Floor screed device in an apartment - possible methods, preparation and sequence of arrangement. How to make a floor screed: we make a screed in an apartment with step-by-step photo instructions with our own hands How to make a screed in an apartment yourself

Uneven floors are not just the best appearance, but also a huge number of disadvantages associated with its operation. If the floor screed in the apartment is uneven, then this promises you the following in the future: complex laying of almost any floor covering, a decrease in the service life of the coating, the problem with the installation of large-sized furniture. That is why, while the repair is underway, a high-quality floor screed must be made. Today we will tell you about different methods and try to identify the best one for premises in an apartment building.

The fact that the screed is designed to level the floor surface is clear to everyone. But she has other purposes:

1. This roughing layer significantly strengthens concrete base (stove).
2. The screed is made in a continuous layer, which makes it possible to improve the heat and sound insulation characteristics of the room (not much, but still). There is a variant of organizing the screed on a layer of dense heat insulator - such a system will be very effective.
3. Hidden communication lines can be laid inside the screed - wiring, water and sewer pipes.
4. Recently, underfloor heating (water or electric) has become extremely popular. This allows you to heat the entire surface of the concrete and the coating on it. In a room with such floors, it is often not even necessary to install heating radiators; heating savings become significant. Such systems are installed precisely in the screed.
5. The screed helps to distribute the load evenly on the concrete base.
6. It can be used to raise the floor to the desired height.

Screed materials and technologies for their use

Moving on to the most interesting - how and what can you make a screed in an apartment? Let's consider all the solutions, describing along the way the properties of materials and the technology of their installation.

Self-leveling mixtures

One of the modern solutions is the use of self-leveling mixtures. They are sold in bags of 20-30 kg. They can have a cement or plaster base - each option has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.

Such a screed is used mainly in small rooms or when you need to quickly make a small layer.

The main advantage of such a floor is the speed of its construction. Depending on the type of material and layer thickness, the floor can be walked on in 2-10 hours. The coating is very durable, does not produce dust, and has high adhesion to various adhesives. The layer thickness varies from 5 mm to 5 cm.

Self-leveling mortars create a smooth surface by gravitational forces

Such a floor spreads when pouring on its own, under the influence of gravity. Ideally, he takes a horizontal level himself, and the floor turns out to be perfectly flat, but this is not always the case, and it depends on a number of factors:

1. First, the base must be well primed so that the water does not leave the mixture too quickly.
2. Secondly, when the layer is not thick enough to provide the desired flow, and gravity resists the viscosity of the mixture.
3. The third reason is the most common - there is simply not enough mixture for the treated area. By sight, it seems that she has already filled everything, but in fact you just doused the old floor.

To prevent this from happening, installation is done necessarily on the lighthouses.

Not sure how beacons are installed? Read about it in the article. We will tell you how to determine the level of the floor, prepare it for the installation of beacons, what types of fixing beacons exist and what is their difference, how to install.

It is also worth noting the high consumption of material and higher material costs when compared with the thickness of the coating. However, the advantages listed above cover this fact.

Now let's look at how such a screed is made. To work, we need the following set of tools and materials:

1. The mixture itself.
2. Power tool for mixing and attachment (perforator, mixer, drill).
3. Several containers, the volume of each of which will be enough for breeding a whole bag.
4. Tripod lighthouses.
5. Fiberglass for reinforcement (not used by all craftsmen).
6. Needle roller and spatula.
7. Damper tape.
8. The primer is better than concrete contact, and the tool for its application.
9. Spiked shoes for walking on already flooded floors.

Table 1. Filling instructions

Steps, photo	Description
	We start by cleaning the premises. First of all, with a hammer and a spatula, we beat off pieces of hardened putty and other debris from the concrete surface. We remove everything with a broom. Next we take construction vacuum cleaner and do general cleaning. Advice! The better you clean the base, the stronger the self-leveling floor will be.
	We need to minimize the absorbency of the substrate as much as possible so that the bulk mix does not quickly lose moisture and dry out. It is better to make two layers of soil.
	A damper tape around the perimeter of the room is needed in order to create a technological gap for the screed for thermal expansion. If the walls and you are plastered, then the easiest way is to nail this element with a stapler.
	If you decide to make your floor strong, spread this fiberglass over its entire surface - it will reinforce the screed.
	Next, we put beacons. Their number is not regulated, but there are recommendations. First, we put them on the lowest points of the floor, and one on the highest. To do this, you should first measure the perimeter of the room with a laser or bubble level. Secondly, we place intermediate tripods in order to transfer the desired level from a high point to a low one. Then the beacons are adjusted - the central rod is set in level so that its lower end shows us when we will pour the floor. Advice! If you did not find a tripod, then use ordinary dowel screws instead - screw them in according to the same principle, immediately determining the height, that is, the top point of the dowel should correspond to the floor level.
	In the next step, we begin to stir the mixture and pour it onto the floor. This must be done continuously so that the already poured concrete does not have time to set.
	The poured floor must be stretched with a needle roller and a trowel. It also helps to get rid of air bubbles that form in the mixture when mixing. We pour the floor and roll it out in this manner until it reaches the level for each lighthouse.

You need to start pouring from the lowest point, gradually moving to the highest. So the floor is guaranteed not to grab until the end of the work. At the same time, do not try to fill more than 20-30 square meters at once. If the room is larger, then divide it into sections using metal profile PN 50 * 40 for drywall.

Wet screed

The classic version of the screed is wet. Among other competitors, it is the most inexpensive, therefore it is common in mass construction. For an apartment, it is not the best option, since it is required to give a minimum of 2 cm of thickness, which is impracticable in some situations.

Advice! When we talk about minimum layer, we mean counting from the highest point in the room. Elsewhere this value will be even higher.

The main advantage of this solution is the leveling of significant floor differences when minimum costs... The main disadvantages are the elongation in time, great laboriousness, difficulty with mixing.

There are several types of liquid screeds:

1. Concrete - a common classic. Made from cement, water and fillers. The latter are usually sand, crushed stone, gravel. Such a screed is best suited for creating the base of the floor, since, despite all the advantages that were mentioned earlier and its strength, it is hardly possible to make the coating even. Plus, the surface of such a floor is usually very dusty. Due to the presence of the coarse filler, an appropriate layer thickness is required.

2. Cement-sand mortar. It reminds many of the first option, but there is no large filler in it. Hence, it turns out that this floor is cheaper, it is less durable, but it smoothes better and can be made with a thinner layer.

3. Lightweight concrete screed. The filler is changing again - instead of crushed stone and gravel, it can be expanded clay, polystyrene, and so on. Such a screed will also not be very strong, but it will be very warm.

Attention! Lightweight concrete is not made in conjunction with, as they will prevent the penetration of heat into the room.

- it is made over the subfloor in order to level it (finishing layer no more than 15 mm thick). It consists of Portland cement, quartz sand and polymer additives. This composition provides the screed with high strength and low shrinkage.

Table 2. Installation of wet screed

Steps, photo	Description
	The first step is also preparing the floor surface - cleaning, priming, and so on. We have already described these stages in detail earlier, so we will not repeat any more. If you plan to make a sufficiently thick layer of screed, then instead of all this, the floor can be covered with thick plastic wrap. You will get excellent protection from water, plus during pouring the concrete will not lose cement laitance, which will have a positive effect on its strength. A damper tape is also attached around the perimeter of the room. Advice! This element can be abandoned with thin layers, but it is still better not to do this - the material costs mere pennies, and it is not difficult to fix it.
	If the screed is thick, then be sure to lay the steel mesh on the floor. This step can be swapped with the next one if you want to raise the reinforcement above the floor.
	Next, we put metal or plastic beacons. You can purchase such a profile as in the photo above, or use rectangular pipes for this - they are easier to expose and do not bend when the mixture is pulled. More attention should be paid to this stage, since the lighthouses should form a single flat plane. It is they who set the evenness of the entire floor. Lighthouses are displayed in different ways. The most common way is to place them on plaster or mortar lugs and then morph.
	We determine the grade of concrete (usually M200) and mix it strictly according to the recipe. If you have large volumes, then use a concrete mixer, since it is very difficult to do it manually.
	In the next step, the concrete mixture is dumped onto the floor and evenly distributed. For this, a rule is used, which moves along the beacons, like on rails. In this case, the movements are made of a vibration type, that is, from side to side, with simultaneous pulling forward. The rule does not tilt so that there are no deflections.

After completing the work, the floor is left to dry. You can start trimming it no earlier than 20 days from this moment. Walking is allowed the next day.

We have described only the general procedure. In some situations, the screed can be laid on a heat insulator or combined with a finishing self-leveling coating.

All about the advantages and disadvantages, types, composition and process of pouring a self-leveling floor, we told in the article. Detailed step by step instructions process, useful videos and expert advice is attached.

Semi-dry screed

Also a fairly common type of screed. The technology of its device involves the use of the same cement with sand, but in a different ratio. The material contains a small amount of moisture, so the floor dries much faster.

The work speed is also very high. There is only one drawback - the coating is not very durable.

The workflow will hardly differ from the one described before, so let's just highlight the main points so as not to repeat ourselves.

1. Lighthouses are used removable - they are immediately removed, and the furrows are closed.
2. The material is initially very dense, so you can walk on it using special shoes with a wide support area.
3. The screed surface can be wiped off immediately with a special machine.

Dry screed

This technology was developed by the well-known company Knauf. It is called a screed conditionally, since the process of arranging such a coating is somewhat similar to working with concrete.

The structure of such a floor is as follows:

1. Dry backfill - with its help, leveling occurs.
2. Gypsum panels are a finish that provides rigidity. The panels have locks along the edges, which allows them to be connected into one whole.

Dry screed can be classified depending on its purpose. There are the following types:

1. Alpha - settles on flat surfaces.
2. Beta - also done on a flat floor, but on top of a porous fiber insulation material.
3. Vega - dry backfill floor.
4. Gamma - installation of the floor on a combined substrate.

Table 3. Installation of dry screed

Photos, steps	Description
	Rectangular beacons are used here. metal pipes... They are put like this: 1. A strip is made from dry backfill along the entire length of the room. 2. The ridge of the strip is trimmed with a spatula. 3. The pipe is being laid. 4. A rule is placed on top of the edge, which must be aligned with the laser level beam. The sinking of the lighthouse is carried out by blows of a mallet according to the rule. If there is no laser level, use a bubble.
	Further, a filler is poured into the voids between the lighthouses, which, as a rule, is stretched along the lighthouses. This is done easily, since the backfill is mobile and has a small mass.
	Then gypsum sheets are placed on top. Their seams are coated with glue "liquid nails". After installation, the seams are additionally reinforced with self-tapping screws. The material is trimmed with a jigsaw for walls and various obstacles.
	The joints should be primed and then repaired plaster mixso that there are no irregularities on the floor. This step is not required for every type of board.

In order for your floor to serve you for a large number of years, and to look perfectly flat, before you start laying floor tiles, you should first make preparatory work, and level the floor surface. Now let's try to consider how it is worthwhile to competently approach the solution of this problem. Let's, together with the portal, learn how to make a floor screed indoors.

What is a screed

If you do not know how to make a floor screed with your own hands, then you should watch the video below. Before you start talking about this process, you need to talk about what a floor screed is.

So, floor screed can be done using all kinds of materials and different techniques. There are the following types of screeds:

Concrete screed. This view screed is one of the most common. Such a screed is mainly used for the initial leveling of the surface of the floor. If the surface has a large number of drops, then this method can be called the most suitable. The fillers of the mixture for this leveling method are, as a rule, sand and cement. But to complete this work, you will need to spend a lot of time and effort.

Self-leveling screed performed mainly from prepared mixtures. The layer for leveling in thickness comes out about 3 cm.It is used at the end of work to level various differences in the floor surface. This method is suitable for almost all types of existing flooring.

Dry screed it is mainly produced if you need to level a floor that has very large irregularities with a height of 4 to 11 cm. There are two options for manufacturing this type of screed.

A) Alignment to lags. The materials used are plywood, chipboard or various other types of sheet materials.

B) Alignment using gypsum fiber sheets. For this type of screed, German materials from the KNAUF company are often used. For the right choice material necessary for leveling the floor, you need to know what is the general condition of the floor surface and what type of flooring you will use when finishing all work.

Screed purpose

In order to make complex repairs to your floor, in any case, you should screed its surface. Now let's try to find out what all the same functions this screed has.

• The main purpose of the screed is to form a flat floor surface. For example, a material such as laminate, parquet or linoleum requires a perfectly flat base on the floor surface.
• Another main function of this base is to increase the rigidity of structures.
• The base has excellent heat and sound insulation properties.
• Thanks to the use of the screed, it is possible to raise the floor to any level without any problems.

Floor screed requirements

To maximize the performance of its functions, the screed must meet all the necessary requirements and standards. Namely:

1. The screed must be strong in order to withstand the specified compressive loads.
2. The density of the constituent substance of the screed over the entire surface of the room should have the same thickness.
3. If the screed is poured over the soundproofing layer, then it should be at least 4 cm thick and not more than 2.5 cm across the floor slabs.
4. The screed must be 2 cm thicker than the diameter of the pipes that need to be hidden in it.
5. When pouring on a soundproofing layer, you need to retreat 3-6 cm from the edge of the wall. This indentation will also be filled with soundproofing in the future.
6. A monolithic layer is poured onto the waterproofing. For this, as a rule, a very thick polyethylene film is used or roofing material is used. In this case, the waterproofing layer is placed 6-11 cm on the walls of the room.
7. The surface layers of the screed should not have chips or cracks.

Necessary preparatory work

The amount of work that, as a rule, must be done before starting laying the screed depends mainly on its type and on what condition the floor surface has. But still it will be necessary to resort to performing the following actions:

1. To begin with, you should conduct a survey of the floor, and, if necessary, dismantle the old coating.
2. After dismantling, it is necessary to carry out a complete cleaning of construction waste.
3. Now it is worth wet or dry cleaning the floor surface with a brush or vacuum cleaner.
4. Determine the required floor level for its subsequent lifting, using a laser tape measure.
5. Now it's worth installing the beacons.

Work technology and features

In this article we are talking about how a do-it-yourself floor screed in an apartment should look like. In addition to our tips, there is a video in this article that will also help you see this.

The correct implementation of the floor screed depends on the fulfillment of all standards provided for this work. You should know what composition of the mixture should be used in this case, as well as how to properly knead and install it. The order of your further actions will depend on what type of screed you have chosen.

Installation work concrete screed.

Leveling the floor in this way is very popular and quite common, despite the fact that this work is quite difficult and time-consuming. First of all, it is necessary to completely free the entire surface of the floor from objects: remove furniture, various interior items, etc. from the room. Then they begin to remove its old coating from the floor, while painstakingly examining its bases. The composition of a concrete screed, as a rule, includes the following components: sand, cement and other fillers. To complete these works you will need:

• Building level.
• Roulette.
• Beacons.
• Spatula and trowel.
• Mixture utensils.
• Construction knife.
• A drill with a nozzle for mixing the mixture.

Most construction stores sell pre-prepared mixtures of sand and cement for the manufacture of concrete mortar. They, as a rule, already contain all these elements. But if you do not want to spend money, then it is quite possible to make this solution with your own hands, if you have all the necessary ingredients in the right proportional ratio.

Basically, in order to make a screed, three parts of sand should be taken for one part of cement. And plasticizers will help the mixture become more elastic, and it will not harden quickly enough, which will prevent the appearance of chips and cracks on it. If you need to level the floor with large differences (more than 6 cm), then you should add fiber, which has reinforcing properties, to this mixture, or use a metal mesh for laying.

Pay attention to the site's article: How to glaze a balcony with your own hands

The screed of the floor surface in the room with concrete mortar should be done in the following sequence:

1. The surface of the floor is measured using a building level, then all existing differences and unevenness are determined.
2. All chips and cracks on the floor surface are carefully cleaned and embroidered.
3. The surface of the floor covering is cleaned of debris and dirt.
4. Laying a waterproofing layer (if necessary).
5. With the help of a building level, beacons are installed and fixed to the floor surface.
6. Now the floor is primed.
7. After that, a concrete solution is made from a dry ready-mixed mixture and additional components. As a rule, immediately after the mixture is made, it is laid on the floor surface.
8. When leveling the solution, you should pay attention to the installed beacons. In one room, you should try to lay the solution in one day. In order for the adhesion of individual areas filled with solution to be better, it is necessary to use metal mesh or fittings.
9. After all the work on pouring the floor is completed, you need to start laying it on its entire surface with a polyethylene film and leave it until it completely hardens. This procedure will help you avoid cracking.

You should also ensure that the room is completely protected from drafts and the sun. Depending on what mixture was used to fill the floor, the first steps on it can be done only after 4 days. With the help of a building level, you need to carefully check the floor surface again for whether it is even, or somewhere there are small irregularities that, immediately after detection, will need to be wiped with a special device. It must always be remembered that the time for complete hardening of the concrete screed is 25-30 days. Only after the expiration of the specified period, you can start laying the flooring or laying thermal insulation. The exclusive option in this case is the laying of ceramic tiles. This work can be done as early as 6 days after screed.

Self-leveling screed installation

This screed is used mainly in order to obtain a perfectly flat floor surface. In this case, we mean finishing laying of linoleum, laminate, or any polymer coatings. The main part of the hardware stores are selling a variety of self-leveling mixtures, the preparation of which is done at home according to the instructions attached to them. These works must be performed in the following order. All debris and dirt should be removed from the entire surface of the floor. This work must be done with special care, since the small debris that may remain after cleaning can float to the surface of the filled layer.

According to the instructions, it is necessary to start preparing the solution. When making it, in order to avoid the appearance of lumps, the mixture should be added to the liquid, but not vice versa. A construction mixer will help you stir the mixture thoroughly. The resulting solution should look like a creamy mass. It is saturated with oxygen, leaving for 10 minutes.

Pouring is performed, as a rule, starting from the farthest corner of the room to the corner of the door along its entire wall.

Thanks to the use of a metal brush and a needle-shaped roller, the mortar is leveled and its thickness. Based on this, the surface of the floor dries quickly enough, in contrast to the concrete. It will be possible to make the first steps on the floor after 9-10 hours. These times can depend on the indoor climate in the room and the thickness of the resulting layer. After filling the floor, it must be protected from sunlight and drafts, as well as water ingress on its surface.

If you try to follow all of the above recommendations, then you will get a very hard surface that will not absorb any moisture in the future.

Dry screed

If you do not know what a do-it-yourself floor screed looks like, then the instructions will help you see the whole process of work. A dry screed can be used to level the floor. Dry screed is one of the the latest technologies when carrying out these works. It has 2 layers:

• A layer consisting of expanded clay sand or a special mixture.
• Sheet material. Sheet material is usually fiberboard or plywood.
• It can also be used hypo-free.

The sheets are connected together with glue or self-tapping screws. And the resulting gaps are covered with putty. Then they are polished. Such a screed will have excellent heat and sound insulation properties, as well as the floor surface will be more even.

Outcome

In this article, we tried to tell you how to properly perform floor screed work indoors. As we found out, this work can be done independently, despite all the difficulties of the process. We want to give you one more small recommendation: Try to carry out all work processes in compliance with the technology and use only quality materialsthat have passed the required certification.

In this article on the site, we will consider how to properly make a floor screed with your own hands in an apartment, you can watch a step-by-step video of pouring a screed, respectively, if you follow all the instructions yourself, you can reduce the cost of the work performed as a whole.

Let's find out what a screed is - it is nothing more than a floor layer (base) on which the finish is laid flooring: laminate, linoleum, tiles, etc. The type and further operation of your flooring will depend on the quality of the screed.

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Screed types

Floor screed in an apartment can be of two types:

1. Monolithic is cement-sand, gypsum (anhydrite), self-leveling, etc.
2. Dry or prefabricated from building boards.

The screed must be selected depending on the room. In rooms with high humidity (bathrooms and kitchens), plaster and prefabricated screeds must not be used.

Preparatory work

After you have decided what kind of floor screed you will do, you need to prepare the base for pouring. To do this, it is necessary to remove the old flooring and all peeled parts of the base and preferably vacuum it to remove dust from the surface.

Then we cover the base with a primer for better adhesion (Betokontakt is ideal, but a cheaper one is also possible).

For further work, you need to find a zero level. To do this, you will need a water level or laser level.

We find the zero level at once for all premises of the apartment. To do this, at a height of about 1-1.5 m from the floor, put a mark in an arbitrary place and then transfer the marks to all walls in the apartment using a water level.

You should have marks on all walls in all rooms. These marks need to be connected with straight lines.

Now we measure the distance from the drawn level to the floor. This measurement must be taken in several places on each wall. The smallest value will indicate that the floor is at its maximum height at that location.

From the smallest value, subtract the thickness of the screed and measure the resulting length down from the previously drawn level. After connecting all the newly marked marks, you get a zero level for all rooms. This is the level to which the future screed will be poured.

Please note that the thickness of the floor screed must not be less than 30 mm (except for leveling with self-leveling compounds or leveling agents).

A cement screed is made from one part of cement and three parts of sand. But now there are many ready-made dry mixes that only need to be diluted with water and can be used.

Video: do-it-yourself floor screed step by step instructions:

Do-it-yourself floor screed technology

Floor screed technology in an apartment includes several stages. Roofing tape is glued to the walls from below so that its upper edge is 15 cm higher than your future screed.

Also, if through holes and cracks in the floor are found, they must be sealed with non-shrinking cement (CMC) so that later, when pouring the solution, it does not leak to the neighbors below.

The next stage of filling is the installation of beacons. All further work depends on the quality and correct installation of the beacons. We use metal T-shaped guides as beacons.

We attach them to the same mortar from which we will make the screed. Laying it out in piles. The first beacon should be 20cm from the wall. Subsequent beacons are installed parallel to each other, at a distance of 30-40 cm less than the length of the rule.

The longer the rule, the smoother the tie will be.

After laying the beacons on the piles of mortar, they must be leveled with a level. Alignment should be along the length of the beacon and also between all beacons. As a result, the level in all positions should be at zero.

After leveling, we are waiting for the solution to completely solidify.

After installing the beacons and solidifying the solution, you can proceed directly to pouring the solution. To do this, knead the solution and pour it between two beacons, starting from the far edge.

Then, as a rule, we pull (level) it along the beacons to ourselves. And so on until the entire floor screed is filled. It is better to pour the filling together, since while one levels out, the second at this time kneads the next portion of the solution.

And now you have finished pouring the floor screed, but it's too early to relax. Now it is necessary to create conditions under which it will harden properly.

It takes 24-28 days for the cement to fully harden and gain strength. To prevent the screed from drying out too early, it must be moistened 2-3 times a day. This should continue for about two weeks.

You can also cover it with a film, then it will be possible to moisten it as needed.

After 5-8 days, it will be possible to walk on the screed, but it will be completely ready in a month. Acceleration in such matters will not lead to anything good, but on the contrary, you can only spoil all the work done.

Quality checking

After the required time, you can check the quality of the floor screed made.

1. We look visually - it should be a uniform gray color.
2. Then we look at the evenness of the surface. Using the two-meter rule placed on the floor, we check the size of the gap. The gap according to our standards should not exceed 4 mm.
3. The third point is the hardness test. If the screed did not withstand much, then, as already mentioned, it may simply crack. We check for hardness by hitting a hammer on a tangent.

That's all the main points when pouring a floor screed with your own hands. Observing these rules, you can avoid many mistakes, loss of time, and as a result, save your nerves and reduce the cost of apartment renovation.

By the way, information for thinking about the scale of work - for a screed with an area of \u200b\u200b80 m2, you will need about 100 bags of dry mix.

Video instruction on how to make a floor screed:

If you have any questions, complaints or want to leave your positive feedback, you can do it below! Leave your feedback and suggestions in the comments!

One of the ways to prepare the surface for laying floor materials is to level it with a screed. Now there are several technologies that can be applied to make a complete platform that meets the requirements. How to make a floor screed in an apartment different ways? Answers to this question will be the topic of this article. As a result, it will be possible to choose the right technology, which seems better, and make a base for laying floor materials with your own hands. The attached video materials will surely help you understand the order of work and the nuances of each method.

Screed device methods

Until recently, the screed was made only with the help of liquid mortars, such as concrete or cement-sand mixture. Now the list of materials used, as well as technologies for their use, has expanded significantly. Depending on the tasks set, today you can apply the following methods for installing the sub floor:

• wet (includes screeds from various cement-based slurries);
• semi-dry (a modified cement-sand mixture is used);
• dry (formation of a surface from special slabs by filling);
• finishing leveling (self-leveling floors).

Each of these methods can be applied in an apartment, regardless of whether it is located in panel house or monolithic. However, each of the technologies has its own advantages, some methods - disadvantages. The screed methods differ in the cost, which is formed by the prices of the materials used or components that are used to prepare the mixture. So it makes sense to study each method in detail in order to conclude which one is better in a particular situation.

Types of wet screeds

Materials for wet works when installing screeds, they are the most diverse, so it makes sense to classify them correctly. The following types of liquid mixtures are used to level the surface:

• concrete of various brands;
• cement-sand mortar;
• ready-made polymer-cement mixtures;
• modified types of concrete.

Each of these materials have their own operational characteristics and priority areas of application, including when installing screeds in an apartment. To find out which one is the best in order to properly fill the sub-floor in a particular situation, you need to consider their pros and cons.

Concrete

This material is indispensable when pouring rough screeds, which are the basis for overlying floor structures. It is difficult to create clean concrete surfaces with your own hands without proper experience, since the composition of the material necessarily includes a large fraction, which prevents careful alignment. For the primary formation of the base, concrete is best suited for the following reasons:

• the material has the lowest cost;
• the thickness of the layer is not limited, so you can level the surface of any curvature;
• with rough casting, concrete can be left without reinforcement and a cement-depleted solution can be used, which makes the cost of the work performed even less.

For finishing surfaces, concrete is less preferable when compared with other materials. Here its shortcomings make themselves felt:

• cannot be filled with a thin layer (its height is at least 4 cm);
• gaining strength for a long time (almost a month), which often slows down work;
• need to be reinforced, and this increases the final cost;
• it is necessary to strengthen the top layer (again costs);
• gives significant shrinkage, which can lead to cracking and delamination with a slight violation of technology;
• the material is cold, so it is uncomfortable to be on it if there is no heating;
• often it is necessary to additionally level the concrete surface with self-leveling floors, the price of which is considerable ($ 5-10 per meter, 10 mm thick).

These disadvantages of concrete have become the reason that more practical materials have come to replace it, which we will consider further.

Cement-sand mortar

This is, in fact, the same concrete in which there is no gravel. Liquid cement-sand mixtures are used for the construction of inexpensive screeds of relatively small thickness. Such material is somewhat more expensive than concrete, since the absence of a coarse fraction in the composition has to be compensated for by a high content of cement. Liquid cement-sand mortar for pouring the base of the floor is rarely used, since it has practically the same disadvantages as concrete, while having much lower strength.

Important! For the preparation of a cement-sand mixture, only washed or river sand should be used. Sandy filler of a quarry origin contains a lot of clay, which significantly reduces the strength of the screed and makes cracking and early destruction of the cast structure inevitable.

Polymer ready mixes

The cost of such materials, when compared with concrete (in terms of m2 of finished screed of a certain thickness), is much higher. Therefore, it is impractical to use packaged mixtures for rough filling. For a base device of small thickness (1.5-5 cm), such materials are better suited. The disadvantages of ready-made polymer-cement mixtures end at a higher price, followed by advantages, such as:

• it is not necessary to reinforce the screed;
• the solution for work can be easily prepared by yourself using a construction mixer or a drill with a similar nozzle;
• the prepared solution is easy to use (the filler does not settle, there is no coarse fraction);
• ripens and dries much faster than concrete (maximum a week);
• it is possible to form with your own hands a surface that meets modern requirements.

Thanks to such advantages, ready-made mixtures are much better for use in apartments, both panel and monolithic houses. It is convenient to pour such solutions with your own hands on the balcony or in the bathroom for laying the tiles. Although polymer-cement mixtures are increasingly used when pouring large areas, when the leveling layer is small. To make sure that working with your own hands with such mixtures is not too difficult, watch this video below, which demonstrates the entire workflow.

Lightweight concrete

The idea to replace the filler in concrete with a lighter one was born long ago and was embodied in expanded clay concrete, where the crushed stone was replaced with porous expanded clay granules. This material is used to create lightweight sub-floors. Expanded clay concrete is not suitable for finishing screeds, since large granules do not make it possible to make a flat, smooth surface.

Relatively recently, they began to use an even lighter modification - polystyrene concrete. In this solution, the role of the filler is played by foam granules, which are different in size. If you use a fraction of up to 5 mm, you can just level the surface with your own hands, for example, for laying tiles. The undoubted advantage of polystyrene concrete is that when pouring it, two goals are guaranteed:

• leveling the surface;
• insulation of the base of the floor.

The cost of polystyrene concrete depends on the price of the filler. Large granules are cheaper, small ones more expensive. Most inexpensive option, - crumbs from expanded polystyrene obtained by crushing foam waste.

Semi-dry screed

This technology has been used relatively recently, but has become widespread. The peculiarity of the material is in the limited content of water, which is added to the mixture as much as enough to wet the cement, in addition to which sand is included as a filler and a plasticizer. The role of the latter is to make the material more plastic and enhance the ability of water to wet other components by reducing its surface tension. Sometimes fibrous substances are added to the composition, which significantly increases the strength of the subfloor.

The semi-dry, crumbly consistency of the mixture requires a slightly different approach to working with it with your own hands. Briefly described, the process of forming a screed looks like this. The prepared mixture is filled in between the lighthouses with a layer exceeding required level, after which it is carefully compacted in any way. If necessary, it is poured over and compacted again. When the layer of already rammed material exceeds the level of the beacons, the excess is removed by the rule. Surface errors (indentations) are immediately corrected by pouring the mixture and smoothing with a wide plaster float. You can watch this process in the following video.

The advantages of the method of installing the sub-floor with semi-dry mixtures are many, the main ones are:

• high strength;
• slight shrinkage;
• rapid maturation (no more than a week);
• there is no need to do waterproofing;
• immediately a surface that meets the requirements is obtained;
• work is easier than when pouring liquid solutions;
• the cost of the material is only slightly higher than the wet cement-sand mortar;
• the mixture is prepared without any problems with your own hands using a conventional concrete mixer.

So the dry mix and the corresponding technology today is one of the the best options in terms of price / quality ratio.

Important! When forming thick (8 cm or more) screed layers with a semi-dry mixture, there should be several filling / tamping cycles. That is, you should not pour everything at once and try to compact. It is correct to do this in such a situation in layers.

Dry screed

This method of creating a flat subfloor surface was developed by Knauf specialists. Now similar materials are produced by other manufacturers. This method is fundamentally different from the established concept of the screed device. The structure of such a base of the floor is two-layer, - at the bottom, a leveled pillow made of fine expanded clay, on top, there are gypsum-fiber plates securely fastened together with glue and self-tapping screws.

What is a floor screed and what it is intended for, what types of this important element of a modern building are - all this is in our article! What materials are used to create them, depending on the main purpose in each case. We will consider how to make a screed below.

In fact, this is the basis for placing topcoat floor, which also performs additional functions depending on the real situation arising during the construction of a house.

Screed - the basis of the foundations

A floor screed is the foundation of any house or apartment. The strength of the housing depends on the quality of the base made, how quiet and warm it will be.

Let's pay attention to the situation when subsoil waters during the period of maximum rise approach the surface at a distance of about 2 meters. In such cases, water protection of the base of the house with a drainage device is mandatory. However, it does not solve the problem, because if not water, then moisture will penetrate into the room. And here it is necessary to recall such an ancient method of protection as a clay gate, which is the prototype of a screed.

Clay gate device

The material for this is clay and water with the addition of reinforcing materials. Previously, it was chaff - disheveled bast fibers of cereal plants. Today, fiberglass is used for this purpose, a fairly durable material in the form of chips that does not rot.

The screed needs to be planned

Even at the stage of building a house, it is worth thinking about the device of the screed and the insulated "floor pie". In the apartment, this stage of renovation should not be ignored either.

The order of work can be as follows:

• carefully level and compact the subgrade. For this, it is best to use a vibrating plate;
• calculate required amount screed clays, based on the area of \u200b\u200bthe covered surface and the breaded thickness of the gate;
• form the clay in a bunch and make a funnel in the middle, which must be filled with water about a day before use;
• the clay is stirred with your feet, moving in a circle, periodically you need to throw the mass from the edges into the middle and sprinkle the surface with a reinforcing additive;
• evenly place the mass stirred to the consistency of thick sour cream on the prepared surface, level;
• for uniform drying of the shutter, the surface must be covered with plastic wrap, periodically sprinkled with water in hot weather.

The work can be continued when the clay seal, as a waterproofing of the floor under the screed, will support the weight of a person. But at the current level of development of the construction business, such a protective layer can no longer be the basis for a finishing coating.

The structure and purpose of the concrete screed

The manufacturing technology of this building element is as follows:

Steam protection laying... Its purpose is to isolate elements from soil moisture. It is made of polyethylene film, which covers the base, including the walls up to the level of the finished floor. When stacked in several runs, they overlap at a distance of 10 - 15 cm, the joints are glued with construction tape. If the steam protection is not installed, moisture penetration into the concrete screed is inevitable, followed by transition to the walls. Next comes mold and other "delights" of damp walls.

Creation of an insulating layer... It does not seem reasonable to heat the ground under the house, and expanded clay is used to avoid this. These are granules made of foamed and baked clay. The material is characterized by a porous structure, low thermal conductivity and low weight. Sold packed in bags or in bulk. To create reliable thermal insulation, you need to pour a layer of expanded clay with a thickness of 12 - 15 cm and carefully level it

This is followed by an operation that is often omitted either through negligence or ignorance. it installation of damping tape around the perimeter of the walls... The damper tape is a self-adhesive elastic strip and is designed to protect the screed and walls from contact. It is mandatory for use in the manufacture of underfloor heating screed, and is highly desirable for any design of this element. With seasonal temperature fluctuations inside the house, a linear thermal deformation of the screed occurs, if at the same time it affects the walls, then they can move with the formation of cracks and a decrease in the bearing capacity. The tape is installed to the level of the topcoat.

To create a reliable floor in the form of a rough concrete screed, it is made reinforcement... For this, you can use a road mesh with cells of 50 x 50, or 100 x 100 mm. The mesh is laid on a layer of expanded clay at a distance of about 50 mm, which is provided by the installation of "chairs", while it is convenient to use broken brick. A second layer is laid on top of the bottom layer of the mesh at the same distance. instead of a mesh, you can use a corrugated rod reinforcing steel with a diameter of 10 - 12 mm. It must be laid with a net and fastened together with knitting wire or welding.

Installing beacons... They are used to level the screed surface. Installation is carried out before pouring cash. The main goal in this case is a strictly horizontal arrangement of beacons in one plane, which is achieved by using a construction ruler and a level. They are made from wooden bars 50 x 50 mm, profile or round pipes appropriate size. At the end of the work, the beacons must be removed from the wood, and the metal ones can be left in the screed.

Filling the screed... When planning this work, you need to calculate the amount of materials required, since it is better to lay the screed in one step. To do this, the total area of \u200b\u200bthe screed is multiplied by its thickness, the materials are harvested in accordance with the recipe for preparing the concrete mixture.

The concrete is laid by a team of several people, taking into account that at the same time it is necessary to prepare the mixture, feed it to the place of laying and evenly place it in a dense layer. During the laying process, the concrete must be carefully tamped, avoiding the formation of cavities and air bubbles in the screed mass. Alignment is done with a board - a rule according to the level of beacons. Work should start from the far corner of the room, moving towards the doorway. If all the requirements are met carefully, it may not be necessary to fill the leveling screed in the future.

How long does concrete dry? This time is 28 days. But after 6 - 7 days, when the screed reliably withstands the weight of a person, you need to remove the wooden beacons, the openings in their places are closed cement mortar... During the drying process, especially in the hot season, the screed must be covered with foil and sprinkled with water daily. Otherwise, the screed will prematurely lose water and crack. Important! Moisture in concrete is needed for proper crystallization.

Thus, the minimum thickness of the concrete layer of the rough screed is about 15 centimeters.

Types of screeds

Various methods are used for the construction of rough screeds:

• wet;
• semi-dry;
• dry.

The first of these are the traditional concrete pouring described above.

Semi-dry concrete screed

Such material differs from the traditional composition of concrete mix by a significantly lower water content. The mixture is prepared using a complex technology that is inaccessible for DIY preparation. Therefore, you should purchase a ready-made mixture and strictly follow the recommended cooking procedure.

Positive aspects of using semi-dry mixtures:

• limited degree of layer shrinkage due to low water content;
• correctly performed, it is never cracked;
• the technology of laying such a screed allows you to get a very even and high-quality surface;
• limited drying time, the topcoat can be laid within a day after production, complete drying is 28 days, before the expiration of this period, it is undesirable to place heavy objects on the screed;
• the use of a dense film under the screed guarantees the waterproofing of the layer;
• the mass of the screed is porous, which gives it sound and heat insulating properties, and also reduces the weight load on the floor slabs between floors.

Semi-dry cement screed

The high qualities of the composition for such a coating are determined by the use in its composition of reinforcing additives in the form of fiber fibers and a plasticizer, which makes the mixture plastic. The amount of water in a semi-dry cement screed is also limited, ensuring quick drying of the composition.

Suffice it to say that after four days you can lay the topcoat with sufficient confidence in its quality. The thickness of a semi-dry cement screed depends on the quality of the surface on which it is laid and the height of the unevenness on the base. In practice, it ranges from 3 to 7 centimeters.

Dry floor screeds

If it is necessary to quickly perform work or the impossibility of loading the floor slabs, dry screeds are used. They are usually made of gypsum fiber boards or waterproof plywood. How insulation and sound insulation under the screed can be used:

• blast furnace slags;
• vermiculite;
• expanded clay small fractions;
• expanded perlite sands.

Sheets of pressed cork or foam plastic are also used. Positive qualities such a device are:

• fire safety when used for filling non-combustible materials;
• reliable heat and sound insulation properties;
• lack of emission of harmful substances;
• quick installation;
• light weight;
• the ability to install communications;
• the ability to carry distributed loads up to 1 ton / m 2.

A significant disadvantage of such a coating is its water permeability. When water penetrates under the coating, backfill materials quickly fail. You can fight this problem only by opening the floor and drying the backfill, or replacing it. read the link.

DIY "wet" floor screed

This means the manufacture of the support layer without the involvement of outside specialists. However, this does not mean doing the work alone. The minimum number of performers is 3 people, because the preparatory operations and the actual filling are carried out in a continuous mode simultaneously. The order of execution of operations is described above, but the required equipment needs to be considered in more detail.

Tools and equipment

So, for work you will need:

1. A container for the preparation of a solution or intermediate storage of the finished mixture, if a concrete mixer is used. When using a hand-held power tool for stirring, it is imperative to use special attachments.
2. Shovel shovel.
3. Master OK.
4. Containers for transferring the finished mixture.
5. A leveling tool for leveling concrete - a wooden plank up to 2 meters long.
6. Measuring vessel for dispensing water before adding to the mixture. Attention! At this point, you need to pay special attention when preparing concrete, as a factor that directly affects the quality of the solution.
7. Construction level.

Arrangement of beacons

The location of the support strips, called "beacons", must ensure that the rule contacts them at least at two points simultaneously in any direction of its movement when leveling the mass of concrete. Therefore, beacons for floor screed are installed as follows:

• the first plank is located at a distance of 20 - 30 cm from the walls parallel to them;
• the following slats are installed approximately parallel to the first one until they meet the perpendicular beacon, eventually forming a frame on the floor of the room
• all planks must be set in a horizontal plane using a cord and a building level;
• fastening of beacons to the reinforcement grid can be done with knitting wire through the cuts on the upper plane. When dismantling, the wire can be easily cut and bent inside the cavity left by the lighthouse. After that, the cavity is liquidated with cement mortar. Correct installation lighthouses provides horizontal screed.

After the filling material has hardened, it is necessary to grout to level the screed surface. Floor screed on beacons requires attention and thoroughness.

Screed reinforcement

As you know, this element serves to harden concrete. And it will be needed if the screed is made on fragile bases, such as insulating or sound-absorbing layers, backfilling with expanded clay or other bulk materials.

The following materials are used to reinforce screeds in an apartment:

• reinforcing metal mesh;
• reinforcing plastic nets;
• the same fiberglass products;
• reinforcing filler made of fiber shavings;
• reinforcing steel bars.

In addition, reinforcing meshes are used to attach the piping of the warm water floor to them.

Floor slab screeds are not used due to the lack of such a need.

Solution preparation

For the manufacture of screeds, cement is not used in its pure form. For this purpose, you need to prepare a mixture with sand, called sand concrete. The ratio of components is 1: 3. To calculate the need for components, you can use the average prevailing ratio - to obtain a cubic meter of concrete, you will need 1450 kilograms of sand and 450 kilograms of cement, which will be 9 standard bags. The amount of water will be approximately one third of the volume of the binder. It is better to use sand in a mixture of different fractions, this allows you to increase the strength of concrete.

As a filler for concrete for screeds, you can use granite chips, river pebbles and small crushed stone.

If it is necessary to heat the floors, expanded clay concrete is used, the filler of which has a low thermal conductivity. Such a mixture with expanded clay is used for screeds on the first floors, especially if this is an overlap above the basement. Remember! Excessive addition of expanded clay to the mixture will lead to a loss of concrete strength. Therefore, the volume of the additive should be less than half of the total weight. You also need a reasonable combination of expanded clay with other fillers.

Features of the pouring process

To prepare the mixture for the screed and lay it down, a team of at least 3 people will be needed, while duties can be distributed as follows:

• The 1st participant prepares the mixture and unloads it into an intermediate container. If plasticizers or hardeners are used, the finished solution must be kept quiet for up to 15 minutes to allow the chemical reactions of these additives to begin;
• The 2nd worker delivers the ready-made solution to the pouring site and pours it out at the place of laying;
• The 3rd participant is laying the mixture, tamping and leveling the layer along the beacons.

The work should be carried out in continuous mode, since the ready-made solution should be used within no more than 2 hours from the moment of mixing.

The concrete screed dries within 28 days for the variant of using the wet method, when creating semi-dry screeds, further work can be performed 2 - 3 days after laying, but without loading with heavy objects.

The device of a concrete screed is a simple, but laborious process, so you can invite specialists, the price per meter of work will be from 420 to 450 rubles.

Concrete screeds in the house are made taking into account the purpose of the room, the nature of the finish floor covering, the characteristics of the neighboring rooms. Moreover, the properties of each of them must be thought out in advance, taking into account all the circumstances involved. Therefore, it is better to do these works yourself, knowing that everything is done for yourself. If you have time, you need to take on this work and bring it to its logical conclusion. I wish you success!