How To Choose The Best Method For Creating A Flat Subfloor Surface

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

There is a need
Wood floor curvature
Plywood alignment
Using homemade floor putty
Self-leveling mixtures
Wood floor scraper

There are situations when you need to quickly and inexpensively level the old floor under the laminate. There can be a large number of flooring options. But they will all have a concrete base that will have to be leveled. It can be wood, concrete base. The rough version of the floor must be adjusted to the maximum level and horizontal, in order to subsequently complete the finishing. The floor covering can also be laid over the old floor. But over time, problems can arise, such as the creak of a wooden floor, potholes and protrusions of the concrete base that appear. This will have to be dealt with by removing the cover and performing alignment. To get rid of this process, the subfloor must be leveled beforehand.

There is a need

Some may find that leveling the subfloor is not as necessary as it seems at first glance. In their opinion, the new coating will hide all defects and errors of the base. Over time, any floor covering, if laid on an uneven surface, will fail, lose its properties and qualities. The appearance will be damaged and you will have to resort to repairs. It should be noted that a particularly soft surface requires evenness. The difference in height is allowed, but not more than 2 mm. per meter. So, for example, laminate flooring, with large differences, can swell.

Particularly popular is the leveling of the subfloor using plywood sheets, the preparation of self-leveling mixtures, floor scrapping, and putty. In the latter case, ordinary PVA glue acts as a base.

Wood floor curvature

Before starting work, you should determine how crooked the subfloor is and what should be done to fix it. The coefficient of curvature of the floor will affect the life and quality of the floor covering over time. If you take a material such as laminate, then it cannot be laid directly on a wooden base. Under the influence of changes in temperature and humidity levels in the room, boards can dry out, lose strength, and crack. This all affects the condition of the laminate. You can get information on how to level the floor without tearing the boards. But in this case, they themselves should be in excellent condition.

For this reason, an alignment layer should be produced. All voltage will be transmitted to it. The surface is pre-inspected for damage and mold formation. These areas should be removed and replaced with new ones. When all this is done, you need to take the level and make all the measurements.

The following tools can be used for work:

Rotary laser level. A simple rail is used to determine the difference in floor height.
Bubble level. The curvature is determined when this tool is applied to the base. If the bubble remains in the central position, then you can proceed to the next stage, since the floor is even. If it begins to slide to the right or left, then you will have to make an effort to create a flat surface. But it has low accuracy in rooms with large areas.
Linear laser level.

The choice as a tool will depend on capabilities and needs. If the work is one-time in the same room, then you should not spend a lot of money, but take a regular bubble level.

Plywood alignment

The most convenient material is plywood.

When using them, the rough surface becomes almost perfectly flat. In any case, the topcoat can be laid without any fancy. In this case, the floor can be raised by 20-30 mm. In the process of performing work, the minimum amount of funds and material is spent, and the process itself is simple and fast. In the future, you can even produce linoleum flooring or other soft materials. But it is imperative to repair the floor in the apartment with your own hands in stages. There should be no deviations from the installation technology in order to get the desired result.

The humidity of the plywood sheets used must correspond to the humidity in the room itself. This result can be achieved by wetting both sides of the sheets with water, and then leaving them in the room for about 2-3 days. After this time, work can begin.

Before leveling the subfloor, all communications should be checked, since then it will be problematic to get to them. So you should find out if everything is working properly there, and what should be fixed. In this case, it is worth paying attention to the required level of air circulation in the space under the floor. The work includes the following stages:

Installing lag. In their capacity, there are plywood strips with a thickness of up to 5 cm. The fastening is carried out by means of glue or self-tapping screws. When gaps are formed between the old floor and the lags, they are sealed with pieces of plywood or wood.

leveling the sub floor

All logs must be level, so that you end up with a flat surface.
To make plywood sheets convenient to mount, they are cut into identical elements 60 * 60 cm in size. The most important thing here is to pay attention to the separation of the ends. When such areas appear, it is best to replace the element with another one, since the quality is already noticeably reduced.
All debris and dust are removed from the base.
Laying plywood squares. Joints of sheets should be carried out only on exposed logs. It follows from this that the sheets must first be laid out on the surface, numbered. This will make it easier to level the sub-floor.
The sheets are fastened with self-tapping screws with countersunk heads.

In some cases, the caps of the screws may still protrude slightly. To avoid this, first it is worth drilling a small hole of a larger diameter in the plywood sheets.

All subsequent actions will depend on what kind of flooring will be laid. For carpet, plywood is covered not with one, but with several layers of varnish. A substrate is laid under the laminate. For linoleum flooring, plywood sheets are sanded somewhat using a grinder. In this case, special attention is paid to the joints of the plywood squares, as well as to their attachment points with self-tapping screws.

Using homemade floor putty

Many people say that we are very expensive floor. But there is also a very cheap option to level the old wooden parquet floor with slight differences in level. For this option, the use of putty together with sawdust.

At the same time, the area for work can be significant.

The surface is thoroughly cleaned from any debris beforehand. The sawdust used is slightly moistened during work. This is necessary so that there is no rapid absorption of moisture from PVA. The filling technology includes the following stages:

Stuffing slats on the base of the floor, which act as beacons. Here the level is mandatory applied in the work.
The resulting space between the slats should be filled with sawdust with PVA. Several steps are provided for a larger alignment layer. In one pass, about 10-20 mm of such a solution is poured.

leveling the sub floor

All other layers can only be applied if the previous ones are completely dry. Complete shrinkage should occur.
Using a level, the horizontalness of the surface is checked.

Among the disadvantages of this option for leveling the rough layer, one can single out the drying time of all previous layers of putty. This is a great way to replace the floor screed in the apartment. But the coating becomes less durable compared to other options, despite the large amount of time spent.

Self-leveling mixtures

When removing any old floor covering, it should be carefully leveled. The same applies to cases when it is necessary to create a flat surface after parquet. There are some peculiarities and subtleties of the work. But it is very important to study the technology and learn the moments of how to level the floor after removing the parquet. Among the new methods are the use of self-leveling mixtures. This composition is diluted to a liquid state by adding water, after which it is distributed over the entire surface of the subfloor, where leveling should be performed. The result is a solid base, elastic, even, intended for finishing.

In any case, preparations should be made prior to installation. It will not matter here whether the floors of the first floor are being filled or others. The work sequence and technology are no different. True, the first floor requires more attention if there is a basement under it. Here you will need to additionally arrange a layer of waterproofing to protect the screed from the appearance of mold or mildew.

Acrylic compound is used to seal wide gaps in the surface. Remains of old paint, varnish must be removed, since later they can have a negative effect on the condition of the leveling layer.

The cracks can be closed with a self-leveling mixture, but it must be brought to the state of thick sour cream. Before the full leveling cycle, you will have to wait time for drying.

A moisture resistant primer is applied to substrates after debris has been removed and fully prepared. This increases the level of adhesion of the mixture to the floor. The walls at the bottom are insulated with construction tape. A mark is made on it, along which it is necessary to pour the finished mixture. If pouring is carried out with adjacent rooms, then a bar is installed at the entrance to prevent the solution from flowing into it.

When the level is set at the bottom of the walls with adhesive tape, it should be remembered that it should not be lower than the minimum thickness for future screed.

When distributing the mortar, a reinforcing mesh should be used, which is laid on the base. It can be fastened with a construction stapler.

It is best to use a drill with a nozzle to mix the mixture. In this case, everything must follow the instructions from the manufacturer. After kneading, time is given for settling for about 15 minutes. Next, the mixture is re-kneaded.

The self-leveling mixture is spread over the entire surface. For work, you can use a mop with a rubber base. If there are air bubbles, they are all removed with a mop with spikes, which should be longer in length than the thickness of the fill.

During the drying process, the mixture is maintained at the same temperature. There are also disadvantages in such mixtures - the floor level rises. But not a single alignment option is immune from this. So you shouldn't pay too much attention here. Nevertheless, the advantages of the method are much greater, which arouses interest among performers.

Wood floor scraper

Everyone should know how to level an old parquet floor. After removing the floor covering, surface defects remain, as well as errors of the old base appear. You should get rid of this. The most laborious process is scraping.

But the effectiveness is noticeable immediately. The work can be done independently and with your own hands. The easiest and fastest option is mechanical scraping, which is worth paying attention to.

In the process of work, a large amount of fine dust appears. So that it does not affect the interior items in the apartment, it is best to cover them with a protective film. On the old wooden floor, the heads of the nails are completely hammered, which are simply sunk into the base. The looping process is a sequence of the following stages:

The work is carried out with a snake from one corner to the opposite.
When the first layer is removed, the gaps formed are sealed with putty. It is best to match its color to the used floor covering.
When the putty is completely hardened, you can continue sanding.
Using a hand-held corner scraper, work is done in hard-to-reach places, including around skirting boards.
When the dust has completely settled, a vacuum cleaner is used to collect it and remove the debris. After that, the plank floor is wiped with a damp cloth, which is pre-moistened with a solvent. As a result, all that remains is to apply varnish to the treated base.

If the board is damaged on one side, it can be turned over to the other. It is installed in the same place. You can, of course, replace it with a new one, but the color will be noticeably different from other boards.

All these steps will tell you how to level the plank floor. You will have to put in a little effort, but in the end you get a really flat base for subsequent flooring of any kind of flooring.

Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. There can be no way without this. The choice will depend on the specific situation in order to level the subfloor. Much will depend on the financial situation and time frame. But by choosing, for example, a semi-dry floor screed, you can get a really flat surface that will last for a long time. It is due to the long service life that many do not spare money for a decent repair.