How To Finish The Floor Surface In The Room

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

Need
Types of screeds
Applied tool
Semi-dry finishing screed
Solution preparation
Concrete pouring
Quality checking
Dry screed

Every day, the requirements for flooring and pouring a high-quality screed are increasing. This is due to the choice of flooring to be laid, as well as the creation of comfortable conditions for living in an apartment. In addition to evenness, the screed must have such qualities as durability, strength, resistance to high humidity. With all this, it is necessary to arrange a rough floor screed, and only then take on the finishing.

Need

Paying attention to the requirements, we can easily say that big claims are made precisely for the final floor screed. Its quality should be one level higher. This type of screed is intended for a perfectly flat base in the room, and also allows you to get rid of possible defects of the previous layer. All roughness and minor protrusions will be hidden if the floor is properly finished.

There are other functions that a clean floor screed in an apartment demonstrates:

In addition to the standard function - the floor screed in the room, it also acts as a decorative element. You can create a completely different base that will fit perfectly into the interior of the entire room. Everything will depend on financial capabilities and requirements for the final result.
After the finishing device is clean, all previous layers of the floor will be reliably protected from damage and external influences. This also applies to the creation of a barrier against aggressive indoor environments and the use of chemicals.
It allows you to hide all possible laid communications and other equipment located in the room. It is also a kind of decor element, thanks to which you do not have to admire heating radiators or water pipes.

Types of screeds

There are a huge number of classifications that allow you to single out certain types for finishing the floor in the room. Everything will depend on the material used in the work for pouring the floor in the apartment, design features, the so-called "pie", as well as the type of connection with other elements in the room. But still, the main ones are the following:

Self-leveling screed. It allows you to make a layer with a small thickness. In this case, the evenness will be maximum, and the strength is at the highest level.
Wet screed. It is usually used when installing a heated floor system in the room. But the thickness also increases noticeably to about 100 mm.
Semi-dry. It contains a minimum amount of water. There is only a slight dilution of the ready-mixed mortar, which avoids wet processes.
Prefabricated structure. Basically, this is a bulk option using expanded clay backfill. Most often it is called the dry version, performed using Knauf technology. She also has a lot of positive qualities.

clean floor screed

Applied tool

Before pouring the floor, you should prepare the necessary tools for work. This is a shovel for stirring the solution, specially prepared dishes, a rule for leveling, beacons of a particular type, a level, a spatula, grout, as well as all the necessary material for filling.

But if it comes to a semi-dry finishing floor screed, then a construction mixer, fiberglass, instead of reinforcement elements (metal mesh, reinforcing bars, etc.) can be useful in addition. That is, everything will depend on the technology itself for performing the final floor screed and the features of the subfloor base.

Screed and leveling materials will depend on the specific situation. You can make a complete list of them yourself or ask for help from specialists with vast experience in this area. It is best to purchase them from a single source. In this case, the fact of inconsistency of one component with another is excluded.

Semi-dry finishing screed

Having chosen this option for the device of the floor surface, you should know about the instructions for the installation of floors, as well as the requirements for pouring. At a cost, it will be slightly higher than other similar types. This is due to the need to rent special equipment used to prepare the solution, as well as its delivery to the required floor.

Fiber is added to the semi-dry screed, which makes the solution more plastic and able to spread evenly over the entire surface of the rough screed indoors. At the same time, after complete drying, the finishing screed does not allow cracks, shrinkage and other possible defects to appear on the surface.

If there is a desire to independently prepare the solution, then Portland cement, sand with a small fraction, as well as the aforementioned fiber should be used as components. Indeed, many doubt that it is necessary to use a metal mesh as a reinforcing agent in a semi-dry screed. This is not worth doing for one simple reason - it cannot bring any positive result in comparison with fiber. This is the advantages of dry screed, which allows you to get excellent results using modern methods.

The stages of filling the floor should be started from the perimeter of the room and the mixture should be spread evenly towards the entrance. In this case, grout is used for work. The principle is almost no different from the technology of pouring a concrete screed. The compaction process is very important so that the screed remains strong and durable in the future. When using the automatic preparation of a solution for a semi-dry screed, it is poured in full into one area, after which it is distributed throughout the room.

Solution preparation

The features of a semi-dry screed are the preparation of a working solution. It uses sand and cement. The most optimal proportions are 1 to 3.

At the same time, 0.6 kg of fiber must be added for each cubic meter. As for adding liquid, you should be aware that in the end you should get a non-flowing solution.

A concrete mixer can be used in the work. Initially, sand is backfilled, then fiber and cement. Water is poured at the very end. Its amount will depend on the moisture level of the sand used in the work. No cracks and rolls should appear when distributing the mixture on the surface.

You can independently choose which mixture to fill the floors with. Everything will depend on the desired result, as well as the requirements for the finishing surface. Is there a feature for specific rooms in the apartment. The mixture of leveling the floor in the bathroom differs from the usual one with an increased level of moisture resistance. And this is worth paying special attention to.

Concrete pouring

When work begins on pouring a concrete screed onto the subfloor, the latter must be completely cleared of existing debris and dirt. It will not be superfluous to even use a construction vacuum cleaner to remove all the dust from the surface. Even minor cracks and other defects are best removed before finishing. A metal mesh is used here as reinforcement. Next, you should think about what solution to fill the floor with. In any case, you can cook it yourself. It is enough just to know certain requirements and be guided by them in order to get a mixture for leveling the floor with your own hands.

When installing the metal mesh, make sure that it does not lie on the base and is not too close to the surface. It should be fixed approximately in the middle of the whole "pie".

It is necessary to dwell a little on the mesh itself for reinforcement. Its thickness should not exceed 3 mm, and its cells - 10 * 10 mm. This will be the most optimal size.

The procedure for pouring the floor is very simple. After the preparatory measures and the exposure of the beacons, a working solution is prepared, which is evenly distributed over the entire surface. The process of installing beacons takes time and attention. But if everything is done according to the flooring instructions, the surface will be perfectly flat and durable to external influences. Self-preparation of beacons is permissible. But if you are not sure that there is such an opportunity, then it is best to seek help from specialists who will be able to complete all the work as soon as possible and with excellent results. But it's worth paying attention to their reputation. Almost each of them says that we will perform floor leveling as efficiently as possible and at a low cost. But in the end, it can turn out quite the opposite.

When the mortar has been distributed, the floor screed should be taken care of after pouring. For almost a week, the surface should be moistened to dry evenly and obtain durability. You should also get rid of the installed beacons, and the resulting cavities should be primed.

Quality checking

Once the floor screed is poured, steps can be taken to check the surface. In this case, the rule is used, which must be carried out throughout the base. If the differences over the entire area did not reach a difference of 2-3 mm, then we can say that we managed to cope with the task one hundred percent.

In addition, the floor is tapped with a special hammer.

The sound from it should be solid. If voids are identified, then almost immediately you can begin to eliminate defects so that the service life of the floor is not reduced. There are times when the finished concrete floor deviates from the level along the horizon, that is, the curvature is revealed. In this case, you can resort to using self-leveling compounds.

When cracks appear on the surface, it is safe to say that the pouring technology was not followed. In this case, measures must be taken to carry out repairs. The resulting cracks are embroidered, primed and sealed with mortar. After that, you can start laying the floor covering, if any. Various devices for leveling the floor can be used in the work. Their complete list will depend on the specific fill option.

Dry screed

In this case, almost unconditionally, we are talking about a finishing screed in the form of a floor heating system on a bulk layer of expanded clay. But even here the material for dry floor screed may differ. There are analogues of this component for work, which are increasingly used in the construction industry. The description of a dry screed includes the main positive qualities, including:

The floor load is minimal due to the low weight of the entire structure and the material used for work. This is especially true for older buildings, where it is best not to overload.
Dry leveling the floor takes a short time and does not require much work.
Wet processes are almost completely absent. Pouring a fine screed does not pose a threat to flooding of neighbors from the lower floors.

Otherwise, this technology for performing a dry screed is commonly called Knauf technology.

It is based more on gypsum fiber board. There is no need to think for a long time what to do after pouring the floor. You can immediately start laying almost any floor covering, which can be linoleum, laminate, ceramic tiles or others.

Few people think about what is needed for a dry floor screed. Here it is enough to visit a hardware store to find out as much information as possible about the availability of all equipment and materials for work. In addition, you can get maximum information from the company's consultants who can offer alternative options at more attractive prices.

There are no special requirements for such a parameter as the maximum dry screed height. In most cases, it has a significant layer up to 70-90 mm. Everything will depend on the quality of the base and the execution of the rough fill.

Floor filling options can be completely different. Each of them is suitable for specific conditions as well as flooring flooring. But most importantly, the result is a flat surface that will be attractive in terms of aesthetics. Such a coating will last for a long time and will not create problems during operation. You can level the floor in places, but then conditions must be created for this and the rough base must be adjusted to evenness.

High-quality screed care after pouring will allow you to get not only an even, but also a solid base. All these subtleties will answer the question of how to care for the screed after pouring. Full adherence to technology will contribute to obtaining the ideal option.