Arrangement of the floor in the garage is an important stage of construction work. Higher demands are placed on the quality of materials and workmanship. To cut costs, many garage owners decide to do all the work themselves. Almost anyone can do this job. Next, detailed instructions will be considered on how to fill the floor in the garage yourself.
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So, we are building a garage on our own. If such a decision was made, you need to familiarize yourself with all the intricacies of the process. The floor in the garage is exposed to various adverse effects. Therefore, increased requirements are put forward for him. It must be strong enough and reliable. Serious loads will act on the surface of the base. Therefore, certain requirements are put forward for the quality of materials.
Also, if we build a garage with our own hands, we need to choose non-combustible coatings. In the garage there are constantly different combustible substances. When they ignite, the floor should notsupport this process. It must also be resistant to chemicals. Paint, oil or gasoline that has fallen on the base eats into the structure of the material. Therefore, it should not lose its strength characteristics due to such influences.
It is also worth noting that the floor in the garage should not collapse under the influence of both moisture and too dry air. The characteristics of the material should allow periodic cleaning here. Also, the floor must be durable.
Some garage owners pay a lot of attention to the aesthetics of their flooring. After all, the garage often becomes a place of friendly gatherings, relaxation. Therefore, the floor should perform not only a practical function, but also be quite beautiful. For this, a special decorative ceramic tile is used. It must have a high strength index. The tile allows you to further strengthen the base of the garage. When calculating the estimate, this fact must be taken into account.
Most car owners prefer to simply fill the base with concrete. Cement-based floors are a classic. So far, no other materials have been invented that would surpass it in terms of performance and affordable price.
Alternative
There are different floor options in the garage. An alternative to concrete can be self-leveling or self-leveling mixes. They cost an order of magnitude more expensive than a cement screed. However, with the help of such materials, it is possible to achieve high aesthetic indicators of the base, as well as unique performance characteristics.
There are several varieties of these compositions. When choosing how to cover a concrete floor in a garage or just a prepared base, you need to consider the options below. One of the possible types of garage coating is epoxy. It contains resins in its structure, as well as quartz sand.
Epoxy compositions allow you to create a solid base that is resistant to mechanical, chemical and temperature influences. It will not be covered with scratches and cracks. The coating is waterproof, so it is used even when arranging garages on soils with close occurrence near the surface of groundwater.
Another option is polyurethane self-leveling floors. This is a fairly flexible coating, which is characterized by a long service life. It is impossible to split a polyurethane surface (which cannot be said about epoxy varieties). This type of flooring is used in cold regions where there are severe frosts.
You can also fill the floor with methyl methacrylate. This is the most expensive type of material. It can be poured even in severe frost. The surface created from methyl methacrylate is durable and strong. However, it is quite flexible. The mixture dries quickly, which makes it difficult to work with it. This option is not suitable for self-filling.
Related Content
Considering how to cover the concrete floor in the garage, it is worth saying a few words about the materials that are often used during this process. Often the floor is equippeddirectly on the ground. Therefore, to create a solid foundation, you will need to purchase a sufficient amount of additional materials.
First of all, crushed stone is required. It must be fine-grained. Also, instead of crushed stone, expanded clay can be used. This material will allow you to equip an insulated garage. Crushed stone or expanded clay are mandatory when arranging a screed. They fall asleep on the ground to create a shock-absorbing cushion.
Also, to create a foundation for a garage with your own hands, you will need to purchase fittings. It can be a finished metal mesh. You can assemble it from individual rods and a special wire for fixing. Instead of fittings, special galvanized steel profiles can be used. They are subsequently used to install beacons.
Be sure to purchase a waterproofing film. It can be roofing material, thick polyethylene or other special materials. For the screed, you need to prepare cement of a grade of at least M300, sand and gravel. You can add a plasticizer to the composition. It will improve the process of pouring and drying the screed. She will gain strength properly.
From the tools, be sure to prepare a concrete mixer, spatula and shovel. You will also need a rule and a level. To finish the edges of the viewing hole, you need to purchase corners. Its walls can be laid out with bricks.
Arrangement of a viewing hole
Before you pour the floor in the garage with your own hands, you need to equip a viewing hole. The pit must be dug at the stage of creating the foundation. In this case, you can dig not manually,but with the use of special earth-moving equipment.
The walls of the recess will need to be strengthened. For this, concrete mortar or brick is used. First, the bottom must be tamped and carefully leveled. Next, gravel is laid out on the surface with a layer of 4 cm. To level the backfill, you must first install columns with marks around the perimeter of the recess. They should be 1m apart from each other.
After the gravel, a layer of sand is poured and compacted. It should be 10 cm thick. Further, waterproofing material is distributed along the bottom and walls. With the help of special adhesive tape, individual pieces of the film are hermetically connected. It is overlapped.
After that, a reinforcing mesh in 2 layers is installed along the walls and floor of the pit. One layer is adjacent to the waterproofing, and the second is at a distance of 8 cm from it. After that, the floor of the inspection hole is poured. To do this, use a solution with cement, gravel and sand. The thickness of the screed here should be about 8-9 cm. The layer is leveled and left to dry completely. After that, formwork is made from boards and the walls are poured. The form is collected in layers. The first of them should be no more than 50 cm. In order for the boards to hold, spacers are installed between them. When the layer is filled, the formwork is increased by another 50 cm.
The formwork should rise above the pit to the same level that the floor will be poured directly into the garage.
Preparing the base for the screed
After arranging the pit, you need to start creating the foundation for the garage. With your own hands you will needperform a series of actions. Previously, the soil in the garage must be removed to a depth of about 35 cm. It is taken out of the room. The surface is qualitatively rammed. Further, a layer of gravel is distributed over the surface. He is rammed. Sand is poured on top. The layers must be perfectly even. The total height of the gravel-sand cushion should be about 10 cm. Another layer of gravel or (even better) expanded clay is laid on top of the sand.
Waterproofing is laid out on the leveled surface. It should go on the walls of the room by 15-20 cm. A mesh of reinforcement is laid on top of the waterproofing. It is secured with staples. Beacons are installed above the grid. To do this, use a special solution that dries quickly, or welding. Beacons must be compared with the height of the inspection pit curb. Sometimes in such rooms they make a slight slope. It is only 1-2º. Tilt towards goal.
Pouring concrete
How to pour concrete floor in the garage? This is a responsible job. You need to complete all the steps correctly. Otherwise, the concrete will not be strong. To do this, use a thick solution. It contains a lot of gravel. In this case, the base will be strong, able to withstand heavy mechanical loads.
It is best to order ready-made cement at the factory. Special equipment will deliver it to the specified address. Next, the cement will be poured onto the prepared site. This approach greatly simplifies the work of pouring the screed. When the mixture enters the site prepared in advance, the owner of the garagelevel the layer with a shovel. Further, the rule is to lead along the lighthouses. This will create a perfectly flat surface.
If the garage is spacious enough, it will be impossible to fill it all at once. The base in this case is divided into several sections. They are poured sequentially.
Some owners decide to make their own cement mortar. This will require a concrete mixer. The solution consists of the following components:
- sand - 3 parts;
- cement - 1 part;
- gravel - 3 parts.
Dry ingredients are placed in a concrete mixer. Water is gradually added here. The mixture should resemble thick sour cream in consistency. If pouring is carried out manually, the floor area must be divided into squares using formwork. Each of them is poured separately. A metal wheelbarrow will be required to deliver the cement to the installation site.
This method of pouring requires more time and effort. The thickness of the screed should be at least 6 cm. It is better that this figure is 10 cm. In the process of leveling the screed, you need to periodically pierce it with a shovel. This will prevent the formation of voids. If a plasticizer is added to the composition, the screed will be easier to lay. Air pockets will not spawn in this case.
When the screed is filled, it is left to dry. After 7 days, it will be possible to move on the surface of the concrete.
Finishing fill
When the main screed is ready, you can finally level the surface. For this you need to purchasespecial cement self-leveling mortar. It consists of cement, sand and special building glue. How to pour a self-leveling self-leveling floor? To do this, read the manufacturer's instructions on the package.
When the mixture is ready, it is poured in a thin layer on the surface of the dried screed. This work can be carried out a month after pouring the rough base. The solution will take the necessary form on its own. But he still needs help. In order for the surface to be even, and no air bubbles remain in the thickness of the solution, the newly poured self-leveling mixture is passed several times with a spiked roller. This will evenly distribute the composition over the surface.
The presence of voids in the thickness of the solidified mortar significantly reduces the strength of the coating. Therefore, the quality of the final result depends on the correct filling. Knowing the basic building rules, how to pour a self-leveling self-leveling floor, you can create a durable coating yourself.
A few recommendations
There are several recommendations on how to pour concrete on the floor in the garage. If the owner of the garage fills the floor in such a structure, then it would be desirable to create a concrete platform in front of the gate. This will allow you to simply drive out and drive into the garage.
It is also worth considering that over time, the cement coating is subject to abrasion and mechanical wear. Abrasive dust appears on its surface. To extend the life of the floor, it is covered with ceramic tiles or simplycolor. This prevents the development of adverse processes. Such actions will also simplify the cleaning process. The surface is primed before painting.
Instead of paint, you can treat the floor with a special composition on a silicate composition. It's called a sealer. The substance will penetrate into the pores, causing certain chemical reactions. The strength of the floor in this case will increase by 1.5-2 times. Dust will not form on the surface. The floor will become water-repellent. When considering how to make a concrete floor in a garage, all the subtleties of this process must be considered in detail. This will create a strong, durable base in the garage.
Features of self-leveling floors
If you want to fill the floor in the garage with the help of special bulk compounds, you need to consider the features of this process. There are several recommendations on how to get the job done right and inexpensively. You will need to create a coating of 2 layers. The bottom layer will consist of a concrete screed. Its thickness can be quite large (10-15 cm). The procedure for pouring it is exactly the same as for arranging a concrete floor. 1-4 mm of self-leveling coating will be poured onto the prepared base.
How to upload?
To fill the floor in the garage with an epoxy, polymer composition, you need to prepare a perfectly even base. The screed is sanded and dedusted. The mixture is poured onto the base and leveled with a spiked roller. If the layer is very thin, use a brush. This is a simple job that even a non-professional can handle. In the manufacture of a mixture for pouring, you must strictly follow the requirementsmanufacturer's instructions.
Having considered how to fill the floor in the garage, you can create a strong, beautiful and durable foundation with your own hands. It will last for many years, will not collapse under the influence of adverse factors.
