In order for the floor in an apartment or house to be even, strictly horizontal and not creak under your feet when walking, it is necessary to correctly and correctly carry out its screed. This term refers to the leveling layer located between the base of the floor and the finishing coating. What are the methods of its device? Screed floor: how to do the right thing? Answers to these questions are necessary for every repair owner on his own.
Screed floor: how to do various methods
Screed is an important stage of construction and repair work. Finishing and finishing manipulations are carried out only after its device, as the coupler performs the most important functions:
- creation of a completely flat base under the floor covering;
- hardening of building structures;
- improving the insulation of the room;
- improvement of sound insulation properties;
- alignment of loads on the floor slab.
Before you make a floor screed, it is necessary to determine which of its available types is most suitable in this situation:
- classic concrete;
- self-leveling;
- dry;
- semi-dry.
Each of these types has a different technology of laying and involves the use of different materials.
Refers to a wet look. In the course of work, a large amount of water is used, which makes it necessary to foresee the waterproofing of floors before the start of work. To perform all the steps you need tools: laser, hydraulic or ordinary levels, tape measure, trowel or trowel, usually a knife, beacons, a drill with a nozzle for mixing the solution.
The preparatory work includes the following steps: dismantling of the old coating and screed residues, cleaning and degreasing the floor slabs, rubbing and filling of defects and cracks on the base of the floor, waterproofing with hermetic sealing of the holes near the pipes of engineering communications.
From the materials needed: Portland cement, sand, water, and, preferably, a plasticizer. The solution is prepared at the rate of one part of cement to 4 parts of sand. In places where it is planned to put large furniture, the amount of sand is reduced to 3 parts. The mixture is diluted with water to the desired consistency, after which a plasticizing agent is added to it. Stirring can be done in any available way, but it is most convenient to do this with a drill with a nozzle in a suitable container. Since the materials are used the most affordable, it turns out the lowest price per meter of floor screed. Works can be done independently, which will save the budget even more. Moreover, it is not so difficult to do this.
First, lighthouses are installed on the prepared ground through the meter parallel to each other. At this stage it is necessary to use a level. Then, the resulting niches are filled with a solution to the height of the lighthouses. For convenience, this is done through one niche. With a trowel and a rule, the solution is aligned on the upper edge of the guide beacons. After the screed has been completely filled, it must be periodically moistened with water so that the cement does not crack. When it will be possible to walk freely on the surface, it is necessary to rub the existing irregularities to obtain a completely smooth surface. Full hardening occurs in 28-30 days.
Helpful advice! Work on the device screed in the same room should be fully completed within one day, in order to avoid deformation and destruction of the cement monolith along the border that would have turned out otherwise.
Produced in a “wet” way, like the previous one. However, making it much easier and faster. The whole secret is that the role of the solution is played by a special mixture in which, in addition to cement and sand, there are chemical additives that give the solution flexibility and fluidity. Due to these properties, the filled solution under the action of gravity spreads itself throughout the room, filling all the gaps and niches.
The mixture is supplied dry and diluted with water according to the attached instructions. Then the solution is thoroughly mixed and poured without the use of beacons until the highest point in the base relief is hidden under its surface. It is desirable to use a level or laser level. The thickness is adjusted using a roller or a special brush. The advantages of this type of screed:
- fast drying – a person can walk on it after 10 hours;
- no need to install beacons;
- less complexity of the whole process;
- obtaining a perfectly smooth surface, practically requiring no additional processing;
- due to the fact that the layer turns out the smallest thickness, the weight of the screed is small, which reduces the load on the floor.
The only drawback of this type is the very high price per meter of floor screed. Work on its device can cost nothing if you perform them yourself.
Helpful advice! While the self-leveling screed dries out, the direct light of the sun should not be allowed to fall on it. She is also afraid of changes in temperature, drafts and wetting. At observance of these requirements very hard, weakly absorbing surface will turn out.
Mix for semi-dry screed is prepared with less water. The solution is plastic, but not fluid. This circumstance allows you to save on waterproofing device. All materials are the same: cement, sand and water. Only the latter is 30% less. The only thing you need to add to this set is polypropylene fibers for reinforcement. The entire installation technology is similar to how a wet screed is made, only in this case the solution is not poured, but filled up. This method gives a gain in time, as the semi-dry mixture hardens faster. The advantages include:
- the inability of the fluid to leak through the ceiling;
- quick drying;
- very smooth surface due to the possibility of using the trowel;
- used fibers reduce the weight of the screed.
Due to savings on waterproofing, as well as the timing of the work, the price of a semi-dry floor screed is noticeably lower than when it is arranged in the traditional way.
Helpful advice! If it is planned to lay soft materials (linoleum, carpet or PVC tile) on a dry screed as a topcoat, the joints between the gypsum fiber sheets must be wiped with a putty.
When choosing any of the methods of the device screed, you must follow the established rules, which are developed by builders.
