Using self-leveling floor technology, you can create a perfectly flat surface, which will then serve as a finishing coating for laying parquet, tiles, laminate, carpet, etc. At the same time, the self-leveling floor itself can be easily applied to almost any hard surface: wood, concrete, stone base.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at how to fill a self-leveling floor cement-sand screed which is painted oil paint. Initially, we have a fairly flat surface with permissible height differences of no more than 1 centimeter.
Main works:
1. Preparing the base
2. Prepare bulk mixture
3. Lay the self-leveling floor
Let's look at the main processes in more detail.
1. Preparatory work.
Clean the surface.
This stage must be approached with special responsibility, since the result obtained can affect all work in the future. It is worth noting that if there are obvious irregularities on the surface, then there is a high probability that the bulk mixture itself will not cover all the imperfections. Therefore, in order to avoid such circumstances, all irregularities should be smoothed out as much as possible. Also, the pouring of the floor can be negatively affected by the presence of chemicals and greasy stains. If they are not eliminated, then in the future the composition of the self-leveling floor may be damaged: various cracks and chips will appear.
To remove various debris and all kinds of stains, it is acceptable to use a regular vacuum cleaner with further wet cleaning premises. Particular attention should be paid to exfoliated weak spots. If they are detected, restore the damaged areas by sealing defects cement mortar.
The result should be a smooth, clean surface.
Apply a primer layer.
To create deep adhesion, you need to prime. There are no special requirements for the soil mixture, so you can choose any one you like from those on sale today. As an example, it is recommended to choose a soil-concrete contact that allows you to give the floor the desired roughness. The primer should be applied with a brush or roller.
2. Prepare the working mixture.
Before starting work, be sure to read the instructions and how to use the mixture.
Prepare the container big size and pour water into it. On average, you need to pour 5-6 liters of water per 20 kg of mixture. Then pour in the dry mixture. To thoroughly mix and create a homogeneous mass, use construction mixer or a special attachment for an electric drill. Be sure to follow the proportions, as too much water will make the resulting mass too liquid. This can reduce the mechanical strength of the future floor.
Important: ready mix used during the first 20 minutes. Therefore, do not stir the mixture in large portions. It’s better to dilute a little during the first batch and practice styling.
When preparing the mixture, remember that you need to dilute it with water. room temperature, since in hot water the mixture will set faster.
3. Pouring the self-leveling floor.
To complete the work you will need an ordinary spatula and a needle roller. Using a spatula, the finished mixture is applied to the surface base and rolled out with a roller. At the same time, the roller needles will remove the formed air bubbles.
Spread the mixture from the far corner of the room. At the same time, make sure that it is distributed evenly (in narrow stripes). Then use a spatula to fill in any uneven areas. Finally, smooth the self-leveling floor with a needle roller to ensure a perfectly smooth surface. After applying and treating the first strip, proceed to the next until the entire floor surface is covered. The self-leveling floor dries within 10 hours. But it can be used only after 3 days from the moment of applying the mixture.
Let's visually examine two types of flooring - semi-dry and wet (liquid) made using the usual method for subsequent laying of the finishing coating (tiles, porcelain stoneware, laminate, linoleum). The main causes of cracks are described on this page. Screed with cracks The photo of the screed with cracks was borrowed from the forum of finishers “City of Masters”.
Disadvantages of “liquid screed” - low strength, high shrinkage and numerous cracks
This is what a regular wet screed looks like. The photo clearly shows shrinkage cracks caused by an excessive amount of moisture in the cement mortar; the strength of such a screed does not meet the standards for subsequent laying of the finishing coating; when walking or loading in the area of the seams, movement is possible separate pieces, you can feel the deflection and bending of the screed, a dull sound, and buckling. When such a surface is fully exploited and laying tiles or linoleum on it is not permissible, it risks dismantling the flooring that serves as a “clean floor”
A screed made using the semi-dry screed method, reinforced not with a steel mesh, but with fiber fiber, looks completely different, has a smooth surface, is resistant to compression and tearing, and has good adhesive properties to the surface when laying floor coverings.
The work in these photographs was carried out by our company at the construction site of the MIPT IT Technopark
The technology of such a screed differs from the usual amount of water in the preparation of the solution, which is only sufficient to hydrate the cement. Also, the semi-dry screed is laid on a separating film, the film cuts it off from the overlap, preventing rapid absorption of moisture from the solution into the ceiling and adhesion of the solution to the base, which gives a floating effect, i.e. the screed is non-contact and does not have adhesion to the base, the only requirement which is prohibited from being neglected when laying on polyethylene film, the thickness of the screed must be at least 40 mm. You can read how we make such a floor surface
To ensure that when laying the floor the material lays tightly and without gaps, it is used self-leveling screed. It fills all the cracks and imperfections, providing a perfectly smooth surface. However, to obtain such a result, you should take into account some nuances when laying the bulk base. When laying parquet, tiles or laminate, a high-quality, even base is of paramount importance. One of the most popular self-leveling fillings today is self-leveling floor. It has established itself as an inexpensive, universal way to obtain a perfectly smooth base for further work with expensive material.
General characteristics of self-leveling screed.
IN composition of the self-leveling screed includes modernized dry mixtures with the addition of special chemical admixtures. This gives the solution the necessary elasticity and ensures easy filling of the floor surface with the mixture. At the same time, to work with a self-leveling screed, standard tools that can be purchased at every hardware store. Filling a self-leveling screed does not require special skills; a beginner amateur who has minimal skills and knows how to work with construction tools can easily cope with this task.
Can be used in any room where level differences are up to 30 mm. It is intended for final leveling of floor surfaces, as in residential buildings, and public institutions.
Provides ideal quality installation of various floor coverings. And this, in turn, increases the service life of the flooring material several times. Parquet, laminate or other material laid on a perfectly flat base has no gaps, which prevents it from moving away from the base. Self-leveling screed technology is quite simple and does not require the participation of highly qualified specialists. All the work can be done with your own hands. It is enough to follow a few rules and stick to established recommendations professionals.
Self-leveling flooring has a number of advantages:
- the operational period of the floor covering increases several times;
- self-leveling screed is easy to apply;
- perfectly ugly surface;
- low cost bulk mixtures.
It is these qualities that make it possible to widely use poured floors for arranging private properties and public buildings.
Procedure for working with self-leveling floor.
Preparation of materials and necessary tools
Any construction process begins with the preparation of working equipment, materials and aids. For a self-leveling screed you will need:
- primer;
- dry mixture;
- container for mixing components;
- drill;
- roller for applying primer;
- needle roller for removal air bubbles from the mixture.
In the case where the self-leveling screed is poured onto an epoxy base, highly specialized polymer materials are used. The modern market offers a huge selection of various polymer fillers, the cost of which is determined by a wide price range.
Compositions of epoxy self-leveling floors.
Preparing the base for pouring.
Quality of self-leveling floor largely depends on careful surface preparation. The main preparation criteria are that the surface must be perfectly clean, dry and durable. It is necessary to eliminate deep flaws, chips and other construction defects using putty, and thoroughly clean the floor of debris and dust. To ensure reliable adhesion between the floor and the base of the filling mixture, the surface is treated with a special primer.
Self-leveling floor tends to change in volume upon drying. Therefore, you should avoid sticking the filling mixture to the walls. To do this, a special edge tape is glued along the perimeter of the room to the bottom of the wall. This prevents the screed base from cracking when drying.
To prepare the bulk mixture All components are poured into a clean container and filled with the specified amount of water. Using a special mixer, which can be used as a drill with a special attachment, mixing is carried out until a homogeneous solution of the required creamy consistency is obtained.
Waterproofing of self-leveling screed.
Waterproofing provides additional resistance to the screed against destructive influences. atmospheric precipitation, protect it from cracking and provide additional stability during operation. Waterproofing is carried out on the surface before pouring the self-leveling floor.
Self-leveling floor application technology.
In order for the self-leveling floor to have the most even surface possible, the time between new portions of the solution should be minimized. To do this, it is better to fill the floor, working with a partner, who will mix a new portion of the solution as needed. This will avoid joints between sections of the self-leveling surface, making it smooth from beginning to end of the room.
Self-leveling floor technology.
Subsequent work can be carried out following the recommendations of the mixture manufacturer. Approximate period hardening of self-leveling floor lasts about a day, after which you can start painting or priming. However, if the manufacturer specified a period a little longer, it should be maintained to avoid coating defects.
The subsequent laying of the finishing floor covering can be carried out no earlier than two weeks later, when the screed has completely dried and shrinks. As a covering, you can use not only traditional laminate, tiles or parquet. The modern construction industry offers new polymer flooring products, and even three-dimensional floors. Special coloring compounds are also widely used, which modern market offers a wide range.
Leveling the mixture with a spatula
Our article will tell you how to quickly and efficiently perform a self-leveling floor screed, what specific points and features need to be taken into account during the work process. It's no secret that for high-quality installation of any finishing floor covering, it is necessary to create a perfectly flat and smooth surface of the subfloor, therefore a self-leveling floor screed is currently considered the best base. Its installation does not require the use of special construction technologies and expensive materials - it is enough to follow the work technology and use high-quality materials.
In the same case, if this floor is not perfectly level, then over time any flooring(it doesn’t matter whether it’s ceramic tiles or the same laminate) it will simply crack and lose its beauty. Eliminating these defects will require either quite expensive repairs or a complete replacement of the entire floor in the room. That is why it is necessary to carry out such an important process as pouring a self-leveling floor before laying the floor covering.
As a rule, the technology for applying self-leveling floors includes the use of special building mixtures. Nowadays, such mixtures are special solutions that spread perfectly around the entire perimeter of the room and can, if necessary, be processed during the application process. The main feature of such mixtures is their independent distribution over the entire surface of the base, the formation of a perfectly smooth and even horizontal surface. The technology of pouring a self-leveling floor itself consists of several stages.
Under the self-leveling floor there must be a special restoration layer that will fill all the unevenness and depressions
Tools can be purchased today in almost any specialized store or construction market. These tools are quite universal and accessible to everyone - they may be needed not only for installing floors, but also for many other construction and repair work. So, for example, among the most significant are: a drill with a special attachment, a roller (needed for applying primer) regular and needle, a container for mixing materials. It is also necessary to purchase special beacons for floor screeding - without these devices it is impossible to obtain a perfectly flat surface.
As for materials, the technology involves the use of such materials as the self-leveling floor itself and the primer under it. It is necessary to stock up on materials for future use and purchase a few more of them, with a sufficient supply. The thing is that the consumption of material on a self-leveling floor may at some points increase depending on the initial state of the surface, its material, and therefore it is necessary to eliminate in advance unnecessary trips to retail outlets, searching for materials of the same brand and batch, and, importantly, from the same manufacturer.
Advice! The floor leveling compound and primer must be of the same brand and from the same manufacturer. The right technology Pouring a floor screed can guarantee high quality and durability of the floor.
Base primer
Let's look at how to pour a floor screed. As a rule, the essence of the stage is to harden the surface, clean it and dry it. Additionally, you can treat the base with a primer, after which it dries you can apply the screed. Any, even the smallest construction debris should be removed at this stage - the final result and the condition of the floor covering depend on the thoroughness of this stage.
Preparing the walls
Along the entire perimeter of the room, a special edge tape must be glued to the edge of the walls bordering the floor. In this way, it will be possible to create a leveling self-leveling floor that will not stick to the wall. Otherwise, the self-leveling screed may simply burst after drying, and it will be necessary to either remove the entire applied solution, which has already dried thoroughly, or carry out repairs and apply a new layer - this cannot but affect the height of the room.
How to prepare a solution for liquid screed with your own hands
As a rule, this process is quite simple and consists of pouring the dry mixture into a container and adding water to it, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, thoroughly mixing the resulting solution in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer of this building material. Then the floor screed is poured.
The previously obtained mass must be poured onto the surface of the base in such a way that the self-leveling floor, the characteristics of which depend only on the quality of the mixture, is distributed evenly. The layer thickness can be 3-30 mm and immediately after pouring it is necessary to roll the mixture with a special needle roller. This will remove any air bubbles from the mixture.
Note! Self-leveling floor leveler must be poured at frequent intervals, preventing the mixture from hardening.
Stir the solution
The self-leveling self-leveling floor hardens within 24 hours. Time to install finishing materials, as a rule, is indicated by the manufacturer himself. But, nevertheless, you need to wait at least two weeks after pouring - waiting will help to avoid unwanted “complications”, because haste in such a matter is completely unacceptable and inexplicable.
The instructions for the self-leveling floor imply finishing screeds various materials. For example, you can use both traditional floor coverings (tiles, parquet, laminate, linoleum) and various more modern ones, including those created using 3D technology. In any case, it will be possible to achieve the most High Quality floor covering, extend the durability of its operation and significantly improve the style of the room.
The screed itself will not cause any complaints from the owner of the house, as it will make the surface of the base as even and smooth as possible. In turn, this will also make it possible to provide a kind of “testing ground” for laying various floor coverings in the future - when carrying out repairs in the future, it will not be necessary to carry out all this work again.
DIY self-leveling floor screed — This is a completely doable process that anyone, even a non-professional, could do if they wanted to. This is very easy to prove.
The floor is the most used part of any room, so it is most susceptible to wear and tear and quite often requires repair. The floor must be free of flaws and distortions, because the entire interior rests on it.
There are many modern floor coverings. For example, the floor can be covered with elegant or simple laminate, original ceramics or beautiful linoleum.
In any case, before proceeding with the installation of any finishing floor covering, the floor must be properly prepared, namely, leveled.
To date, the most best base under any floor covering - this is a self-leveling screed, i.e. modern building mixture.
The most main feature of such mixtures is the ability to independently distribute evenly throughout required surface, that is, spread around the entire perimeter of the room, creating an excellent surface, perfectly smooth and without flaws, suitable for any finishing coating.
The self-leveling screed consists of dry building mixtures and special chemical admixtures.
Today, the choice of such mixtures is quite wide; many suppliers are engaged in their production, so there will be no problems with purchasing a dry mixture of self-leveling floor screed.
The main advantages of this type of screed device are: ease of use, high speed of work, availability of materials.
The main thing is to strictly follow all the stages of the technology described below, as well as the manufacturer’s recommendations indicated on each package (amount of mixture per unit area, ratio with water, storage conditions).
Before purchasing any dry mixtures that will be needed for repairs, you should definitely pay attention to the expiration date, as well as the absence of damage to the packaging. These indicators are very important for obtaining a strong and durable floor base.
Preparing the floor surface for screed
Of course, before proceeding with the installation of a new floor in the room, it is necessary to carry out the stage preparatory work, which will subsequently help create a perfectly flat surface.
First, you need to completely dismantle all the old coating, i.e. parquet, linoleum, boards.
Then, it is imperative to check whether there are differences at the base. This is done using a level gauge. The magnitude of the differences will help to clearly determine what type of alignment will be used in this case.
In cases where the differences are significant, chips and even holes appear on the surface, a “rough” leveling of the surface must be performed (in another way, it is called “rough”).
So, if there is a need for rough leveling, then special building mixtures of a denser composition, for example, cement mortar, are used for it. With its help, surface differences of up to 6 cm are eliminated. How to prepare it is described below.
If the surface has differences of up to 1 cm, i.e. it is more even, then the “finishing” (in other words, “finishing”) leveling can be started immediately. Such small differences are easily eliminated with liquid construction mixtures, namely self-leveling screeds.
In the case where the surface is relatively flat, but there is a small single defect, for example one chip, then a denser mortar(with the same cement mortar) it is removed and time is given for this mixture to dry completely.
The prepared surface must be cleaned of dust, sand and any small debris. At home, a vacuum cleaner is great for this.
Now that the surface is clean and dry, it must be primed with a special primer solution. This will further enhance the adhesion of the applied mixture and the base. If the surface contains a large number of pores, then it should be primed twice.
Preparation of cement mortar
To prepare cement mortar, first mix the dry components in a container (for example, a basin) (cement with sand in a ratio of 1:3).
It is enough to choose cement grades M200 or M300, higher grades (and therefore more expensive), in this case it is not rational to use.
Then the resulting mixture is diluted with water, stirring thoroughly with a spatula to prevent lumps, and brought to the desired consistency (the solution should turn out “like sour cream,” but not too liquid).
The resulting cement mortar is first used to seal deep chips and holes, and then it is applied to the surface and leveled to a level.
Only after the “rough” floor has dried do they move on to priming and “finishing” leveling.
Self-leveling screed application guide
Attention: liquid self-leveling screed can only be applied to a clean floor after the repaired defects, rough coating, and primer have completely dried.
Tools needed to apply screed
In order to carry out the work of applying a self-leveling screed to the floor, you will need to prepare certain tools and appropriate devices:
- container for mixing the solution (bucket, basin);
- drill;
- mixer (or a special attachment for a drill);
- level gauge;
- roller with a needle structure;
- dry mix “self-leveling floor” (selected manufacturer);
- self-adhesive edge tape;
- personal protective equipment for eyes and hands.
Instructions for direct application of screed
Before starting work, a special edge tape should be glued along the entire perimeter of the room (at the bottom of the walls). This will help prevent the screed from sticking to the wall and protect against cracks.
It is worth paying attention to the air temperature in the room. It is not advisable for it to be below +15 0 C.
To do this, the selected dry “self-leveling floor” mixture in a specially prepared container must be diluted with water. In this case, it is important to strictly adhere to the proportions of water and mixture indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging.
When preparing the solution, thorough mixing is mandatory. The solution should be homogeneous and without lumps. You can achieve this effect when mixing with a mixer (or a drill with a special mixer attachment).
The resulting solution must be poured onto the surface as evenly as possible. Be sure to take into account the area for which the packaging of the dry mixture is designed.
Begin filling the floor with mortar from the far corner of the room, gradually moving towards the exit. It is recommended to apply the solution in sections of approximately 40 cm.
Having poured the solution onto the surface, it is immediately distributed over the area, and then the floor is very carefully rolled with a special roller, which has a needle-like texture. The use of such a roller is necessary to eliminate air bubbles and increase the strength and service life of the screed.
Attention: under no circumstances should you stop pouring; the room must be completely filled in one day! Therefore, it is worth calculating the volume and required time for filling in advance.
The poured screed is left until it dries completely. This takes at least a day.
Only when the screed on the floor has completely dried, the surface has become even and smooth, can you proceed to the next stage of floor repair - installation of the selected floor covering.
Thus, if you carefully familiarize yourself with the fairly simple technology for performing this work and follow the recommendations of the material manufacturers, then self-leveling floor screed with your own hands is a realistically feasible process that anyone can handle. And for this it is not necessary to have special education or extensive work experience. The floor is guaranteed to last quite a long time!