Repairing an apartment is a laborious job. Especially when it comes to global changes with the replacement of electrical wiring, communication pipes, windows and doors. Of course, this type of work should be trusted only to experienced professionals who have the appropriate skills. However, at a certain stage of repair, you can get involved in the process of decorating and updating an apartment yourself, in particular, when work on finishing the walls begins, which will allow you to somewhat reduce the costs associated with repairs. And who, if not the owner of the home, will approach this issue with maximum responsibility. So, if you want to know how to level the walls with your own hands - go ahead! A short course in one of the types of finishing works will not allow you to master the skills of an experienced plasterer, but turning the surface of the walls into a perfectly smooth canvas will help.
Plaster or drywall
Alignment of walls can be done in several ways, each of which depends on the degree of surface distortion. The most common among them, but not the easiest, is plaster. Everyone can master this leveling method with their own hands, provided that all the points for preparing and applying the mortar to the walls are observed. This method has several advantages: the ability to correct the unimaginable curvature of the surface, excellent water resistance and soundproofing properties of the solution, the incredible strength of the coating. There is also a method of leveling walls using drywall, which is used if necessary to hide obvious differences in the leveled surface. However, the sheets of this finishing material are not water resistant, and as for the soundproofing properties of this material, it amplifies the sound rather than absorbs it.
Steps of work
Before leveling the walls with your own hands, you need to do the following preparatory work: first, remove the old coating (wallpaper, paint, old plaster). Then it is necessary to scrupulously evaluate the degree of curvature of the treated surface. The dimensions of the irregularities can be determined using the building level and the cord (this applies to the horizontal surface). Irregularities of the vertical are found out with the help of a plumb line. The differences allowed for leveling with plaster or other building mixture are 3-5 cm. Making sure that the use of plasterappropriate, proceed to the application of a primer layer on the walls. A special “cement milk” is applied under the cement mixtures, the composition of which is practically no different from the plaster solution.
Aligning walls with beacons
Some experts, before leveling the walls with their own hands, recommend installing the so-called beacon lines. At their core, these are ordinary metal profiles that serve as "rails" for the rule. How to properly align the walls with their help? Beacon lines are attached strictly vertically. A building mixture is applied between them. Further, the mixture applied to the surface of the wall is leveled with a rule or a perfectly even stick of a suitable size. However, fixing the beacons takes a certain amount of time, which greatly increases the already long alignment process, although the result fully justifies their use. But if you want to know how to level the walls with your own hands, eliminating possible flaws, then familiarizing yourself with the technology of using lighthouses will not be superfluous.
