Construction and overhaul of a house, apartment, any industrial and office space, even outdoors, necessarily includes a very important and fundamental step - pouring the floor. Since the flooring is exposed to a lot of various loads, it must be strong, even and durable. The aesthetic side is also important, because the floor is that part of the room that catches the eye immediately upon entering. Therefore, it is necessary to make it beautiful, neat, emphasizing the interior of the room and the apartment as a whole.
Self-leveling screed benefits
Such a screed before pouring just concrete has a number of significant advantages:
- usually does not need beacons to level the surface (they are used only in rarecases);
- makes the surface very even and smooth;
- very rarely shrinks and cracks,;
- It takes less time to dry.
An additional positive quality can be considered the ease of installation of a self-leveling floor. The construction of self-levelling compounds can be brought to zero without the use of reinforcement.
With all the benefits and growing popularity of self-levelling screed, this is a flooring option that you should definitely consider. It will be a little more expensive, but will pay for the price with its durability and strength.
All these positive qualities, advantages of choice and a guarantee of durability from the manufacturer are confirmed by numerous user reviews. But they will be available only if you do everything according to the instructions. Choose the right and most suitable mixture for the room or exterior, observe the ratios when preparing the mortar, do everything quickly and listen to the recommendations and rules for pouring the floor with self-leveling compounds.
Classically, flooring standards used an inexpensive mineral floor, which consists of gypsum and cement. But now such a wide variety of manufacturers and varieties of floors, especially finishing decorative ones, is replacing the usual flooring. So everyone can choose the right flooring for their soul and pocket.
Flaws
Self-leveling floor screed hasand some shortcomings:
- It is necessary to prepare the base - close all cracks well, remove dust, remove debris, dry the surface well.
- If the screed fails for some reason, it is quite difficult to remove it.
- The cost of this material is relatively high.
- Toxicity. The plasticizers included in the composition can release chemical compounds that are quite harmful to human he alth into the air. That is why during the drying of the screed, the room must be well ventilated. When working, be sure to use personal protective equipment.
What to consider when choosing a gender
When choosing a gender, consider:
- The volume of the floor covering (taking into account the thickness, length, width of the floor and differences).
- Type of cover (what the subfloor is made of).
- Humidity in the room.
Varieties of mixtures for preparing a solution for pouring
Self-leveling screed comes in two types:
- For a rough finish - flooring is done only to level the surface before decorative finishing.
- Thin-layer for finishing.
Draft fill composition
To fill the subfloor use:
- Binder cement or gypsum mixture.
- Quartz sand or expanded clay gravel.
- Plasticizers, polymer additives.
The rough self-leveling screed is designed to performthe role of the floor base for decorative coating - laminate, parquet, linoleum, tiles, natural stone, which should be laid strictly on flat surfaces.
The rough fill should provide the most even coverage to continue the fine finish, especially if the final floor pour is planned.
At the moment, there is a very large variety of types and types of self-leveling floors. Therefore, the classification is made according to several key characteristics for choosing a mixture.
According to the purpose of application
Self-leveling floor screed, depending on the purpose of use, is:
- Standard - coarse alignment.
- Final - final preparation.
- Roveler - thin layer.
By use
Depending on the area of use, self-leveling floor screeds are:
- Internal (house, apartment, industrial premises, organizations, shopping centers, office premises).
- External (outdoor decoration, open spaces without walls or ceilings).
- Universal (suitable for any indoor and outdoor decoration).
According to application methods
Self-leveling cement screed can be applied:
- Manually (with a spatula).
- Special mechanisms (professional tools).
- Combined (applied with a spatula and leveled with specialized tools).
By scope
Self-leveling dry screeds are:
- Forliving quarters.
- For street work.
- Professional.
By type of binder
The following types are distinguished:
- Epoxy - indoors and outdoors.
- Polyurethane - for pouring a 3D floor.
- Methyl methacrylate - for large industrial premises.
- Polymer-cement - well withstand temperature extremes and other climatic conditions, heavy loads.
For decorative qualities:
- Opaque.
- Transparent (usually 3d finish floors).
Thickness:
- Thin - self-leveling screed thickness up to two centimeters.
- Filled with the addition of various stones, shells for strength and beauty.
Types of finishing self-leveling decorative self-leveling floor differ in the materials from which they were made:
- Gypsum. Used in dry residential areas such as a house or apartment. It has one feature - it dries very quickly. The base material must be concrete.
- Gypsum cement. It is used not only in residential premises, but also on balconies, in the construction of baths. The surface of this type of floor will be rough. The base material is concrete and wood.
- Polyurethane - cement. It can be used for filling the floor on the street, in not completely closed buildings (veranda, gazebo), in rooms for various purposes and with any humidity. The surface of such a floor will also be slightly rough. The base material must be either concrete or wood.
- Acrylic - cement. For any premises and street. The surface is rough. Base material - concrete, wood.
Producers of self-levelling screed compounds
In the modern market there is a great abundance of manufacturers of self-leveling compounds. This is because this type of floor repair is very common.
Five of the most popular and trusted companies for the production of self-levelling flooring compounds worth highlighting:
- Knauf. This manufacturer was at the origins of the creation of self-leveling floors and is a leader in sales of building materials. It is based on mixtures of fine-grained gypsum, so that the floors will be very durable. An additional component was quartz sand, which provides resistance to abrasion of floors. Prices start from 200 rubles for a package of 20 kilograms. Knauf monolithic floors can become the basis for bonded, insulating, dividing, warm floors. Also, using this mixture, you can make a false floor, which allows you to level the floor without weighting and create a niche for laying various cables and structures in the house.
- "Vetonite". They produce a high-tech mixture of cement and limestone for the final finishing of floors. Optimal price/quality ratio. At a cost of 350 rubles per 25 kilogramsprovides perfect evenness, excellent moisture resistance. They produce a mixture for both roughing and finishing. Any decorative coating is easily mounted.
- Ceresit. These mixtures do an excellent job with large differences, are resistant to moisture and temperature changes. Can be used for underfloor heating. The pricing policy starts from 200 rubles for a package of 20 kilograms.
- "Bolars". The products of this manufacturer are distinguished by high heat and sound insulation. Price from 300 rubles, sold in packs of 25 kilograms.
- "Nivelir-Express". Finishing coatings for any room: fills cracks, eliminates even large height differences. Sold in 20kg bags, prices vary by region.
Procedure of work and recommendations for floor preparation
Let's take a look at how a do-it-yourself self-levelling screed is made.
When working on creating self-leveling floors, you should strictly follow the recommendations and instructions, otherwise the construction will turn out to be fragile, uneven, unreliable.
Self-leveling floor mortar dries out very quickly, so laying, creating and preparing the base must be completed before applying the flooring compound. Depending on the room, it is possible to lay insulation and the contours of the underfloor heating structure under the fill. For floors with a wooden base, buy and spread paper sheets for pouring.
In advance, you need to decide what you need to buy for arranging a self-leveling floor (self-leveling screed), and prepare the entiretools needed for the job. At one time, it is necessary to fill in one room, from this calculation, direct the mixture and calculate the time.
Self-leveling screed dries depending on the type. The instructions should indicate the minimum time that floors should not be disturbed. Approximately it takes 8-10 hours. The next day, you can either lay / pour the decorative part of the flooring, or continue the repair.
The process of calculating the amount of material to buy is very important. You should start by searching and collecting the necessary information:
- Room area, floor area in each room (if living space).
- The thickness of the layer that will be required to level the surface;
- Floor drops, cracks.
- The volume of the floor, taking into account the required thickness.
- Density of the selected mixture (usually indicated on the package).
- Composition of the mixture (the minimum thickness depends on this, the possibility of closing cracks).
- Consumption (indicated on the packaging, calculated from the manufacturer, not always correct, but you need to take into account when making calculations).
For ideal conditions, we can assume that the consumption is 1 liter of water per 1 square meter. The calculation is adjusted based on the information collected, the density of the bulk self-leveling screed is especially important.
Preparatory work
Before pouring, preparatory work is required:
- Wash floor/substrate free of dirt, mortar residue, oil stains, etc.
- Dry, butdo not overdry.
- Fix cracks if possible, primer.
- Return the horizontal level of finding the top point.
- Stick around the perimeter of a damper tape, which is a band of foam polymer, roughly speaking - polyethylene. It compensates for concrete expansion to prevent wall damage.
- In doorways, attach metal profile strips so that the mortar does not flow out of the room, and relative horizontal alignment is ensured.
Preparing a solution from the purchased mixture is very simple, a beginner can easily handle it. But it should be borne in mind that you need to adequately follow the instructions, you can change the parameters of the ratio of the mixture and the liquid for dilution, if it is clear that the solution is too liquid or thick. Because such an imbalance will affect the quality of the created flooring.
Approximate step-by-step process for preparing the mixture:
- Carefully read the mixing instructions on the packaging.
- It is necessary to dilute the mixture in a large container.
- Stir with a construction mixer at least twice: when diluted with liquid, then wait 10 minutes and mix again.
- Remove air bubbles with a spiked roller after pouring, otherwise the service life, reliability and stress resistance of the flooring will be reduced.
Surface application recommendations
- Start the procedure for pouring levelingfloor must be from the farthest corner and move towards the door.
- You can additionally even out the layer thickness with a spatula.
- Do everything as quickly as possible, as the solution dries quickly.
- But don't sacrifice neatness and beauty.
- You can only walk on the liquid floor in special shoes - short shoes - in the process of expelling air after pouring the floor with a special roller.
- Then leave the floor alone while it dries. Approximately 8-10 hours. For more expensive products from branded manufacturers, this time may be reduced, which will be written on the back of the package.
The device of self-leveling screeds is a simple job. Subject to the above recommendations, it is quite possible to do it yourself.
