterion fire safety buildings.
Now about the disadvantages:
Wood – flammable material. This factor often becomes the decision of fire department representatives to close the garage. Especially if its heating system is based on a wood stove.
The boards are good absorb all the liquid. And it doesn’t matter whether water or technical oil, gasoline or paint was spilled. Therefore, wooden floors quickly become dirty. Let’s add that boards quickly absorb odors.
The wood is starting rot quickly, if ventilation is not provided under the floor base, if the floorboards are not periodically treated with protective compounds.
Tree - insect breeding ground. Even rats and mice try to organize their nests in it.
Not in all regions lumber is an affordable pleasure.
Technologies for forming a wooden floor in a garage
Let’s immediately make a reservation that a wooden floor in a metal garage, and not only that, is a lag structure. That is, first the logs are laid, and then the boards are mounted on them. In this case, there are two positions regarding the foundation inside the garage building. This can be a concrete base or ordinary soil. Accordingly, the installation of logs will be done differently. Let's look at these two options separately.
Wooden garage floors over concrete base
The concrete floor under the timber in the garage can be laid reinforced concrete floor slabs or a screed poured onto the ground. In any case, the foundation is solid. So, how to install lags:
At the wall farthest from the garage entrance lay one joist beam across the garage. The distance from the wall of the building is 5 cm. It is leveled horizontally using a level. Wooden pads are used for leveling. The timber is not yet attached to the concrete base.
On our website you can find contacts construction companies, which offer construction services for small architectural forms. You can communicate directly with representatives by visiting the “Low-Rise Country” exhibition of houses.
Exactly the same lag placed near the entrance at the same distance from the wall. And they are aligned horizontally in exactly the same way.
Then between them pull the thread or an even strip is laid on them, which will show which of the lags is located above and which below. After which one of them is selected as a starting point during the installation process. Usually the element located above is taken as a basis.
Then the lower beam is raised to the top level. That is, two elements of the joist structure create a flat horizontal plane.
After which both bars attached to a concrete base. Here you can use metal dowels, for which holes are drilled in the joists and in the floor into which the dowels are driven. You can use metal corners, which are attached with one shelf to the bars, and the other to the concrete base. The photo below shows just such a method of fastening.
The next stage is the formation of a horizontal plane. To do this, three or four strong threads are pulled between the laid beams, which will form the plane of the wooden floor. Then they proceed to the installation of intermediate lags, which are aligned along the stretched threads. The installation step of the beams is 40-60 cm. It all depends on the thickness of the boards used. The thicker the board, the larger the lag installation step.
How to assemble a plank floor
The next stage in the formation of a wooden floor is laying and fastening the boards. For this, it is best to use tongue-and-groove products, although edged ones are also suitable. It’s just easier to work with the former, and during the assembly process the surface will be without visible joints.
So, the first board is laid near the wall, aligned perpendicular to the laid joists and attached to them with self-tapping screws. The fasteners must be screwed into the groove of the tongue so that the heads of the screws are not visible. If used edged boards, then the fastening is carried out through the end of the product. Please note that the first board is not laid flush against the wall surface, but at a short distance of 1 mm. This is the so-called expansion gap, which will prevent the boards from resting against the wall when they expand due to moisture.
Now, near the first laid panel, a parallel rail with a cross-section of 50x50 mm is laid, which is secured to the joists with self-tapping screws. The distance between two lumber is the width of the board, plus 5-10 cm.
Now a second floorboard is laid between the first laid board and the batten, inserting the groove into the tenon, tapping the end with a mallet. After that, three or four wooden wedges are hammered between the second board and the batten, with the help of which the second element of the plank floor is pressed against the first. Next, simply attach the second board to the joists with self-tapping screws. Then the rail is dismantled and moved to the same distance as in the first case. And in this way the process is carried out to the opposite wall of the garage.
The last floorboard is laid with a gap from the wall. If it does not fit completely, then the panel is simply cut to the required size.
The length of the boards does not always completely cover the floor base. Therefore, laying is carried out with extension. In this case, two boards laid lengthwise must be joined at one of the joists.
Video description
The video shows the technology for assembling a plank floor:
Wooden floors on the ground
This means that there is no solid foundation inside the garage. Just a building built according to strip foundation, between the elements of which there was earth from dug trenches.
First, the soil is leveled. Then the entire plane is covered with a 5 cm layer of sand, which is leveled and compacted. After that, a crushed stone layer 10 cm thick is poured, which is also leveled and compacted.
In principle, this is not necessary, since the screed will not be poured over the prepared sand-crushed stone bed. This is simply how a filter layer is formed that will quickly absorb liquids spilled on the floors and passing through it.
An easier way to do this is:
Every meter on level ground laying bricks or concrete blocks. You can make small recesses under them, in which it is recommended to lay waterproofing material, for example, roofing felt folded in half.
Supports for joists placed in the same horizontal plane. In principle, the leveling technology is exactly the same as in the case of lags.
That is, at the opposite wall from the entrance first align horizontally two extreme stands.
After expose all four stands in one horizontal plane.
Then along the laid slats or stretched threads display stands both in transverse rows and in longitudinal ones. That is, it turns out that all the blocks form one plane with their upper ends.
Stands can be formed from different materials. For example, it could be timber, paving slabs, stone tiles, paving stones and other durable materials. Linings are often made from reinforced monolithic concrete. That is, waterproofing material is placed in the dug hole, then metal mesh, and then the concrete solution is poured.
When the stands for the joists are ready, they begin to assemble the joist structure. Everything here is the same as when forming a wooden floor over concrete. And exactly the same technology for assembling floorboards.
Video description
The video shows how the ground logs were assembled inside the garage building:
Not many people want to tinker with wood, believing that this material is not the best good option for the garage. But in vain. Examples of wooden floors inside garage buildings prove the opposite. You just need to correctly install the structure and strictly follow the recommendations of specialists. Here are some of them:
Boards needed lay along car movement.
All wooden materials and products needed treat with protective compounds. And here you will need to decide how to treat the wooden floor in the garage. In principle, there are two ingredients: an antiseptic and a fire retardant. The first is responsible for combating harmful microorganisms (mold, fungi), the second increases the fire resistance of wood. Both liquids are applied in exactly this order: first the antiseptic solution, after drying the fire retardant solution.
When constructing a joist system on the ground, it is recommended that the lower ends of the joists come into contact with the soil or sand cushion, treat with waterproofing material, for example, bitumen mastic.
Mandatory top plane of the plank floor treated with paint or varnish, but here a different question arises than how to cover a wooden floor in a garage, what kind of paint is used for this.
The best option is polyurethane paints. They have high wear resistance. The varnishes performed well. You can use stain, which is an excellent remedy for both moisture and insects. You can find special wood impregnations on the market, they are sold different color, so you can get creative with the design. But in any case, even the most wear-resistant coatings will not last long in the garage. Therefore, the floors will have to be periodically renewed in terms of protective coating.
Conclusion on the topic
Wooden floors installed in garages are a good option. It’s in vain that many people refuse it. In terms of performance characteristics, they are not inferior to concrete or stone ones, especially in terms of service life. Of course, provided that the structure was assembled by professionals, that is, with high quality.
First of all this materials with high levels of wear resistance and safety. Not many materials fall into this category.
Classic and inexpensive set of tools:
- gravel and sand for drainage;
- polyethylene as a waterproofing agent;
- concrete pad and cement strainer as a base for the floor.
With the help of these materials it is derived finished floor. To finish a finished floor, the following are most often used:
- porcelain stoneware;
- polymer compositions;
- rubber tiles or boards.
Attention! The issue can be resolved in a radical way, laying the finished product on the floor reinforced concrete slab. Reinforced concrete slab especially convenient when building on a slope.
But we'll look at it here classic version with the installation of a cushion and cement screed.
Floor in the garage - photo:
Why is waterproofing needed?
Problem high humidity in the garage is often associated with approaching the surface groundwater, which, leaking through the floor, protrude outside, forming wet areas.
The second essential point is the need for quality moisture removal falling on the floor from above, for example, when washing a car or from melted snow.
To eliminate the effect of these factors, it is necessary to perform high-quality waterproofing floor in the garage.
High quality waterproofing Garage flooring starts with a solid foundation. And the base of the floor in the garage, in turn, begins with gravel. Gravel helps water flow down freely without stopping, under the influence of gravity.
For good water drainage, the bedding layer must be at least 100mm thick. After cooling, the gravel is compacted well to create a reliable base.
On top of the gravel is located layer of sand. Sand is highly hygroscopic, allowing it to absorb excess moisture from the concrete base of the floor. The sand layer should also be at least thick 100 mm. The sand is well compacted after filling, like gravel.
To isolate the concrete base from groundwater apply dense polyethylene. The film is cut and laid over the sand, overlapping sheet on sheet, the overlap width is about 200 mm.
A concrete pad with a thickness of 200 mm. It is better to pour concrete along the leveled beacons; in this case, the screed poured later on top of the set concrete will require less material and effort for leveling.
The concrete pad must be poured in reinforcing grid with a rod thickness of at least 10 mm.
The lattice in this case is a grid with cells 200 x 200 mm.
After pouring and leveling the concrete pad, it must be covered from above polyethylene.
This is necessary to reduce moisture evaporation rate– this technique will make the concrete base as strong as possible.
The concrete pad covered with polyethylene should be left to dry for at least few weeks.
After drying, a cement screed is installed on the concrete pad, forming subfloor. You can’t do without lighthouses here either. When installing beacons, it is necessary to take into account the future slope of the screed towards the gate within 1,5-2% , this is the height difference 1.5-2 cm on 1m length.
Slope is necessary for drainage excess water. The thickness of the screed can be 2-3 cm. The screed is reinforced in the same way as the concrete base, but the cell pitch here is narrower 100 x 100 mm.
After pouring and leveling the screed, it is also covered with polyethylene and left to dry before purchasing light shade, indicating its complete drying.
Coatings
- tile;
- rubber floors;
- polymer floor;
- painting;
- impregnation for concrete.
What can you use to make a garage floor cheaply? Cheap floor coverings are tile And painting.
In conclusion: To organize the right floor in the garage, it is better to choose time-tested, high-quality solutions. In this matter it is better not to chase fashion trends, because the price of error here is extra expenses for reconstruction. Concrete floor If installed correctly, it will serve you for many years, delighting you and not causing any complaints.
It would be wrong to leave a clay or dirt floor in the garage, since the earthen base is not particularly strong and, as a result of constant loads and impacts, will sag and deform over time. In addition, the soil easily absorbs various toxic substances and gasoline, so get rid of unpleasant odor It won't work in boxing. Another thing is the wooden floor in the garage, it is durable, attractive and durable coating will serve you for many years. Unlike concrete floors, wood flooring retains heat better in the room, does not generate dust and looks more attractive.
Requirements for garage covering
Before you make a wooden floor in the garage with your own hands, you need to study the requirements for such a coating:
- Wood surface must be resistant to mechanical damage, so it is better to choose boards made of hard wood.
- The flooring must be well resistant to aggressive chemicals. To do this, the wooden floor is treated with special impregnations and also coated with protective compounds.
- The plank floor must be fireproof. To protect against fire, wood must be impregnated with fire retardants.
- The surface must be moisture resistant. For this purpose, the boards can be coated with oil or varnish, but it is worth remembering that when moving on the floor, your feet should not slip.
Important! When choosing a material and method of floor installation, it is important to give preference to inexpensive and reliable structures, take into account the ease of installation and durability.
How to choose wood for garage flooring?
Before you make a garage floor from planks, you need to choose the right wood for this room. Laying walnut and mahogany boards under conditions of increased loads, humidity and exposure to aggressive substances is impractical.
Give preference to coniferous species, as they have high wear resistance and strength. It is best to make a garage floor from oak. This breed thanks high strength and hardness will last for decades.
When choosing wood, consider the following rules:
- To avoid deformation of the coating for flooring in the garage, use only well-dried wood (overdried or raw boards unsuitable);
- to construct a frame from logs, choose only whole bars without cracks or other defects;
- After calculating the amount of wood, always take a 15 percent reserve.
How to treat wood before laying?
In order to protect the wooden floor in a garage on the ground from putrefactive processes and damage by insects, all wood elements are treated with antiseptics. Products must be primed before installation. The primer is applied in several layers. All products are thoroughly dried after applying the impregnation.
Sometimes antiseptics are applied only to the underside of the board. Sodium fluoride and borate-based mixtures are suitable for these purposes. White, odorless powder is diluted in water. After preparation and application, the composition does not change the color of the material, does not reduce its strength and protects metal structural elements from corrosion.
Advice! To protect against moisture, the bars are coated with water-repellent, deep-penetrating solvent-based impregnations. They create a protective thick film. Oil analogues are allowed to be used only for processing absolutely dry wood.
The floor in the garage made of boards must be protected from fire. For this purpose, the wood is treated with fire retardants. These are special substances that increase the fire resistance of the material. Fire retardants are applied to joists and boards before they are laid. It is better to use compounds based on copper hydroxide.
Step-by-step installation technology
If you are making a wooden garage floor with your own hands, then best option- device wooden structure by lags. This way the load will be evenly distributed over the entire flooring and transferred to the ground. In addition, if insulation is placed between the joists, the room can be additionally protected from the cold. Constructions on logs allow you to hide foundation defects. Various utilities are laid in the space under the floor.
Note! Floors with joists are not suitable for low garages, since this design raises the floor level by 6-10 cm. In this case, a wooden floor in the garage is made over a concrete base.
Laying a wooden floor on a concrete base
The concrete base does not require special preparation, so work on laying the plank floor can begin at any time.
In doing so, the following recommendations are adhered to:
- for laying use boards with a moisture content of no more than 10%;
- first arrange a frame of 50x50 millimeter bars, which are installed in increments of 400-500 mm;
- Beacon bars are laid first in 2 m increments;
- for fixation to the concrete base, dowels are used, which are attached in increments of 500 mm;
- then intermediate bars are laid and also secured to the base with dowels;
- then proceed to the installation of the flooring;
- The boards are laid out perpendicular to the frame bars and secured to them using nails or self-tapping screws.
If the concrete base is fairly level and does not have serious defects, then plank flooring is made without using a frame made of bars. Thickened floor boards are suitable for installation. Before use, they are impregnated with drying oil to protect them from moisture and painted. After drying, proceed to installation of the plank floor. The boards are laid along the entire length of the room and secured to the concrete base using nails or self-tapping screws.
Laying a wooden floor on the ground
It is somewhat more difficult to install a wooden floor on soil foundation. First, the base is carefully prepared, and then the floor is laid in several stages:
- The surface of the soil in the garage is leveled with a hoe or rake.
- Next, sand and gravel backfill is performed. In this case, first a layer of sand 15 cm high is poured, followed by a layer of expanded clay or gravel of the same height. If desired, the thickness of the gravel layer can be reduced to 10 centimeters.
- Then the sand and gravel cushion is spilled with water and compacted well. It is best to use an electric tamper (hand roller, vibrating plate or hand tamper) for this purpose.
- We lay the waterproofing material over the entire surface and place it on the walls to a height of 10 cm. The joints of the material are glued together with mastic or tape.
- Let's start installing the logs. For this, bars with a cross section of 100x100 mm are suitable. First, we install the timber around the perimeter of the room. It will distribute the load from the car and the weight of the entire deck. We fix the lumber at the corners metal corners between themselves. Using a level, check the horizontal position of the bars. If necessary, we place scraps of boards or plywood under the elements.
- We also install logs with a cross section of 100x100 mm facing the entrance to the garage. The step between them is no more than half a meter. To fix them to the lighthouse beam around the perimeter of the room, we use metal L-shaped products or self-tapping screws.
- We pour expanded clay or sand into the resulting voids between the joists to insulate the floor of the room.
- After this, we begin laying the floorboards. They are placed across the joists and attached to them using self-tapping screws at two points. To ensure that the floorboards fit snugly against the joists, holes are drilled in them for fasteners. To do this, use a drill whose diameter is 1 mm less than the diameter of the self-tapping screw.
Advice! Before laying, strips of roofing felt are attached to the edges of each board using a stapler to better insulate the room and reduce cracks.
When installing a wooden floor on the ground, you can use brick or concrete pillars as support. This method is suitable for garages in which the dirt floor is located significantly below ground level. Thanks to the construction of the columns, they do without a sand-gravel layer and waterproofing. The distance between the rows of columns is 800 mm, and the pitch of the columns in one row is 300 mm.
Attention! To prevent the floor in the garage from sagging under the weight of the car, boards with a thickness of at least 5-6 cm are taken to construct it. The floorboards must be covered with drying oil and painted.
How to cover the surface of the wood after installation?
After assembling the structure, the question arises, how to cover the wooden floor in the garage? It is not worth leaving the boards without a final protective coating, since this way the surface will not be protected from mechanical stress, absorption of fuels and lubricants and moisture.
The following compounds are used to protect the floor:
- After covering the floor with varnish, you will get a durable, transparent and moisture-resistant coating. Wear-resistant varnishes are ideal for the garage. polyurethane based. Such coatings protect boards from premature rotting, do not crack, withstand changes in temperature and humidity, and do not lose their original qualities during operation.
- Painting the floor with paints increases the aesthetic appeal of the coating and protects it from short-term exposure to moisture. Organic solvent based paints are suitable for boxing.
The installation of a garage floor can be done using various materials. However, many prefer a tree that has unique properties. With its help, you can form a durable coating that can withstand a fairly high operating load. It has a number of undeniable advantages. At the same time, everyone can easily learn how to make the floor themselves in order to turn their plans into reality. You just need to familiarize yourself with technological features laying boards.
Wooden floor covering
Advantages and disadvantages
The debate continues as to which flooring is better and why you should install a concrete or wood floor in your garage. Like any other material, wood has not only advantages, but also disadvantages that should be taken into account when choosing the appropriate option.
Advantages
The main advantages of a wooden floor include:
- Long service life. Choosing the right one protective composition, you can significantly increase the service life of the coating. In addition, how long it will last will depend on how intensively the garage is used.
- Maintainability. If necessary, individual floorboards can be replaced with new ones.
- High strength. If you choose boards of sufficient thickness, the wood will be in no way inferior to concrete.
- Possibility of installation on our own. You don’t even need to have special education or knowledge to do this.
Attention! A wooden surface is warmer than concrete, and therefore repairing a car in a garage will be much more comfortable.
Wood has a special structure
Flaws
The disadvantages of wood include its absorbency. The special structure allows the material to absorb various odors quite well. As a result, if any substance used to service the vehicle accidentally spills, the decking will be very difficult to clean. It is almost impossible to remove such stains. In addition, the risk of fire due to an accidental spark increases sharply.
Considering that wood is natural material, you will have to spend quite a lot of money to purchase it. That is why, instead of wooden flooring, many people prefer to use tiles, the installation of which will cost much less.
It is also worth noting the susceptibility of wood to moisture. Without proper treatment, it can quickly begin to rot, and then completely lose its performance characteristics. Due to low biological stability, wood is often infested with insects and suffers from rodent attacks.
Attention! The listed shortcomings cannot be called critical. When treating a wooden surface with special protective equipment You can significantly increase its resistance to external influences.
Ways to protect wood
To increase the service life of a wooden floor, you need to choose suitable composition. First you need to decide what to paint the floor with. Fortunately, manufacturers offer a wide variety protective materials, which will increase the moisture resistance and wear resistance of the laid coating, prevent rotting and make the material more fireproof. Preference may be given to:
- Wood varnishes. After applying the composition, a special film is formed on the wooden surface, which protects the floor from abrasion and increases its resistance in the event of exposure to destructive factors.
- Antiseptics. Such compositions are able to penetrate deep enough into the wood, protecting the floorboards not only from the outside, but also from the inside.
- Paints. Such substances are used not only for protection, but also for decorating the surface. Using paint, you can give the floor any desired color.
Attention! Application of paints and varnishes is only possible on dry wood that has been subjected to antiseptic treatment. Such combined option allows you to achieve the best results.
Laying technology
Before you begin laying the coating, you need to become familiar with the sequence of work and purchase all the necessary materials. There should be enough boards for the flooring certain area. Installation work in this case is carried out in the following sequence:
- Installation of a cement screed, if one was not made at the time of construction of the garage. In this case, it is necessary to strengthen the screed, since during operation it will be subject to significant operational load.
- Laying a waterproofing layer. A wide variety of materials can be used for this purpose.
- Floor insulation. You can skip this step if you wish. Especially if the garage is in winter time will not be used. However, the presence of a thermal insulation layer will optimize the temperature inside the garage and create more comfortable conditions for work in the off-season.
- Installation of lag.
- Laying boards.
- Application paint composition to provide necessary protection. Preference should be given to special floor paint.
Advice! Before they start installation work, should be prepared required material and tool. This will significantly reduce installation time.
Preparing material and tools
To install the screed, you need to purchase crushed stone of various fractions. river sand needed for cooking cement mortar and creating a pillow. Cement should be selected with a grade of at least M400. To reinforce the screed, you will need mounting wire and metal rods with a diameter of 6–8 mm.
A wide variety of materials can be used as a waterproofing material, but it is still better to choose a building film of sufficient thickness and roofing felt. Cross beams are made from wooden beam 20 cm by 20 cm. Expanded clay or mineral wool can be used as insulation.
In order for a wooden floor to last as long as possible, the thickness of the boards should be more than 3 cm. Attention should also be paid to the type of wood they are made from. You should immediately avoid walnut and mahogany. Conifers – a good option thanks to high strength and increased abrasion resistance. However, if you have a choice, it is still better to give preference to oak. This coating will last the longest in the garage. Wherein flooring material at the time of installation must meet certain requirements:
- Be dry, but not overdried. Excess moisture can cause the floor to warp.
- The underside of the boards should be treated with an antiseptic composition. Preference may be given to sodium fluoride.
- There should be no cracks or other defects on their surface that could cause a decrease in the strength of the laid coating.
- There should be a sufficient number of boards. The required volume obtained as a result of the calculation should be increased by at least 15%.
Attention! The boards should also be coated with a fire retardant, which will increase the fire resistance of the material, as well as a composition that will prevent the wood from rotting.
Screed device
First you need to concrete the base. To do this, a layer of soil is removed to a depth of 40 cm. In this case, the surface must be leveled in a horizontal plane. A layer of sand 5–6 cm thick is poured on top of the compacted soil, and then crushed stone of the same thickness. After this, everything is carefully compacted again.
First a layer of sand So that the prepared base can withstand the operational load, a metal sheathing with cells of 15–20 cm is laid. For its manufacture, metal rods are used, which are connected to each other with wire. The lathing is mounted on bricks, ensuring that there is a gap between it and the crushed stone. After this, the concrete solution is poured and carefully leveled. The thickness of the formed layer should be 10–12 cm.
Reinforcement of the base is required After the cement screed has completely dried, roofing felt or other waterproofing material is laid. Be sure to provide an overlap on the walls along the entire perimeter of the garage. To ensure sufficient tightness, the joint is carefully taped with tape. If all work was carried out carefully enough, the prepared foundation will be able to withstand a fairly high operational load.
Laying joists and thermal insulation
For transverse logs, a beam of a smaller cross-section can be used, and not just 20x20 cm. If preference is given to a beam measuring 15x20 cm, it should be installed on the edge. This will increase the rigidity of the base. Considering that the transverse logs will bear the main load, they should be placed every 30–50 cm. The pitch will depend on the size of the beam, the weight of the car, and the thickness of the board. Laying is carried out perpendicular to the joists.
Laying lags In order for the logs to last as long as possible, the following recommendations should be followed when installing them:
- Between the wall and the end of the logs, a gap of 2–3 cm is provided, which will help compensate seasonal deformation wood This phenomenon occurs under the influence of moisture and temperature.
- The joints between the joists or with the screed are carefully treated with bitumen mastic.
- Ideal for shaping flat surface wooden pads are used. They also allow you to provide a small gap, the size of which will be sufficient for free air circulation between the laid boards and joists.
Thermal insulation is laid in the space between the joists. If preference is given to mineral wool, the mats are laid as close to the beam as possible. Expanded clay is first simply poured, carefully filling all free space. Then they are leveled and compacted.
Usage mineral wool as insulation Advice! To ensure maximum effect from using the thermal insulation layer, a transparent film is laid on top of the insulation and attached to the joists. The use of such a film is mandatory when choosing non-grooved boards.
Laying and painting boards
Laying the boards begins from the far corner. At the same time, they ensure that the end joint of the boards of each subsequent row does not coincide with the joints of the previous one. In this case finishing coat will have the greatest strength.
Attention! It is very important to maintain the tightness of the seams and seal them with silicone.
Considering that a painted floor can last much longer, after laying the coating, a suitable paint layer is applied to its surface. It is important to remember that any coloring composition must be applied to a carefully prepared coating. Therefore, all dust and dirt are first carefully removed from the wooden surface.
Advice! To ensure that the formed coating lasts as long as possible, lay a rubberized coating at the points of its contact with the wheels. This will keep the garage in its original form for as long as possible.
Painted garage floor Thus, which floor in the garage is better is up to everyone to decide for themselves. However, wood deserves special attention. By following installation technology and choosing suitable protective materials, you can achieve high performance characteristics laid covering. In this case, you don’t have to worry about the appearance of difficult-to-remove stains and the short service life of the laid floor.
Some garage owners don't pay much attention to the flooring in their garage, preferring to leave compacted soil or clay. This approach will eliminate the hassle associated with arranging the coating and its repair. However, the earthen floor is not particularly durable, so it is easily deformed under the influence of constant loads. It also absorbs gasoline and other substances, the smell of which is very difficult to remove from the box.
The best option for a garage is a floor made of concrete or wood. Such coatings are characterized by high mechanical strength, wear resistance and attractive appearance. Let us dwell in more detail on the creation of wooden floors, since they look more interesting and have the ability to retain heat, unlike concrete surface, which almost always remains cold.
Before you begin directly arranging the flooring, you need to choose the right wood to create it. It’s definitely worth abandoning the idea of using mahogany and walnut in boxing. Not a bad option - conifers, which are characterized by excellent strength and wear resistance. But it is best to opt for oak, since an oak floor will last much longer than coverings made from other wood.
When choosing a material, you must adhere to a few simple rules.
Before arranging the floor, the wood must be treated with fire retardants - means to increase the fire resistance of the material, as well as substances that prevent the occurrence of putrefactive processes.
Fire retardants increase wood's resistance to fire
Installing a wooden floor in a garage
As a rule, in car boxes floor structures are installed on joists, which allow the load to be evenly distributed over the entire flooring. Using floors on joists, you can hide some foundation defects, as well as communication systems, for example electrical cable. However, this design “raises” the floor by 6-10 cm, so it is not entirely suitable for very low garages. The technology for installing a wooden floor in a garage depends on the existing base, which can be concrete or dirt.
Installing a wooden floor on a concrete base
The concrete base does not need preliminary preparation, so you can immediately begin installing the wooden floor. Experts give several basic recommendations for this process:
- You can only lay material whose moisture content is no more than 10%;
- installation of logs is carried out with a certain step distance, which often varies from 40 to 50 cm;
- lighthouse logs are installed first on the concrete base, the step between them is approximately 2 m;
- The lags are fixed using dowels, the distance between them is 50 cm;
- intermediate logs are laid according to the same pattern as lighthouse logs. Only after their installation do they begin laying the flooring.
- floor boards are placed perpendicular to the joists and fixed with screws or nails.
In fact, if you have a concrete base, it is not at all necessary to opt for a joist structure. If the subfloor does not have significant differences in height and does not have large-scale defects, then thick floor boards are quite suitable for arranging the covering. Before installation, the blocks are treated with drying oil and painted, after which they are laid on a clean concrete base. Laying is carried out along the entire length of the garage, the boards are fixed with screws or nails.
Even a person with no knowledge can handle installing a wooden floor on a concrete base in a garage. vocational training, the main thing is to strictly follow the recommendations of specialists and adhere to technology.
Installing a wooden floor on a subgrade
If the base in the garage is not concrete, but is ordinary soil, then installing a wooden floor becomes a somewhat more complex process that will require patience and a certain skill. In this case, preparation of the base is necessary, and the installation itself will be carried out in several stages:
- The ground surface is leveled; for this you can use a rake, as well as an ordinary garden hoe.
- A sand and gravel cushion is created: first there is a 3-4 cm layer of sand, then a gravel or expanded clay layer of the same thickness. In principle, the second layer can be somewhat thicker, since it is created from materials whose fraction is several times larger than the size of grains of sand.
- The laid sand and gravel cushion is watered and then compacted well. This can be done with your hands and feet, although it will be much more effective to use a specialized device - an electric rammer (or a vibrating plate, hand roller, manual tamping).
- Logs are installed, which represent wooden blocks holding all floor structure. Since the base is not durable and is easily deformed, the logs are installed on pre-laid, even boards, and they must be thick enough so as not to sag during operation.
Bases for laying logs on the ground (holes for posts, if necessary, are dug before backfilling with crushed stone and sand)
All wood used should be impregnated with special compounds to give the material better moisture resistance, because the fact that it is not resistant to moisture and is susceptible to putrefactive processes is no secret. It is better not to neglect this recommendation!
It is not at all necessary to use only boards as support for the future floor; they can be replaced with pillars made of brick or concrete - they will cope with the task perfectly. Such supports are mounted in rows, the distance between which is 80 cm. The step between the columns themselves should be 30 cm.
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Ground logs
Among other subtleties of installing a wooden floor on a soil base in a garage, the following points can be highlighted:
- It is advisable to place the logs perpendicular to the movement of the vehicle, and the floor boards themselves - in the direction of movement. Compliance with this rule will help make the structure more durable, and the floor will become much stronger;
- floor boards should have the same thickness - approximately 50-60 cm. Thinner boards should not be used, otherwise the floor will simply sag under the weight of the car and quickly fail;
- Before installation, the boards must be dried and coated with antifungal agents. Their reverse side, which will come into contact with the sand and gravel cushion, must be treated with waterproofing compounds.
After installing a wooden floor covering, many garage owners leave it in its original form, which is very in vain, because wood is a material that needs to be treated with care. The floor should be covered with drying oil and painted, because this is the only way to protect the flooring from oil and gasoline stains, which are almost impossible to remove.
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Installation, part 1
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Montage, part 2
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Installation, part 3
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Installation, part 4
Video - Wooden floor in the garage. Installation, part 5
Chipboard and plywood garage floor
There is another way to create a wooden garage floor, which involves using plywood or chipboard. These materials will serve as the basis for the leveling layer; the thicker it is, the larger the pitch the logs will be laid. Having finished installing the beacons, you can proceed to installing the logs, securing them to the base with glue or self-tapping screws.
Plywood pieces treated with glue are placed in the fixation areas. Placed on top of the resulting mesh sheet material, which levels the floor. It is attached to the joists with self-tapping screws; there are approximately 9 pieces per sheet. A moisture-proof film is laid on the leveling layer, and then insulation boards. All this is covered with floor boards. Thus, the floor in the garage becomes perfectly flat and very durable.
Deciding to create a wooden floor covering in your car box is not an obstacle to arranging an inspection pit. It can be organized in several stages:
- A pit of the required depth is created, the bottom of which is laid flat with laid bricks placed perpendicular to the wall surfaces.
- The walls of the inspection pit are lined with brick, which is placed edgewise.
- The space between brickwork and filled with soil concrete mixture, this is done as the height of the walls increases.
- Brick laying is carried out until it reaches the level of the log. Thus, the blocks will partially lie on the masonry. A frame is mounted into the remaining space, into which boards are placed to cover the pit.
Metal corner laid on the walls of the inspection pit
Setting up an inspection pit in a garage with a wooden floor is quite simple; you just need to put in a little effort and follow the recommendations received.
Video - Inspection pit in a garage with a wooden floor
Features of a wooden floor in a garage
Wooden floor in the garage - this is an environmentally friendly coating that, when correct installation and care will please the owner of the box for many years. However, the decision to create a wood floor in the garage cannot be called unequivocally correct, in any case, this is the opinion of some car enthusiasts who are categorically against the use of this material. Accept correct solution An analysis of the pros and cons of this coating will help.
The advantages of choosing wood for garage flooring include the following factors:
- wood has a long service life, especially after impregnation with protective agents. Wooden floors can last about 10 years without deforming or collapsing;
- if part of the covering has been damaged, it can be relatively easily replaced without dismantling the entire flooring;
- wood is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs moisture from the air, which helps preserve optimal performance humidity in the garage, and this has a beneficial effect on the condition of the vehicle;
- wooden floor, unlike concrete covering, retains heat well, so working on it is safer for health. Wood is often chosen as a flooring by people who repair their cars themselves;
- the strength of a thick floorboard is not inferior to a concrete screed, so it can even be used in boxes for small trucks;
- on concrete floor dust is generated with wood covering such a problem will not arise.
Wooden garage floors also have their drawbacks, which include the ability to absorb odors, susceptibility to putrefactive processes, and low fire resistance. However, all these disadvantages can be easily mitigated by using special impregnations, making the performance characteristics of wood significantly better.
Wooden floor after painting
To summarize, it should be noted that wooden flooring in the garage is a rather controversial decision, which has its own advantages and disadvantages. Whether to give preference to it or not depends on the needs of the car owner. If he often has to work in a box, then it is better to opt for wood rather than risk his health by lying on a cold concrete screed. And to save appearance For coverings, you can use special rubber strips or roofing felt strips along which the car will drive out and drive in.