If you have decided to renovate your apartment,whether it is a major overhaul of the entire space or repair of a worn-out floor covering, you will hardly be able to do without leveling the floor. Even in a new apartment, the base of the floor made of concrete slabs is very often uneven, especially at the joints. In old apartments, where people have lived for a long time, the condition of the upper part of the concrete floor is not just bad, but deplorable, and without its preliminary leveling, one can only dream of a high-quality repair in the apartment.
Before leveling, it is necessary to carefully measure all unevenness of the concrete floor.
Preparing the floor for leveling
To decide on the alignment methodfloor and purchase the necessary materials, it is necessary to first measure the floor level. To do this, you first need to dismantle the floor covering and conduct a survey of the unevenness. For measurements, use a long level, with which you determine the evenness of all areas of the floor. The surface of a concrete floor becomes uneven either due to wear and tear and the appearance of chips during operation, or due to concrete slabs laid crookedly during the construction of the house. There are often cases when both reasons are present. Using a level, first check the planes of the laid slabs and mark the highest point of the floor. Then, examine the chipped and worn areas of the slabs and mark the deepest depression. Preliminary determination of the required height of the floor level is extremely important, since a significant increase in this level may cause serious difficulties: doors will not be able to open or will interfere with the operation of the heating battery. Often, more time and money is spent on eliminating these problems than on the leveling itself. Return to contents</a>
Methods for leveling the floor
Installation of pin beacons.Usually, the floor covering is the last thing to be dismantled during preparation for repair work, and the first thing to be restored. Simply put, the floor needs to be leveled before the walls and ceiling. Today, there are 2 known methods for leveling a concrete base:
- by lighthouses;
- the device of the filler floor.
If the area of the room is small and the differencethe minimum and maximum points of the floor plane does not exceed 35 mm, then the best option would be to install a self-leveling floor. If the differences between the points are large, then you can use the exposed beacons. When choosing one of the options, it is important to understand that the ideal way to level a concrete floor has not yet been invented, and each method has its pros and cons. And it is very important to understand them before starting to level, so as not to do stupid things in the future during the work. Return to the table of contents</a>
Beacon alignment
Floor screed diagram.This method is the most common today among those who like to do everything around the house with their own hands. It is best suited for leveling the floor in large rooms: halls, living rooms. When using this method, you first need to lay and fix special beacons on the concrete base - metal slats, which later serve as a guide for the installation of a new floor screed. The main advantage of this method is the installation of a high-quality and durable screed, including on large surfaces, with minimal costs and time for work. But such a surface can harden from 10 to 30 days, depending on the thickness of the screed layer and the temperature in the room. If you need to level the concrete floor faster, then you will have to abandon this method. To perform the leveling, you will need tools:
- a vacuum cleaner;
- perforated corners;
- Master OK:
- rule.
Before leveling the floor, its base must besweep thoroughly, or better yet, vacuum to remove accumulated dust and dirt. Perforated metal corners are most often used as beacons. Beacons should be installed along the room: the first and last ones - at a distance of 30 cm from the side walls, the rest - at an equal distance from each other, while the step between them should not exceed 1 m. Installation is carried out in the following order. After marking the floor, strictly along the lines, "slap" with a step of 20-25 cm with cakes of pre-prepared cement or gypsum mortar. On these cakes, lay in a vertical line and level the beacons, deepening them into the solution or lifting and placing a smaller cake underneath.
Tools for floor screed:metal beacons, building level, construction mixer, large container. When the solution sets a little and fixes the exposed beacons, the empty space remaining under them is filled with mortar. At this stage, it is still possible to adjust the exposed beacons, achieving the flattest possible horizontal. After this, the beacons must be given time to firmly fix in the solution and only then proceed to leveling the floor. For leveling, use freshly prepared cement mortar. The optimal consistency of the solution resembles thick sour cream. It will be difficult to level a thicker solution, and too liquid will not be strong enough, and it will dry for a very long time. The leveling process should begin from the corner farthest from the entrance doors, moving towards the door. The first and second rows are poured simultaneously. Then the last and penultimate rows are poured in exactly the same way. Then the pouring is performed one row on each side, ending with the central one. The cement mortar is poured between the installed beacons and leveled with a trowel to fill all the remaining voids inside the screed. After filling the row with mortar, place the rule on the beacons with its edge and do it 2-3 times, leveling the mortar flush with the beacons. Filling and leveling each subsequent row must be done very carefully, constantly monitoring the density of the mortar, since it cannot remain absolutely the same, and in places of contact with the already laid mortar, sagging may appear, nullifying the efforts to create a flat surface. The last row is filled and leveled in small portions, the space actually filled with mortar should not exceed the length of outstretched arms. This is the most difficult and labor-intensive part of the entire work on leveling the surface of the concrete floor. Then the laid screed must be given time to dry. Only after complete drying can you begin further repairs. Return to contents</a>
Filling device floor
This is the fastest and easiest to do, butis far from the cheapest way to level a floor. Special self-leveling mixtures are used to level concrete surfaces. Such a mixture is easy enough to pour onto a concrete base, and due to its specific properties, it will spread over the surface in a thin layer, filling in all the unevenness. When leveling the surface using this method, you need to get the following tools:
- vacuum cleaner:
- foam rubber roller;
- needle roller;
- with paint spray.
As with leveling the floor using beacons, firstits surface must be cleaned. After cleaning, the concrete surface is treated with a special primer for self-leveling floors. After priming, you can start diluting the self-leveling mixture, strictly following the instructions printed on its packaging. Having poured the self-leveling solution onto the floor, you need to walk on it in different directions with a needle roller to remove air bubbles in the diluted mixture. You need to work with the roller in special studded shoes - paint shoes, and the needles in the roller should be longer than the height of the self-leveling floor in its deepest place. Such a floor dries in just a few hours, after which you can proceed with further repairs. This drying speed is explained by both the specific composition of the mixture and the thickness of the fill layer, which does not exceed 3-4 mm. Despite the speed and simplicity, this method is still not ideal. It is not suitable if the difference in height of the surface to be leveled is more than 3 mm. It is also poorly suited for pouring floors over large areas, since the self-leveling mixture sets quickly, and there is simply not enough time to properly process the poured surface with a roller. Return to contents</a>
Floor leveling simultaneously with tile laying
This alignment cannot be considered complete.method, in fact, it is a type of technology for laying floor tiles. It ensures an even horizontal of the tiles laid on a concrete base, and not of the concrete floor itself. First, using a level, a mark is made along the perimeter of the walls with a marker, marking the future horizontal of the laid tiles. Then the tiles themselves are laid, while the level of the laid tiles is regulated by the amount of adhesive applied to their base. However, this method can only level out irregularities of 2-3 mm, but it will not help with large differences. Leveling a concrete floor base is not a complex construction operation; such work requires attention and patience from the performer, rather than high qualifications. Therefore, there is no need to resort to the services of construction companies to perform it; you can safely take on the work yourself, saving money for more complex repair operations to be performed by professionals.
