Level the floor at home. How to level the floor: an overview of how to make leveling screeds

A doorway in a plasterboard partition, for the subsequent installation of an interior door, is made according to existing standards at the stage of partition installation. The door opening should be made in such a way that the installation of the door is simple and secure, and the closing of the door does not violate the structure of the partition.

From the author

It will be possible to insert any interior doors into this type of partition: tsargovy, wooden, PVC, covered with veneer, film, enamel, enameled paint. There are no requirements for the type of door and the method of installation for partition walls. In the reinforced opening of the first year, you can install an interior door on mounting foam or on self-tapping screws. There are restrictions on the weight of the interior door. It should be no heavier than 25 kg. With this weight, you can purchase interior doors of the following designs:

• Tsargovye doors, weight 10-12 kg;
• Doors combination of MDF + wood, weight 15-20 kg;
• Doors with honeycomb filler up to 10 kg;
• Solid pine doors, weight 20-25 kg.
• Heavier doors require special reinforcement of the drywall partition.

About frame and door

As you know, frames for plasterboard partitions are usually made of metal profiles called rack-mount (PS) or wooden beams. If installing a door into a drywall frame from a bar does not cause problematic issues, then firmly fixing the door frame on a thin metal profile is simply not possible if you do not make preliminary preparations and properly arrange the doorway.

Working conditions

The task of the described work is to make and prepare a doorway in a plasterboard partition for the subsequent installation of the door. From professional construction practice, it is worth remembering that the frame and installation of doors are made by different teams of workers, often spaced apart in time of work. In such a situation, it is important for partition installers to properly prepare the doorway so as not to put the joiners in an uncomfortable position.

Instruments

To carry out work in your home and with your own hands, you will need a standard electric and manual drywall tool, which you need to add: Wood saw.

Stages of work include

I believe that drywall work can be divided into two technological approaches.

• First approach, professional. It complies with all technological maps developed by drywall manufacturers. The most famous technological sheets of the company Knauf.
• The second approach, amateur. It is possible due to the versatility of drywall profiles.

For example, the correct drywall box must be made from PS rack profiles. In an amateur approach to installation, the rack profile can be replaced with any other PN or PP profile, the main thing is that the structure is durable.

• Professional doorway in a drywall partition on a metal and wood frame according to the Knauf technological map;
• Doorway in a partition made of HA in apartments, private houses, small volumes.

Stages of work execution

We will divide the work into the following stages:

1. opening marking;
2. Installation of a frame with an opening;
3. Strengthening the opening;
4. Sheathing the frame with sheets of civil code.
5. Features of painting work in the opening with the door.

Execution of work in stages

Doorway markings

The marking of the opening is done when marking the partition, applying the width of the opening to the floor of the room. The width of the opening for an interior door should be the sum of the width of the assembled door frame and two 10 mm gaps that must be left between the frame and the frame. Similarly, the height of the opening is considered.

Installation of a frame with an opening Knauf technology

• The partition frame is mounted from rack-mount (PS) and guide (PN) profiles. PN profiles are mounted horizontally; PS profiles are mounted vertically.
• When installing the guide profiles of the partition frame along the floor, they are interrupted at the border of the opening.
• Along the border of the opening, two vertical rack profiles (PS) are installed. Them be sure to fix with additional steel corners from the floor and ceiling in order to strengthen the structure in this particular place.
• Particular attention is paid to the vertical threshold of the doorway. It is made from a guide profile (PN), having previously bent its edges, as shown in the figure. You can bend the edges of the profile not up, but down.

Strengthening the opening

I want to note. What is in the Knauf technological maps, there is no additional strengthening of the opening, except for installing the corners at the top and bottom on the vertical guides of the opening.

Let me explain what's the matter. According to Knauf technology, the door is not placed on the metal frame of the partition, but on a beam (board), which is attached to the frame with self-tapping screws or anchor bolts, and the door is fixed to this wooden lining of the opening. That is why, the size of the opening for such technology should be increased by the width of the beam under the box.

In everyday construction practice, the frame of the doorway is reinforced with a beam, but the beam is not placed outside the frame, it is inserted inside the opening profiles. That is, a frame is made with an opening with a width and height equal to the size of the door frame plus 20 mm gaps. And in the vertical racks of the opening, wooden bars are inserted inside, which are fixed to the racks with self-tapping screws.

Note. If you do not have steel corners to strengthen the vertical racks of the opening to the floor and ceiling, they are made from two PS racks, connecting them like a box (put one into the other).

Sheathing the frame with sheets of GK

Sheathing the frame with sheets in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe doorway has several features.

• First, the seam between the sheets of the Civil Code should not be allowed to fall on the border of the doorway. This will lead to cracks in the future.
• Second, you do not need to horizontally join the sheets along the height of the doorway. Sheathing should be carried out in a single sheet.

Features of painting work in the opening with a door

The door constantly opens and closes, exerting a shock load on the partition and frame. No matter how you strengthen it, the main partition will still oscillate, and the main sheets will move, forming cracks. To strengthen the paint layer of the partition, it is necessary not only to glue the seams with paper masking tape, but also to glue the surface of the partition with a masking net 1-1.5 meters from the door border.

Opening in a wooden frame

In a wooden frame for drywall, the doorway is made in the same way: vertical bars are reinforced with corners to the floor and ceiling. The box is attached to a wooden beam.

The attractiveness of the flooring depends on whether unevenness and other defects remain on the base or not. If its surface is not perfectly smooth, then the floor covering will reflect all the flaws of the base: potholes, drops, roughness and other imperfections. Therefore, before laying the finish coating, it is necessary to make the base even and smooth. Today we will talk about the technology of leveling the concrete floor in the apartment.

Floor leveling methods

There are several ways to level the floor:

• using cement or concrete screed;
• using self-leveling mixtures (self-leveling floor);
• leveling the floor with plywood.

• Clear the base of debris.
• Fill cracks and cracks.
• Prime the surface. The primer helps the self-levelling compound adhere better to the surface and spread evenly over the floor.
• Mix the solution according to the instructions, pouring the dry mixture into the water, and not vice versa, so that there are no lumps.

The solution retains its fluidity for half an hour. If the solution begins to harden, then it is no longer suitable for leveling the base, and water cannot be added to the finished mixture.

These include:

Hydraulic level - helps to determine the unevenness of the base in large rooms. Measurement is made by the level of water in it. In this case, it is necessary to ensure that the working tube of the device is not filled with air, which will impair its operation. With the help of a hydraulic level, you can accurately measure with only small errors.


Laser level- Accurate and easy to use. The error is small, only 1-2mm/m. The laser level is harmful to the eyes, so protective goggles should be worn before using it.

Level- used by construction professionals, because this surveying tool requires knowledge and skills in its use.

Today we talked about the technologies for leveling the floor in an apartment, about the devices and tools needed to measure the curvature of the floor. What technology you use will depend on the conditions, on the shortcomings, and unevenness of your foundation. We hope that a smooth and beautiful floor will delight you for a long time, attracting the attention of friends and acquaintances, causing their admiring glances.

Agree, it is difficult to imagine a beautiful and comfortable house without a flat floor, because this is the basis of all the foundations. When moving into a new house or apartment, each owner seeks to first of all deal with the arrangement of the floor. And modern building materials and the latest technologies allow you to make the floor beautiful and even with your own hands, even for a person who does not have enough experience.

In the vast majority of cases, building slabs serve as the base of the floor covering, which often have a far from the most even surface, which inevitably entails differences in floor level. Of course, it is impossible to put a new coating on such a surface. The floor must be leveled, in other words, a cement screed is required.

It should be noted that self-leveling the floor with a concrete screed is a rather long and very dirty process, but even a beginner can do it.

Surface preparation

The video describes how to take measurements to level the floor in all rooms of the apartment to the same level.

Before starting work, the surface to be leveled must be carefully prepared - cleaned of dust, paint, loose parts of concrete, oil stains. All cracks are sealed at the base, as they lead to material leakage.

Professional builders in the process of laying electrical wiring in the cavity of the slabs to illuminate the center of the room often do not drill one side of the slab from the ceiling side, but make a “high-tech hole” with a sledgehammer and a crowbar, punching the slab to its entire depth from a higher floor. This, of course, will save the builders some time, but it will give you decibels of noise and "flavors" from the apartment below.

Surface preparation for screed

If you are a victim of “high domestic building technologies”, then carefully and carefully close up all the holes, otherwise you will have to get to know your neighbors later under other circumstances.

Concrete screed level marking

When the surface is well cleaned, you can begin to mark the level of the future coating. For this, a building hydraulic level is used, made up of a pair of flasks with marks connected to each other by a long hose. The operation of this instrument is based on the principle of connected vessels - the liquid in vertically arranged flasks will be located at the same level.

Marking with a hydraulic level

Marking should be carried out by two people: one will install the first flask in the corner of the room, marking the initial strip on the wall, and the other should move with the second flask, making marks around the entire perimeter of the room at the same level. Further, by means of measurements from the floor to the marks, the level of the future floor is determined directly.

Important point: for greater strength, it is not recommended to make a coating less than 30 millimeters thick.

Primer for concrete screed

The primer makes it possible to increase the adhesion (adhesion) of the screed to your surface, and in addition, it helps to waterproof the base. And this operation cannot be neglected, since savings can lead to the fact that the floor will subsequently crack.

Primer for concrete screed

If you are leveling the floors in the kitchen or, then use specialized waterproofing primers. Choose a primer marked "for concrete". For the primary treatment of bases, priming compositions are usually called "primer primers".

Dry building mixes for concrete screeds

Cement screed for leveling floors is best done using dry building mixes. The binder components in them are non-shrink types of cement. In the form of a filling material, fine-grained sand is taken. After mixing with water, such a composition forms an emulsion that spreads well over the surface and fills all irregularities well.

Dry mixes

When compared with conventional cement-sand mixtures, dry mixtures have a number of advantages. First of all, we are talking about a short drying time for the coating - you can walk on the floor in a day. And secondly, the high strength of the coating, which is ensured by the use of filler materials of small sizes.

Groups of building mixtures:

• mixtures for primary leveling. Allows you to create the main layer of coatings. The surface as a result turns out to be uneven, since filler materials of a large fraction are used in such mixtures;
• finishing mixtures of the second type correct the shortcomings of the first. They contain small fractions of fillers, and they spread very well over the surface, resulting in a smooth and even coating. The finishing mixture is applied in a thin layer, the thickness of which should be only a few millimeters.

Installation of beacons for concrete screed

After the primer has been carried out, it is necessary to mount beacon profiles on the floor surface - they will be a kind of levels for setting the thickness of the screed being performed. In cross section, such profiles resemble the letter "T".

Guide profiles are fixed with mortar

The slats must be mounted on the floor parallel to each other - so that the top is at the same level as the marks on the wall. This can be done, for example, using a stretched cord or a conventional building level.

To the base, the slats are fixed at several points along the entire length of the walls with gypsum or mortar. Keep a distance between the fixing points - 1-1.5 meters, based on considerations of the length of the leveling tool. In particular, if it is a 1.5-meter instrument, the distance should be 120-130 centimeters. If a three-meter rule is used, the slats can be spaced 2-2.5 meters apart.

Reiki are fixed at several points along the entire length

Highly professional specialists do not install these profiles, since they are able to create horizontal surfaces even without them.

But if you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to install them, as slats really improve the quality of work.

A major overhaul of an apartment is unthinkable without leveling the floor, since it is never perfectly smooth, and in some cases even has a slope. The rough surface does not allow laying the flooring, which is very demanding on the quality of the base, and due to the slope, there may be problems with the installation of doors and even furniture. That's why it is best to start repair work with leveling the floor, especially since sometimes this process can be lengthy and rather dirty.

Today, there are several ways to make the floor even. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, so the choice will depend on the initial state of the surface, as well as the wishes and financial capabilities of the developer.

Regardless of the alignment method chosen, preparatory work will be required, which is the same in almost all cases.

1. First you need to prepare the surface: remove the old coating, wipe deep cracks. If there are delaminations and some point protrusions, then knock them down with a perforator. After that, remove all debris and dust, and, if necessary, degrease, as any foreign particles and stains can prevent the solution from seizing with the base.
2. The next step is waterproofing the surface. The floors in rooms where the risk of leakage is high (bathroom, toilet, kitchen) are completely insulated, creating a kind of waterproof bowl into which the screed is poured, and in ordinary living rooms it will be enough to process the joints of the base plates, the junction of the floor and walls and space under pipes.

   True, some masters still advise covering the entire floor with a film (at least 100 microns thick) - this will not damage the screed. The level of insulation is always made higher than the surface being erected - after laying it, the remnants of roll or film materials are carefully cut off.

3. Laying damper tape around the perimeter of the room. This is a kind of shock absorber for monolithic screeds, which can expand with temperature changes. If a dry screed was used, then the tape will prevent the appearance of sounds arising from the contact of the coating plates with the walls.
4. Search for the zero level, that is, the height of the future floor. To do this, you need to find the highest point on the surface, add the minimum thickness of the screed to it, depending on the chosen method, and project the resulting height onto the walls in the form of a control line. Check its horizontal level with a level.

After that, it is required to check whether, due to raising the floor, difficulties will arise when opening balcony and room doors, and whether the battery will have to be raised higher. Such nuances should be considered before leveling work begins.

Method 1: using a leveling solution

Method features

This is the easiest floor leveling option. The bottom line is that the finished solution of sand, cement and special plasticizing additives is diluted with water, and the floor is poured over it. Due to the property of the liquid to spread evenly, the finished surface is perfectly smooth.

When to apply

Unfortunately, this method is only suitable for leveling small roughness. If the base surface has significant irregularities and, in addition, a slope, which together creates a height difference of more than 3 cm, then the use of a leveling solution will have to be abandoned: it will dry unevenly, and this will lead to cracking. True, it can be poured over the finished concrete screed - such a final touch before laying the finish coat will make the subfloor even.

Stages of work

self-leveling floor

Method 2: concrete or sand-cement screed

Method features

This method involves leveling the floor with concrete or cement mortar. Allows you to get a monolithic, durable and even screed that can hide even significant floor defects.

When to apply

If the height difference, taking into account the slope and roughness, does not allow the use of a self-leveling floor, then such a screed would be the best option. It is strong, durable and, if done correctly, will last a long time. However, there are a number of cases when it is better to refuse it:

• the thickness of the screed is more than 10 cm. The concrete is heavy, therefore it will create a significant load on the floor;
• the desire to place additional communications under the floor level;
• time limits. If a flat floor is needed urgently, then a long-drying concrete screed will not work.

Stages of work

1. Substrate preparation, waterproofing, finding the zero level. A primer won't hurt either.
2. Exposure of lighthouses, which would allow checking with the zero level at any point in space. For this, rails or a metal profile are used. They are laid along the walls with an indent from them of about 20–30 cm. This is a reserve for the rule. The distance between adjacent beacons should be such that the ends of the rule lie quietly on them. When installing beacons, you need to check the level, placing a solution every 20–30 cm. At the end of the work, strictly horizontal guides should be obtained. When the mortar sets, you can start laying the screed.
3. Solution preparation. This is a very crucial moment, because mistakes can lead to damage to the coating. If there is no experience in preparing a cement-sand mixture, it is better to use purchased materials. Strictly following the instructions will help you avoid mistakes. In the same case, when there is experience in such work, you can prepare the solution yourself.
4. Laying the solution. It is laid out in strips along the lighthouses, shaking to get rid of air, and smoothed out with a rule. A screed in one room must be done at a time so that it is monolithic.
5. Drying of the screed takes place indoors, where there are no drafts. After two days, when the solution hardens, you need to remove the beacons and level the dents from them, and then for two weeks to moisten the surface or cover with cellophane to prevent rapid evaporation of moisture. This may lead to cracking. After the specified time, remove the cellophane and leave for another two weeks so that the screed is completely dry and gains strength.

Method 3: leveling with expanded clay

Method features

For it, light bulk material is used, most often expanded clay. It allows you to smooth out even deep holes and a strong slope.

When to apply

There are several ways to level the floor with expanded clay, but they are all used when significant irregularities need to be removed. If the height difference is more than 10 cm, the concrete screed will turn out to be very heavy, which will create a load on the floor slabs. It will dry unevenly, in pits longer than in shallow places, which will lead to cracks. More appropriate in such cases is the use of expanded clay.

Stages of work

1. All preliminary steps: preparation of the base, waterproofing, laying damper tape, finding the zero level. In this case, it will be quite high, since the thickness of the backfill layer must be added to the height difference, and it is not less than 3–4 cm.
2. Installation of beacons.
3. Expanded clay preparation. It is necessary to mix two fractions: medium and fine. Medium is needed to reduce the weight of the finished screed, and small - to seal it.

1. Expanded clay is leveled along the beacons, rammed, and sheets of various floor materials are laid on top. It can be GVL, chipboard, fiberboard and similar things. They are laid side by side according to the principle of brickwork, so that the transverse seams of one row do not coincide with another. A second layer is laid on top of the first layer, which is attached to the bottom with self-tapping screws.
2. Expanded clay is poured onto the floor, leveled along the beacons, not reaching their top 2-2.5 cm, rammed and poured with cement "milk", that is, a mixture of water and cement. This will give strength to the expanded clay pillow. A day later, when the composition hardens, you can lay out a solution for a conventional concrete screed on top, leveling it now along the tops of the lighthouses. Or you can remove the beacons, wait until it dries completely, cover the expanded clay with a waterproofing film and fill it with a leveling agent.
3. Preparation of claydite-concrete leveling mixture. To do this, cement, sand and expanded clay are combined with water, and the finished mass is laid out on

   Leveling a wooden floor

   Method features

   With this alignment, a so-called raised floor is created, that is, the coating is mounted on logs of wooden beams evenly laid on the floor. The coating is able to mask significant irregularities and remove the slope, but keep in mind that the floor will rise significantly. To find the zero level, you need to add the thickness of the timber and two sheets of the top cover to the highest point.

   This method is quite time consuming, even compared to leveling the screed along the beacons, but it is not so dirty and very fast, since you do not have to wait for the cement to dry.

   When to apply

   Most of all, the method is suitable for private houses, as well as for apartments on the ground floor, since the space between the lags can be filled with heat-insulating material. The option is also suitable for those who want to place any additional communications under the floor.

   Stages of work

   
   

   Leveling the floor in the apartment is an important part of the repair. At first glance, this process may seem rather complicated and time-consuming, but with strict observance of all stages, the use of reliable tools and high-quality materials, it will be on the shoulder of anyone who is ready to do all the work on their own.