The question of how to level a concrete floor is equally relevant for owners of apartments in old houses and for residents of new buildings. The first ones are looking for an answer because the basic coverage in their living quarters is in a deplorable state due to the already fairly long service life (yes, perhaps it has never been good, even in the years of its “youth”), but the second needs to know this by the reason is that, despite the use of new technologies, the quality of finishing even in newly commissioned buildings is still far from ideal. While modern floor coverings sometimes require an almost flat surface. How to create acceptable conditions for them? What to do? How to level a concrete floor and how best to do it? You will find the answer to all these questions in our review.
Evaluate the existing surface and choose a new floorcover
It is worth noting that the alignment procedure can sometimes be quite expensive and quite lengthy. That is why, in order to reduce material and time costs, you need to be able to correctly assess the situation. That is, carefully examine the existing base and decide which flooring will be used. As for the first. The base surface after all can be different. Sometimes it is in quite good condition, with the exception of some places covered with cracks. Or there are only small protrusions and depressions on it. In such cases, you can get by with little bloodshed by leveling the floor locally, as they say, according to indications. If there are significant defects on the base coat, as well as huge height differences, you will naturally have to level from corner to corner. Now as for the finishing materials. Some floor coverings are very demanding on the base. Take the same laminate. Even a slight difference of some five millimeters can negate all the finishing work. A laminate laid on such a basis in a year can simply deform and crack at the seams. While linoleum is not afraid of such minor defects. So it is from the choice of the finishing floor covering and directly the very state of the base base that you need to build on, being in search of an answer to the question of how and with what to level the concrete floor.
Irregularity options that need to be addressed
So, which concrete floor is to be leveled?It is imperative to put in order a base that has:
- Roughness, chips, various cracks.
- All kinds of protrusions or pits that are visible during visual inspection.
- Slope or drop in height.
Depending on the existing defects, choose the alignment method and the material needed for the work.
Types of alignment
If the floor does not have any special differences in height, but has some defects such as cracks, then they are sealed with a self-made compound or epoxy concrete, while doing some preliminary work to prepare the base. Local protrusions and pits close up in the same way. Elevation differences are eliminated by dry screeding, leveling with beacons or using a bulk composition.
Next - more details about all types of work.
Get rid of cracks
Such defects can appear both on the old foundation and on the newly poured one, if the stages or requirements of the technological process have been violated. Therefore, every master needs to know how to get rid of cracks in the concrete floor. So, you can’t just cover them from above. First, you need to carefully tap the entire surface of the crack, and in a very peculiar way - you need to drive the chisel into the defect as deeply as possible with a hammer. Thanks to this procedure, you, firstly, will be able to detect chips hidden under the defect, and secondly, create the desired gap for the mixture. After the preparatory work has been carried out, it is necessary tocarefully remove all pieces of concrete, clean the cavities from dirt and dust, fill with water. After drying, the entire surface must be primed. Grund composition is ideal for these purposes. Then you need to mix cement grade M400 with water. The solution should have the consistency of liquid sour cream. And then you should add liquid glass or PVA glue to it. The amount of additional ingredient should be equal to the volume of the prepared mixture. After that, you need to fill the cracks with the resulting solution, wait for it to dry and grind the surface. Quite small cracks can not be expanded, but simply repaired with tile adhesive of any brand, not forgetting to prime first.
Close up the holes
If the floor surface is sufficiently flat, then it is not necessary to carry out the screed completely. It is enough just to get rid of the holes. To do this, their walls and bottom must be treated with a grinder to remove chips and fragile layers. After that, the pit must be cleaned of pieces of concrete, dirt and dust, filled with water, primed after drying. At the bottom, you need to pour dry fine-grained crushed stone in a fairly thin layer, and then repair the defect with epoxy concrete. The domestic Claypol composition is perfect for these purposes. We fill them with a hole so that the solution does not reach the top of a centimeter by two. After drying (approximately after an hour), we compare the surface with a special putty for concrete. Experts recommend paying attention to the Elakor-ED brand.
As for the bumps, it is enough to grind them with a grinder,clean, prime, and then level the surface using the same Elakor.
Dry screed
How and with what can you level a concrete floor if you have little time and don’t really want to mess with mortars? Make a dry screed. This procedure is quite simple, so almost any home master can handle it. The principle is the following. The base base is thoroughly cleaned of dirt and dust. Then a waterproofing film is laid on it (you can use ordinary thick polyethylene). Then, a dry leveling mixture is poured over the entire surface with a layer five centimeters thick. It can be made of expanded clay, granulate, quartz sand or even polystyrene foam. And from above they are already laid on logs and fastened with screws either plywood, or fiberboard sheets, or moisture-resistant drywall. But it is best to use a special sheet material called "Superpol" for these purposes. After a dry screed, you can almost immediately lay the finishing floor covering. It is for home craftsmen that experts recommend first of all to consider this method, since you can level the concrete floor with your own hands using this method without any problems.
Screed on lighthouses
Since it is sometimes almost impossible to level a concrete floor screed using less expensive methods, you will have to consider a method such as pouring a new floor using beacons. As for the financial side of the issue, it is not so terrible, but the time-consuming procedurewill require significant In addition, in this case, you need to have at least minimal skills in working with lighthouses and cement mortar. What should be done? First of all, clean and prime the base. Then mark up, preferably using a laser level, and stretch between the walls in the direction from the window to the door the guide threads for the beacons. And after that, install perforated guides along them on the floor, using cement (you can use gypsum) mortar for fixing. The step between each beacon should not be more than one meter. After that, you need to prepare a cement mortar M400 (the amount of water will be indicated on the package), pour it between the installed profiles and level it with the rule, moving backwards in the direction from the window to the door. Such a screed dries for a long time, in addition, for the first three days it must be moistened with water. However, it is this method that is quite budgetary and allows you to get a really even and durable coating. Therefore, if you have enough time and do not know, for example, how to level a concrete floor under a laminate, take this method into service.
As for lighthouses, some masters leave them inside. However, experts recommend that you still get the profile, and seal the voids with tile adhesive. The budget, but no less durable Lux composition is perfect for these purposes.
Self-leveling floor
If the height difference is no more than five centimeters, and there are free funds, greatsuitable for arranging the base surface leveling mixture for concrete floors. It is quite expensive, but it is easy to work with it, in addition, the alignment procedure does not take much time. As for technology, you need to start, as always, with preparation. The base substrate needs to be cleaned and primed. Then you need to mark up using a laser level, drawing lines on the walls along which the upper boundaries of the new floor will pass. After that, you need to mix the solution according to the instructions on the package. The best mixtures for leveling, according to experts, are self-leveling Ceresit CN 69 and Ceresit CN 68, Vetonit 3000, EK FT03 FINISH. Many craftsmen also praise more budgetary domestic mixtures produced under the Prospectors brand. So, we start leveling from the far corner, pouring the solution onto the floor and leveling the coating (according to the markings applied) first with the rule, and then with a special roller with needles.
How to level a concrete floor for laminate flooring
Laminate is perhaps the most capricious flooring that requires an almost perfectly even base. What is the best way to level the concrete floor under it? By and large, in this case, any of the three methods described above will do. However, there is another option. You can try leveling the concrete floor with plywood. Unlike the same tiles, the laying of laminate does not require the use of mortar, so the presence of wooden sheets under this coating will not affect the quality of the underlying base. And the method itselfAlignment but quite simple and fast. The concrete base is cleaned of dirt, primed, after which sheets of moisture-resistant plywood are laid on it without any fasteners (a thickness of 10 mm will be enough), and according to the same principle as the laminate (so that the seams of the elements do not match, but are staggered). After that, another layer is laid, but so that its joints do not coincide with those of the lower layer. This plywood is already attached to the bottom sheets with self-tapping screws. After laying, you need to go through the seams with a grinder in order to final level the subfloor.
A few words about the loggia
On the loggia, you can also use all the methods described above. However, many experts consider the leveling of the concrete floor in this room to be very attractive using the same plywood, but on logs. What do they base their choice on? The fact that thanks to this method it is possible to additionally insulate the floor of the loggia by laying the appropriate material between the lags. Say, polystyrene, mineral wool. Or professional, but more expensive TechnoNIKOL insulation.
… about the garage
It is quite clear that no one is laying laminate or parquet in this room. The floor here is usually made of concrete. The main requirements for the base are that it be even. And, of course, durable. How to level a concrete floor in a garage? It is best to make a cement screed, and then cover it with a special layer of hardener - the so-called topping - which will protect the surface from damage. The best compositions are considered mixtures of Caparol-Disbon, Neodur (Korodur), MasterTop (BASF) and domestic "Herkulit" and "Reflor".
… and about ceramics
If you plan to lay ceramic tiles on concrete and the base itself is not particularly curved, you can level the floor in the process by adding more or less tile adhesive under level control. True, this method is applicable only if the differences are no more than three centimeters. In addition, if you decide to resort to this method, you need to buy tile adhesive only of high quality, with improved characteristics, for example, designed for laying porcelain stoneware. Ceresit is ideal for these purposes.
Conclusion
We tried to tell in sufficient detail about how and what is better to level the concrete floor in one case or another. In addition, they also touched upon the issues of leveling technology, named the brands of the best materials used in this type of work. We hope that now you can easily choose the right option for your particular case. After all, you already know as well as any professional how and with what to level the concrete floor.
