To lay linoleum on the floor, it is necessary to prepare the surface in advance for this. In this case, it must be understood that linoleum is a very elastic material, which after some time after laying acquires the shape of the base on which it lies. Based on this, the basis should be perfectly flat.
In recent years, you can see how the new linoleum is laid directly on the old. Experts claim that this is not right. In this case, the life of the coating will be significantly less.
The old linoleum is recommended to be dismantled completely, after which, to align the surface, the leveling compound should be used. Sometimes the old coating is very difficult to remove, in this case, the optimal solution will glue it to the base. But at the same time you will have to remove dirt and fat. It is worth paying attention to the fact that if necessary, you will have to use the equalizer. Also, it should be emphasized that the laying of a new coating on the old is recommended only in exceptional cases, and this is done only after the glue and other auxiliary substances completely dry out. Usually, this requires from one to two weeks, depending on the substance used.
If plywood or MDF is used as the base, then in this case you should be extremely acute. The thing is that such materials can succumb to deformation with a change in humidity, as well as with sharp temperature jumps.
Very often people lay linoleum on an old rotten surface, or on painted oil paint. Practice shows that this is not worth doing. But if it is still decided to put linoleum on the old floor, then it is necessary, at least to make sure that it is strong. And if there are cracks at the base, then it is recommended to be filled with putty.
