In many apartments the base for the floor isslabs, which usually have unevenness. Improving the floor is a difficult matter. But today there are new construction technologies that greatly simplify the task - how quickly . We will talk about self-leveling floors. If you are not sure whether your room needs floor leveling, take some measurements. You need to take a long ruler (1 m) and, applying it to the floor, check if there is a gap between the ruler and the floor. If there is a gap exceeding 2 mm, you need to level it. You can also check the floor using a building level.
The color of the self-leveling floor should match the interior of the room.
Variety of mixtures for floor leveling
Before we get to the question of how to alignfloor, let's talk about what can be done. You can make a floor leveling compound yourself by mixing cement with sand. In today's world, new technologies have emerged that use different mixtures that have not only binding properties, but also thermal and sound insulation. Leveling the floor using such mixtures makes the job much easier.
Preparing for floor leveling.There are many such solutions on sale. They mainly consist of quartz sand, cement, modifying additives and even pigments. There are special compositions for leveling concrete and wooden floors. They are distinguished by their strength, smoothness, pouring layer and are divided into base and finishing. The latter is a truly full-fledged flooring made of self-leveling polymer or epoxy. And the base mixture is only a base that needs additional floor covering. Of all the mixtures, builders note another type - thick-layer. They are used to fill depressions and cracks, as well as to level out large unevenness of the floor. In addition to them, there are mixtures for repair - to eliminate large defects, primers - for arranging concrete floors, sealing - for sealing cracks and holes. If you need to speed up the process of hardening the mixture and at the same time improve its properties, you can buy a special plasticizer - an active additive that is introduced into building solutions. The main thing is to mix the solution correctly in order to level the floor in the room. You need to prepare a 20 liter container for the mixture. Then prepare water at the rate of 1 liter per 5 kg of dry mixture. To get a good homogeneous solution, you need to pour the dry composition into the water, and not vice versa. Then mix the mixture with a drill with a special attachment for 5-7 minutes. After that, take a break for 1-2 minutes and mix again. Return to the table of contents</a>
How to level the floor in the room?
Return to Contents</a>Leveling a wooden floor
Wooden floor leveling scheme.If the floors are made of wood, you should first check their strength. Rotten and sagging boards should be replaced. To remove protrusions and any irregularities, the floor can be treated with a sanding machine. Do not use chipboard sheets to level a wooden floor. Due to the release of formaldehyde during operation, they are harmful to human health. After repair, a plank floor usually does not require special preparation. If there are irregularities on it, you can additionally lay plywood sheets. If the wooden floor is badly damaged or rotten, you do not need to invent anything. It is better to get rid of the old boards and make a concrete screed. When a screed is made, the floor level rises. Therefore, you will need to change the location of the doors. To avoid this, you must first calculate the height of the screed for free closing of the doors. Return to the table of contents</a>Leveling a concrete floor To level a concrete floor, you need to make a screed. The order of work to be carried out is as follows.
Scheme of floor leveling with concrete screed.
Ceramic tiles can be laid on the smoothed concrete floor in the room after 3 days, and laminate, linoleum, parquet or carpeting - after a week. Return to contents</a>
Align the floor with your own hands
The procedure for leveling the floor seems verydifficult, accessible only to specialists. But knowing some rules for leveling the floor, you can do this work yourself. It is enough to get some knowledge about the necessary building materials, tools and have a desire. All you need to do is: put beacons for the screed and properly prepare the solution.
Tools for floor screed: beacons, basin, spatula, level, tape measure, roller, cutter. You also need to prepare the tools:
- rule;
- Needle roller with long handle;
- level;
- a drill with a nozzle for stirring the solution;
- Any capacity (bucket) for mixing the mixture.
The speed of floor leveling depends on the sizeand the amount of surface irregularities. For small irregularities on a concrete floor - if the skew is 1-2 cm, you can use self-leveling floors. This will level the floor faster than making a screed. For large irregularities, you should not use a self-leveling mixture, it will be too expensive, and it will take a long time to dry. For floor differences of up to 5 mm and if you plan to lay laminate, you can simply put a film for moisture insulation and a soft adherent. This will be the fastest.
Guideline for floor leveling.If the floor is very uneven, you need to install a laser level at the highest point of the floor and draw a leveling line, which will serve as a guide when pouring the solution. If you don’t have a laser level, you can use another method. It consists of the following: find the highest point on the floor and mark 5-6 cm up the wall from it. Then attach a rail parallel to the mark on the floor, align it with the level and put a mark on the opposite wall. In this way, apply marks along the entire border of the room. Stretch ropes along the marks, you will get a plane - a guide for leveling. All work related to leveling the floor is best done by two people, since the solution must be used up within half an hour, and it will be difficult to do alone. One worker prepares the mixture, and the other at this time pours the floor with the prepared solution, starting work from the far corner of the room. Each subsequent portion of the poured mixture must be rolled with a needle roller to improve spreading and remove air bubbles. And so on until the work is completely completed. Each time before use, the solution must be stirred. Following these recommendations, you can do expensive floor leveling work together with an assistant and save money. No unusual abilities are required for this, only physical strength and the desire to do this work.
