Repairing the floor is a responsible undertaking. Especially when it comes to such an old building as Stalinka. It is necessary to consider the technology of carrying out such work. The advice of professional builders will help you carefully study all the stages of floor repair in Stalinka. This will help to avoid mistakes, get a solid foundation in the premises. The features of this work will be discussed further.
Types of floors
Almost all owners of this housing are faced with subsidence of the floor in Stalin's style. Over time, any material, even the highest quality, wears out. Therefore, the owners of such housing are forced to carry out major repairs. Stalinkas are old buildings that were built in the USSR.
They were built until the sixties of the last century. Stalinok has several distinctive features. They have high ceilings and large windows. These apartments have spacious rooms. Interfloor ceilingsbuilt from different materials. In most cases, it was natural wood.
There are only three types of flooring that can be found in stalinkas:
- Floors covered with artificial materials. This, for example, can be linoleum, laminate, and other similar materials.
- Parquet board. It can also be piece parquet, panel or typeset parquet.
- Wooden floor. Such a coating could be mounted from a floor rail. But more often, edged planed boards were used for these purposes.
Stalinka used a variety of materials during construction. At the same time, restoration was carried out in many houses of this type. During the overhaul, many materials were subject to replacement. So, often wooden floors were replaced with reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, before starting repairs, you need to assess the condition of the wooden logs. These are the bars on which the floor is laid. They are always present in the floor construction in stalinka, which were built in the thirties of the last century.
Buildings built after the 1950s already had reinforced concrete floors.
It is worth noting that the most common type of flooring in the presented buildings is boardwalk.
Types of repairs
Having determined which floors were installed in stalinka in most cases, you need to consider the methodology for their repair.
It can be different. The choice of technique depends on the degree of wear of the coating,its type and other aspects. Repair can be as follows:
- Small. In the wooden flooring close up small defects, cracks, cracks, chips, cracks. It may be necessary to replace the baseboard during this repair.
- Medium. Some parts of the floor that have become unusable need to be replaced. For example, it can be floorboards, as well as some rotten logs.
- Capital. Complete replacement of the floor or a significant part of it.
Repair of floors in stalinka with wooden floors is somewhat different from the technique that is used in the presence of a reinforced concrete base. However, in any case, the whole process is divided into three stages. The first of these is preparation. The main repairs follow. The final step is cleaning.
Preparation for this process involves inspecting the floors. At this stage, defects are identified, which determines the list of necessary work. After that, you can purchase the required amount of materials. To do this, a preliminary cost estimate is prepared.
In the course of the main work, the identified defects are eliminated. Actions at this stage are performed in a certain sequence. When the tasks set at the beginning are completed, you need to remove the floor. There is construction debris on it that needs to be taken out of the apartment. After that, the floors are washed and the room is operated.
Wood floor repair materials
Before starting work, you need to prepare everything you need.
Parquet floor repairor other types of wood flooring requires the use of softwood. To perform this procedure, you need to purchase the following materials:
- Edged planed board. Its thickness must be at least 40 mm.
- Sex rail. This is a planed grooved board. It has a groove on one side and a solid tongue on the other. The rail thickness is 40mm.
- Lags. This is a beam that can have a section with a size of 5x5 or 5x7 cm.
- Waterproofing. Artificial materials should not be used for these purposes. As a waterproofing, as well as a heater, expanded clay or its analogues can be used.
It is almost always required to install a new plinth when replacing a floor in a stalinka. It performs a decorative function. The plinth also hides the gap between the wall and the floor. Its choice depends on the finishing materials of the base.
Plinth can be plastic or wooden. The second option goes well with a parquet board or other natural floor covering. However, natural wood skirting has many disadvantages. It is quite capricious, can be covered with scratches, dents and other defects. Wooden plinth is easy to break, so its plastic counterparts are more often used. Such floor finishing elements are more durable, easier to install. Plastic plinth is easy to handle, install and dismantle. It also does not require painting.
Processing natural material
Considering the installation of floors in stalinka, it should be noted the need to choose the right building materials. They must be properly processed. Otherwise, the natural material will be deformed and quickly lose its attractive appearance.
Wood that has been poorly dried will eventually lose moisture. Because of this, its dimensions will change significantly. Planks will no longer form a single smooth surface. In some places, their edges will protrude above the surface, cracks will appear.
Also, without proper processing, wood can become moldy, fungus, especially if the room has high humidity. It can be attacked by insects and rodents. This significantly degrades the appearance and reduces the life of the flooring.
Therefore, during the repair of a parquet floor or other finishes made from natural materials, you need to purchase wood that is well dried and impregnated with appropriate compounds. It is worth noting that it will not work to dry natural material on your own. For this, special equipment is used.
But you can impregnate wood with antiseptic and fire-fighting solutions yourself. To do this, before starting installation, it is necessary to process it with special compounds. They are purchased at a hardware store. The antiseptic will protect the natural material from fungus and damage by insects. Fire retardant helps protect wood from fire. This is a mandatory fire safety requirement.
Minor repairs
It is not always necessary to dismantle the floor in stalinka. If the defects are relatively small, the coating is still sufficientstrong, there are no squeaks and deflections, you need to perform minor repairs. First, the entire floor is inspected, revealing visible damage. In these places, a layer of paint or varnish is removed. Professional builders recommend removing the decorative layer from the entire floor covering. Otherwise, you may not notice other damage under the paint.
It is also worth considering that the new layer of decorative coating will be different from the old one. Therefore, the appearance of such a floor will be unaesthetic. To avoid this, the paintwork is removed from the entire surface of the floor. To do this, use a scraping machine.
When performing minor repairs to the floor in stalinka, you need to clean the places with defects from dirt. Next, you need wood putty. Its color should match the flooring. Cracks are filled with putty, creating an even layer on the surface. It dries within a day.
Then the floor surface is polished. First, coarse sandpaper is applied, and then fine. The floor is then washed and dried. After that, it can be primed and painted with a suitable composition. If the baseboard is damaged, it is removed completely. It is necessary to mount new decorative strips around the perimeter. The choice of their color must be approached responsibly. You can choose a contrasting or wood-like shade.
Medium repairs
How to level the floor in stalinka? In this case, you need to carry out an average repair. Also, similar work must be done if the floor began to sag and creak. The reason for this may be a rotten log or board. This is easy to determine. You need to remove the nails and get the board. If there are no defects on it, the reason is the lag.
During a medium repair, the entire floor will not have to be dismantled. If the lag is rotten in only one place, you can substitute a lining under it in this place. After that, you will need to level the floor.
The problematic place needs to be cut out. A piece of timber of the appropriate size is installed here. The board is mounted on top. It is fastened with a lag using self-tapping screws. Floor level needs to be leveled.
Often lags do not need to be changed. Only some of the floor boards need to be replaced. Select material with appropriate dimensions.
If the floor is made of lath, you can cut out a rotten board with an electric jigsaw. Instead, an edged board with the appropriate dimensions is installed here. If the problem is in the lag, you also need to cut out a section of the rail. But more often in this case it is required to disassemble the floor completely.
When the boards are mounted on logs, leveled with a building level, you need to seal the gaps between them with putty. When the mortar dries, the surface is sanded and painted.
Major overhaul
If the coating creaks a lot, there are significant deformations and defects, significant height differences, etc., it is necessary to overhaul the floors in stalinka. This procedure can be done in different ways. This takes into account the floor material.
So, if there was a woodenceiling, you can lay a wooden structure made of logs and boards or level with a screed.
First you need to dismantle the old coating. Remove the flooring from the boards, remove the logs. Between them there can be a lot of debris, dust and dirt. All excess must be removed. If the lags are not completely damaged, they can be repaired. It is important that their ends are strong. Often, even in old houses, the logs are in fairly good condition.
If a decision is made to install a screed, it should be light. It is impossible to fill in too thick a layer, as the load on the floor will increase. You need a screed up to 4 cm thick. Too thin a layer will not be strong, so it will not work either.
First, waterproofing is spread over the surface of the prepared floor. She must go to the walls. A layer of expanded clay with a thickness of 10-20 cm is poured on it. It needs to be leveled, rammed. Expanded clay is poured with cement milk for bonding.
Metal mesh is stretched over the entire surface of the floor. It should have cells measuring 5x5 cm. The mesh will lie on the logs. Next, they lay (do not fill) a 4 cm layer of screed. With its help, the floor surface is leveled.
Using OSB boards
Stalin floor repair can be done without using a screed. This option is easier and safer. When using a screed, there is a possibility that the weight will be calculated incorrectly. Because of this, a significant load will act on the overlap. Using OSB boards is the best option when there is a hardwood floor.
First, you need to remove the heavy debris that was under the floor. It is necessary to dial the frame across the beams. Maintain a step of 40 cm between the supporting structural elements. Differences are leveled with linings. They are made from planks.
After that, new lags are mounted flat. To do this, use a new bar with a cross section of 5x10 cm. It must be dry, properly processed. Holes are drilled in boards. Their diameter must correspond to the size of the screws. It is best to use hardware 10-12 cm for these purposes. With their help, boards are fixed in logs.
After that, two layers of OSB boards are mounted. You can use plywood for these purposes. The thickness of the plates should be 15 mm. They are laid so that the seams of the upper and lower rows do not match. If the old log has a difference in height, it must be leveled with a crate. To do this, use the building level.
Repair of the floor in stalinka is completed when the top coat is laid on top of the OSB sheets. Most often it is a laminate. Parquet board can also be used.
Reinforced concrete floor
The easiest way is to repair the floor in Stalin with reinforced concrete floors. In this case, it is less likely that the overlap will not withstand the weight of the screed. It should be noted that the maximum load in this case is 200 kg / m². It is best to use a light screed in this case. Expanded clay is also used as a heater.
Need to prepare the right materials. These are cement, sand and plasticizer. You will also need to purchase the appropriate amount of expanded clay (for a layer of 10-15 cm). The reinforcing mesh has 5x5 cm cells. Beacons will be needed, polyethylene waterproofing.
Waterproofing can be applied in one or two layers, depending on the thickness of the material. It is not recommended to replace expanded clay with polyethylene balls. They are more expensive, and the weight of the screed will increase. Its layer with this installation will have to be increased.
Installation procedure
Waterproofing is laid on the prepared floor. If you need to combine several sheets, they are overlapped, fastened with a stapler and fixed with construction tape. Next, a layer of expanded clay is poured. It is carefully aligned. Lay beacons on the level. Next, a layer of screed is poured. It must dry properly. To do this, it is covered with plastic wrap and watered in the process of solidification. After 3-4 weeks, it will be possible to mount the top coat. It can be any material, such as parquet, laminate, ceramic tiles or other options.
