Smoothing Technology To Create A Level Surface

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 22:24

• Concept
• Volma mixes coarse cement
• Eunice self-leveling floors
• Security measures
• Preparatory activities
• Level determination
• Mixing the solution
• Finishing alignment

Currently, it is not difficult to level the floor surface on your own. To do this, you do not need to seek help from specialists, to pay them money for their work. It is enough to follow the pouring technology, and you will get not only a flat, but also a very durable surface. In addition, it is important to adhere to the sequence of work when using ready-made mixtures.

Concept

When it is necessary to fill the floor with a leveler, not everyone will know what kind of material it is and what qualities it has. Most of it is sold in the form of dry mixes, which are packed in bags of a certain volume. They can have cement, gypsum, polymer cement or polymer-gypsum as the main component. So that they can be used when pouring for leveling the surface, you just need to add the required amount of clean water. It is water that acts as a solvent.

There are two main types of leveling mixes:

1. Coarse dowels (for rough finishing of the floor surface).

2. Finishing leveling (when performing final leveling of the base).

   

It is worth noting that the roughing layer with the use of an equalizer is often not left alone. On top of it, they are already satisfied with the finishing coating. These actions are necessary to make the floor smooth.

Volma mixes coarse cement

In any business, it is important to follow the technology and look at the technical characteristics of the floor screed rovers.

The base to be leveled must be strong and stable. Cement-sand screed "aged" - not less than 28 days, concrete - not less than 3 months, strength not less than M120, humidity - not more than 4%. Substrate temperature 5-30 ° С

Mixtures can also have a coarse fraction. This is done to speed up the surface leveling work. It is enough to stir the solution and proceed with the installation. To ensure that all coarse-grained elements are hidden and invisible, a final self-leveling floor device is used. The topcoat is essential for a perfect finish. This suggests that even when the warm floor is being laid, the thickness of the last layer will be insignificant, within a few millimeters. After all, the main purpose here is to create a smooth surface.

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Eunice self-leveling floors

The base must be strong, dry and load-bearing. It is necessary to remove dust, paint coatings, oil, bitumen stains and other dirt from the surface that prevent the material from adhering to the surface.

Treat the surface of the base with a primer “UNIS” in 1-2 layers. Dust should not be allowed on primed surfaces.

Before applying the solution around the perimeter of the vertical surfaces of the room, it is necessary to lay the edge tape for self-leveling floors. The width of the tape is selected depending on the expected thickness of the leveling layer.

Before applying the mortar mixture, install the beacons on the base and adjust them to the required layer thickness using a level.

Drying time for the floor and laying the flooring:

10 mm tile - 3 days, 50 mm - 7 days

Parquet, laminate, polymer coatings and paint 10 mm - 7 days, 50 mm - 21 days

The drying time of the floor is indicated under the condition of a base and ambient temperature of 20 ° C, air humidity not more than 65%

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Security measures

If it is necessary to level the floor surface, then these works are carried out after the completion of work on the ceiling, if any. In this case, certain safety requirements must be observed.

1. All wiring must be de-energized when pouring. This will avoid short circuits.
2. In order for the quality of work to remain at its best, all recommendations from the manufacturer must be followed. The instructions fully reflect the requirements for the mixing and drying process after pouring.
3. It will not be superfluous to use a hat, as well as safety glasses.
4. In the room when using the mixture, the temperature should be within +10 - +25 degrees. Also, the humidity level should not be more than 95%. The same applies to post-job requirements. During the first two days, drafts should not be allowed inside the room. The screed must dry evenly and without excessive pressure.
5. An alkaline reaction occurs when using mixtures based on cement. For this reason, it will be better to use rubber gloves in the work.
6. The entire substrate and prepared surface must have a certain level of moisture. When priming, the layer must dry completely. Only in this case, you can start pouring the equalizers.

These are just basic safety standards. Each specific case should be approached individually, so that not only the work is performed at the highest level, but the performer himself does not have any damage or impact on the state of health.

Preparatory activities

The quality of the alignment will to some extent depend on how well the preparation of the base is done. Every effort should be made to this stage. There should be no dirt, dust, debris. Existing areas with paint, varnish should be cleaned with a grinder or sandpaper.

In the presence of cracks on the base of the floor, they expand, cleaned, and primed in the required number of layers for better adhesion. After that, they are poured with a prepared solution. For this, self-leveling mixtures can be used for quick drying and better quality.

It is worth noting that a screed can be performed over a warm floor. It is enough to adhere to only certain requirements. The entire system should not be turned on until the poured solution has completely dried. There are some features for electric and water floor heating.

We must not forget about the lighthouses. In small premises, they use self-tapping screws, which are screwed into the base to a certain level. A fishing line is pulled over the head of the screws. If the room is large in size, then it is the metal profiles that will bring a better result.

To dampen the deformation of the poured leveling solution, a damper tape is fixed in the room around the perimeter. This is very much required in new buildings. The tape is attached not only to the walls, but also to the existing decorative elements (columns).

When the surface is cleaned and prepared, a layer of primer is applied to it. It allows you to reduce the rate of moisture leaving the solution into the base, as well as increase the level of adhesion. As a material for priming, you can use ordinary soil for pouring floors. An alternative is water-based acrylic primer.

Several coats of primer are recommended for concrete screed and slabs. In some cases, you can even purchase special types of primers. In any case, the instructions on the packaging contain all the subtleties of the work and the scope of their application. If the leveling material is laid in several layers, then priming is performed before each of them.

Often the question arises related to whether a mesh is needed in a floor heating screed. This is not necessary because the leveling agent is poured over the entire system. Therefore, all the conditions for alignment are present, and no additional help is needed. Mesh is most often used when removing any surface imperfections after drying.

Level determination

The surface should be flat and smooth. To do this, you first need to determine the level in the room. It can be done in the form of wall markings using a water level. More accurate indicators are provided by a laser level, however, not everyone has the opportunity to use it in work.

When using a water level, the sequence of actions is as follows:

1. An arbitrary mark is made on the wall, from which calculations will be made.
2. One flask with water is brought to the risk, and the second person carries the second flask to another wall, where he also notes the readings. They will all be located at the same level.
3. All risks must be connected by horizontal lines without deviations.

4. The lowest and highest level is set if the calculations are made from scratches to the base of the floor. This will give the thickness of the layer to align.

   

The height of the underfloor heating will depend on the thickness of the pipes in the system, as well as the installed upper and lower limits of the base.

Mixing the solution

After installing the lighthouses over the area of the room, you can begin to knead the ready-made dry mixture with the required amount of water. It is better to do the work in pairs - one pours, the second evens out throughout the room.

To begin with, a container of the required volume is prepared, into which clean water is poured. After that, the mixture is already poured and thorough stirring occurs. For work, you can use a drill operating at low speeds. No lumps and dry mix should remain. The solution must be homogeneous.

If various debris, branches, midges and so on get into the water, then in the future it will be almost impossible to get rid of them without damaging the upper finishing layer. This suggests that you should pay attention to these points when mixing the solution.

The basic version of the floor leveler is made thicker than in the topcoat. If there is a lot of water, then the solution will begin to foam, and the strength after solidification will decrease significantly. We'll have to repair the self-leveling floor.

When the mixture is combined with water and ready, it will remain to be poured, starting from the far corner of the room. Since the base layer turns out to be thick, it will not be superfluous to independently distribute it over the surface with a spatula. He moves forward and backward on the installed beacons. All these subtleties will help you get an answer on how to properly fill the floor with a leveler.

There are certain subtleties to get rid of the bubbles formed on the surface. For this, an aeration roller is used. The length of its needles should be about 1-2 mm longer than the filling layer of the self-leveling floor. Pay attention to the fact that the solution is suitable for correction within half an hour after mixing. It is in these time frames that you need to meet in order to get a flat surface without flaws.

The leveling agent requires maintenance after pouring. Drying should take place evenly and without additional assistance. For this purpose, a polyethylene film is used, which covers the entire surface.

The base should be carefully studied in order to answer the question of whether a rough screed is needed for a warm floor. If the surface will have various defects and errors, then it is better to pre-level to the ideal, so that the floor will be heated evenly later.

Finishing alignment

The final leveling of the floor with a leveler is carried out with a sufficiently flat base or to obtain a smooth self-leveling floor. All work is carried out in the same way as with a rough device.

Due to the receipt of a more liquid solution, some subtleties begin to appear in the work:

• Carrying out a thorough priming of the surface. Sometimes you even have to arrange a layer of waterproofing if it is a multi-storey building.
• You can do without beacons, since the ready-made mixture is independently distributed over the area in the room.
• Equalizers in this situation are arranged in an insignificant layer of a few millimeters.
• The temperature of the finished solution should not drop below 10 degrees.
• It is best to fill in one step without interruption. With large areas of premises, assistants are tedious at work.

All types of work on the use of levelers for leveling the floor surface in any room can be performed on their own without the involvement of specialists. More time and effort is spent on preparing the foundation and setting up lighthouses in the required quantity. Finishing alignment is not required if flooring is used (parquet, laminate, etc.).

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