In the recent past, the requirements for interior decoration were more loyal, and the nomenclature was considered the visual evenness of the planes. For this reason, the acquired living space, which has not seen a major overhaul for 25 years, very rarely meets modern standards. Indeed, today the planes of ceilings, floors and walls after repair must correspond to linear characteristics.
Of course, many rooms that have been decorated by a professional designer, at first glance, do not meet such requirements. However, it should be taken into account that most volumetric abstractions are superimposed on a pre-aligned linear surface. First of all, it concerns the floor surface, which is responsible not only for visual sensations, but also for the quality of furniture placement. The technique is often used to level the surface.pouring the self-leveling floor along the beacons, which consists of a series of successive stages.
Preparatory work
Before you start pouring the screed on the floor, it is very important to prepare the floor surface. This will allow the mortar layer to adhere to the substrate in the best possible way, eliminating the possibility of flaking. To do this, first of all, remove the old coatings that make up the surface of the floor.
Dismantling the old coupler
It is not uncommon to find wooden floors in old rooms. But if an old screed has been found, it can be left under the following conditions:
- the cement surface has not peeled off anywhere and adheres well to the base;
- the screed is made of concrete and its dismantling is physically difficult;
- there is sufficient headroom to allow a new layer of screed to be cast.
In all other cases, the old cement screed is crushed into small components and removed.
Surface treatment
After the base, consisting of floor slabs, is freed from old coatings, the surface must be cleaned of sand dust and small pebbles with a broom. Then it needs to be treated with a special primer, which allows to provide maximum adhesion to the surface, which is necessary when pouring the floor along the beacons during leveling.
If wooden floors were laid on the first floor of an old building, then after their removal, significant cavities may open. After all, earlier the beams that served as the basis for the floorboard were often put on logs that brought the floor level to a heightplinth. The recesses in this case will correspond to the height of the basement of the building. In such conditions, in order to level the floor along the beacons, it will be necessary to fill it under its level.
For backfilling, it is best to use clay or earthenware, as these materials shrink 100% when poured with water. It is better not to use clean sand for this purpose. He is able to continue to press for a long time. This can lead to the formation of voids under the surface of the screed. It is better to carry out such a procedure not in the winter, otherwise it can lead to undesirable consequences. After the surface of the bedding has dried and hardened, a screed can be cast on it, which will level the floor along the beacons.
Marking
First of all, it is necessary to determine the reference point from which all measurements will subsequently be made. For this purpose, a mark is placed on the wall. It is more convenient to do this at a height of 90 cm from the surface of the base, at the level of which a line is beaten off along all the walls of the room. Further, this line can be considered a horizon, it is applied using a laser or water level. The horizon is beaten off first in one room, and then transferred throughout the building to rooms that are on the same level, which can be ensured by leveling the floor with beacons.
Then, from the horizon, take measurements to the floor around the entire perimeter of the room. Thus, finding the smallest size, determine the highest point of the base. The minimum layer of cement screed is recommended to be 4 centimeters. Given this condition, measuring 4centimeter from the top of the floor, put the next mark, which will correspond to the expected level of the screed, which ensures that the floor is aligned with the beacons. Further, using a new mark, using a level, beat off a new floor line.
In rectangular rooms, lighthouses are best placed across. The smaller the beacon length, the smaller the error. Along the room (across the proposed location of the beacons), a fishing line or nylon thread is pulled in several places. In this way, it will be possible to see the intended plane of the surface of the screed.
The hillock located in the center of the room may go unnoticed. This will open immediately after pulling the threads. If additional floor elevations found are closer than 4 centimeters to the thread, then the estimated floor level will have to be raised to the required level. To do this, the procedure for beating the surface level and tightening the threads will have to be repeated. Without knowing these rules, you can leave thoughts on how to make a self-leveling floor with your own hands.
Types of beacons used for screeds
In the case when the width of the room does not exceed 3.5 meters, you can use the factory plaster profile, which is made of aluminum or galvanized steel, for floor screed. The greater the width of the room, the thicker the profile must be selected to ensure nominal rigidity. The minimum thickness of the factory plaster profile used for screeding must be 10 millimeters.
When the width of the room exceeds 3.5 meters, then asbeacons to the screed, it is more expedient to use a UD profile for drywall. If beacons have to be built from improvised means, then profile pipes are best suited for this purpose, although round ones are also applicable. In the case when there were no improvised means at all, stucco beacons can be installed. They will require a lot of time and attention, but they will perform their function just as well, and in the end they do not need to be removed. Beacons for a concrete floor are no different from those used when pouring cement mortar.
Rules for installing beacons
They are set with their edges along the floor line marked on the wall, and the middle part is placed flush with the threads stretched across. First, the first and last beacons are set up, which are located at a small distance from the walls. Then the whole row is sequentially placed. When adjusting the elements to the level of the threads, it is important to ensure that the surface of the lighthouse is as close as possible to the thread, but does not touch it. After the second beacon is placed in the row, the procedure is slightly simplified. This happens for the reason that if a beacon subsequently placed touches a thread, then this is immediately visible by its location to the previous element. It is also important to calculate their number, which can be read below.
Calculation of the number of beacons
Determining the number of elements needed to recreate the level of the screed is quite easy. The guideline for this purpose is the rule by which the main layer will be stretched. The standard rule has a size of 2 meters. And this means that the distance between the beaconsshould be 170 centimeters. 30 centimeters are left in reserve for the free play of the rule. When the second lighthouse in a row is set up, the distance is measured not from the first, but from the wall. If the rule does not reach the wall from the penultimate lighthouse in the row, then it becomes necessary to additionally install one more. If, after installing the beacons, large dips from the screed plane were found in the base, then broken stone is used as a filler to save the volume of mortar used.
Installation of beacons with self-tapping screws
This installation method is quite effective if there is no need to remove the old screed layer, and the surface does not have large distortions. In this case, after priming the base, holes are drilled in it on the lines of the location of the beacons. The holes are located near the walls, where the edges of the lighthouses come, and also under each thread stretched to control the plane of the floor.
Screws are inserted into the drilled holes. Then, taking a piece of the plaster profile, the screws are unscrewed to a predetermined length, using the piece as a template. After that, the profile is attached to the screws with the help of special fasteners. The exposed beacons are coated with a solution on both sides, along the entire length. After the solution hardens, the beacons acquire the necessary stability and rigidity for the floor pouring process.
Installation of beacons using mortar
This installation method can be applied in all cases without exception. Firstly, the solution can be used as platforms that will riseabove the floor surface at the location of the screws for fasteners. In this situation, after the solution has solidified, the resulting sites can be used to install beacons on the mounts, as indicated in the previous case. This method is most reliably used when leveling the floor along the beacons with your own hands.
Secondly, mortar pads can be raised to the height of the level lines on the walls and control threads in other cases. Thus, if you act consistently, moving from beacon to beacon, they can be set under the level on a fresh solution. When the solution hardens, having lost its original elasticity, it is possible to coat the beacons with a solution on both sides. This will give them extra strength. In this case, placing beacons on the mortar will create a solid foundation for the rule to work with.
Let's note one important point. This installation method allows the use of reference beacons for self-leveling floors. What are rappers? These are devices that allow you to set beacons without control threads, but using a laser level. Such simple devices are made in the right quantity with their own hands. Then they are placed on the line of each beacon to put it on the platforms from the solution along the line of the laser level.
Materials to install beacons
The question of the choice of materials from which the floor screed beacons will be made must be decided immediately before work is performed. First of all, this question should be answered by the master, who familiarized himself with the place and conditionsperformance of work. Plaster beacons are most often used on a screed due to the fact that they remain after plastering work, for which they are often taken with a margin.
It is most convenient to use a drywall UD profile for this purpose. It has the necessary rigidity, size, has a low cost. In a situation where saving is a priority indicator, stucco beacons for floor screed will be the most profitable solution. They do not require any additional items to be purchased. But installing them will take longer.
Required tools
The question of choosing tools for mounting beacons directly depends on the materials that will make them up. To install, for example, a plaster profile on screws, you must have a drill with a percussion mechanism or a small hammer drill. Otherwise, drilling holes in the concrete base will not work. In addition, when working with metal components, you will need a grinder with cutting wheels or metal shears.
To make mortar in limited quantities, it is enough to have a mixer suitable for a drill. You will also need a hammer, a plastering ladle, a trowel, a couple of spatulas, a knife, a tape measure, a water or laser level, a pencil, a thread with paint for accurately beating lines, a maklovitsa and a set of smaller brushes. It is such a set of tools that should be prepared for a person who has thought about how to make a self-leveling floor with his own hands.
