6 steps to properly construct outdoor plastic wood floors

Last updated: 14/01/2025

Plastic Laminate flooring is an outdoor flooring material made of wood plastic material (Wood Plastic Composite), specifically made from wood powder, plastic powder and additives. The product has many advantages such as being termite-free, limiting warping/shrinkage, reducing slippage, ensuring durability and safety for users.

To own a beautiful and durable floor, in addition to product quality, proper construction techniques are also an extremely important factor. Steps to construct plastic wood floors include:

Step 1: Prepare tools and materials to construct outdoor plastic wood floors.
Step 2: Surface treatment for outdoor plastic Laminate flooring.
Step 3: Installing skeleton for plastic wood floors.
Step 4: Proceed to install the first bar.
Step 5: Install the remaining plastic wood floor bars until completed.

Construction of outdoor plastic Laminate flooring — Construction of outdoor plastic Laminate flooring completed

On Researchgate, a commercial social networking platform for scientists and researchers, there is an important article titled “Wood Plastic Composites: Their Properties and Applications”. and their applications). From the summary, we understand that wood plastic composite (WPC) material has become a potential product and is widely used in many fields such as landscape, transportation, urban engineering and construction. construction works. This marks a shift from the use of conventional natural wood materials to the use of synthetic materials such as WPC.

When constructing this type of floor, it needs to be built with a skeleton frame and must have mandatory compliance notes such as:

Must be installed on a foundation with a magnetic slope 2 - 3% (in the same direction as the skeleton) to avoid water stagnation under the floor.
The maximum distance between the bar (plastic wooden beam/galvanized iron bar/stainless steel bar) is 350mm.
The distance between the floor and the wall must be larger 15mm.
When the project uses Kosmos plastic latches, the distance between the two bars is 6 - 8mm.
When the project uses stainless steel dowels, the distance between the two bars is 3 - 5mm (Only used in areas at least 500mm higher than the foundation and covered)

To cover the edges of the floor, we can use v-splints (installed after installing the floor) or plastic wooden steps (installed before installing the floor).

B1Prepare tools and materials for outdoor plastic Laminate flooring construction

The tools and materials for outdoor plastic Laminate flooring construction include:

Laminate flooring
Wood plastic edge band/Wood plastic step nose
Plastic pin/Stainless steel pin
Stainless steel screws
Screw shot machine
Drill
Rubber hammer
Cutting tools (cutter, angle cutter)
Measuring instruments (tape measure, protractor, laser gauge)
Skeleton frame (stainless steel bars, galvanized box iron bars, plastic wooden beams)
Iron skeleton welding machine (if any)

Prepare tools and materials for outdoor plastic Laminate flooring construction.

B2 Surface treatment of outdoor plastic Laminate flooring

Before installing outdoor plastic Laminate flooring, you need to survey the ground to see what the area is? Is the shape of the building square? In particular, is the background slope qualified for drainage?

Recommendation: Outdoor plastic Laminate flooring is required to be installed on the background has a slight inclination of about 2-3% (in the same direction of the skeleton), avoiding the case of stagnant water under the floor.

B3 Install skeleton for plastic wood floor

SaOnce the ground has been prepared, you proceed to install the skeleton (plastic wooden beams/stainless steel bars/galvanized iron bars) onto the surface of the project.

Note:

Maximum distance between ribs is 350mm (35cm).
The distance between the bar connectors is 15 mm.
We should only use plastic wood beams when the floor has a high level of flatness. If not, please use galvanized iron box or stainless steel bar to make the skeleton for the floor.
It is mandatory to leave a gap between the plastic wood floor and the foundation, specifically:
- The thickness of the beam used as the frame to install the plastic wood floor must be ≥25mm (solid beam), ≥30mm hollow beam.
- Galvanized/stainless steel bars used as the frame for installing wood plastic flooring must be size 30x30mm, thickness ≥1.4mm.
In case the construction area is too large, it is necessary to connect the plastic wood floor, right at the joint position, it is necessary to install the bone bars close together. This helps to protect the floor from breaking.
Install the skeleton along the slope of the foundation to support drainage.

The distance between the flybar connectors is 15mm

B4 Installing the first outdoor plastic wood floor bar

Ta Place the first plastic wood floor bar close to the wall. Then, we use Kosmos plastic pegs to fix the floor bar to the bone bar.

Recommendation:

Minimum distance between floor and wall is 15 mm.
The floor bar is perpendicular to the bone bar.
We only use stainless steel dowels instead of plastic dowels on projects with small areas, roofs, stable temperatures, little water contact and a minimum height of 500mm (50cm) such as: yacht decks, prefabricated houses (huts),...

Use plastic dowels and stainless steel screws to fix the floor bar to the bone bar

B5 Install the remaining wood plastic floor slats until finished

At this time, the plastic dowel (or stainless steel dowel) acts as the connection point between the floor bars and is fixed to the bone bar with stainless steel screws. The distance between the concrete wooden floor bars is as follows:

Range 6 - 8 mm: when the project uses Kosmos plastic latches.
Range 3 - 5 mm: when the project uses stainless steel latches (under permitted conditions).

Note: Outdoor plastic Laminate flooring should be installed in a staggered 50 - 50 pattern (forming a ladder). That is, 2 floor bars next to each other should be installed with the wrong length in the ratio ½. This installation method helps to ensure the highest level of floor structure.

This operation is performed continuously until the complete floor surface is completed. Private distance at end of floor bar (where the docking pin is not used), Kosmos recommends that you keep the distance ≥5mm.

The clearance between the ends of the floor bars is about 5mm

The gap between floor bars when using Kosmos plastic latches is 6 - 8mm — The clearance between the floor bars when using Kosmos plastic dowels is 6-8mm

Laminate flooring should be installed in sole

B6 Proceed to cover the end point of the plastic wood floor

Leave on the surface plastic wood floor construction completed, we need to cover the edges of the floor. Construction workers can use v-braces or plastic wooden steps to cover.

Use a plastic wood V-split to cover the end of the floor

In case of covering the floor edge at a right angle, you need to cut the splint/step edge at an angle 45 degrees. In this way, when joining two bars together, they will form a perfect right angle, ensuring the aesthetics of the project.

Cut the V-bracket at a 45-degree angle to install at a right angle

The standard clipping angle will ensure the aesthetics of the project

>>> Watch more video instructions on how to properly construct outdoor plastic wood floors:

Instructions are for reference only. To have the most suitable construction plan, it is necessary to survey the specific project and come up with an optimal construction solution

Thus, the article has fully guided the steps outdoor plastic Laminate flooring construction for you. Currently, the plastic Laminate flooring distributor Kosmos Vietnam provides enough accessories to carry out this project. If you have any questions about the construction process, you can contact via Hotline: (+84) 903.093.221

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