Features Of Pouring Concrete Floor Screed In The Bathroom

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

Characteristics of bathroom floors
Foundation preparation
Waterproofing layer
Layout and installation of beacons
Pouring process
Choice of flooring

The bathroom is worth highlighting as a special room. This is due to the operating conditions, as well as increased requirements for the elements of the room. More attention should be paid to the floor covering, since it is on it that a large amount of water most often gets. When the base begins to crumble, flake off and have other damage, then a quality repair should be carried out. For this, a new concrete screed is being arranged using technology.

Characteristics of bathroom floors

Bathroom floors have some features that distinguish them from ordinary rooms:

Possible presence of large amounts of water on the surface. Water retention must remain high.
High humidity level. In such conditions, the concrete floor itself and the floor covering must serve for a long time.
Comfort. It will not be superfluous to arrange a floor heating system.
Water slope devices in the selected direction. This is more true for private households. It is very difficult and almost impracticable in multi-storey buildings.
Moisture can come to the surface from pipes, utilities, which are often "transit" from one room to another.
High strength characteristics due to the presence of plumbing equipment. The dynamic loads from walking are lower. The operation of the washing machine and other equipment causes vibration. Concrete floors in the bathroom must also be protected from this.
The location of the bathroom floor should be below the level of all other coatings in the apartment or house. This will protect the latter in case of water spillage.

These conditions will not always be observed in new buildings or old apartments. To achieve a positive result and not worry about the condition of the surface, you should fill the floor in the bathroom. The process does not take much time and money, taking into account innovations, but you get a flat surface that meets all the requirements of operation.

Foundation preparation

At the initial stage of installing the floor screed in the bathroom, you should dismantle and take out all the existing plumbing equipment. The floor area should not be engaged in anything, interfere with the work on updating the surface for the floor covering.

Next, the existing old coating is removed. It can also be a screed, but with damage that has appeared during operation. Some will think that before pouring the floor in the bathtub, it is not necessary to spend a lot to remove the old surface. This must be done without fail. And there are a number of very good reasons for this:

Defects of the old screed will not always be species. Hidden damage will come out later and bring a lot of negative points. Sometimes you even have to re-do the concrete flooring work in the bathroom.
Not everyone will know about what materials were previously used when installing the screed. They do not always meet all quality requirements. The service life of such products is strictly limited.
The effectiveness in quality will depend on the arranged waterproofing layer, which should be done independently.
Much will depend on the floor slab. Often it is also repaired, conditions are created for strength, and treated with various antiseptic compounds.
Always adhere to the permissible floor loads. If you make a concrete floor in the bathroom on top of the old screed, then the norms will definitely be violated.

Concrete screed in the bathroom

It follows from this that the old screed is removed completely. In the process of work, a large amount of garbage appears, which must be taken out of the bathroom without fail.

In the presence of cracks, potholes, cracks, they are all sealed with a repair compound. That is, a thorough restoration of the entire surface is carried out. All possible holes in the slabs that were previously made must be sealed.

Next, the surface is primed to improve the level of adhesion in the subsequently prepared solution. It is better to use in addition formulations with antiseptic properties. This will avoid the subsequent formation of mold and mildew on the surface. The subsequent steps can only be started when the primer layer is completely dry.

Waterproofing layer

The most important step can even be called the installation of a waterproofing layer in the bathroom. Without this, it is definitely impossible to get an answer on how to pour the floor in the bathtub under the tiles. The rest of the quality coverage will completely depend on this stage. Here the following options are usually used in work:

Roll waterproofing. It is a roofing material with a self-adhesive base. It can additionally have a rubberized layer. Before laying the roofing material, the base together with the walls (to a height of 20 cm) is covered with bitumen mastic. It cannot be replaced with tar. As soon as the mastic dries up and it will be possible to move around the surface, proceed to laying the waterproofing layer. Each subsequent sheet should have an overlap of 10-15 cm. The result should be a very tight vessel.

Concrete screed in the bathroom
Coating waterproofing. They can be used on bitumen, acrylic, cement-polymer, rubber-bitumen and other bases. Application is carried out with a spatula, roller or brush. Everything will depend on the consistency. The instructions indicate the time after which the second coat should be applied. Usually it is 6-8 hours. Initially, the direction is chosen one, and with repeated application - perpendicular to the first layer. The exposure of this composition after coating the surface should be at least a day. Only then can the concrete floor in the bathroom be made.

Layout and installation of beacons

The next stage is surface reinforcement, marking, installation of beacons over the entire area.

Much will depend on the chosen concrete floor thickness. From this indicator comes the benchmark for establishing not only the baseline, but also zero, which will serve as the basis.

A slope is made about 2-3 degrees. The direction is chosen towards the open area in the bathroom. With a thickness of the future screed of 3-5 cm, a metal mesh with a thickness of rods of 5 mm is suitable as a reinforcing substance.

It should be remembered that the reinforcing material should not lie on the base, but be located in the central part of the entire screed layer. This will help the old concrete elements, which are being laid. Wood should not be used here under any circumstances.

As for the lighthouses, a metal profile is used for them. It is located along the room. The maximum distance from the lighthouse to the parallel wall is 20-25 cm. Otherwise, you may encounter a "spread" of the solution. The level can be lowered. Self-tapping screws or pins cannot be used in this case. The waterproofing layer must always remain intact, it cannot be destroyed. Lighthouses can be fixed on slides from a solution.

Pouring process

It is very important at this stage to choose a high-quality mixture for making the screed. If you have a certain skill and experience, then you can make the solution yourself, observing the proportions of all components. This will be the classic version with a ratio of 1 to 3. It should not be more fluid and a lot of water when mixing.

The screed will become easier if foam polystyrene chips are added to the solution. It improves the properties of thermal insulation. If there is no desire to waste time on such moments, then you immediately need to go to the store and buy a ready-made mixture for work. It will need to be poured into a certain amount of water and mixed until a homogeneous mass is formed.

You don't have to figure out how to fill your bathroom floor. It is enough to pour the ready-made solution onto the prepared base with exposed beacons, and then level it using the rule. It will not be superfluous to additionally go through the level to make sure that everything is done correctly and efficiently.

So that during the drying process the solution does not lose its strength characteristics, it should be moistened with water from a spray bottle in the required amount. All conditions for full maturation must be met. You can proceed to the flooring of the topcoat only when the surface is completely dry and has gained all strength. We must not forget about the possibility of concealing the underfloor heating system in the thickness of the screed. It should not turn on until the concrete screed is completely dry.

Choice of flooring

Once you have received an answer on how to fill your bathtub floor, you might consider choosing a floor covering. Everything will depend on the financial situation, operating characteristics and personal preferences.

Many people want to know how to pour the bathroom floor under the tiles. This material remains the most demanded and popular to this day. There are some difficulties in the installation process. But still the choice of color, type, type of flooring is extensive and is suitable for any interior in the room. Nobody even looks at the fact that in case of damage to one fragment of the tile, the entire surface should be repaired.

But still, other types of flooring are practiced after the bathroom floor has been filled. A rare case is the use of a wooden surface. But not every option can withstand high levels of humidity. An alternative is moisture resistant laminate.