Modular parquet: laying technology, care, expert advice

Recommendation points

• What is modular parquet
• Varieties of modular parquet
• Laying technology
• The most common mistakes
• Practicality in operation
• Restoration and service life

Parquet flooring is traditionally considered one of the most elite and expensive flooring, but its installation and creation of artistic composition requires great skill. Modular parquet looks chic and is easy to install. Let’s talk about the technology of modular parquet laying and maintenance.

What is modular parquet

Modular parquet is a kind of garden parquet for interior decoration. The product consists of a substrate and, in essence, is a wooden tile that naturally imitates wooden parquet of very high complexity. Modular parquet, laid by the hands of a professional, is practically indistinguishable from the real one, but there are much fewer problems with its periodic repair and renewal..

Modular parquet is made of high-quality prepared hard and exotic wood with a beautiful texture. Long bars of a specially selected shape are glued into a parallelepiped, which is subsequently cut into many thin plates of the same shape with an identical pattern. This is how the front part of the parquet is formed, subsequently it is glued onto a square plywood substrate and opened with varnish.

Modular parquet should not be considered a fake of the real one. Rather, it is its more modern and technological version. More importantly, in terms of practicality and durability, modular parquet is not inferior to other types of wood flooring, and its installation does not involve complex artistic work, adjusting small parts and cutting them precisely at irregular angles..

Varieties of modular parquet

Modular parquet should not be confused with parquet flooring, which itself has no pattern. On the other hand, it is impossible to make large-scale compositions with modular parquet. Nevertheless, some patterns are combined into collections like tiles, have original and complex laying patterns, although, as you might have guessed, the main pattern always consists of simple geometric shapes..

Parquet from different manufacturers may differ significantly in quality and type of performance. Almost all products have a tongue-and-groove joint, sometimes of a rather complex profile. The bevel on the edge of the face layer is optional, depending on the style. Also an indicator of the high quality of parquet is the additional processing of the ends, visually it is defined as a thin whitish film on the locks.

Drawings of modular parquet are presented by both traditional directions: palace and art. The surface can be polished or brushed, fine milling along the plane is possible. From coatings are possible:

• patination;
• varnishing;
• oil or wax coating;
• polymer lamination;
• completely uncovered.

Sizes also vary greatly: from 10×10 to 65×65 cm. There are also special types of modular parquet, represented by single products with a complex shape and pattern. These modules are used to decorate the floor from parquet boards, they are glued after laying the main covering..

Laying technology

Modular parquet can be installed as a whole throughout the room, or in combination with a parquet board, if it has the same thickness. The subfloor is prepared just like any other type of parquet. Plywood underlayment is highly recommended but not required if modular parquet is laid on a sanded concrete or cement screed or any other type of sub-floor with a smooth, flat and durable surface.

Modular parquet is glued to the floor with a two-component adhesive that retains its elasticity after drying. The tiles are fixed with studs to the substrate or floor, here some problems may arise with the concrete base, but any temporary fixation is sufficient for the period of glue setting.

If the parquet has a chamfer or a laminated front surface, after the glue has dried, it only remains to wash it. If modular parquet was laid in combination with other types, it is sanded together with the rest of the floor, then puttyed and opened with a protective compound.

The most common mistakes

For all its similarity to tiles, modular parquet is not such a durable material. It would be wrong to lay it in rooms with high traffic. In the kitchen, parquet should be laid only in the dining area, connecting it with a sill to the tiles “along the facade” of the kitchen set.

The presence of a brushed surface or chamfers is associated with the accumulation of dust and dirt, therefore it is better to use such parquet in rest rooms, where cleanliness is always maintained.

When covering an area of ​​more than 8-10 m2 with modular parquet² at least a thin layer of plywood backing should be applied to compensate for the shrinkage of the wood, even minimal. It is imperative to squeeze the slabs extreme from the wall with mounting wedges while maintaining a gap of 6-7 mm.

When laying modular parquet, only parquet is used. Two-component compounds based on polyurethane, rubber or bituminous resins are welcome. Modular parquet without a protective coating does not need to be scrubbed, only sanding with a disc sander with grit P120 or P140.

Practicality in operation

Modular parquet is not very whimsical to maintain. To clean it, you should not use aggressive chemicals, household detergents without abrasive particles will do..

If you plan to lay a carpet on the parquet, it is better to move away from the options with a laminated surface: on the parquet opened with oil or varnish, the carpet will slip much weaker.

Furniture, especially upholstered furniture, should be prepared before installing on parquet. For cabinet furniture, it is advisable to provide felt heels, and equip chairs and sofas with legs with a wide plastic heel.

Of the successful applications of modular parquet, one can name the flooring on a balcony or loggia (it will not be so cold), as well as use in combination with other materials when zoning along the floor.

Restoration and service life

Due to the fact that the elements of the pattern in the modular parquet are glued tightly, aging of the coating is expressed in the appearance of gaps between the boards. There are two main ways to repair a modular parquet floor.

The first option is a complete relocation. The parquet is peeled off together with the top veneer layer of the plywood backing, then it is peeled off the glue and re-laid. The method is very laborious and it makes sense to act this way only if high-quality and expensive parquet was laid incorrectly and over time the slabs “floated”. Often, such repairs include rebuilding the substrate and using a higher quality adhesive..

If the quality of the installation has been preserved over the years, but the look is spoiled by small cracks and a dull pattern, it makes sense to resort to restorative repairs. The protective coating is removed with a surface grinder with a grain size of P80, then the wood must be clarified with a disc grinder. After cleaning, the gaps between the plates are poured with a special compound, sanded again and opened with varnish. It makes sense to treat the floor with a primer with a moxibustion effect in order to brighten the pattern. Normal modular parquet can be renovated 3 to 5 times.