Do-it-yourself floor repair in an apartment in stages: video - an example of a repair. How to clean the old floor Dismantling old floors

Dismantling of wooden floors, causes and options for removing the coating, technology of work: preparation, removal of skirting boards and old wood structures.

Reasons to remove wood flooring

Wooden floors are very popular among ordinary consumers due to a number of their positive characteristics. Among them are high quality, environmental friendliness, long service life and aesthetic appearance of this building material. However, under the influence of time and the influence of external factors, the wooden coating becomes unusable, and its replacement is required.

There are several types of wooden floors: ordinary plank floor, wooden laminate, parquet board. Each of these coatings has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

But the nature of the origin of all types of wooden floors endowed them with such common characteristics as the lack of resistance to moisture, instability to temperature changes, the risk of deformation, the tendency to form mold and fungus if the coating is not properly maintained.

In the event of a fungus and rotten, deformed areas on the floor elements, it is necessary to dismantle them and partially or completely replace them. Otherwise, not only the appearance of the interior decoration of the room may suffer. Since mold and mildew are known to cause allergies, their presence in a home can pose a serious health hazard to home occupants. Especially for children and people with weakened immune systems.

Wooden floors need special care, such as coating with special compounds that increase their water-repellent or antiseptic properties. Neglect of these measures can lead to a reduction in their service life and early failure. Eventually, the old hardwood floor will need to be removed and replaced with fresh flooring.

In addition to the above reasons, the following can also be distinguished for the replacement of the flooring:

• Strong mechanical damage;
• Errors during work and improper installation of the old wooden coating;
• Low quality material;
• Destruction of structural elements as a result of the vital activity of pests;
• Aged wood flooring.

Important! When carrying out work to eliminate the old wood flooring, you should consider what kind of floors you are dealing with - parquet or board.

The main ways to dismantle the floor from wood

To find the answer to the question of how to dismantle a wooden floor, you first need to decide how you would like to see the end result. This will depend on how the waste is disposed of.

If the work is not done neatly, without preserving the original shape of the boards, with a large number of small elements, it will be somewhat problematic to take the debris out of the room. Sharp edges and chips can cause splinters and wounds on the hands, even if all manipulations are performed with gloves.

If the parts of the wooden floor during dismantling are carefully removed and sawn into several small pieces, it will be quite easy to take them out of the room and deliver them to the disposal site.

In addition, labor costs depend on the chosen method of removing the floor covering. Much less effort and energy will be required to carry out the work if the dismantling is carried out not simply with the use of brute physical force, but by carefully separating each board.

Thus, depending on the condition of the old coating, plans for the disposal of debris, as well as the installation of a new floor, the following methods of dismantling the structure are distinguished:

1. Removal of the old coating with maximum preservation of the shape and structure of its components. This may be necessary in situations where floorboards are to be reused. For example, when partially replacing the floor covering or for applying them in another room. With this option of dismantling the wooden floor, the work must be carried out very carefully and with great care.
2. Fast stripping without retaining the shape of the boards. This method is most often used in cases where the floors are badly damaged and deformed, and also if all the components are attached using construction adhesive or large nails. Then it is almost impossible to dismantle the wooden floor while maintaining the integrity of the parts.

Advice! Accuracy during work is required not only to preserve the elements of the old floor, but also to avoid serious damage to the base of the coating and difficulties when installing new floors.

Preparatory work before removing the wooden floor

Before proceeding with the removal of old wooden floors, you should consider a number of factors that will accompany the workflow:

• The removal of floors is accompanied by a high level of noise. Therefore, it is necessary to more responsibly select the time for work, especially if they will be carried out in an apartment building. It is advisable to carry out the dismantling of the wooden floor during business hours from Monday to Friday, so as not to create unnecessary difficulties for neighbors and loved ones.
• When removing the old coating, a large amount of dust and small debris particles are released into the air. This is due not only to the mechanical impact on the structural elements, but also due to the dirt accumulated under the floorboards during the operation of the floor. For this reason, before proceeding with dismantling work, work clothes, a respiratory mask, goggles, gloves and headgear should be prepared. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions that prevent the penetration of dirt into neighboring rooms, and restrict the access of unauthorized people to the place of work.
• When dismantling a wooden floor covering, a large amount of debris is generated. In order to reduce the time of the procedure, you need to think in advance and prepare a place, a method for placing and transporting old boards and garbage.
• Removing wooden floors is a rather laborious process that requires the use of physical force. For this reason, it is not advisable to carry out dismantling alone. Working in pairs, it will be much easier and faster to cope with the task.
• Any furniture and decorative elements will complicate and slow down the work of removing the old wooden floor. Therefore, it is desirable to free the room as much as possible from unnecessary things.

Before you start dismantling the wooden floor, you should prepare all the necessary tools. Most likely you will need: a crowbar, a hammer, a nail puller, pincers, a chisel, an ax, screwdrivers, a jigsaw or a hacksaw, mounting foam to eliminate gaps after completion of work.

If you plan to use boards for re-laying after removing the wooden floor, you must first number each element. This is necessary in order to maintain their previous order during installation.

Technology of dismantling wooden floors

To have an idea of ​​how to remove wooden floors, you should find out what steps this process consists of. After preparing the premises and all the necessary tools, it is worth determining whether any communications have been laid under the coating, and their location. This must be done in order to protect yourself and avoid damage to them. You can start removing the old coating only after that.

How to remove a skirting board

To disassemble the plinth design, start from the end. This avoids damage to it. The dismantling process consists of the following steps:

1. The location of the first hammered nail is determined. At this point it is necessary to carefully lift the baseboard with a nail puller (maximum 3 cm).
2. The same should be done at the remaining points of fastening of the structure until the entire skirting board around the perimeter of the room is removed. When carrying out work, it is desirable to place the nail puller as close as possible to the place of fixation. This will prevent splitting of the plinth and maintain its integrity.

In cases where it is not possible to pull the nail out of the plinth without damage, you should slightly clean its surface with a chisel from a layer of wood. After that, the nail must be removed by prying on the hat, using a nail puller. At the same time, to protect the coating from damage, it is necessary to place a small wooden block or a piece of plywood under the tool.

There are times when the baseboard is so thickly covered with paint that it is impossible to visually determine the location of the nails. In such a situation, you should start work, stepping back about 10-20 cm from its beginning.

If the structure is attached not to the floor, but to the wall, the position of the nail puller should be changed. In this case, the fulcrum should be the surface into which the fastener element enters. If the plinth is fixed with screws, then dismantling is done with a screwdriver or an electric screwdriver.

The specifics of dismantling a wooden floor

After removing the plinth, proceed to the analysis of the floorboards. If the floor structure is equipped with ventilation openings, all protective gratings should be removed from them first.

The dismantling of wooden floors in a house or apartment begins with the floorboard farthest from the entrance. If for some reason this cannot be done, as an alternative, you can start with any other narrow board located against the wall.

The technology for dismantling a wooden floor may differ depending on the method of fastening structural elements. If fixation was carried out with screws, they should simply be unscrewed with a conventional screwdriver or a special power tool. And then sequentially separate the boards from each other.

If nails were used as fasteners, the removal of wooden floors is carried out using a nail puller. To do this, it is inserted into the gap between the farthest wall and the first board. Next, the process of removing the floor looks like this:

• The floorboard is carefully lifted by 2-3 cm. It is undesirable to lift the boards by more than 3 cm, and sharp jerks should also be avoided.
• Using a hammer, the board is tapped into place so that the nail head remains raised. To do this, you can put a small piece of plywood under it. If the work is done correctly, then after returning the board to its place, the nail heads will rise 1-2 cm above it. Just as in the case of removing the plinth, a small bar must be placed under the nail puller. This is necessary in order to protect the surface of the coating.
• After all the nails are lifted, and the board is returned to its place, it is necessary to carefully insert a chisel into the gap between the floorboards, gradually expanding the gap. Thus, there is a separation of the spike of the removed board from the groove of the adjacent one. After that, the first floorboard can be removed.
• Next, you should consistently repeat all the steps, gradually separating each board and dismantling the floor.

When dismantling a wooden floor, remember that the most vulnerable point of the entire structure is the junction of the spike of the floorboard being removed and the groove of the board adjacent to it. Therefore, separating one element of a wooden floor from another, you should work very carefully.

If it is not possible to separate the boards from each other without damage, and a crack has formed on the tongue or groove, this can cause the floor to creak when the floorboards are reused. However, this can be avoided if, before installation, the damaged part is glued with PVA glue or fixed with a small nail. Laying damaged floorboards will need to be done as tightly as possible.

The dismantling of the wooden floor on the logs is carried out in a similar way. The only difference is that after parsing the coating, it is necessary to remove the base beams themselves. To do this, they need to be unscrewed or beaten off from the foundation with a sledgehammer.

How to remove a wooden floor - look at the video:

Natural wood floors deteriorate over time. Due to improper operating conditions, constant mechanical stress, temperature changes and moisture, the wooden floor in the apartment begins to creak and collapse. In some cases, minor repairs with filling cracks are enough, but in apartments like Khrushchev, the floors are already so old that minor repairs are clearly not enough and it is necessary to replace not only the entire tree, but also repair the concrete base. Next, we will step by step analyze the whole process in more detail and provide photos that clearly show the result.

Work planning

Before you update the wooden floor in the apartment, you need to draw up a work plan and immediately determine the type and amount of consumables. In the presence of an old coating, it is not difficult to calculate the total footage of floor boards. If the work will be carried out in Khrushchev, then most likely it will be necessary to completely dismantle and replace the entire tree, as well as repair the concrete screed before laying the new floor. The entire workflow can be divided into several main stages:

• Dismantling of the old coating;
• Repair of the screed or pouring a new concrete base;
• Installation of lags and laying insulation;
• Wooden floor laying.

For your information. If the old wooden flooring can no longer be restored and its elements cannot be reused, then you can order a service for dismantling the wooden floor. The price of dismantling a wooden floor in an apartment varies within one dollar per square meter, while the teams not only dismantle, but also take out the old coating.

The dismantling of a wooden floor in an apartment, especially if it is an old floor in Khrushchev, causes subconscious fear for many, since the process itself is quite noisy and dusty, and the result is not a pleasant one. In fact, dismantling the old floor is not such a terrible procedure if it is not broken, but carefully disassembled. To work, it is enough to have a nail puller, a hammer and garbage bags. You may need an electric saw or a jigsaw. You can remove the wooden floor in the apartment in a few simple steps:

• First you need to completely free the room from furniture, flooring and other items that are on the floor;
• Dismantle old skirting boards. If they are planned to be reused, then each plinth must be numbered before dismantling, in order to install them in reverse order;
• Next, the floor boards are removed, starting from the far wall of the room. If their reuse is not planned, then you can not particularly protect them during dismantling;
• Dismantle the lags. Wooden floors in Khrushchev are equipped with transverse lags, they must be removed as carefully as possible so as not to once again damage the base of the floor.

Upon completion of all work, you will receive a bare concrete base, which must be thoroughly cleaned of construction debris and dust. For this, a broom and a scoop are used, with which large debris is removed, then the remaining dust is removed with a vacuum cleaner.

Screed preparation

Before you repair the wooden floor in the apartment, you need to decide in advance whether the floor will be insulated or not. Additional waterproofing may be required if there is a cold and damp room under the floor.

After removing the old floor, it is necessary to carefully examine the concrete base and its quality. If the concrete surface is covered with cracks, there are traces of concrete peeling in the form of a dull sound or areas affected by a fungus, then before replacing the wooden floor in the apartment, the old concrete screed must be completely dismantled. This is done using a perforator with a nozzle in the form of a spatula. If the old screed is partially damaged, then only some of its sections can be removed.

For your information. In many cases, even a good screed has to be dismantled if you plan to install a wooden floor in a new apartment. This is done in order to deepen the base, since the installation of lags and floor boards raise the level of the floor, and this cannot always be done. Before you change the wooden floors in the apartment, you need to take into account that in the presence of insulation, the floor level will increase significantly, especially if large logs are used and foam or expanded clay is used as a heater.

For high-quality laying of a new layer of screed, the following steps are taken:

• After removing the old screed or repairing it, the premises are thoroughly cleaned with a vacuum cleaner to remove dust from the surface as much as possible;
• Then wet cleaning is carried out, which removes fine dust and the room is thoroughly dried.

This completes the preliminary preparation of the base and then you can start laying a new screed, the type of which is selected depending on the level of the floor and the preferences of the owner.

Bulk screed

If the replacement of the wooden floor in the apartment does not provide for insulation, then a regular self-leveling floor is used to restore the evenness and integrity of the coating. In the presence of large cracks or potholes, they are sealed with cement mortar or putty with additional reinforcement with a painting grid. Then the base is cleaned of dust, coated with a deep penetration primer in several layers.

Mix the self-levelling compound according to the instructions on the package and pour the floor surface. For leveling, a spiked roller is used, which removes air bubbles and levels the mixture. After hardening, the surface is perfectly flat and ready for laying a wooden floor.

Insulated expanded clay screed

If the floor needs to be insulated, then a expanded clay screed is arranged. Expanded clay is a light material and does not make the ceiling heavier, moreover, it has good soundproofing characteristics. Before re-laying the wooden floor in the apartment and insulating it with expanded clay, the material must be bought only in sealed bags or dried well before use. The process of laying expanded clay screed is as follows:

• Beacons are installed on the surface of the base, the height of which should be equal to the thickness of the floor, taking into account the cement screed over the expanded clay. Beacons are set strictly according to the level;
• Next, expanded clay is poured and carefully leveled with a rule. The expanded clay layer should be below the level of the lighthouses;
• Then the cement-sand mortar is kneaded and laid on the surface of expanded clay, leveling it according to the established beacons;
• After drying, the screed will shrink, which is additionally leveled with a bulk solution.

Important. If the apartment is located on the ground floor or under the bottom of a damp and unheated room, then before making a wooden floor in an apartment with expanded clay screed, it is necessary to provide additional waterproofing. For this, a mounting film is used, which is laid with an overlap on the walls or a coating type of insulation in the form of bituminous mastic. A damper tape is installed around the perimeter of the room.

Wooden floor installation

If there is no time for independent work, then you can order a wooden floor in an apartment from any construction company or private craftsman. However, the involvement of third-party specialists significantly increases the amount, since you pay not only for the cost of the material, but also for the work.

Before starting work, it is necessary to draw up a preliminary diagram of the future floor with an exact indication of the location of the lags, the distance between them, as well as a list of the necessary material and wood species. The presence of such an estimate will help to determine in advance how much a wooden floor in an apartment costs if you carry out all the work yourself.

To date, the most popular are two types of wooden flooring, plywood sheets or tongue and groove boards. Plywood floors are usually used for laying laminate or carpet, while tongue-and-groove boards can serve as a finish and decorate the interior with their appearance.

When changing old wooden floors in an apartment for new ones, it is necessary to install transverse lags on which the main coating will be attached. Between the lags and the screed there is a space that can be left empty, but it is better to use it for additional insulation and sound insulation. In general, the process of installing a new floor is not complicated:

• Installation begins with the marking of the room under the logs. The direction of laying the joists is always perpendicular to the direction of the boards and usually they are laid across the room, and floor boards along. The distance between the lags depends on the insulation used. When using foam, the distance should be exactly the width of the panel, when using mineral wool, the distance is made on average 30-40 cm.

Important. When laying a wooden floor in an apartment with your own hands, make sure that the height of the lag is equal to the height of the mat of insulating material. When using mineral wool, the height of the lags may be slightly less.

• Next, prepare the lags and install them according to the markup. Extreme logs should be no further than 6-7 cm from the wall. The fixing of the lags on the base is carried out using metal corners or directly through a through hole in the lag. Dowels are used for fastening. The logs are immediately set according to the level and at the same height, so that after laying the floor boards, the question does not arise how to level the wooden floor in the apartment.
• After installing and fixing the lags, the insulation is laid, for which use foam, mineral wool or expanded clay.
• After the insulation, waterproofing material is laid. Usually this is a dense construction film, the joints of which are sealed with double-sided tape and the material itself is fixed on the logs with a stapler.
• At the final stage, floor boards or plywood sheets are laid, depending on the preference of the owner.

Important. You can often hear the question of how to cover the wooden floor in an apartment to protect the tree. The logs must be covered with special impregnations that protect the wood from moisture, rotting and prevent the formation of mold. Floor boards are covered with various types of varnishes, which carry not only protective, but also decorative functions.

The wooden floor is the undisputed leader among the floors of the 20th century. It is absolutely natural, environmentally friendly, durable, creates coziness and comfort in the house, and the materials for it are publicly available. Most of the buildings of the last century: "Stalinka", "Khrushchev", "Czech project", all private houses and many others were equipped with wooden floors. Given the age of these objects, it is indisputable that it is time to renovate them. This article will talk about how to repair a wooden floor in a private house or apartment, as well as touch on the repair of the floor in a wooden house and its design features.

Diagnosis and inspection of wooden floor construction

Before starting the repair of the floor, it is imperative to examine it and find rotten or sagging boards, inspect the logs and beams for whether they have been eaten by bark beetles. It will depend on the result of the survey whether it is possible to get by with a partial repair: screw it in there, cut it there, or you will have to do a major overhaul.

Even if the finished floor boards seem perfect to you, you still need to make sure that the subfloor is also in good condition. Let's try to find the rotten boards. To do this, tap the floorboards with a hammer. By the sound we will determine the state of the boards. If the sound is muffled, then the board is rotten. And we determine a more accurate position by the nails - they rusted under the influence of a rotten board. If only the top boards have become unusable, then they are easy to replace. If the subfloor boards are rotten, it doesn’t matter either, they can be cut out and replaced, after checking the state of the lag. But if the logs are rotten, you will have to disassemble the structure a little more, cut out the rotten piece of the log and nail new bars to it on both sides.

We check the embedded beams by piercing them with an awl

If an unpleasant smell emanates from the floor in a private house, and some elements are broken, then there is rot somewhere. You will have to check all the elements: the finishing floor, and the draft, and the logs, and the beams, and the embedded crowns. The most difficult thing is that even rotten embedded beams can look perfect, especially if you inspect them in a semi-dark underground. Therefore, we inspect all wooden elements both outside the building, and from the inside, and from the underground. If no defects are found “by eye”, then we take an awl and try to pierce the embedded beams. We try to make as frequent piercing movements as possible. If we find a rotten section of the beam, we will have to cut it out and replace it. And if this is not possible, then we will raise the wooden house on a jack and completely replace the embedded beam.

Raising a wooden house with a jack

We pay close attention to the ends of the lag. They begin to rot more often and faster, picking up rot from embedded beams that are not waterproofed or if the insulation has already worn out over time.

If, during an external examination, minor flaws are found in the form of cracks between the floorboards, the boards “walk”, or the paint is peeling off, then we will get by with a partial repair.

If the floor creaks, it is enough to sort it out and replace some logs.

If the floor is too cold, it allows moisture to pass through, it means that during the construction they were in a hurry and saved on materials, forgetting to insulate the floor. We'll have to disassemble it and re-waterproof and insulate.

Overhaul of a wooden floor

If you are a happy owner of a wooden floor aged 40 years or more, do not console yourself with illusions, half measures are indispensable. Next, we will look at how to make capital and other buildings. By the way, all the work is quite capable of doing on their own. Although it is better to have a partner, it is more convenient, faster, and more fun.

First of all, remove the floor covering and skirting boards. It can be linoleum, parquet, boards or cloth, depending on the design of the house. If tearing off linoleum or parquet is not so bad, then tearing off the cloth and hardboard can turn out to be oh, how not easy. During the Soviet shortage, when even nails of the required size could not be found, 5 mm hardboard could be nailed with 50 mm nails. It is quite possible that you will have to suffer. Everything that was torn off, we throw it away, it will no longer be useful to us.

We undermine and cut out old floor boards

To dismantle the floorboards, we are looking for a wider gap. Using a crowbar or a crowbar, and preferably both, we hook the board and undermine it along its entire length. We pull out the nails. Thus, we remove all floor boards, both finishing and rough. Before us, the logs should appear in all their glory. Well, or what's left of them. Get ready for the worst. Most likely, you will see that the draft floor just hung in the air above the ground and the remains of rotten ceilings.

Important! It is possible that the logs are eaten by bark beetles. After all, there were no special impregnations before. We'll definitely check this out.

If the lags still remain, we dismantle them by unscrewing them from the beams and support posts.

On this, the dismantling of the old floor can be completed, and you can start laying the new floor.

Scheme for replacing beams using a jack to raise a house

But if we are repairing a wooden house or a bathhouse, in which the logs are supported and attached to the embedded beams, which are already rotten, then we cannot do without helpers and equipment. To work with anchor points, we will have to jack up the house and replace all the beams with new ones.

Installing new logs

Before installing the lag directly, it is necessary to decide whether we need to drain the basement or pour the foundation. If the subfloor is damp, draining the subfloor will significantly increase the time it takes to repair the floor.

If necessary, add the foundation to the crumbled places.

We examine the condition of the support posts under the logs: all structural elements must be in good condition. If there were none, for greater reliability of the structure, we mount the columns:

• We mark the places for attaching the lag on the embedded beams. We stretch the cord in the longitudinal and transverse direction, determining the angles of future columns.
• We remove the soil in the designated places. We tamp, lay a plastic film for waterproofing the foundation, pour crushed stone, tamp again.
• We install a reinforcing mesh 10 cm above the rubble.
• We mount the formwork 10 cm above the ground level.
• We pour concrete. The foundation for the posts should protrude 5 cm above the ground. We are waiting for it to dry, 2-3 days.
• Waterproofing concrete.
• We lay the bricks in two rows on the cement mixture.
• We waterproof bricks, lay heat and sound insulation.

Scheme for installing a lag on support posts

For logs, we buy a rectangular beam. It is better if the height of the log is 2.5 times the width. But if you buy a beam of 200 * 200 mm, it's also good. You can use coniferous wood: pine, if, fir. Humidity should be 18-20%.

Important! We treat all wooden structures: beams, logs, floorboards with antiseptics against bugs and fungi.

We lay the logs on the beams and support posts. We start with the "lighthouse logs", extreme from the walls. Then we retreat from them by 2 m and lay more logs.

Important! Be sure to check the horizontal lag level. If in some place the lag protrudes beyond the level, we cut off the excess with a planer. If somewhere the lag bends, we install a lining under it.

We lay all the logs and fasten them to the beams with self-tapping screws. To fix the lag to the support posts, we use the corners. We drill holes in advance so as not to split the log. From the side of the tree we fix with self-tapping screws, from the side of the bricks - with dowels.

Important! A log level deviation of 1 mm per 1 m is allowed.

Arrangement of the lower floor

We nail the bottom floor boards to the joists from below

We need the “lower” floor so that there is where to lay the insulation. To do this, we take well-dried boards 20-30 mm thick.

It is more convenient and easier to fasten the bottom floor boards across the log, fixing them directly to the bars.

To do this, all the work will have to be done from the underground, maybe even lying on the ground. We nail the boards or fasten them with self-tapping screws to the logs.

Important! If, for some reason, they decided to lay the bottom floor boards along the joists, then the bars will have to be nailed to the joists, on which the bottom boards will be attached.

Check the floor for cracks. If such are found, we blow them with mounting foam.

We lay the insulation between the lags

After the "lower" floor is ready, we lay a layer of waterproofing and insulation. Since the space between the lags remained empty, we will lay insulation mats in it: stone wool, mineral wool, basalt fiber or other material.

Arrangement of wooden flooring

We lay the finishing floor on top of the waterproofing and insulation

For the “top” or finishing floor, we buy well-dried wood with a moisture content of not more than 12%. The thickness of the board should be about 40 mm. It is more convenient if the board is grooved.

We start laying the floor from the corner of the room, farthest from the door. We lay the first board with a tongue and groove to the wall at a distance of 10-12 mm from it. We fix the comb to the beams and logs with self-tapping screws in such a way as to hide the head of the self-tapping screw with a plinth. On the reverse side, we screw the screws into the groove at an angle of 45 °.

We insert all the other boards with a comb into the groove, fasten them with self-tapping screws from the side of the groove.

Important! If the length of the floorboards is less than the length of the room, then they will have to be laid "in a row", i.e. with an offset of half a meter, so that the joints of the ends in a row do not match.

We fasten all boards to all lags without exception. If you bought non-grooved boards, then we use wedges and linings for installation.

Important! The direction of annual rings is alternated in each row.

If we plan to leave the flooring wooden, then the flooring must be sanded and covered with a transparent varnish or paint. If we are going to lay linoleum, then we level the finishing floor with plywood or chipboard. And on top we lay linoleum, laminate or parquet.

The device of a wooden floor in an apartment differs from the floor in a private house in that the logs are laid on a concrete base, and not on the ground. Therefore, the technology for repairing such floors in an apartment will be slightly different.

First of all, we dismantle the old floor, remove the floor boards and dismantle the logs. Under them, we should see a concrete base. Thoroughly clean it from debris and dust.

The logs of the wooden floor in the apartment are laid on a concrete base. We clean it from dust and debris

Be sure to make a cement screed or screed with a self-leveling mixture. We prime the surface and lay the waterproofing. You can use a 200 micron polyethylene film, lay it in strips and glue the joints with tape.

We lay soundproofing on top of the waterproofing. You can use cork, fiberboard, roofing material, rubber or polyethylene foam.

We lay the lags. We fix them with dowels.

Important! If we use a timber less than the length of the room, then the laying should be carried out "in a row".

We put insulation between the lags. Lay floorboards on top.

How to fix squeaky floorboards

Any wooden floor sooner or later begins to creak. Either this place is used too often, or the floorboards just dried up, or the logs split. There can be many reasons. And flooring on top of plywood may not solve the problem, but only delay its solution.

Floorboards creak when they are loosely attached to the joists. There are several ways to eliminate the cause.

We drive a wedge between the floorboard and the lag from below

Method 1. If it is possible to access the floor from below, for example when the floor is the ceiling of a basement, then it is possible to fix the floorboard from below. To do this, one person goes down, and the other walks on the creaky floor. Thus, a "squeaky" board is defined. We find the place where a gap has formed between the board and the log or beam, and we drive a wooden wedge into it.

We fix the boards with screws at an angle

Method 2. If there is no access from below, then we screw the screw at an angle from above. To do this, we drill holes in all the lags and fasten the boards with screws. We putty the screw heads. And when the putty dries, we grind the surface.

Method 3. If the cause of the creak is the friction of the boards against each other, then you need to walk along the floor and find the “causal” places. Then pour talc or graphite into the gaps between the floorboards or drive in wooden wedges.

How to fix sagging floorboards

The most common reason for floorboards to sag is that they were not laid dry enough. Over time, the wood dried up, cracks appeared, the boards began to “walk” and sag under the weight of a person or furniture. There are several ways to solve the problem.

We push the cord dipped in PVA glue between the floorboards

Method 1. We buy a thick braided synthetic cord (rope). We impregnate it with wood glue or PVA glue. We push the cord between the floorboards to the middle of the thickness of the board. We prepare putty from PVA glue and sawdust. We pre-sift the sawdust, remove bark fragments and debris from them. Stir the mixture until creamy. Fill gaps with putty. After the glue dries, cut off the excess with a knife. After drying, after 1-2 days, the floor can be painted.

Filling the gaps between the floorboards with putty

Method 2. If the reason for the deflection of the floorboards is rarely located logs, then we will fasten the floorboards together. We prepare round long wooden sticks or pieces of steel wire of large diameter. With a long drill, we drill holes in the floorboards at a large angle so that the hole passes through one floorboard and half goes into the next one. Insert sticks into the hole. We start drilling in a checkerboard pattern, first in one floorboard, then in the next one. After all the sticks are inserted into the holes, we putty the cracks, as in the previous method.

Important! If the dowel sticks stick out of the holes, cut off the excess and putty.

How to make a partial replacement of floorboards

We pry the board with a mount, leaning on a bar

There are situations when only a few boards need to be replaced, or even just one, and the rest are in good condition. What to do in this case:

• If it is necessary to replace not the entire board, but only the damaged area, we are looking for where the lag is.
• We put a crowbar into the slot, hook the board.
• We raise it to a sufficient height to push the fixing lining.
• Cut out the damaged area.

Important! The site must necessarily reach the middle of the lag at both ends. If you decide to remove the entire board, then we cut out all the sections until completely removed.

• Cut out a section of the board from the new wood, using the old piece as a template.
• We lay a new fragment, fix it with screws to the lags.

Important! If the flooring was made of grooved boards, then the replacement technology is much more complicated.

Despite the fact that wood is a durable material, it must be well cared for. In order not to repair the wooden floor too often, do not forget to treat the wood with antiseptics, which will prevent it from rotting and being eaten by bark beetles. From time to time check the fastening of the boards for looseness. And open the finished floor with a protective material, such as varnish.

Competent dismantling of the old floor or floor covering is, as you know, a prerequisite for the successful completion of work related to their renewal. In our article, we will try to tell you how to clean the old floor without resorting to the help of third-party specialists, while significantly saving on repair work.

It is known that the floors in modern apartments are most often equipped as follows:

• purely concrete bases with synthetic coatings laid on them made of carpet, laminate or linoleum known to all of us;
• wooden floors made from individual boards or from type-setting parquet;
• tiled floors.

Preparatory activities

Before you start dismantling the floor, you should prepare the most necessary tool, the choice of which is determined by the type of flooring. But in any case, special means of protecting the body and respiratory organs will be required, which are mandatory when carrying out work of this class (respirator, cotton gloves and headgear).

In order to avoid the spread of dust throughout the apartment, it is advisable to fix a piece of moistened cloth in the doorways, and lay rugs soaked in water at the thresholds. In addition, you will definitely need:

• ordinary nail puller;
• mounting hammer or sledgehammer;
• screwdriver, pliers and pincers;
• electric jigsaw or saw for cutting long boards.

Note that to disassemble the floor from tiles (porcelain stoneware), you will additionally need to prepare a chisel and a puncher. Floor coverings laid using carpet, as well as from laminate or linoleum, are much easier to dismantle, especially if they are simply laid on a concrete base (without glue).

Removing baseboards

It is customary to begin dismantling the flooring with the removal of skirting boards, which can be plastic (with a cable channel built into them) or wooden. We begin the disassembly of plastic blanks by removing the decorative strip and removing the fasteners of the product to the wall. We remove wooden plinths sewn to the floor with a nail puller, and dismantling should begin from the corner of the room.

In the event that the plinth is thoroughly painted over with several layers of paint, you first need to find a place where it can be easily “pryed off” with a flat screwdriver, after which you can use a nail puller. In order to avoid damage to the wall decorative coating and for the convenience of fixing the position of the instrument, a small wooden plank (bar) is usually placed under it.

Before removing old wooden floors, you should familiarize yourself with the procedure for placing them on logs laid on a concrete base. When carrying out these works, certain difficulties may arise with the removal of the first board, after the dismantling of which things will go much faster. To facilitate this operation, you should free the gap between the floor and the wall and pry the edge board in this place with a nail puller.

All other floor boards are removed quite easily and can be dismantled with a hammer or a large flat screwdriver. To remove nails driven into the boards, you can use previously prepared tongs.

With a circular saw, all operations for the dismantling of wooden floors are noticeably simplified. With its help, it will be possible to cut individual "floorboards" into smaller parts, which will be much easier to remove from the place of disassembly.

For the case when the floorboards are fastened with self-tapping screws, you will need a screwdriver that allows you to quickly remove the fasteners.

Removing the concrete screed

To remove a concrete screed, you will first need to remove the decorative coating used to cover the floor from it. And only after that you can proceed to its dismantling, which is usually done by impact. For these purposes, you may need the following tool:

• classic jackhammer;
• perforator with a special nozzle;
• sledgehammer, chisel or scrap metal.

It should be noted that the use of a special impact power tool significantly reduces the time for dismantling concrete foundations in rooms of any category. But during its implementation, personal protective equipment must be used to protect the respiratory tract of a person and his eyes from dust generated during work.

When preparing for dismantling, do not forget to prepare bags made of durable material in which you can take out broken pieces of cement-concrete screed and debris associated with any disassembly.

Video

This video shows how to dismantle a wooden floor:

This video demonstrates the process of destroying an old concrete floor with a jackhammer:

Wooden floors are considered to be sufficiently durable and reliable coating. However, due to its hygroscopicity, wood is exposed to moisture. In summer, at elevated temperatures and humidity, it swells. And it dries up in winter. This leads to the formation of cracks between the floorboards. Over time, boards rot. Due to the furniture, dents and scratches form on the surface of the wooden floor. The paint is peeling off. Spilled chemicals leave a trail. Therefore, the coating has to be periodically restored. And what can we say about old houses in which the repair of wooden floors has not been carried out for a long time. How to start this process and what is needed for this? Here are the first two questions that confront a person who decides to renovate a wooden floor.

Where to start repairing a wood floor?

If you are repairing a wooden floor with your own hands, do not rush to get to work right away. Perhaps, in addition to those areas with damage that are clearly visible, there are hidden defects. They need to be found and eliminated. Otherwise, over time, repairs will have to be carried out again. Therefore, the first step is to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the flooring and its components. After a thorough inspection, you can decide whether the floors can be repaired or if they need to be completely replaced.

To find rotten boards, you need to walk with a hammer all over the floor. This is the only way to find a hidden defect. A dull sound indicates the presence of rot. Rusty nails in the floorboards will tell about the same. The amount of work depends on the size of the damage. The easiest way to replace the top floorboards. Subfloor boards are more difficult to replace, but not as hard as logs. To repair rotten logs, you will need to disassemble the floor above them and cut out a defective piece. Then replace it with a new one.

It is much more difficult to repair the floor in a wooden house. Here, in addition to a thorough check of the upper floorboards, the subfloor and the log, you will have to inspect the beams and embedded crowns. It is necessary to inspect from all sides: from the inside, outside, from the underground. Inspection must be carried out in good light, so as not to miss the beginning of rot. When checking underground, it is advisable to use a powerful flashlight.

Sometimes small defects in embedded beams are not visible "by eye". To find them, use an awl or a knitting needle with a sharp end. With piercing movements they pass the entire beam, checking for the presence of rotten areas. In this case, punctures are made as often as possible. Having found a damaged beam, it is replaced with a new one. Sometimes, in order to replace a beam in a wooden house, you have to raise the building with a jack.

Analysis of special situations

Old apartment buildings still have wooden floors. Their device is slightly different from the floors in private homes. If in a private building the logs are laid on the ground, then in the apartment the laying is done on concrete. Therefore, the repair of a wooden floor in an apartment is different from the repair in a private house. After removing the lag for replacement, it is necessary to clean and check the concrete base for cracks.

If a complete replacement of the floor is carried out, after dismantling and cleaning it is necessary to perform. Can be applied. After that, the base is primed and the waterproofing material is laid. Heat and sound insulating material is placed on top, and then floor boards.

Floorboard replacement

Consider a situation where only one or a few floorboards need to be replaced. Having found the damaged area of ​​the floor, remove the rotten floorboard. According to its size, we cut out a new board. Having treated it with an antiseptic, without affecting the ends, we put it in place of the old fragment.

Advice! It is impossible to treat the ends of the board with an antiseptic. Otherwise, after a while the board will begin to rot.

Using self-tapping screws, we fix the board in place of the old one, screwing it to the lags. This is how every rotten floorboard is replaced. If a small area of ​​rot is found on the board, you can not change the entire floorboard. It is enough to cut out only the damaged area. Using it as a template, cut a replacement out of new wood. Fasten it to the lags using self-tapping screws. In this case, the ends of the new section should reach the middle of the lag.

Sealing gaps between floorboards

Before proceeding, clean the coating. Remove excess furniture so that it does not interfere. For more thorough cleaning of crevices, use a brush with stiff bristles. In order not to miss anything after the inspection, mark all areas requiring repair. Prepare the composition for work. There are special putties for wood. But you can make the composition yourself. If you mix PVA glue with sawdust to the density of sour cream, you get an excellent putty.

After carefully treating all the cracks, leave them to dry completely. Then clean with sandpaper. This repair method is suitable for small cracks. Wide and deep cracks are eliminated differently - wooden bars are prepared for them. In length, they should correspond to the length of the slot, and in diameter they should look like a cone.

Having planted on glue with sawdust, the workpiece is driven into the slot with a sharp edge down. Excess is removed with a planer and polished. At the end of the repair, the wooden floor is varnished or painted.

Sealing a wide gap with a wooden blank

Sometimes repairing a floor in a private house comes down to eliminating minor defects, such as. As time passes, any wooden coating begins to creak. The main reason for the squeak is loose fastening. If the house has a basement, the cause of unpleasant sounds can be easily eliminated. To find out which floorboards will hold together, find a partner. While he walks on the floor, you will have to determine where the defect is.

Eliminate creaking floorboards by hammering nails

Having calculated the creaking floorboard, drive a wooden wedge into the gap between the beam and this board. Do not overdo it so that the board does not rise above the base. If it is impossible to get into the underground, repairs are made from above. Drill holes in the creaking floorboards above the beams. Secure the screws by driving them into the beams at a slight angle, changing the direction of the angle. You can fix the board with nails.

Unsightly update

It happens that the flooring does not have the above problems. The only drawback comes down to its unsightly appearance. Or after eliminating the remaining defects, it is necessary to bring the base into proper form. Any repair of old wooden floors ends with it or varnishing. But before doing this, you need to prepare the foundation. Remove old paint that does not adhere with a spatula. Wash the floor with detergent to degrease the surface.

If you are already repairing old floors according to the rules, it is advisable to sand the old coating. This will help smooth out the inconspicuous bumps and depressions. The more carefully you prepare the surface, the smoother the paint will lie. The cleaned and dried floor is primed with drying oil. After that, you need to let the floor dry and only then apply a layer of paint. Do not try to immediately paint over everything with a thick layer of paint. It is better to apply two or three layers carefully shading and allowing each to dry.

With proper care, a hardwood floor will last for decades. Wood does not like moisture, so try not to flood the floors with water when cleaning. To prevent furniture legs from scratching the surface, stick protective caps on them. Don't let your pets scratch floors with their claws or use the toilet in the wrong place. Such measures will help delay the next floor repair for a long time.