Methods for filling the floor in an apartment. Pouring the floor in an apartment - all about the materials and technology for creating a perfectly flat floor

Concrete pouring flooring makes it possible to level and strengthen the base of the room for its subsequent cladding with other materials. However, the alignment must be done correctly. Otherwise, the concrete layer will quickly crack and become unusable. For work, you can use not only ordinary concrete mortar, but also its mixture with cement.

How to make the correct markup?

Before pouring the screed in the apartment, you must first make markings. To determine the horizontal, a laser level is most often used, although you can do without it. You can use a simple water level.

So, first of all, you will need to determine the “zero level” in all rooms of the apartment. To do this, perform the following actions:

1. Determining the location of an arbitrary mark.
2. Using a level, you need to make similar marks on all vertical surfaces(it is advisable to do 2-3 on each wall). These points should be located at the same level relative to the horizon line.
3. Now you can connect these marks with a solid line.
4. Next, the difference in height of the base and its highest point are determined. To do this, measure the distance from the drawn line to the floor along the entire perimeter of the room. The difference is the difference between the largest and smallest indicator.

Preparing for work

Filling the floor screed should be done after the correct selection concrete mixture. First of all, you need to pay attention to what is written on the packaging. Since there are mixtures that are designed only for laying in a thin or thick layer. Improper use of the mortar will cause it to shrink or crack.

When choosing, you must also pay attention to the color of the mixture. It should be grey. If there are impurities of other colors, it means that the mixture contains an excessive amount of sand or clay. As for the presence of plasticizers in the material, their amount can be seen on the packaging. It is advisable not to buy material that uses PVA glue as a plasticizer. Otherwise, cracks will appear on the screed.

Features of base preparation

Before pouring the screed, careful preparation of the base is required. What is important is the evenness, cleanliness of the surface, as well as the absence of serious defects (cracks, weak spots). If they are, then you need to get rid of them. For example, cracks are sealed with a fairly thick cement solution, and the peeling of the previous screed is cleaned out.

Dust impairs the adhesion of the solution to the surface being treated, so it should be removed. For this purpose, a powerful household or construction vacuum cleaner is used. Next, the subfloor in the apartment is treated with a primer.

Now you should take care of waterproofing and insulating the room. The first procedure must be performed in the bathroom, toilet and kitchen. It is best to use rolled materials for waterproofing. The technology for laying them is simple: the strips overlap each other, and their edges should extend 15-20 cm onto the walls.

As insulation, you can use not only expanded clay, but also polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, mineral wool. In addition, you will need to strengthen the future screed using a reinforced mesh (if the floor will not be heavily loaded). If the base will be subject to maximum load, it is better to use a welded metal frame.

How to prepare the soil base?

First of all, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil - fertile soil. Its height is 40 cm. Next, the soil surface is thoroughly compacted. Here an ordinary heavy log or vibration mechanisms can be used. If after treating the base there are no traces of shoes left on it, then it is compacted well enough.

• Arrangement of the first gravel layer, the thickness of which is 5-10 cm.
• Laying sand. The thickness of this layer is also 5-10 cm, but it will also have to be compacted. For better effect, you can additionally use water.
• Arrangement of a layer of crushed stone. It must have an average fraction. The thickness of this “pie” layer is about 15 cm. When pouring the stone, you must ensure that it does not stick out with sharp corners upward.

During this work, it is necessary to constantly monitor the horizontal level of the “pie”. In this case, subsequent filling will take place without problems.

How to install beacons correctly?

Filling the floor with your own hands in an apartment is done quite quickly. However, to maintain the same level throughout the entire area of ​​the room, beacons should be installed. The installation technology is quite simple:

• Choice of material. Can be used here metal profiles or pipes.
• Carrying out marking. To install beacons, you can use either a thick solution or adjustable screws.
• Fastening elements. Here we must take into account that all beacons are laid parallel to each other.

Features of preparing the solution

Before you pour the floors in your apartment, you need to make the concrete solution correctly. There are such features of the process:

1. It is best to stir the mixture using a construction mixer or a small concrete mixer to ensure that the solution is as homogeneous as possible.
2. In order for the mixture to have good plasticity, you should not add to it more water. It is better to use special plasticizers. Otherwise, the strength of the screed may be compromised.
3. The consistency of the solution should resemble a thickly kneaded dough with no lumps. That is, it should not spread.
4. It is necessary to apply the solution in the apartment several hours in advance, otherwise it will quickly lose its properties.

Filling the floor with your own hands will not cause many difficulties if the process technology is followed.

How to fill the floor correctly?

So, the technology for pouring a concrete layer in an apartment involves the following actions:

1. The mixture prepared in advance must be poured in parts between the guide beacons. During the pouring process, the solution is pierced with a shovel to avoid the appearance of air bubbles inside the layer. For this purpose, you can use a special compaction vibrator. The processing of the base with such a device is completed after milk appears on the surface of the concrete.
2. Leveling the mixture using a rule. The tool is installed on the guides. The rule not only needs to be pulled towards you, but also moved from side to side. This way the concrete will be leveled as well as possible. Excess solution can be redistributed.
3. Removing beacons. They should be removed as soon as the solution sets. Places where there are holes must be filled with the same mixture.

Last stage

The process of pouring concrete does not end once the base is covered with a layer of mortar. The screed should not dry quickly. Otherwise it will crack. The concrete layer must harden. To do this, you need to create certain conditions:

• During the week, you need to wet the concrete surface with water several times a day. This is especially important if the room is hot. If concrete dries out, it will become brittle and less durable.
• Do not accelerate hardening by drafts or additional heat.
• If small cracks appear on the surface of the screed, the defect must be moistened and rubbed with concrete mortar.
• After the screed has hardened, you need to check how smooth it is. A special rule applies for this. Maximum distance between its edge and the floor surface is 4 mm.

You can check the quality of the fill by tapping with a special wooden block. The sound should be ringing. Now even an inexperienced master knows how to fill the screed correctly. Compliance with technology is the main rule when installing screeds. Good luck!

Pouring a floor is a very responsible and labor-intensive process, on which the entire final result depends.. Since modern floor coverings, such as laminate, parquet boards, must be laid perfectly flat surface gender, then this process is inevitable.

This especially applies to old apartments. Therefore, before pouring the floor yourself, it is advisable to consult with specialists.

When to fill the floor:

1. Leveling the floor surface with a screed is done to simplify the laying of subsequent floor coverings. If the floor is level, the laminate or parquet will lie perfectly, which will create a beautiful appearance and the interior of the entire room.
2. You can also level the floor if it is necessary to insulate it. electrical or water structures.
3. If necessary, replace old concrete bases, where cracks, holes and unevenness could appear over time, a new screed will come to the rescue, which will last a long time.
4. Most often, in rooms such as a garage or loggia, the floor may crack, where it is also advisable to update it with a new screed.

How is the floor prepared for screeding?

Before pouring the floor, it must be properly prepared.

This is done as follows:

1. First of all, you should get rid of the old worn-out flooring ;
2. Next, you need to remove all the baseboards;
3. Remove all doors;
4. Be sure to clean the floor surface from glue, old concrete chips and other debris. This is done using a brush or a special grinder.
5. All dust should be removed from the floor. A regular home vacuum cleaner can help with this.
6. Next, degrease the entire floor surface. simple soap solution.
7. It is advisable to slightly moisten the floor surface. This is necessary for strong adhesion of the screed between the layers.
8. If there are any cracks or holes on the floor surface, they should be covered with putty. It must contain glue or resin.
9. When covering cracks with putty, it is not recommended to ventilate room.
10. One of the most important stages in preparing the floor for screeding is priming the entire surface. A thin layer of primer is applied to the floor, thereby ensuring a strong and quick setting of the subsequent layers of screed. In this case, the primer can be both universal and for special surfaces. Can be applied either with a brush or with a roller.
11. The primer must be dry before proceeding further. This will take up to three hours.

Waterproofing

Waterproofing is carried out in the following cases:

• If there are large holes and cracks in the corners of the floor;
• In places sewer pipes and other communications;

Depending on the main component, waterproofing materials are divided into:

• Bitumen;
• Polymer;
• Polymer-bitumen;
• Mineral.

In addition to these types of waterproofing, there are:

1. Polyethylene or film. This type of waterproofing is the most popular among builders, as it is not only distinguished by its excellent waterproof material, but also has heat insulating qualities.
2. Mastic is waterproofing material, which contains adhesive elements such as resins, polymers or liquid rubber. Due to its properties, mastic perfectly retains water and does not allow it to penetrate deep into the floor.
3. Liquid formulations. The surface is coated with a special liquid composition, which, getting into the smallest cracks and crevices, creates excellent waterproofing.
4. Dry mixtures. Also often used for waterproofing floors. The powder should be diluted required quantity water, then immediately apply to the floor surface.

Definition of horizontal level

Important! For correct definition horizontal level, you need to select the desired level: construction, laser or water. By selecting the right tool, the level of the concrete screed is determined.

In this case, marks should be made on the wall that will help when installing beacons. Beacons are usually used in the form of slats made of metal or wood, which are installed sideways, that is, edgewise.

The horizontal level is determined as follows:

• First you should measure one meter along the surface of the wall from the doorway. A mark is placed at this location.
• A parallel is drawn from the mark along the entire perimeter of the room. The level will help here.
• The second parallel runs down from the first. Also one meter.
• If you screw screws into the corners of the room and pull the thread, it will be much easier to navigate.

Pouring the floor with concrete screed

You can prepare the concrete mixture yourself, or you can purchase it at any hardware store.. Naturally, the purchased mixture will cost several times more, but when filling small rooms with it, the difference will be small.

The prepared solution must be placed between the prepared slats, leveling it special tool- a mop. If this is not available, then a large spatula or grater will do.

Worth noting! When leveling the surface, you should still make vibrating and shaking movements with your hands so that the mixture gets into all the cracks and there are no bubbles or empty spaces left. If you neglect this rule, cracks or depressions may subsequently appear.

How to pour a floor over expanded clay insulation?

Expanded clay chips began to be used very often when pouring floors.

This popularity is due to several factors:

• Expanded clay is very light in weight;
• Features excellent thermal insulation properties, which additionally makes the room warm and cozy;
• The material has excellent soundproofing.

Pouring a floor with expanded clay can be done in two ways:

• On dry expanded clay chips. In this case, it should first be moistened with cement milk: water with cement.
• When adding expanded clay to cement composition.

How to fill the floor surface?

The floor is poured in the following way:

1. The floor in one room should be poured immediately and without interruptions, without stretching out the entire pouring stage. This will ensure a smooth floor surface, without unnecessary bumps and irregularities.
2. It is better to start filling from the far corner of the room. In this case, using a spatula or mop, the solution is distributed evenly into all corners and crevices.
3. When pouring, you must use a special roller with needles, which will help avoid all the empty parts of the fill.
4. The whole process needs to be done quickly enough, since within an hour the cement composition will set and it will be impossible to change anything.
5. After finishing filling and leveling the floor, all windows should be closed and doors to avoid drafts.

Conclusion

Using the right technology By pouring a concrete screed onto the floor surface, you can provide conditions for a high-quality, smooth and beautiful floor covering, for example, laminate, which will not produce unnecessary squeaks and discomfort. And the owner of the house will be able to be proud of such a successfully completed job.

Updating or replacing an old, worn-out floor in an apartment is one of the most labor-intensive operations in general process carrying out repairs. Just imagining the scale and cost of what is to come, many homeowners very often refuse to repair their floors, limiting themselves only to changing the decorative covering on them. But time takes its toll, and sooner or later a moment comes when it becomes simply impossible to delay such work.

In this case, it is not at all necessary to immediately look for a team of craftsmen - especially since in such a service sector you can very often meet outright “hack workers”. As a result, everything can result in a completely unnecessary waste of time, nerves and money with a low-quality result. Why not try it yourself? If the owner has certain skills in general construction work, and if you carry out floor repairs in the apartment with your own hands step by step, in compliance with the recommended technological rules, then everything should work out!

The stages of repair, of course, depend on the type of floors, their original condition, the purpose of the premises in which the work is being carried out, and the type of finishing coating. This publication will discuss several of the most common options.

Since the owner of the apartment is thinking about renovating the floor, then, most likely, there are motivating reasons for this, unless, of course, this is a cosmetic replacement of the covering at the next whim of the wife. Therefore, first you need to identify and clearly formulate problems - the entire scale of further preparatory and repair work will depend on this.

This publication is about a city apartment, and in the vast majority multi-storey buildings any floor has a base in the form reinforced concrete slab ceilings But further design may differ significantly. The floor can be built on joists fixed to the base, or laid directly on a concrete screed.

• A wooden floor on joists usually begins to show its defects through creaking, instability of the coating - the floorboards “play” underfoot, the appearance of an unpleasant smell of rot, and the formation and gradual widening of cracks. It’s even worse if suddenly one of the boards cracks or a fragment of it falls down.

The dilapidated wooden floor reminds of itself with creaking and “playing” boards

• An old screed on which a coating is laid can also begin to present surprises due to “old age,” especially if it was once filled with poor quality. So, it is also possible that there may be obvious creaks and rustling sounds from sand or small stones, “bumping” of the screed, the appearance of dented areas of the surface, disruption of the evenness of the finishing coating, and sometimes obvious instability of an entire large fragment.

In any case, if there are obvious defects, remove the old coating.

Removing old coating

• All furniture will need to be removed from the room, completely freeing it for further work. If the renovation is not carried out in the entire apartment at once, but from room to room, it will be necessary to provide protection against the spread of dust, for example, by covering the entrance with a curtain made of thick plastic film or frequently moistened fabric, and covering the gap under the door with a roller made of a wet rag. True, the full effectiveness of this method is very doubtful, and best option However, it is necessary to provide for the resettlement of family members during the renovation. However, a barrier to dust is necessary in any case.
• Next, the old baseboards are removed. This is done carefully so as not to damage the lower part of the walls to which they are attached. If the skirting boards are intended to be used further, they are numbered according to their location and temporarily removed.

If anyone has not encountered this issue before, we can remind you that the baseboards are attached to the wall, and not to the floor surface, that is, you need to correctly direct the lever force. It will be easier if the baseboards are secured with self-tapping screws or special brackets.

The next step is actually removing the old coating. There are several options here:

A. If the floor is covered with some kind of roll material, then they pry it off from one side and try to carefully roll it into a roll - this will make it easier to take it out. If the covering (for example, linoleum or carpet) was once laid without glue, directly on a concrete screed, this will not be difficult to do. You can first make it sharp to make things easier construction knife parallel cuts, thereby dividing the entire canvas into several narrower strips.

But there are often situations in which old material comes off along with the layers of peeled screed. Then you will have to remove it fragmentarily and immediately take it out of the room along with pieces of concrete, so that this construction waste didn't interfere further work.

It happens that once well-glued linoleum, when removed, begins to delaminate itself, leaving dried layers on the screed. In this case, you will have to work with a scraper (spatula), warming these areas with a hair dryer or moistening the old adhesive layer with a solution of floor detergent.

B. Old “playing” parquet can cause more trouble. If it is of no value, then its dies are sequentially removed and immediately loaded into bags, which are taken out as they are filled. If parquet was once glued to bitumen mastic or glue on organic basis, then removing individual dies or even entire fragments can be difficult. The “recipe” is the same - scraper, chisel and heating with a hairdryer.

IN. To remove old tiles, it is most convenient to use a hammer drill switched to chiselling mode with a spade chisel installed. If such a tool is not available, then everything is done manually, using a hammer and chisel.

G. When removing a plank floor covering, the most difficult thing is probably to pick up and separate the first floorboard. Then, when you can freely move the lever, the work will go faster. To work, you will need a nail puller with a long lever handle, a hammer, and pliers. You should try to remove the nails carefully, without destroying the boards, since, quite possibly, this material will still be used for a new flooring after repairs or for making joists.

If the old coating was attached with screws (self-tapping screws), then you can try to dismantle it using a screwdriver.

Well, if the board covering is no longer of any value, then the most convenient way would be to make cuts using a manual vertical circular saw (carefully and prudently, so as not to catch the concrete base, damage the joists, or “run into” a nail). After separating the long floorboards this way, removing them will be an easy task.

Is it worth removing the entire plank floor covering if obvious defects were observed only in certain areas, and there are no plans to replace it with a different type of surface finish? Of course, you can limit yourself to only partial repairs - replacing worn out or damaged parts. But experts unanimously advise - remove everything completely. There is no guarantee that if the deterioration process has manifested itself in one area of ​​the floor, then it will not show itself in another in a year, or even earlier. It will be cheaper to renew the base and re-lay the floor, even using old material, than to return to such repairs again after a short period.

Conducting a foundation audit

After the floor covering has been removed, it is necessary to carefully inspect the base.

• If there are logs left on the floor, and you plan to re-lay the plank flooring, you should carefully check the condition of these load-bearing elements and the supports on which they are installed. Log beams should not have areas of decomposition, rottenness, or fungal damage - such parts must be replaced. Each joist is checked under load - it should not dangle, sag, creak, etc. If necessary, update the linings that hold the guide at the desired height.

If the condition of the joists does not cause concern, then after thorough cleaning, a new coating can be laid in the spaces between them. Most old floorboards will probably work just fine. After such a bulkhead, the floor will stop creaking and gain the necessary stability. If required, thermal insulation material can be laid between the joists, which will also act as a sound insulator.

However, on an old wooden floor, very often the joists themselves are quite worn out, and their repair is impossible or does not guarantee durability. In this case, they will have to be dismantled in order to subsequently install new ones. When removing the joists, remember that they may be quite firmly attached to the base base. You need to be careful and careful to prevent severe destruction of the concrete base and not add unnecessary worries to its restoration.

After removing the joists, the subfloor is cleaned as thoroughly as possible so that you can move on to further steps.

In the case when, after removing the old topcoat, underneath it opens concrete screed, she will be examined most thoroughly. You need to trust that the concrete is strong in itself, and repairing such a surface is not necessary.

The screed must be tapped - this will help to remove areas of its detachment, which must be removed to a “healthy” base. The surface is checked for the presence of loose areas, those where, due to a violation of the pouring technology, the solution has not gained strength or has been eroded due to exposure to moisture. Such areas also require cleaning.

Large cracks should not be left on the surface - this may continue the process of destructuring the base. Slots and cracks must be cut in width and depth by at least 10 - 15 mm for subsequent repairs.

Sometimes, after removing unstable sections of concrete, a completely unsightly picture is revealed, such as, for example, shown in the photograph. However, this too is completely repairable.

After removing defective areas and cutting out cracks, a thorough cleaning is carried out. It is best to use a powerful construction vacuum cleaner in this matter - using other means to thoroughly clean the surface and formed cavities from small debris and dust is extremely difficult.

Sometimes you have to resort to complete dismantling of the entire screed down to the floor slab. This may be caused by the extremely low quality of the coating, which is impractical to repair, but it is better to completely refill it. Often in a screed in damp areas mold or fungus finds a “shelter”. Another option is when the floors require additional insulation and sound insulation, and the height of the ceilings and the size of the doorways in the apartment will not allow raising the level of coverage (taking into account the thermal insulation layer and finishing). The same measure is resorted to when it is planned to make a wooden floor on joists instead of thin coverings.

A complex, but often simply necessary operation - complete removal of the old screed

Of course, the process of completely dismantling the screed using a breaker tool is very tedious, noisy and dusty, but no other method has yet been invented. This requires some care to avoid damaging concrete slab ceilings The screed is cut into separate pieces, which are immediately shoveled to the side and packed into bags for removal. It is not recommended to use even small fragments as material for filling a new solution, since they will not enhance, but rather worsen the quality.

After removing the old screed, thoroughly clean the surface - as described above.

Base surface repair

Whatever the floor was, it was not planned for the flooring; the concrete base under it needs to be put in order. Thus, poorly sealed seams between floor slabs, cracks around the perimeter of walls, potholes or cavities, etc. may be exposed.

Such repairs are necessary even if it is planned to pour a new screed. The solution may not penetrate into these flaws; air cavities will remain there, reducing the solidity of the coating and becoming the starting point for the destruction of the screed. This is especially important and mandatory if the screed will be poured onto a separating layer or onto waterproofing film(floating screed).

All surface defects must be thoroughly cleaned, if necessary (for example, slab joints) cut, and then even the smallest chips and dust removed with a vacuum cleaner.

The next step is to carefully prime the surface, at least twice, with a deep-penetrating compound that is designed specifically for concrete.

This treatment will significantly strengthen the surface, which is especially important when it is loose, will increase the hydrophobic qualities, reduce the absorption of concrete, and improve adhesion with repair compounds. Further work begins after the last applied layer of primer has been completely absorbed and dried.

As a repair composition, you can use ordinary cement-sand mortar. However, it takes quite a long time to dry and gain the required strength, and it is better not to waste money on special repair compounds, also cement-based or epoxy-based.

Primed surface defects are filled as tightly as possible with the repair compound, comparing with the general floor level. You can use a regular spatula for this. Some repair compounds are sold in plastic tubes, and it will be more convenient to apply them using a construction syringe or a special “gun”.

If the defect is large in volume, then in some cases you can resort to filling it polyurethane foam. After it dries, the excess is cut off, and then this area is brought to general level surfaces.

The repair “patches” are given time to completely harden, in accordance with their instructions, after which the surface can be smoothed using sandpaper wrapped on a block. Then it is recommended to go over the entire surface with primer again. If increased absorption of the composition is noted in areas where repairs are being carried out, then these areas are primed twice.

After the soil has dried, the surface can be considered ready for further work.

Leveling screed

If an old screed or wooden floor was removed and the floor slab was exposed, then most likely its level is very far from horizontal. The house shrank over time, and even when it was built many years ago, the builders may not have cared much about the strictly verified level of floors. So, no matter what the floor was, it was not planned to do anything further, it is recommended to strengthen the base and at the same time level it with a screed. The thickness of this poured layer must be at least 30 mm at the highest point

First of all, it is necessary to determine the magnitude of the difference, that is, to identify the peak, highest and lowest points of the surface and “break through” the zero level line. The beacon system will be set at this mark.

To fill the screed, you can use a regular cement-sand mortar, which is prepared directly at the work site. Usually they start from the proportion of three parts of sand to one of M-400 cement - this ratio gives a surface that is optimal in terms of strength and wear resistance, on which any of them can then be mounted. existing coatings floor.

Those novice builders who do not want to deal with drawing up proportions on their own can be recommended to use ready-made dry construction mixtures. Their composition has already been optimized for screed, and all that remains is to properly seal it with water, in accordance with the attached instructions.

How much materials will be needed in this or that case? It all depends on the level of height difference at the extreme points, the planned minimum thickness of the screed, the area of ​​the room, and the characteristics of the solution.

Typically, the packaging of dry construction mixtures indicates their normalized consumption in kilograms per 1 square meter poured area with a layer thickness of 10 mm. Based on this, you can use simple calculations to determine the required amount of material.

To make the task easier for readers, here is a calculator that allows you to quickly and accurately make such calculations:

Calculator for calculating the amount of dry building mixture for screed

Room length, m

Room width, m

Height difference, mm

Screed thickness, mm

Indicate the passport value of the average consumption of the selected dry mixture (kg per m² with a pouring thickness of 10 mm)

Average consumption, kg/m²/10 mm

For calculation cement-sand mortar, manufactured independently, come from several different positions. The volumetric ratios of the components and their density are important here. In order not to bore the reader with formulas, a calculation calculator for this case is also included:

Calculator for calculating the amount of cement and sand for preparing concrete mortar for screed

Enter the requested values ​​and click the "CALCULATE" button

Specify the parameters of the room: its length and width (in meters), and the difference in level between the highest and lowest points of the floor (in millimeters)

Room length, m

Room width, m

Height difference, mm

Specify the planned thickness of the screed

Screed thickness, mm

Conversion to meters

After pouring the leveling screed, it is given time to fully mature and gain strength. After this, you can proceed to arranging the selected type of flooring.

Which floor is better for apartment premises?

There are many options for finishing flooring in an apartment. The most common ones include natural wood - solid boards, parquet or cork, linoleum, laminate, carpet, ceramic tiles.

Wooden floors

They are rightly considered the most “cosy” and cleanest from an environmental point of view. They are mounted on logs, between which you can freely place insulating and sound-absorbing material - this will only add comfort to the floors. The coating itself can be laid directly on the joists, or, for example, parquet - on plywood mounted on the joists.

• Wooden floors can be used in any living room.
• They should be used with some caution in the kitchen - the abundant odors characteristic of this room can be absorbed into the wood and become intrusive or even sharply unpleasant over time.
• Wooden flooring is not suitable for a bathroom or toilet - due to the high probability of water getting on it.
• The hallway is also not best place for wooden floor. Firstly, due to the increased intensity of movement in outdoor shoes, this leads to rapid abrasion of the wood. Secondly, the humidity level here can also be elevated. And thirdly, there may be difficulties with installing the covering on the joists - this may be hampered by the floor level in the entrance and the location of the front door.

One of the most difficult operations when installing a wooden floor is installing a joist system. They must be durable and stable, and their level must be brought perfectly into the horizontal plane.

For lags, high-quality wooden beam. There are a lot of ways to install and align logs horizontally, from the simplest by placing bars or pieces of plywood under them, to using adjustable supports or various brackets.

How are wooden floors installed?

The first step is almost always. Then this base can be laid immediately, or plywood can be laid. But plywood will already become the basis for many other coatings. In particular, it is comfortable to wear. All these issues are covered in detail on the pages of our portal.

Laminate

This type of coating, made from a wood-polymer composite, has gained enormous popularity over the past 10 ÷ 15 years. Such floors amazingly accurately imitate natural materials, but more affordable. And some types of laminate are significantly superior to wood in terms of wear resistance, moisture resistance and service life.

Disadvantages include the fact that wood-based composites are still made using phenol-formaldehyde resins. Therefore, when choosing, special attention must be paid to the environmental class of the material. It is considered acceptable to emit no more than 0.01 mg of formaldehyde, and 0.003 mg of phenol. These types are classified as class E1, and can be installed in any residential area. Classes E2 and E3 are absolutely not suitable for bedrooms and children's rooms.

Choosing a laminate

In addition to environmental friendliness, laminate is divided according to several other indicators, and is not equally suitable for different rooms.

For quality flooring laminated coating An almost perfectly leveled base is required. In this case, plywood or OSB sheets mounted on joists or directly on a concrete screed are ideal.

Video: one of interesting ways leveling the floor with plywood without using joists

You can lay a laminated floor on a concrete base using special polyethylene foam backings. However, the evenness of a conventional screed made manually using beacons may not be enough - the coating will soon begin to creak. It is best to pour a self-leveling floor under the laminate - then the tightness of the panels to the surface over the entire area will be ensured.

Self-leveling floor is the solution to many problems!

The vast majority modern coverings flooring requires a perfectly level surface. This can be achieved by filling. All the nuances of performing such work are described in detail in a separate publication on our portal.

Linoleum

Despite the emergence of new types of coatings, linoleum does not give up its leading position. This is due to its relatively low cost and the ability to install it yourself.

Linoleum is a material not without its drawbacks, but quite suitable for an apartment

Modern types of linoleums are distinguished by high wear resistance, waterproof, rich variety of decorative designs. This material has become more favorable from an environmental point of view. The coating can vary in thickness and material of manufacture, be on a soft foam, fabric or insulated base, and produced in rolls of various widths.

Linoleum at making the right choice can be suitable for any type of room, with the possible exception of the bathroom. The requirements for the base are almost the same as for the laminate - one must be perfectly smooth, since all defects will inevitably appear through the plastic material over time.

What to do if you want to cover the floor with linoleum?

First of all, you need to navigate the classification of the material in order to be able to choose the one that is optimally suited for specific operating conditions. And secondly, know the technology to cope with this yourself. About all this – on the pages of our portal.

Carpet

This coating was very popular not so long ago, but gradually the number of its supporters decreased significantly due to characteristic shortcomings material.

Carpet: beautiful at first, but generally impractical

While the carpet is new, it looks very advantageous, it is pleasant to walk on it - the surface is always warm and soft. However, even the most quality material Quite quickly this “period of youth” ends - the pile becomes wrinkled, rubbed, and loses its color. It is very difficult to remove an accidental stain from such a coating. But the main thing is that dust inevitably accumulates among the fluff, and to clean it out you need a powerful vacuum cleaner.

It would seem - great solution for a children's room, especially since there are a lot of coverings on sale with very interesting designs. But the softness and warmth of the coating in no way compensate for the increased risk of allergic reactions or even chronic respiratory disorders in the child. For children's optimal choice– a coating that can be cleaned frequently wet cleaning. For the same reason, this material is not particularly suitable for an adult bedroom.

Carpet is also not suitable for walk-through rooms - very soon there will be a “trodden path” on it, and the pile will become clogged with dirt and dust brought on shoes from the street.

The only place where it can be used with a certain amount of caution is the living room. But even in this case, frequent cleaning with a vacuum cleaner cannot be avoided.

And the use of carpet in apartments where pets are kept is almost completely excluded. This is both permanent fur, tangled in a fleecy surface, and a “testing ground” for cat claws. Well, if a pet accidentally “does something” on such a floor, it’s generally akin to a “catastrophe.”

If, nevertheless, the choice is made in favor of carpet, then its installation, in principle, is not much different from working with linoleum. A clean, flat surface is also required, such as plywood or a base filled with a self-leveling compound.

Ceramic tiles

Floor covering with ceramic tiles is most appropriate in rooms with high humidity. When properly installed, such a coating is not afraid of dampness and does not absorb fat or oil into its surface that was accidentally poured in the kitchen.

For some rooms, ceramic tiles are an ideal option.

High-quality tiles are not afraid of long-term abrasive loads, that is, they are perfect for rooms with maximum intensity of human traffic - for a corridor or hallway.

The ceramic coating is easily and quickly washed from external contaminants, while freely withstanding any household detergents and solvents.

Even direct hit water, quite likely in the bathroom, will not cause any harm to the tiles.

Ceramic tiles are available in a wide variety of colors, textures and patterns. For floors, of course, it is best to choose a material with a micro-relief surface, so that the roughness does not make it possible to slip on a wet floor.

Ceramic flooring can, in principle, be laid on any prepared surface, and the ideal smoothness of the base is not critical here. Including, there are technologies for laying a new tile covering on top of the old one, without tedious dismantling.

Ceramic coating certainly has its disadvantages. So, it is always very hard, and, for example, a cup or plate dropped on the floor is practically doomed to be broken. This same factor also reduces the comfort of such a floor, which is why it is extremely rarely installed in living rooms.

Another important drawback– ceramics is a “cold” material, and walking on it with bare feet or even in light house shoes is not entirely pleasant. True, this drawback can be completely eliminated by installing an electric heated floor under such a covering.

How to style ceramic coating gender?

Whatever material is used for laying new floors, it would not be superfluous to think about insulating the surface. There is not always a need for this. For example, if there is a residential and well-heated apartment below, then most likely no additional thermal insulation will be required. But for residents of the first floors, under whose apartments there are unheated basements or ventilated basement rooms, there is something to take care of.

There are many options in this matter. Thus, the technology of laying an insulating layer of extruded polystyrene foam is used, followed by pouring a screed or installing a finishing coating.

Another option is to use special compounds for pouring insulated screed. Such building mixtures with the addition of expanded polystyrene or foam glass granules can be found in the store. Expanded clay is also widely used for these purposes.

Expanded clay is an excellent insulation material for floors!

This thermal insulation material is highly environmentally friendly, so it is ideally suited for residential premises. It can be used for backfilling between joists, for preparing mortar for pouring, and for creating floors using dry screed technology. How to do it yourself is in a separate publication on our portal.

So, the owners’ further actions directly depend on the type of coverage chosen. The links to other pages of the portal offered in the article should give a complete picture of the technology for independently performing work on replacing floors in an apartment.

Once the flooring or finishing of the flooring has been completed, all that remains is to finish the walls and move on to installing the baseboards. This last detail will add completeness to the interior appearance of the updated room.

Video: example of floor repair with replacement of old coating

When conducting overhaul The question: how to fill the floor in an apartment is very relevant. It is important not only to level the base for finishing, but also to carry out the work as efficiently as possible without unnecessary material and time costs.

Let's look at what materials can be used to fill the floor indoors and how to save money.

Carrying out work on your own

Before starting work, dismantle the old covering to the floor level

Having enough free time, you can carry out all the work on arranging the floor yourself. The work begins with cleaning the old surface.

If there is a covering, it must be dismantled to the level of the floor slabs. Not only linoleum or laminate will have to be removed, everything will be removed, including the old screed or fill. This must also be done because pouring a new screed will “eat up” the height of the room by at least 5-10 cm.

Having purchased new apartment under finishing, make sure the quality of the floor covering. If the screed material is soft and loose (this happens when there is too much sand in the solution), the layer must be removed.

Mix the solution in small portions

Having removed the old covering, we begin to fill the floor in the apartment. To do this, you need to perform the following work sequentially:

1. Surface primer. Used special solution deep penetration. It is necessary to treat a surface that is clean from dust and fine dirt. If there are cracks, it is better to fill them. The bottom of the walls also needs to be impregnated with soil solution. After drying, usually 2-3 hours, you can begin laying thermal insulation.
2. Insulation. If you don’t install heated floors in your apartment, it’s still worth saving yourself from energy losses. Lay a layer of polystyrene foam, this will reduce heat loss significantly. Laying the slabs begins from the far corner of the room; the direction of laying does not matter. Lay the slabs without fixing, see which layout will result in less waste. Having decided on the cutting, secure the slabs with adhesive foam. The joints between the sheets and the entire perimeter must be glued.
3. We set up beacons. To do this, display the zero level and, focusing on it, fix it on the piles of cement mortar aluminum profile. To avoid deviations, use a building level. Beacons are placed at a distance less than the length of the rule, by a quarter. The first line is laid out 30 cm from the wall. Don’t try to increase the distance; to be sure of the level, place beacons a little more often. After making sure that the horizon of the beacons is level, we leave the solution under them to harden.
4. We do the filling. Mix the solution in small portions, in this case it will be as mobile as possible when laying out and the quality of mixing will increase. The surface of the screed is passed with a needle roller to remove possible air bubbles and make it more durable.
5. The poured floor is covered with plastic film and left to harden.

You should not speed up the process by placing beacons on an alabaster or plaster solution. The beacons will harden faster, but pieces of mortar will have to be removed from the screed. As a result, you will spend much more time.

Filling methods

The process of pouring the floor in an apartment with your own hands is labor-intensive. Depending on what goals are set, it can be accomplished in various ways. In the case where there is a good rough screed, it will be enough to simply level the top layer with a special mixture.

Conventionally, there are 3 filling methods:

1. Thin (up to 0.5 mm) finishing layer. For better adhesion, before such pouring, the rough screed must be treated with abrasive and impregnated with a primer. At the same time, the subfloor must be perfectly level. This type of filling does not require further coating.
2. Separate layer fill. The thickness of the screed is 2 cm. It can be laid on any type of surface, including plywood. The separating layer is made of oiled paper, laid overlapping or using waterproofing. In this way, the two layers of the floor become independent of each other. This is important when materials differ in physical properties and their responses to humidity and temperature changes vary greatly.
3. Floating fill. This type of screed is carried out for the purpose of finishing work on the floors in the apartment. The thickness of the layer is at least 2.5 cm. Here, too, a layer of insulation is laid with allowances for the walls of 0.15 m. The perimeter is laid with damper tape. After the screed has dried and the finishing coating has been laid: laminate, parquet, linoleum, visible remains of the insulating material and tape are cut off.

Filling the floor begins from the far wall towards the exit

Carrying out work using any method, pour starting from the far, opposite wall and moving towards the exit. Level the solution using the rule between the wall and the lighthouse. Do not lean on the weight of the beacons; they are used to set the level. Use the rule to move the mixture in a zigzag manner.

Do not leave unleveled mortar on the floor; only after leveling the first batch, mix the second. Strictly observe the proportions of the solution. After finishing the work, remove all tools and close access to the room.

Ties different solutions have different times maturation. The first setting occurs on the 3rd day, final readiness - after 3-4 weeks, depending on the room temperature. To learn how to properly concrete a floor, watch this video:

It’s easy to check if the filling is ready. Place some crumpled paper napkins on the floor and cover with any utensils. If after 12 hours the napkins do not become wet, then the screed has dried out.

Pouring materials

Strictly observe the proportions of the solution

Having decided how to fill the floor in the apartment, you should choose a solution for the screed. You can buy ready-made dry mixtures or mix the cement mortar yourself.

It is important not only to know how to properly fill the floor in an apartment, but also to understand what kind of solution it will be used for.

The choice of materials is not great:

Material	Advantages	Flaws
Concrete mortar	High wear resistance Resistant to mechanical damage Long term services Not afraid of water Economical Fast time readiness	Heavy Requires finishing Difficult to prepare
Cement-sand mixture	High wear resistance Durability Economical	Long drying time Requires finishing
Dry building mixtures	Easy to prepare Durable Easy to apply	Price Average drying time
Self-leveling floors	Ideal surface Strength Wear resistance	Price Significant readiness period

The instructions on the bags of formula are very clear. Mixing concrete yourself is quite difficult, since the proportions must be strictly observed.

The most economical and affordable option the fill is DSP. It can be purchased at a hardware store, or you can prepare it yourself.

Mix M500 grade cement and fine sifted river sand in a ratio of 1 to 3.

Self-leveling floors

Self-leveling floors can be leveling or finishing

Before you fill the floors in your apartment with your own hands, evaluate your financial capabilities. If the choice falls on mixtures for self-leveling floors, it is worth knowing that they are divided into leveling and finishing.

The mixtures differ in composition and order of installation. When filling the bottom layer with a proprietary leveler, it is imperative to use a finishing layer of the same construction grade. Moreover, the latter type can be applied to any type of base.

Self-leveling floors can decorate a room

Features of the mixtures:

• Levelers perform the function of a rough screed. They are applied along beacons, do not level themselves, and require working with a rule. The layer thickness can reach 0.3 m;
• finishing mixtures are used for finalization. The layer is no thicker than 3 cm. They have good fluidity and do not need leveling. See all the details of pouring self-leveling floors in this video:

Having chosen what and how to fill the floor in the apartment, remember: the base of the floor will affect the behavior of the entire renovation. There is no need to skimp on this type of work. Changing the screed is quite expensive. This process cannot be carried out without spoiling the repair as a whole, so follow the technology and, if you are not confident in your abilities, hire professionals.

Outdated floor leveling schemes required a lot of time and effort. It is with the aim of minimizing such costs and facilitating the filling of the surface that self-leveling floors were invented. Today on sale there is an abundance of different compositions for creating a perfectly flat, durable, monolithic floor surface in as soon as possible. At the same time, the tightness of the coating due to the absence of seams is quite high. You can do the work of pouring a self-leveling floor in an apartment yourself. If you decide to make just this version of the subfloor, then in our article you will find useful information about the filling methods, what materials will be needed, and their cost. To make it easier for you to correctly complete the work of making a subfloor yourself, we offer detailed video instructions.

Features of self-leveling floor

On numerous photos You can see online how beautiful self-leveling floors look. However, it was a mistake to classify plastic levelers with cement as self-leveling mixtures for making rough screeds. The thickness of the leveling layer using such compositions can be in the range of 1-30 cm. However, no one dares to do the indicated 30 cm because of the high cost of the mixture.

So why is a self-leveling subfloor better? traditional basis made with concrete on lighthouses? Despite the fact that the base and manufacturers of these compositions may be the same, in terms of purpose and installation methods it is predominantly various products. Rough self-leveling mixtures differ from concrete floors in their plasticity and spreadability. Moreover, the levelers mentioned above are also applied to the floor along the beacons. While self-leveling floors themselves spread and level under the influence of gravity.

In principle, the technology for applying self-leveling floors involves the use of a leveling mass, which is the finishing compositions used for the final leveling of the floor, so they should be classified as self-leveling floors. The thickness of such a layer can be 2-25 mm. These mixtures should not be used for rough leveling of substrates with significant unevenness (if you find out how much such a composition costs, you will understand why it is not used for rough leveling). Since such a mixture contains plasticizers, and the composition itself is a liquid consistency, it spontaneously forms a perfectly smooth surface without the use of rules and beacons.

The advantages of a rough self-leveling floor include the following:

• The work can be done much faster and with less labor, and the result will be much better.
• You can make such a floor in an apartment with your own hands in a short time.
• This floor is easy to maintain.
• The surface is hygienic due to the absence of seams where bacteria like to multiply.
• High compressive strength, durability, reliability and wear resistance.

Functions of self-leveling subfloor

Plastic levelers are used to fill the base subfloor. This base can be used for finishing polymer coating and other types of floor facing products. In principle, if you decide to lay linoleum or laminate, then it is not necessary to make a self-leveling subfloor. In this case, you can use a traditional cement-sand screed. But it is better to use a rough self-leveling floor under the finishing polymer coating. Although the price of such a base is higher, these materials work much better in pairs and are highly compatible. In addition, the polymerization of the rough filling composition is 4 times faster than the hardening of a traditional cement-sand screed.

Outdated levelers have a thicker consistency, so they cannot spread on their own under the influence of gravity. Before applying such a leveler, beacons must be installed in the apartment.

The technology for applying mixtures for automatic filling does not imply the use of beacons. The thing is that such mixtures lose their plasticity and begin to harden after 15-20 minutes. after pouring, so level them traditional way It won't work with beacons.

In this case, to control the thickness of the floor and the height of the filling layer, it is correct to use tripod beacons. After completing the work of pouring the floors, these tripods are simply removed, and the holes from them are themselves tightened with mortar.

Since the thermal insulation qualities of traditional subfloors and self-leveling floors do not differ, the same materials are used to increase the thermal insulation of the surface. For example, such a floor can be insulated with polystyrene foam or by organizing a heated system.

Attention: when making heated floors, the leveler is poured in layers in two stages.

Self-leveling floors can be used for the following purposes:

• Leveling the surface for laying any type of floor covering. The self-leveling composition allows you to eliminate minor unevenness in concrete bases, cement-sand screeds, floors insulated with foam plastic, and other bases.
• Rough self-leveling floors will be needed to install a decorative polymer self-leveling floor. These are mixtures that may already be colored by the manufacturer or painted after pouring. Such decorative floors can have a 3D effect (in the photo online you can see how beautiful and unusual such surfaces look in an apartment). It’s just quite difficult to make such a finishing floor with your own hands.

Composition: why do you need to know?

If you are doing the work of installing a rough self-leveling floor with your own hands, you should know the composition of the leveler, which usually includes the following components:

• the binder can be cement or gypsum, as well as a combination of these substances with the addition of polymer additives;
• sand or limestone chips act as fillers (the size of the filler fraction cannot exceed 0.5 mm in self-leveling compositions);
• modifiers are components that are added to the mixture to increase plasticity, spreadability and improve adhesion to the base.

It is important to know: in foreign mixtures special polymers are used as binders. This helps to increase technical characteristics mixtures, but at the same time the price increases. If you want to know how much such a composition costs, then its cost is 1.5-2 times higher than prices for domestic products, and it costs $2.5-2.7 per bag weighing 25 kg.

If you are going to do the pouring work yourself, then when choosing a mixture you should pay attention not only to how much it costs, but also to its composition. This determines which room in the apartment you are going to install the floor in:

1. Rough self-leveling floors based on cement binder are suitable for pouring in areas with high level humidity (in the bathroom, kitchen, toilet, shower, etc.).
2. Mixtures based on gypsum binder are laid in living rooms.

Device methods

You can make a self-leveling subfloor in an apartment yourself in several ways:

1. Thin-layer self-leveling floor. The thickness of such a coating cannot exceed 0.5 mm. Before performing filling work, the base is treated with coarse emery to improve adhesion. After this, the surface is primed and the screed is poured.
2. Rough self-leveling floor on the separating layer. This floor is made according to wooden bases or on floors with foam insulation. As a separating layer between wooden surface, foam plastic and self-leveling flooring, oiled paper or waterproofing impregnation is used.
3. The floating floor is arranged according to concrete base or cement-sand screed. In this case, such a base will draw moisture from the subfloor, causing the formation of sinkholes and unwanted defects. To do this, a polyethylene film is placed on the base. There is a slight overlap of adjacent strips of material. Also in this case, a damper tape must be used, which is laid along the bottom of the walls around the perimeter of the room. This will protect the floor from deformation and increase its sound insulation.

Sequence of installation of a rough self-leveling floor

Self-leveling flooring can only be done in a draft-free room. Also, do not ventilate the room while the work is being done. The air temperature in the room should be between 5-20°C, humidity around 60%.

The work is carried out in this order:

1. After thorough preparation of the base, prepare the solution according to the manufacturer's instructions on the packaging. Since the composition hardens very quickly, it is better to work with an assistant.
2. Now the entrance to the room where the work will be carried out should be fenced off near the floor with a lath or board. They do the same thing if they want to fill the floor in a large room - they divide the surface into separate squares for work (it all depends on how much work you can do in a day).
3. Pour the prepared composition in strips onto the floor, starting from the wall opposite the entrance to the room.
4. Without taking breaks between pours, pour out the next portion of the solution and level it with a spatula. We carry out the work in this way until the entire surface of the floor in the room is covered with the composition.
5. To remove air bubbles from the screed, treat the surface with a needle roller. To move freely around the room, we wear shoes with spikes on the soles.
6. To ripen the screed, cover the surface plastic film and wait for the time specified in the instructions.

If you want to know how much it costs for hired craftsmen to fill a floor, then its cost is in the range of $4-10, provided that the layer height is no more than 5 cm.