The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages artistic parquet, its main types and rocks from which dies are made. How to lay floor coverings and create decorative designs.
Advantages and disadvantages of artistic parquet
The coating has several advantages over conventional parquet:
- The user is given the opportunity to create an original floor that creates an individual style in the room.
- Artistic parquet does not require additional decorative elements. It can be compared to a real work of art.
- The floor has a long service life due to the use of hardwood. It does not lose its attractiveness over a long period of time.
- The coating has high environmental safety due to the use of natural wood.
- The porous structure of wooden samples retains heat well in the room and has thermal insulating properties.
- Artistic parquet does not require maintenance.
- Repeated grinding of elements is allowed.
Main types of artistic parquet
Decorative styling is a complex and painstaking work that is very valuable. Parquet is considered artistic if the following requirements are met:
- The flooring consists of slabs of different types of wood, varying in color, size and shape. When creating a design, up to 60 types of wood are sometimes used.
- The flooring has a pattern that echoes the general decor of the room.
- Piece. It is used to create geometric patterns. All elements are made of the same sizes, up to 50 cm long, 4-7.5 cm wide, 1.5-2.2 cm thick. They are connected with tongue-and-groove locks. Samples are made by rusticating, tangentially, radially and transversely cutting the log, so they differ in grain pattern. Most often, for decoration, dies obtained by cross-section are purchased. There is also a massive parquet board on sale, which is mass-produced, so it is relatively inexpensive.
- Palace. It is distinguished by the most complex patterns, which are assembled from elements different sizes and shapes like mosaics. Available in sections measuring 60x60x4 cm, 40x40x4 cm and 40x40 22 cm. Each board consists of two layers. The lower one (base) is made of pine. Upper layer form pieces of wood that create a pattern. The section strips are connected to each other using tongue-and-groove locks.
Choosing the type of artistic parquet
Dies are made from different types of trees, each of which has its own characteristics. To make artistic parquet look harmonious in the interior of a room, take into account the characteristics of the material from which the planks are made:
- Oak parquet. Considered a classic floor covering. The dies made from it are hard and weakly absorb moisture. There is a beautiful pattern on the surface various colors s shades, but over time the wood darkens. Samples with a normal drying time are considered to be of higher quality; the accelerated version is not suitable. Oak parquet is a universal flooring; it can be laid in any room.
- Beech. It has the same hardness as oak, but the color is softer, with a yellowish or reddish tint. It requires compliance with special operating conditions, otherwise the planks will bend.
- Maple. Hardness is not inferior to oak. It has White color, which turns yellow after a while. Experienced craftsmen It is recommended to buy materials only with a normal drying period, because... after the abbreviated procedure, the planks are deformed.
- Pine. It is distinguished by its softness, the boards are quickly damaged by sharp women's heels.
- Cherry. It has Brown color with a hint of pink, darkens over time. The material is not hard, but is popular due to its easy processing. It is often laid in the nursery.
Decoration of parquet floors
Decorative flooring can be created in different style solutions, which are selected according to the interior of the room:
- Classic style. This parquet is suitable for any type of premises. It is distinguished by the presence of patterns of strict symmetry created by straight lines. The images are simple, often borrowed from the Greek or Roman heritage (for example, pictures of eagles or dolphins). The style is characterized by the use of materials from trees with red, black and pink tints, such as ash or maple. The color of the floor is chosen depending on the wall cladding.
- Art style. The coating is liked by people who prefer calm shades.
- Modern style. You can immediately identify it by its smooth curved lines, asymmetrical compositions with floral themes and female figures in loose clothes. Woods of purple or violet shade, which are typical for dies made of amarat wood.
- Drawings with traditional national attributes. They are created from a contrasting color scheme - black, white, blue-violet shades.
In small rooms, make patterns in the form of clear shapes and lines, the background should be light. Dark-colored parquet can only be installed in spacious rooms. Ornaments in the national style are created in contrasting colors, from several shades.
Art parquet laying technology
When installing artistic parquet, it is necessary to take into account many factors that influence the appearance of the coating and its service life.
Checking the quality of production of dies
To obtain high-quality artistic parquet, it is necessary to carefully select the coating elements. It is recommended to follow our advice:
- Control the width, length and thickness of the elements; the indicators should be the same on all samples. Make sure the face of each board is smooth and the corners are straight. If these conditions are not met, the defects will have to be eliminated by deep grinding, possibly up to 1 mm deep. Such a serious modification at the stage of installing the flooring reduces the thickness of the tile and the service life of the floor, because the permissible thickness of material removal should not exceed 0.2 mm at a time.
- There should be no knots, chips or cracks on the front side of the workpieces.
- If possible, buy planks with a maximum thickness of the top layer, which increases the number of parquet sandings during repairs.
- The humidity of the boards should be 9-11%.
- Check the quality of the grooves and tenons. To do this, fold the planks into a square. If the figure has 90 degree angles and there are no gaps between the elements, the locks are made with high quality.
- Dies with large sizes have weak elasticity, and uneven surface they can become puffy and warped. Long samples on the back side must have grooves approximately half the thickness of the material, which make the product more flexible.
- The presence of grinding and polishing significantly saves time on finishing, but varnishing is not always beneficial. Installation work are accompanied by leveling and adjusting the surface into one plane, and the varnish layer will be damaged.
- Sort samples by cutting method. The strongest planks are obtained by sawing the log lengthwise. They can be easily identified by the straight lines on the front side and solid color planks.
- Drying wood can be done using a microwave, hot air, or vacuum. The last method is the most preferable. The parquet is placed in vacuum chamber with temperatures from 52 to 70 degrees. With this gentle option, internal stresses do not appear inside the material, so when changing parameters environment The dimensions of the dies will change slightly.
Installation instructions for artistic parquet
Installation work is carried out after finishing walls and ceilings and final fastening of cables and pipelines. During the procedure, the room should be kept temperature regime- +18-23 degrees. Air humidity should be in the range of 35-60%, floor humidity - no more than 5%, residual wall moisture - no more than 6%.
Laying is carried out in a certain sequence:
- Waterproofing the base;
- Leveling with cement screed;
- Surface priming;
- Fastening plywood to cement screed or joists;
- Laying artistic parquet in accordance with the chosen style;
- Puttying the flooring;
- Priming the surface for varnish;
- Varnishing the floor.
Creation of decorative patterns of artistic parquet
To obtain a coating with a complex color pattern, planks from different types of wood are used. Simple images are created from plain planks, placing them at different angles to each other.
A single-species coating is often made from oak, which has a pronounced structure, which is good from an aesthetic point of view. This flooring is more durable than a floor made of multi-type planks. Images are laid out in the form of ornaments, cubes, braids, etc.
The most common patterns of single-species parquet flooring are three images:
- Herringbone - used in classic design.
- Deck - planks are located longitudinally, suitable for all types of interior.
- Vietnamese - interlacing of transverse and longitudinal planks.
When installing modules, a layer of glue is applied to the plywood, on which the sections are placed. After checking the location, they are secured with special nails. Some boards are made with dowels. During installation, they are secured with nails, which are driven into the milling cutouts from the free ends. Then the grooves are closed with dowels. There are 2 strips for each section.
To create a “rosette,” dies made from several types of wood are used. Items have different color, therefore, with their help you can create complex designs, usually in the form of an ornament. The coating looks good in spacious rooms. Considered to be the most difficult wooden flooring. The “socket” usually has a round shape, its dimensions are limited by the size of the room. It is not recommended to create coatings that are too small; such coatings look unpresentable.
Installation of the “socket” is carried out as follows:
- For the procedure you will need a simple circular device. To make a tool, you need a strip with a nail driven in at one end and a pencil attached at the other. With its help, a circle is drawn on the floor.
- The inner space of the circle is filled with planks so that the edges of the elements extend slightly beyond the circle.
- Draw another circle on top.
- Mark the position of the planks inside the circle and remove them.
- Cut the outer planks to the mark.
- Apply a layer of glue to the base and level it with a notched trowel. Also lubricate the ends of the dies with the composition.
- Place the boards inside the circle according to the markings and press down with a weight while the glue hardens. During the first hours, move the load around the parquet.
Installation of curbs is carried out in the following sequence:
- Draw a line on the base, where the curbs are located.
- Place the planks on the floor with a slight overlap beyond the mark.
- After the glue has dried, trim the edges of the boards.
- In the cut areas, clean the surface from dust and dirt.
- Glue the border end-to-end to the main parquet.
- Secure the decorative element additionally to the base with nails, driving them in from the free side.
- Place a frieze between the decor and the wall, ensuring a gap of 10 mm along the wall.
- Marquetry. The main method of installing colored parquet. The pattern is created from individual planks throughout the entire depth of the flooring. The work resembles assembling a large mosaic.
- Intarsia. Decorative products from other types of wood are introduced into the finished floor.
- Inlay. When installed together with wooden elements, copper, aluminum and other non-wooden parts are used.
For centuries, artistic parquet has been considered an exclusive feature of palace interiors. But thanks to the achievements modern technology and the presence of developed woodworking industries became available for residential premises.
Features and types of artistic parquet
Most characteristic features artistic parquet are:
- The use of different types of wood in the drawing, including oak, maple, walnut, ebony and mahogany, Karelian birch, etc.
- Formation of complex mosaic and ornamental patterns from several types of basic parts.
- Production of artistic parquet elements with highest precision(up to ±0.05 mm).
- The use of a multi-layer sub-base for installing parquet, which involves fastening parquet elements to an intermediate layer of waterproof plywood.
- Multi-layer (7-9 layers) varnish coating with sanding and polishing between layers, which provides shine and apparent depth to the floor surface.
In the production of artistic parquet, mechanical high-precision cutting is widely used. It provides cutting out elements of any shape, including fragments of complex plant patterns.
Recently, a competitor to mechanical processing is laser cutting. Its possibilities are enormous, but there are also disadvantages. The fact is that when wood is processed with a laser, a charred edge inevitably forms on the edges. Over time it breaks down and beautiful drawing cracks may form on the floor that will have to be puttied. In terms of composition, the coating patterns are geometric patterns or picturesque curvilinear patterns, most often of a floral nature.
Basic techniques for installing artistic parquet floors:
1. Intarsia
This is a picturesque composition. Separate fragments of wood from other species, most often colored, are inserted into the main wood species of the front layer (general background).
Intarsia
2. Marquetry
This is a geometric composition. The pattern of the front covering is made up of individual strips of different colors and textures. The planks are tightly fitted to one another and glued to the base of the shield.
3. Combination of intarsia and marquetry
4. Graffier
Wood engraving. Using this technique, you can create various patterns on the main background by cutting off thin grooves. Ebony fibers are inserted into the grooves.
The nature of the design of the front covering is always associated with the design of the walls and ceiling of the room. In relatively simple rooms of a regular rectangular shape, without excesses in decoration, parquet with geometric ornament. In round and curved rooms, with stucco decorations and richly decorated ceilings, parquet with a pattern of a picturesque composition is laid. In this case, the design of the front covering is combined with the design of the ceiling.
Laying strip parquet
Traditional artistic flooring is made from piece parquet of various types of wood. Various inserts and borders are widely used. The pattern can be made from whole planks laid in a certain way and sawn in half (picture below).
The planks can be in the form of wedges or triangles. The drawing in this case will be more complex, the combinations more intricate.
Further, the planks themselves can be carriers of a certain pattern. In this form, they are very similar to curbs, but with the difference that curbs do not have grooves for fastening. Laying artistic parquet, including a large number of The installation of planks of various geometries requires the involvement of qualified specialists who have the appropriate tools for laying such floors. There are a number of companies that, in addition to the production of artistic parquet itself, provide services related to the installation of artistic flooring of varying degrees of complexity. Such companies will help you choose a general artistic solution for your future floor and select the most suitable materials.
Laying artistic parquet is a painstaking task
Returning to the issue of laying artistic parquet, it must be said that there are two ways to implement it:
First way. In the factory, the details of the artistic design are glued under pressure onto the shield. In this form, the shields go on sale. The buyer can only adjust these panels to each other on site and varnish them. The disadvantage of this method is that it is practically very difficult to achieve accuracy when fitting the shields. This can be confirmed by anyone who has experience in laying panel parquet.
Second way. All components of artistic parquet (planks, figured cuts, inserts, etc.) are laid directly on site on a pre-prepared base. Of course, this is a more painstaking path, but it allows you to obtain guaranteed quality coating.
Of course, for such installation it is necessary to use only high-quality components. The recommended thickness of parquet planks is 15 mm. With this thickness, the useful layer (to the groove or ridge) will be 7 mm, which is not much thinner than a 22 mm thick plank.
At the same time, planks with a thickness of more than 15 mm significantly lose their elasticity, which affects the quality of fit to each other and fastening to the base. The convenience of using 15 mm thick planks is also due to the fact that this is the most common thickness among most manufacturers. Therefore, it is always possible, if there is a shortage, to select planks of such thickness, because There are always more of them on sale.
The parquet planks on the reverse side should have perpendicular slots along the entire length to almost half the thickness. Most companies produce strips with ready-made slots. If there are no such slots, then the planks may bulge during installation and become deformed due to moisture at the ends. This, in turn, will entail the need for more frequent sanding of floors. Parquet planks must also have good geometry. This means that when joining several planks on a flat surface, no gaps or differences should form. The edges should not be chipped, smooth and even. The presence of cracks on both the front and back sides of the planks is excluded.
Regarding the question wood quality , from which the parquet is made, then, as already mentioned, on oak comes first . Other types of wood are significantly inferior to oak in a number of characteristics. Beech and ash, for example, have increased hygroscopicity and an increased coefficient of volumetric expansion when moistened. Conifers wood have good characteristics, but are distinguished by their softness. As for the exotic tree species that have appeared on the market, the material of which is used to make parquet flooring, many of them have increased resin content and their suitability in our climatic conditions has not yet been fully studied.
Laying parquet on plywood
Concrete screed in modern conditions is the most common base for laying parquet flooring. But this base is inferior in comparison to a structure made of moisture-resistant plywood.
Base for artistic parquet using
moisture resistant plywood.
1 - multi-layer varnish coating; 2 - block parquet strips;
3- parquet glue; 4 - sheets of moisture-resistant plywood (40×40 cm);
5 - waterproofing layer (bisque mastic or film); 6 -
primer (primer); 7 - screed; 8 - floor slab; 9 - parquet
nail; 10 - dowels
The fact is that concrete and wood are too different materials and accordingly react differently to fluctuations in temperature and humidity in the room. For this reason, cracks may appear in the parquet planks, which will gradually come to the surface. The presence of a layer of plywood will play the role of a shock absorber between the concrete screed and the wood of the parquet plank. Plywood, as it were, compensates for the difference in stress between concrete and wood and does not transfer these stresses to the parquet. If cracks do appear in the planks, they will be much smaller (both in number and in depth of penetration) and will not reach the surface of the coating.
How to choose the thickness of the plywood layer for a specific type of parquet planks? The rule here is simple - the thickness of the plywood should be equal to the thickness of the parquet planks or slightly thinner than them.
Let us dwell in more detail on the design using moisture-resistant plywood as a base.
To a properly prepared concrete screed with a humidity of no more than 12%, primer is applied. The primer will bind dust and improve the quality of adhesion (gluing) of the mastic to the concrete.
Then a layer of “bisque” mastic is applied, which acts as a waterproofing layer. Instead of mastic, you can use a film (polyethylene, polypropylene) with foil, which is laid on the screed with the obligatory overlap of the layers by at least 8-10 cm. Squares of moisture-resistant plywood (usually 40×40 cm) are laid on the “bisque” mastic (or film) . These squares are prepared in advance by cutting standard sheet plywood into four parts. This is done in order to eliminate excessive stress in the plywood layer itself and ensure a better fit of the plywood to the screed. The gap between the plywood squares should be within 3-5 mm.
Each square is aimed at the floor slab (through a screed) around the perimeter and in the center (5-8 metal dowels). You can begin laying artistic parquet on the finished plywood base.
The planks will be attached to the plywood panels with nails or glue. As for the glue, in this case it is unlikely that domestic KS, KSU, etc. will be suitable. It will be necessary to use foreign adhesives such as “Tarbikol” or “Franklin”.
After laying the parquet flooring, it must be sanded with a belt. grinder in several passes. After every three passes, the abrasive grain size will decrease from 60 to 120 units. All three passes are carried out in different directions: twice in mutually perpendicular directions at an angle of 45° to the wood grain and once along the line of incidence of light: from window to door.
At the end of the sanding process, the seams between the parquet planks are puttied special compounds such as “BONA”, “SPAKELLI”, etc. The choice of putty depends on what type of coating will be chosen, varnish, oil, other compositions. Rubbing the putty into the seams should be done with a stainless steel spatula to the entire depth of the seam (gap, crack).
Excess putty must be immediately removed from the floor surface. When the applied putty has hardened, you need to make another pass.
Remember that all putty residues that are not removed from the floor surface before varnishing will subsequently give whitish spots and spoil the overall impression of the work done.
So, the final sanding is completed, the floor surface is vacuumed. You can start final finishing artistic parquet flooring. If you decide to varnish the floor, you need to decide which varnish is better - matte or high-gloss, water-dispersed or synthetic. The first two completely depend on the taste of the customer, but the choice of water-dispersion varnish is preferable where it is necessary to exclude the presence of any harmful components and ensure high fire safety.
Synthetic varnishes are inferior to water-dispersion varnishes in terms of impurities and fire safety, but are superior in strength, wear resistance and elasticity of the coating. In addition, these varnishes, as well as two-component (reactive) varnish compositions, make it possible to increase the color saturation of the floor covering and achieve a change in the overall color tone of the wood.
It is recommended to apply an additional primer coat before applying the varnish. This can be either an independent composition or a component included in the varnish used, which is diluted for this purpose with a solvent by 20-40%. In some cases, a primer coat can help maintain the lighter shade of the wood. The choice of primer depends on what type of varnish will be used. The roller with which the primer will be applied is not recommended for applying varnish.
In order to obtain a high-quality surface, it is advisable to sand each intermediate layer of varnish and then clean it with a damp cloth.
In addition to the varnish coating, you can use mastics based on beeswax. At the same time, the floor surface acquires the structure of silk and retains the natural charm of wood.
A separate group consists of oil floor coatings (impregnations). The basis of such coatings is oils plant origin(For example - linseed oil). The composition of the coatings may include beeswax, rosin, and other components. Oil coatings have the ability to penetrate wood to a certain depth, increasing the wear resistance of the coating and reducing the hygroscopicity of wood.
Video about laying artistic parquet:
Artistic parquet has its own substitute - it is cheaper and easier to install panel artistic parquet. Its installation is similar to that of panel parquet, but has its own characteristics.
Artistic floor made of panel parquet
Structurally, artistic parquet panels consist of a base and a front covering. Most often, the base of the boards is made of pine. There are two types of base design:
- Single layer base
Artistic parquet panel with single layer
basis
a - a whole shield; b - tweezers; 1 - harness;
2 - cross; 3 - filling
Such a base consists of a strapping, which is made of bars 55-65 mm thick and 110 mm wide, and of filling. Filling is planed pine boards 35 mm thick. The boards are connected using a comb. The strapping bars are connected to each other at the corners with an open tenon, which is glued waterproof glue. For the strength of the shield, a cross made of bars of the same section is built in the middle of the harness. The design of such a shield ensures resistance to deformation when temperature and humidity conditions change.
- Double layer base
Art parquet panel with two layers
basis
1 - front covering; 2 - second layer; 3 - first layer;
4 - slots
This base consists of two layers that are glued together in a mutually perpendicular direction. These layers have slots: from the top layer in the upper plane and from the bottom layer in the lower plane. The total thickness of the base is 37-43 mm. The front covering of artistic parquet panels is assembled from strips of valuable wood species according to a given pattern. The face covering strips have a thickness of 6-10 mm. The planks are tightly laid according to a given pattern and glued to the base using waterproof glue. The front covering of each shield does not reach its edges by 8-15 mm. These quarters, not covered with planks, are intended for attaching panels to the base of the floor using screws.
After laying and fastening the boards, the gaps are filled with insert elements (for example, layouts or borders). Inserts can have different configurations.
Inserts are manufactured to tolerances so that the element can be precisely adjusted into place before gluing.
Often artistic panels also have wall extensions (as in the picture of a single-layer panel: b). The extensions are a frieze edging of the floor. The length of the frieze shields is equal to the length of the main shield, and the width is half its width.
Logs for laying parquet panels
The bases for parquet panels can be very different. Laying can be done on a screed, better - on fiberboard, or even better - on moisture-resistant plywood, which we talked about in detail before.
There is no need to dwell on these grounds. But there is another type of foundation - on logs. More precisely, it will be a sheathing of logs (picture below).
Lathing from logs:
1 - crossbar; 2 - logs; 3 - cutting the crossbar into the logs “on the tooth”
It is based on bars with a thickness of 20 to 40 mm and a width of 30 to 50 mm. The distance between the lags will depend on the size of the shield. Let us remind you that the sizes of the boards range from 800x800x54 mm to 1000x1000x54 mm. The sheathing must be arranged so that each shield rests simultaneously on three logs.
A crossbar is installed between the joists. Crossbars are installed from beams of the same section as the logs. To give greater rigidity to the sheathing, the crossbars are cut into the joists at tooth 3. If the sheathing of the joists lies on concrete base or on soundproofing pads and is not connected to them by fastening, then the crossbars, instead of with notches, are attached to the joists with nails. When the logs are attached to the base (with cement-sand mortar) or to the beams, the crossbars remain on the notches without additional fastenings.
The intersections are fastened with nails or screws. When installing the sheathing, it is necessary to ensure that the angles between the joists and crossbars are correct. These angles must be right. After checking the horizontality of the sheathing, they begin to attach it to the base with coating. cement-sand mortar M100. If provided for by the project, then you first need to hammer nails into the side planes of the joist on both sides. After the sheathing is installed, it is necessary to clean the base of debris again.
Laying panel parquet
When the humidity of the coating is below 8%, you can pre-lay out the panels. To lay parquet panels, it is necessary to stretch two mutually perpendicular cords, which must coincide with the axes of the logs. The cords should pass at the central axes of the room. The first shield is laid in the center of the room so that its edges coincide with the cords.
The figure below shows how the shield is attached to the sheathing. The shields are fastened with screws. Before installing the shield in place, holes are drilled in the base frame at the corners of the shields and in the middle. After installing the shield in place, screws are screwed into the holes. If there is space left for insertion in the center of the shield, then they are also attached to the center of the shield. If the boards have a size of 1000 mm or more, then two or three holes are drilled on each side of the board, not counting the corner holes.
Design of panel art parquet on joists:
1 - floor slab; 2 - screed; 3 - lags; 4 - parquet board;
5 - places of fastening with screws; 6 - insert
The screws are screwed in so that their heads do not rise above the surface of the shield trim and do not interfere with further gluing of the inserts. Subsequent panels are laid from the center to the walls. The panels can be laid in any order. The edge panels are adjusted in such a way that there is a gap of 10-15 mm between the wall and the floor.
After all the boards are laid, the inserts begin to be glued in. The inserts are adjusted manually, ensuring a tight fit to the panels. The inserts are attached with glue. When the glue hardens, the inserts must be sharpened to the level of the shield, because they will rise more than 2 mm.
If the artistic parquet in the project is provided with a frieze, then the lathing from the logs is not brought to the walls. A separate base is made for the frieze. As a rule, the frieze is performed at the same level of the finished floor. But it is possible to install a frieze above or below floor level. If the base for the frieze is made of cement-sand screed, then its humidity before laying the frieze should not exceed 6%. If the base is a plank flooring, then it should be below the mark of the top floor covering by the thickness of the parquet strip and interlayer. If it is planned to make a frieze made of marble, then before laying the cement-sand base is kept until the solution completely hardens. The frieze is laid on mastic.
Borders are increasingly being used in the design of artistic floors. They are the universal elements with which you can create a pattern of any complexity and highlight any area of the floor. The technological features of the borders make it possible to combine them with any parquet whose thickness is compatible with them. The ever-increasing need for borders is dictated by the improvement of the technology for laying all types of parquet - from simple piece to highly artistic coating. Borders give any parquet floor more perfect design and completeness of forms. The artistic design of the borders itself is very diverse, just as their geometric shapes. The standard thickness of borders is 15-16-22 mm.
The most impressive and expensive of decorative finishing materials for the floor - parquet. This is a symbol of luxury and prosperity, impeccable taste. The finest patterns from valuable wood species are formed into an original carpet. Many buyers pass by parquet flooring in a hardware store, considering it an unaffordable pleasure. But if you have the skills to work with wood and strictly follow the installation technology, you can assemble natural artistic parquet with your own hands.
What is artistic parquet
Parquet consists of several types of wood various shades. Using pieces and elements of contrasting colors and patterns of wood, ornaments and entire pictures are laid out, forming a solid canvas with an image on the floor. For this elite coating, maple, pear, aspen, cedar, birch, as well as rare and exotic wood species are used. Laser technology allows you to precisely cut out all parts of the design, perfectly suitable friend to friend.
Parquet is popular due to the following advantages:
- naturalness of the material: in addition to wood, the parquet includes inlays made of metals, semi-precious stones and other natural materials;
- environmental safety - parquet flooring does not cause allergies and does not emit toxic substances;
- manufacturing technology opens up ample opportunities for designers, allowing you to create unique, complex images;
- parquet perfectly retains heat and muffles sounds, has antistatic properties, and does not attract dust particles;
- The service life of high-quality parquet can exceed 100 years.
There are also disadvantages:
- rare and noble materials, complexity of manufacturing and installation, exclusivity make this coating very expensive;
- requires special care and protection;
- afraid of water and dryness, susceptible to mechanical damage.
Manufacturing methods
There are several techniques for assembling drawings from wooden elements. The main ones are two of them: intarsia and marquetry. These techniques have differences in the complexity of laying out and in wear resistance, and therefore in terms of service life.
Intarsia
Inlaying wooden parts of a design into a base made of another type of wood is called intarsia. To create an image, a base is prepared from solid wood of a certain type of wood, and grooves are cut into it for inlay. Components patterns are turned separately based on a sketch from other types of wood. After preparatory stage The assembly of the picture begins: each piece is glued into its corresponding hole.
This is painstaking handmade, complex options which require experience and skills. For beginners, it is suitable to assemble friezes and modules with ready-made ornaments that are built into the canvas.
The main advantage of parquet made in this way is its high wear resistance and the ability to be sanded, which increases the service life of the floor.
Marquetry
The marquetry technique appeared later; it is somewhat simpler to perform than intarsia. If in intarsia all parts of the image are cut into the base, then in the marquetry method thin pieces of veneer are assembled into a pattern and glued together on the surface of the main canvas according to the diagram. The ornament is obtained only from above.
You can install this decorative coating yourself by purchasing modules for assembly and ready-made friezes. For this technique use various varieties wood and inlaid with pieces of other natural materials. Amber, gold plates, mother-of-pearl, semi-precious stones, leather and ivory are used to decorate parquet floors and furniture.
Others
The ancient technique of the Count, which can be seen in palaces and historical buildings, for example, in the Hermitage. Grooves are cut out of solid wood, which are then filled with wood dust, molten metal, mother-of-pearl, amber, and other materials.
Laying of image elements using the inlay technique occurs at a certain depth of the main canvas. This type of flooring is less wear-resistant and costs more than those made using other techniques. You can inlay not only wood, but also precious and semi-precious minerals, gold and silver plates, and leather.
Varieties
The images on the parquet include various ornaments and individual elements. For their the right choice and location on the base canvas, the following criteria must be taken into account:
- purpose of the premises;
- the size of the room, its illumination;
- presence of several zones;
- quantity and placement of furniture;
- general style of the room.
Ornaments are divided into several main groups and can be combined with each other to create complex designs.
Modular
Composite parquet made from identical panels, which can also be composite and inlaid. Shields of square or rectangular shape are connected by a tongue-and-groove system into a single sheet with a repeating pattern. The modules can be inserted into regular parquet, creating decorative islands in any order or highlighting certain areas of the floor with them. Such parquet is appropriate in small rooms and elongated rooms with a lot of furniture and decorative elements.
Socket
This ornament is considered the most complex to perform; traditionally it is used in the center of the room or marks the core of a separate zone. Lines and patterns diverge from the center of the rosette to its edges. The ornament made from valuable materials contains plant and floral motifs, geometric figures, animals and heraldry. The decorative effect is achieved different shades and directions of wood fibers.
Rosettes harmoniously stand out in spacious, well-lit interiors, where they are clearly visible and have an elegant and solemn appearance. In small and darkened rooms, sockets are undesirable; large and contrasting patterns visually reduce the space.
Border
This type of ornament consists of elongated and intertwining lines of arbitrary shape. Floral or abstract designs, strict geometric stripes bordering sockets or modules divide the space of the room into zones. The border acts as the main pattern or additional element. It looks good at the junction of different zones or as a border to a complex image of any shape. It is recommended to use light, medium-sized parquet elements in the apartment.
other methods
You can lay out artistic parquet in other ways that are easier to implement.
- French Christmas tree - oblong planks are laid out perpendicular to each other in the form of a Christmas tree. At the same time, the different direction of the fibers and dies from different varieties trees create a pattern on the floor.
- Checkers - laid out in squares with alternating contrasting shades in the form of a chessboard.
- Basket or weaving - the dies are laid out according to a certain pattern, the ornament resembles intertwined stripes or a basket.
- Diamonds - elements are joined at an angle of 45º and repeating modules in the form of geometric shapes are obtained.
What else to pay attention to when choosing
In addition to choosing a pattern and laying method, when choosing a decorative floor covering you need to pay attention to some technical specifications material:
- texture and compatibility of materials. Too contrasting and colorful combinations are undesirable. Subtle transitions and harmonious combinations form unique and integral pictures that fit perfectly into the interior of any style;
- dimensions decorative elements also affect the overall appearance of the room after renovation. Large and bright images will decorate bright rooms with a minimum amount of furniture;
- additional elements and components: substrates, friezes, inserts, glue, protective coatings, baseboards, corners, thresholds;
- quality indicators. The integrity of the modules and the presence of accompanying documents, a warranty card and instructions with an installation diagram.
Review of the best manufacturers of artistic parquet
Over the several centuries of existence of such parquet, the technology for its production has been brought to perfection. Today, ornamental elements are cut on CNC laser machines, manufacturers are inventing the latest protective coatings and combinations of noble wood species. Domestic companies provide worthy competition to world-class leaders.
A joint venture between Sweden, Russia and Serbia, Tarkett produces a wide range of parquet flooring. This is an elite class product. Perfect grinding and precise fit of parts - this quality allows the manufacturer to set high prices for their products. In Russia, this company is also represented by the Sinteros brand, which, in addition to its excellent quality, is famous for its more affordable product prices.
Another Swedish manufacturing company, Kahrs, has been on the market for over 150 years and has reached the highest level parquet quality. A huge selection of shades and textures determines the demand for parquet from this company.
The German manufacturer Haro is proud of its complete production cycle starting from our own forestry and ending with delivery finished products buyers. Along with the board, skirting boards, thresholds and other additional products for laying parquet and caring for it are sold.
The natural forest resources of Russia enable domestic companies to use many types of wood in production. Parquet collections from the Moscow factory "ASV Parquet" are created from oak, beech, ash, aspen and birch. Ready-made modules made in different colors, exclusive solutions and the latest laser equipment, as well as many years of experience in manually assembling patterns, make the products of the Moscow parquet factory in demand and popular.
The LesExport company has a wide distribution network and makes premium products available to the common buyer. The AmberWood brand of this manufacturer is characterized by an ideal fit and geometry of the elements and a long service life.
What does the cost consist of?
Piece-piece natural parquet with inlays or marquetry is undoubtedly an elite product. It is made from exotic and valuable wood species, so its high cost is fully justified. In addition to the purchase of material, other costs must be included in the estimate:
- price preparatory work and materials for them. Repairing or dismantling the old base, pouring a new screed and leveling mixture, strengthening the wooden floor and laying a plywood base;
- price of components and additional goods, for example, protective waxes, varnish, skirting boards and thresholds;
- if the image is exclusive and is made by individual order, then the price of unique parquet increases significantly;
- the cost of sanding and finishing with varnish or other protective composition.
Cost of material and installation of artistic parquet in the bottom price category for a room of 12 m² will be 101,320 rubles.
Prices for work and calculation of consumption and cost of materials:
- One package of modular parquet contains 2 m² and costs RUB 11,800. When purchasing material, you must add 10–15% to the floor area for scraps and the price of fasteners, substrate, baseboards and chemicals. For a room of 3x4 m you will need 7 packages of parquet and related materials in the amount of 82,600 rubles;
- purchasing materials for a plywood base will cost 7 thousand rubles, the work of a master will cost from 40 to 60 rubles per m²;
- The average price for laying simple patterns starts from 300 rubles. per m² and reaches 1 thousand rubles;
- polishing costs 200 rubles. per m², varnishing 100 rubles, installation of baseboards 100 rubles. per linear meter.
For complex premium-class designs, prices are much higher; the amount of costs for the same room will be 250 thousand rubles, example calculation:
- preparation of the base has the same cost as in the first calculation and is equal to 7 thousand rubles for materials and 60 rubles. per m² of work by the master;
- the cost of individual paintings and patterns starts from 5 thousand rubles. for 1 module and above. For an area of 12 m², you will have to spend at least 200,000 rubles on material;
- the cost of installation with sanding and varnishing is 2,500 rubles. per m² and above.
Laying technology
For thrifty owners who have dexterity and experience working with wood, it is possible to significantly reduce the estimated cost of parquet by installing it and assembling the pattern with their own hands. To complete all stages of work without errors and get a beautiful floor, you need to carefully study the step-by-step instructions and strictly follow the technology.
- Preparation and inspection of the base. The surface of the rough screed should be as smooth and clean as possible. Small differences in height and unevenness should be removed by pouring a small layer of leveling mixture. Wooden floors should be reinforced with nails. If the screed is in poor condition, it should be dismantled and a new one filled in. Disassemble the dilapidated wooden floor down to the joists and fill it with new boards, and lay a plywood backing on top, securing it with self-tapping screws.
- It is recommended to make preliminary markings and layout of elements on the floor. You need to work at a temperature of +18 ºC, with a humidity of 40–60%. Modules can be connected without glue using locks, but adhesive connections are considered more reliable. Plywood should be primed for better adhesion.
- The glue is applied with a notched trowel to the plywood base and to the ends of the dies. Then the board is pressed, fixed to the base, and excess glue is wiped off. Assembly begins according to the attached diagram from the center of the room or from the wall. To ensure a tight fit of the parts, they are padded rubber mallet. Between the wall and the floor you need to leave expansion joint 1 cm, the gaps will then be closed by the plinth and threshold. The glue dries within a week.
- The final stage of work is sanding and varnishing. The parquet is sanded first with a coarser nozzle, and then with a finer one, to give the floor ideal evenness and smoothness. Remove dust using a vacuum cleaner. At this stage, you can independently tint the parquet or its individual elements with special tinting compounds. Varnishing protects parquet from moisture and mechanical damage. It is applied in 3–9 layers, each layer dries for about a day. The full strength of the varnish takes 1–2 months. After this, you can arrange furniture in the room.
Options for modern parquet design
Cuts at different angles and laying out fibers in different directions, selection of halftones, inclusion of glass and leather elements, tinting and aging of wood allow designers to create parquet that fits perfectly into the interior of any style direction.
Bedroom in gentle pastel colors combined with plant motifs artistic parquet made using the intarsia technique.
Traditional palace classics in a modern interpretation will decorate a spacious, bright hall and give the entire interior a luxurious and elegant look.
The bright and stylish floor in the studio was achieved through a combination of different colors and patterns on the herringbone laid tiles.
Modules with geometric patterns enliven a simple kitchen in a minimalist style.
The Art Nouveau style hall is decorated with inlaid parquet flooring in the form of flowers; the graceful lines of the design repeat the pattern on the stained glass ceiling.
Artistic parquet floors in excellent condition in a palace style can be seen in many historical buildings.
Photo gallery: artistic parquet in modern interiors
The first factories for the production of artistic parquet appeared in the 20th century. Artistic parquet and classic design- perfect tandem Complex pattern is the main feature of artistic parquet Just like many years ago, manual labor in the production of artistic parquet is highly valued. Rosettes are often inlaid with materials that are used in interior decoration. Artistic parquet has a complex geometric pattern. An artistic parquet rosette in the center of the dining room makes a semantic accent on the dining table.
An alternative to artistic parquet can be laminate. We talk about its advantages and disadvantages, as well as types and installation methods in our article:.
General rules of care and restoration work
To decorative flooring has served for a long time, it requires careful care and creation suitable conditions by temperature and humidity, because wood is afraid of excessive exposure to water and deforms over time (warps, swells), and dries out in dry air.
- to maintain optimal humidity levels in heating season, additional air humidification is necessary. This can be done using a special device;
- Any water that gets onto the surface of the parquet must be removed immediately. Dust should be removed either with a vacuum cleaner or with a damp soft cloth;
- hard brushes and abrasive detergents, gasoline, alcohol, or solvent cannot be used - they will damage the coating;
- stuck chewing gum or plasticine can be removed by placing an ice pack on it;
- To restore the color of the parquet if it darkens, it is necessary to remove old layer varnish with a grinding or scraping machine. You can use a hair dryer, heat the surface and remove the varnish with a spatula, putty on large chips and damage to the surface and apply a new layer of varnish;
- minor scratches and abrasions are removed with a wax pencil;
- Walking in shoes on parquet allows sand and other abrasive particles to get onto the floor surface and accelerate the wear of the decorative coating. To solve this problem, it is advisable to lay a mat at the entrance that will trap sand;
- the legs of furniture pieces must be protected with special rubber or fabric caps;
- mild detergents of the same brand as parquet varnish are ideal for cleaning;
- needs to be applied once a month protective composition, for example, wax-containing polish.
Complex restoration work requires serious financial and labor costs. It is much easier to repair individual dies that have abrasions, scratches or stains from various chemicals.
Despite the labor and expense, real artistic parquet will decorate your home and be a source of pride. High-quality flooring is an indicator of the status and taste of the owners, and if the parquet is assembled with your own hands, then it is also a demonstration of skill and skill. A beautiful floor will add shine and style to the interior, creating an atmosphere of comfort and luxury.
For self-made parquet you will need about 4 pallets of two different types wood. For example, oak and mahogany. In this case, pallets are a set of wooden blanks of certain sizes. Under the parquet you need relatively small bars, preferably 10 mm thick.
Please note: wood in pallets must be well dried - by vacuum or vacuum-convective method. Humidity according to GOST during shipment is no more than 9±3%. Then, under normal room temperature and humidity conditions, the dies will not lose their original shape. They will not warp even after getting very wet, but will only swell.
Before we start producing parquet, we buy tools.
- You will need:
- circular saw for making longitudinal cuts;
- crosscut saw.
If these tools are not available, then it is better not to buy them, but to rent them. Usually they are rented out by construction stores, but they are a bit expensive. You can also contact specialized companies that rent tools. At one time, we agreed to rent equipment with a company that deals with turnkey repairs - they rented saws to us for a very good price. favorable conditions. You can try renting everything you need from them.
When all the tools and materials are prepared, you can start working.
Start by marking the future parquet strips (planks).
- Here they are optimal sizes in millimeters:
- thickness – 10 or 13;
- width – 70 or 95;
- length – 490 or 570.
The geometric shape of the planks is an ordinary rectangle. If the thickness of the material is 21 mm or more, and it is varnished on both sides, then first saw the strips. After this you can start making rectangles.
The third step in making parquet with your own hands is cutting ready-made rectangular blanks to thickness. It must be carried out strictly in the middle. You don’t have to do this if you initially found the raw material of the required thickness - 10 or 13 mm.
We lay the parquet we have made
After the dies are ready, we begin laying the parquet floor.
- It can be of several types:
- diagonal - performed in the direction from corner to corner at an angle of 30 to 45°. It is important to outline a plan in advance and then adhere to it carefully.
- classic - straight or herringbone. It is better to place block parquet perpendicular to the flow of sunlight, i.e. across the room. The herringbone, in turn, can be straight or diagonal.
We chose the “braid” installation method. He is very complicated. We advise you to use a simpler installation -.
So, the floor is laid - making parquet with your own hands is completely finished. Now you can buy and install skirting boards. It's best to choose wooden crafts, V color scheme and quality similar to parquet.
Is it worth trying to scrape and sand parquet flooring yourself? If you do not have special skills, it is better to leave this painstaking work to professional parquet flooring specialists. Our specialists have a full range of tools and many years of experience in bringing parquet floors to perfect condition.