The first thing to understand is what the sealant is used for, and is it possible to do without it. Its use is due to the need to protect locks at the joints of the laminate panels from moisture.
Types of laminate sealants
The base of the panel in which the lock is made is made of pressed cardboard or woodworking waste, and at the junction it is afraid of dampness and is deformed under strong exposure to moisture. To protect the joints, silicone or acrylic sealants are used. There are several other protection options that will be described below.
Acrylic
Acrylic is a polymer with several advantages:
- sufficiently resistant to mechanical stress, and at the same time elastic;
- durable, moisture resistant and provides fairly good insulation;
- joints do not change color during operation;
- lends itself to grinding with emery and subsequent painting if necessary;
- from the point of view of environmental friendliness and fire safety, the material can also be put a bold plus.
On a note. Most acrylic sealants are not colorless, so when buying, it is important to choose a composition suitable for the color scheme. For this purpose, you can come to the store with a piece of laminate flooring and select the desired color. Small defects like cracks and potholes can be sealed with sealant, the process has some similarities with the application of putty.
Silicone
Silicone includes silicon organics, from where it takes its name (just remember the periodic table). In fact, with its mechanical and chemical properties, the composition is similar to acrylic, only less susceptible to temperature, more durable, but slightly less elastic. A plus is the prevalence of colorless silicone-based sealants; when dried, excess can be easily removed with a knife or by hand. Harmless to humans and animals. The downside is that during operation, the composition can change color and give the processed surface yellow.
Other options
If the farm is littered with parquet based on white spirit, it is suitable for impregnating the ends of panels at the joints. The SUV, firstly, impregnates the pressed cardboard or wood of which the panel is made, and secondly, it will give the material good moisture repellent properties and a small plus in strength. The disadvantage of this technique is the strong characteristic smell of varnish and solvent; it is not recommended to impregnate joints in poorly ventilated rooms. The time of complete drying of the varnish until the smell disappears is at least 24 hours.
Another similar but painless method is the use of acrylic varnish for the same purpose. It does not emit such a strong odor, but it is necessary to select a thick varnish for these purposes, for example, Eskaro. The protection that he will provide is somewhat worse than when treated with parquet varnish on white spirit, but is unlikely to significantly yield to sealant.
Conclusion
The above methods can provide protection for joints on the lamellas when laying laminated flooring. The market has a fairly large selection of goods of various quality and price, and not always the price means quality. It is worth choosing the materials of companies that have established themselves and have received recognition from consumers. These include:
- Clic Protect;
- Clic guard
- Masterfix;
- Rico Aquastop;
- Soudal.
If the sealant is very cheap, and the name of the manufacturer is heard for the first time, you should not be very happy about the opportunity to save. Perhaps you will have to pay twice - the first time when buying a sealant, the second - when buying a new laminate after it is dampened. It’s not worth saving on the material, it’s better to immediately take a quality one.
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