How To Make A Semi-dry Floor Screed On Your Own

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

• Styling options
• Main pros and cons
• Required materials and tools
• Preparatory activities
• The usual way to install beacons
• Mixing the solution
• Laying the finished mixture
• Grout
• The cost

The semi-dry screed method has as its main component the use of a dry construction mixture. In addition to high-quality cement, the mixture contains various additives that allow it to be used under certain circumstances and weather conditions. Due to the installation work, it takes much less time to lay the floor covering, and the quality of strength and durability increases significantly. A sufficient number of positive aspects increases the demand and interest from the work performers.

Styling options

Before you learn about how to make a semi-dry screed, you should dwell on specific options for laying the solution:

1. The use of a polyethylene backing. Here it is also called "floating" due to the fact that it does not come into contact with the base of the floor (ceiling), as well as with the walls, in any place.

   

2. Rejection of the substrate. Installation work is carried out directly on the base of the floor slab. No additional elements are required here.
3. Making a screed with a backing for sound insulation. The soundproofing membranes are installed immediately on the poured screed. If you also add polyethylene foam here, the result will be more than excellent.
4. Improvement of thermal insulation properties through the use of an appropriate substrate. This option is more suitable and optimal in private construction, when apartments are located on the first floors of buildings. Most often, a mineral wool slab acts as a material here.

Each of these options for the device of a semi-dry screed in the room differs in the final result. You can even articulate them together and thereby increase the specific characteristics of the floor. But in most cases, attention is paid to the very structure or room where the work is being carried out.

Main pros and cons

Looking at the reviews on the Internet, a semi-dry do-it-yourself floor screed is performed very quickly and does not require certain knowledge in construction. But there is no need to run headlong into the store and purchase a dry building mixture. It is important to understand what are the advantages of a semi-dry floor screed, and what difficulties you may encounter. If we talk about the disadvantages, then most often, when a semi-dry screed is performed with your own hands, the technology is not followed. Any violations lead to negative consequences.

Among the positive aspects, the most basic ones are distinguished, which allow you not to think about which floor screed is best done in the apartment, but will stop at the semi-dry version:

• Most often, this version of the screed device will cost a little less than the "wet" version.
• The properties of heat and sound insulation of the room where installation work is carried out are increased. This is achieved due to the porous structure of the final solution itself.
• The floor becomes perfectly level under any floor covering. You will not need to make any other alignment measures. This reduces the time required to complete the work, as well as saves energy and money.
• After complete drying of the poured solution, the appearance of cracks and places of precipitation is reduced to zero. This is most typical for "wet" flooring.
• The ready-made mortar does not flow to the lower floors and you do not have to worry about being flooded. The reason for all this is the low amount of water used.

But these are only the main points that attract consumers. Apartment owners in new buildings are especially thinking about how to make a semi-dry screed with their own hands.

They try to carry out all the work as quickly as possible in order to move in and celebrate the housewarming. But we must not forget about the disadvantages that can be encountered when using a semi-dry screed in creating a "rough" version of the floor. Most often this is due to not observing the proportions of creating a solution, namely, a large amount of added water. If you fulfill everything according to the points and requirements from the manufacturer of the construction dry mix, then there will be no problems. When performing a semi-dry floor screed in an apartment by hand, there are practically no other disadvantages.

But the mechanized version makes its own adjustments. First and foremost, we are talking about the high cost of using specialized equipment. It is costly even to rent it, not to mention the purchase for a single work execution. It will be much faster in time, but you will have to pay a decent amount of money. You should be prepared for the costs.

Required materials and tools

If you already know how a semi-dry floor screed is made, you should consider buying the necessary material and tools for the job. It is the quality of the materials that will affect the service life of the finished screed, as well as the manifestation of its positive properties and characteristics. The main components here are sand and cement. It is best to focus on a trusted seller and a specific manufacturer. There are frequent cases of consumer fraud, when, under the guise of high-quality raw materials, a completely different product is sold, significantly different in quality. In general, you will need:

• Cement. The optimal grade is M-500.
• Sand. It should be coarse-grained and slightly moist.

• Water.

  

We must not forget about working tools. The solution is easier to prepare using a mixer. For leveling mortar, a rule of a certain length is suitable. So that everything is done without harm to health - buy gloves and special glasses. Subsequent screed care is carried out using a polystyrene foam float or a metal spatula, a metal comb, reminiscent of an ordinary foliage rake. On top of the poured solution, a polyethylene film is laid, which is necessary for the uniform distribution of moisture throughout the layer. Also included is a level (laser is more accurate).

Some will think that it is by no means possible to perform a screed without reinforcement. One cannot but agree here. But instead of the usual steel mesh in the modern world, a semi-dry screed in an apartment is carried out with the addition of fiberglass.

Work is better done by 2-3 people at a time. One will mix the solution, the second distributes it over the area of the room, and the third is already beginning to tamp and grind the surface under the floor covering.

Preparatory activities

Before you start spreading the solution over the area in the room, it is very important to prepare the base. This will give an answer to how to make a semi-dry floor screed with your own hands correctly and efficiently. All existing debris is killed, as well as dirt. In this case, a construction vacuum cleaner will come in handy, which is even able to collect all the dust. In any case, it will be superfluous during the execution of work. Any minor surface deformations are removed with sanding paper. More noticeable - removed or embedded. Here, a cement mortar is used that does not shrink.

The waterproofing layer is important. A polyethylene film with a minimum thickness of 200 microns is suitable as a material. There are also specialized materials, for example, Izolon. It performs a protective function against moisture, and also improves the properties of sound and thermal insulation in the room. The choice will be only for the performer. In any case, they will fulfill all the required qualities for the future "rough" floor.

The best option for laying the waterproofing layer is a continuous sheet. But it will not always be enough for the entire area in the room. In this case, you can make launches of one element on another with a distance of 15-20 cm. They should not adjoin each other, but enter. It is also important to run the film on the walls at a height slightly higher than the future screed. Subsequently, it can be cut off without problems.

Many people know how to make a semi-dry screed, but forget about the walls in the room. They also need to be prepared for the job. Walls and any architectural structures must be insulated. In this case, a damper tape is used. It is glued around the entire perimeter. The upper edge of the tape should protrude above the screed. The damper tape helps to resist the cracking of the solution after drying, and it will not be afraid of any compression and expansion under the influence of external and internal factors. At the end of the work, all protrusions can be easily cut using a clerical knife.

The usual way to install beacons

The zero line of the floor is determined using a laser or conventional level. Beacons are installed along it for a semi-dry floor screed.

Beacon supports can be made of cement mortar or gypsum mixture. Guide beacons are exposed from a metal profile, wooden battens, reinforcing elements, etc. All installed beacons are equal in level. The more their number, the more accurate the final results will be, the floor surface will become smoother. It is important to consider the length of the rule used. The distance between the beacons should be less than this length by about 10-15 cm.

When beacon profiles are taken, they are attached to the base parallel to one of the selected walls in the room. The first one is set about 200 mm from the wall. Then they are distributed evenly and optimally over the entire area.

Mixtures for lighthouses made of cement mortar can be purchased ready-made at any hardware store. But if the answer is given how to make a semi-dry screed on your own, then the solution can be prepared independently. The main thing is to accurately observe the proportions and so that the solution itself is not rare.

Mixing the solution

When mixing the solution, one very simple rule should be followed - to prepare it according to the set proportions without deviations.

Cement and sand are taken in a ratio of 1 to 3, and for each cubic meter of the finished solution, 600 grams of fiber is taken as a reinforcing element. For every 100 kg of cement taken, 1 liter of plasticizer should be added.

As a container for preparing a solution, any perfect dish, barrel is suitable. An alternative is a dedicated mixer. It is worth adhering to the sequence of work:

1. River sand in the amount of 130 liters is poured into the used container.
2. Fiber and plasticizer are added, 140 g and 0.5 liters, respectively.
3. 50 kg of cement is poured.
4. All components are mixed thoroughly, after which about 15 liters of water are added.

The capacity can be of any volume, but the proportions should always be observed. The most important thing is that the solution does not turn out to be liquid. The quality is checked as follows: a small amount should be squeezed in a fist, and if there is no moisture release, then you can proceed with the installation. However, it should not crumble.

Laying the finished mixture

The beacons are on display, the fiber-reinforced mortar is mixed, and you can start working. Semi-dry screed independently starts from the wall opposite from the entrance. The distance between two installed beacons is filled in and using the rule is pulled to the right and left towards itself.

One should not be afraid to close several exposed beacons, as most often they remain forever in the solution. Sometimes the profiles are taken out, and the voids are filled with the ready-made mixture, after which it must be tamped. In this case, the thickness of the screed is usually made at least 40 mm. Much will depend directly on the evenness of the base.

Once the screed is laid out throughout the room, it should be tamped. The best option is if this process will be performed by another person while filling the solution. This will reduce the time a little, but you will not have to be distracted by other work.

Grout

When the entire solution after installation is thoroughly compacted, you can proceed to the final work - grouting. If you do not want to spend extra money and attract special equipment for an additional fee, then you can take a trowel bar of a certain width. With its help, the entire surface is rubbed in a circular motion. A more worthwhile alternative is disc type grinding equipment. The work with its help will be performed in a better quality and as soon as possible. In addition, ramming is additionally carried out.

It will not be superfluous to involve another person in the work, especially if the area itself is large, where the installation is being carried out. There is a time frame to be met for sanding the surface. It begins no earlier than 20 minutes after laying the mortar, but it must not be allowed to stand idle for more than six hours.

The cost

Everyone wants to know how much it costs to make a semi-dry floor screed. In addition to purchasing all the necessary tools for work, as well as material, it is worth adding here the price for delivery to the installation site, climbing to a specific floor, paying for auxiliary workers, renting special equipment (fortunately, a grinding device will be enough). Specific costs should be determined when choosing in a store, as well as in a company that provides such services.

But this screed option is optimal due to the excellent final result. The most important thing is to observe the technology of installation of the "rough" floor and no nuances will definitely arise.

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