Respect For The Screed After Installation Work

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

• Features:
• Routing
• Ripening conditions
• Humidity level
• Operation recommendations
• Drying time
• Expansion joints
• Repairs

It is not enough just to arrange a semi-dry screed indoors. After the completion of all work, there is a certain time during which you should take care of the base of the "rough" floor. It must gain strength and hardness in order to be able to carry out flooring. The strength of a semi-dry screed will also depend on the quality of all stages of installation. There are some subtleties and nuances in courtship, which everyone should familiarize with, who decided to carry out repairs in their own apartment.

Features:

When you need a semi-dry floor screed, it is important to remember its main feature - a small amount of water in the finished solution. The process of cement hydration is not so rapid, therefore, it is worth watching very carefully "maturation". If this is not done, then a semi-dry screed will give cracks, which will have to be repaired later.

A large amount of water, in excess of the norm, will lead to the opposite process. In specific places, a rapid expansion of the cement slurry will begin, which will lead to all sorts of surface destruction. Many also say that it is a semi-dry screed. If this happens, then it is best to immediately remove this area to a solid base and refill, but using a metal mesh. It will be safer in this case.

The temperature also makes its own adjustments. They must be maintained at a certain level, especially in the first days of the screed hardening. Drafts and winds should not be allowed, but it is better to immediately cover the entire surface with a polyethylene film.

Routing

During the work on laying a semi-dry screed, special attention is paid to the process itself. The same goes for the careful care of the finished version. Here, the technological map of a semi-dry screed will help answer numerous questions, including how much to water the screed in the apartment.

The map was compiled on the basis of numerous building codes and regulations, namely:

• SNiP 2.03.13-88 "Floors".
• MDS 31-6.2000, which contain recommendations for high-quality flooring.
• Numerous GOSTs.

Among all the points, the points for which care is simply necessary for a semi-dry floor screed are also spelled out. In addition to the polymer film, plastic sheets can be used. Moreover, they should all overlap each other in those places where they connect to each other. But the best thing is to purchase a whole film for the entire area of the room.

Regarding the humidity in the technological map for the device of a semi-dry screed, an answer is given as to whether it is necessary to water the screed after pouring.

If the temperature in the room is high and the humidity is low, then during the first 3-5 days it is simply necessary so that the surface does not crack.

The technological map of the semi-dry screed device prescribes that after drying, shrinkage cracks are allowed. But you can easily get rid of them if you repair a semi-dry screed.

Ripening conditions

The strength of a semi-dry floor screed will depend only on how well the installation work has been carried out, as well as how it is cared for. The normal maturation of the screed can only be performed if two important conditions are met:

1. Do not allow instant drying of the solution from the dry mixture. This is especially true for the first week after installation. If during this time the temperature is kept within 20 degrees, then the cement will pick up about 70% of the total strength required. Everything else will be recruited over time, approximately within one month. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that even after laying the flooring, the solution will draw out the remaining moisture from itself, as well as from the environment. The hydration reaction does not end so quickly.

   

2. The freshly applied mortar should not freeze. During the work, it is better to choose a period with freezing temperatures. This will help not only to prepare the solution itself for the semi-dry screed and to carry out the installation of the "rough" floor.

In the presence of drafts in the room and slight temperature changes, it will not be superfluous to cover the semi-dry screed with plastic wrap at all. It will provide the necessary level of humidity and sufficient ventilation.

Humidity level

It is the humidity in the room that is given great importance. Everything here must adhere to regulatory requirements, namely building codes and regulations 3.04.01-87. In the first 8-10 days after laying the screed, these indicators should remain at the appropriate level. In the following days, up to day 25, the cement will be able to gain a maximum strength of 90%.

Moistening a semi-dry floor screed after installation should be done only if necessary.

After all, the screed itself is able to collect the required amount of moisture from the prepared solution. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the finished screed can dry out only when the required density of the semi-dry screed is reached. During the drying process, it is important to monitor the condition of the surface throughout the entire area of the room. If necessary, you can water the semi-dry screed yourself.

When there is not enough moisture for the strength of the cement mortar, and the screed remains unmoistened, it will begin to crack and crumble. We will have to make additional efforts to restore it and superficial repairs.

But not everyone knows how to water the screed after pouring. This should be done in the first 3-5 days after installation. Do not fill the surface abundantly with water, but only spray it lightly. You can also use plastic wrap, which covers the screed for even drying. But even in this case, you should pay attention to its readiness. Moisture may not reach and then you have to intervene. But how many times to water the dry screed? It will be enough several times during the day. Everything will depend on the circumstances and the maturation process.

After one week, the screed should dry naturally. To achieve maximum results, you shouldn't rush anywhere, but let the "rough" floor stand as long as possible. However, artificial drying is not recommended under any circumstances. Cracks often appear after it, and drying does not occur quite evenly. To prevent moisture from evaporating ahead of time, there should be no drafts in the room. They should be avoided for about two weeks after completing the work.

Operation recommendations

All types of work on the technology should be carried out at minimum ambient temperatures of at least five degrees. The same applies to the initial stage of maturation of the finished solution on the floor surface. In order to perform semi-dry screeds at the proper level, certain operating recommendations should also be followed:

• Any walking loads with a maximum weight of up to 100 kg are permissible only 12-18 hours after pouring and grouting the mortar.
• If there is a need for heavier loads, over 100 kg, then you will have to wait at least five days.

In these cases, you can experiment, go ahead of schedule. But no one is immune from the negative consequences that can lead to redoing the "rough" floor.

There are several tips that should be followed during the operation of a semi-dry screed. No heavy objects should fall to the surface, especially if they are sharp. When the underfloor heating is being installed under the screed, it should not be in working order for 30 days after pouring out the solution. Finishing work in the room can be done, but for at least ten days no one advises to put up scaffolding, ladders on the base of the "rough" floor.

Each of these points can only harm the newly laid screed, damage it.

Drying time

After 12-18 hours, the screed is ready to withstand an adult on itself. But this does not mean that you can run on the surface, put various objects on it, and so on. Only movement and then if necessary. Depending on the type of floor covering, you need to wait a certain time until the finished solution is completely dry. It takes at least 4-6 days. But in any case, control should be provided constantly in order to obtain the desired result.

Some people wonder whether it is necessary to reinforce a semi-dry floor screed. For this in the modern world there is a sufficient number of materials, among which fiber is very popular. It has no effect on the full drying time. But the result is a reliable design for any type of flooring.

Expansion joints

In addition to the installation of the damper tape along the perimeter of the room at the points of abutment in the subsequent "rough" floor to the walls and architectural structures, an expansion joint of a semi-dry screed is made. It is necessary to compensate for the expansion of the solution under the influence of changes in temperature conditions. This is especially necessary when installing a screed over warm floors.

These gaps have their own classification:

• Insulating. That is, to be delimited from other available structures. Thus, tension that could be transmitted to each other is relieved. Even a semi-dry screed should not press on the wall, for which a damper tape is used. Seams are made around each of the elements (columns, recesses, walls).

• Shrinkage. The depth of such joints is usually 20-30 mm (the concrete layer should be about 100 mm). After finishing work on grouting the surface, they are cut evenly over the entire area of the room. All distances between them must comply with SNiP. This number is approximately equal to 30 times the thickness of the mortar layer. By configuration - only rectangular. All other existing gaps should be taken into account in the floor map. Diagonal can be performed with a rectangular room of small size.

  

• Structural. They are performed during the screed device in several stages, when there are separate sections. A very simple option - upon completion of work in a certain area, the edges are made in the form of a ridge. The next stage and pouring the solution will cling to this section, will engage. Under certain circumstances, special compensation strips are used.

Repairs

As much has been said above about what a semi-dry screed requires care, situations may still arise when a semi-dry screed has cracked. In this case, it is very important to take all measures in time to restore the structure.

Beacons, profiles that have not been attached to the floor surface can be removed after 18-24 hours. The same goes for screwed in self-tapping screws. But instead of them, only recesses and pits remain. They are sealed with a ready-made solution, after which a grater is used to rub the surface. Then it remains only to moisten the semi-dry floor screed for which a spray bottle is used. In any case, we must not forget about covering the surface with a film, as in the usual case. Leave it to dry for a day. If you need to repeat the procedure with moistening the "rough" floor, then everything must be done.

It is important to see if there are any gaps in the floor. This is done 3-4 days after the base is poured. There will be no gaps if the technology of the semi-dry screed device has been followed. Minor deviations are allowed, it will not be critical. When the gaps are obvious and noticeable, then special mixtures are used to level them. But this cannot be done until the strength of the poured solution has reached its maximum values. Brand strength is achieved only 4 weeks after the installation of the "rough" floor. Only in this case, you can try to apply artificial drying before the flooring. She can't hurt if everything is done in moderation.

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