How to remove old flooring. Repairing the floor in an apartment with your own hands step by step: video - example of a repair How to properly remove an old floorboard

From the author: We welcome our readers! Today we will talk about how to dismantle a wooden floor with your own hands, spending very little time and effort. It’s good if you can involve at least one assistant in the process, then the work will go faster.

Wood flooring is rightfully considered the safest, environmentally friendly and durable. At correct installation and with careful care they last for more than 50 years. But time does its job, and a moment comes when there is nothing left but to ruthlessly remove the old floor.

Sometimes partial replacement of boards is required, but most often the floor covering must be completely removed. In some cases, after removing the boards from the floor, you can find a lot of defects underneath them, left by the first builders of the entire building.

The following lead to the unsuitability of the floor:

• increased humidity in the room;
• activity of insect pests, exposure to fungi;
• significant mechanical damage;
• low quality material;
• wear due to long service life.

What needs to be considered before starting work? All points of the upcoming event need to be carefully considered, you can even write it down on paper, as this will allow you to estimate the approximate volume, cost and time spent on completing all its stages.

The result of calculations can be influenced by a variety of factors (room area, type wooden covering, the presence of a concrete base underneath, the need to use special equipment), so they are individual for each case.

Planning the workflow

It is important to remember that removing old flooring is a noisy undertaking; this point should be taken into account and the time of work should be planned so as to cause a minimum of disturbance to family members and neighbors.

In advance, you need to prepare a place for collecting future construction waste, containers for it and transport for transportation. To protect yourself from large quantity dust, which is inevitable when carrying out this type of work, we recommend wearing work clothes, a respirator, construction gloves and a hat.

The next step will be the preparation of the tools necessary for removing boards in the apartment and house:

• sledgehammer or assembly hammer;
• nail puller;
• jigsaw or saw for cutting long boards;
• screwdrivers, pliers and pliers;
• chisels;
• hatchet or crowbar.

This is a minimum set of tools, which may vary depending on the type of wooden flooring.

Important! Immediately before removing it, you can cover the doorway with a large piece of damp cloth, and place mats moistened with water near the threshold. This technique will help prevent the spread of dust to other rooms.

Stages of work execution

So that's it preparatory activities met, it’s time to take action. The procedure for removing old floorboards in an apartment or house is as follows:

1. Removing skirting boards. It is recommended to carry it out using a nail puller, starting from the corner of the room. If old baseboard covered with several layers of paint, you must first determine the place where it can be easily lifted with a flat-head screwdriver, and then use a nail puller. If its stroke is not enough to remove long nails, place it under wooden beam OK. It is easier when screws were used to fasten the baseboard, since they are quite easy to unscrew with a screwdriver.
2. The next step is to remove the entire floor surface. Usually it is laid from a board with the tenon facing the wall, so dismantling begins in the opposite direction. If the floorboards are planned to be reused in the same room, they must first be numbered so that they can subsequently be laid in the correct order. When the flooring is fixed with screws, the work will consist of unscrewing the fasteners and sequentially removing each board. If the floorboards are fixed with nails, the following sequence of actions is observed:
   • the side of the floor where the last floorboard is fixed is determined;
   • a nail puller is driven under the board using a hammer;
   • the floorboard is raised 1–3 centimeters from the joist;
   • then the board must be pressed firmly against the base of the floor again, with the heads of the nails protruding above the surface. If necessary, the floorboard is raised and lowered several times;
   • A block is placed under the nail puller, after which the nails are carefully removed. This way, the floorboards will remain undamaged and can be used for laying a new floor or for other construction work;
   • After this, use a chisel to widen the gap between the boards. If the previous steps are completed correctly, the tenon of the floorboard freed from nails will easily come out of the groove with an arc that is still secured;
   • If a board tenon or groove is accidentally damaged, this trouble can be eliminated using glue or small nails. The floorboard will look a little worse, but its functionality will be restored;
   • A nail puller is also used to remove lags.

Important! Even if you don't plan to reuse removed boards, the work must be carried out carefully so as not to damage the base of the floor itself and to avoid difficulties when installing a new floor covering. If it is necessary to dispose of floorboards, it is better to cut them into small pieces, which will be conveniently placed in containers, taken out of the room and transported. You should not roughly break the boards, since sharp fragments can seriously injure you, and it is much more difficult to free the room from them.

If you have carefully read this material, you now clearly understand the procedure for dismantling work and know the features of this process.

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As a rule, to repair a floor covering, the first thing we need to do is dismantle it. Depending on the type of coating, the algorithm for removing it may vary greatly. But in this article we will consider an example of dismantling a wooden floor.

How to dismantle a wooden floor?

1. To disassemble the floor, first remove the baseboard. The most common option is wooden baseboard secured to the floor with nails.
2. We dismantle it from the edge, that is, not far from the corner of the room. We take a nail puller and, together with the first fastener, insert its pointed part under the baseboard. In order to reduce the pressure on the floor boards that the nail puller will exert during operation, you can place a piece of plywood on it. The plinth lifts to a height of 1-2 cm from the surface of the floor covering. If dismantling is difficult, you can also add a wooden beam to increase the leverage. Also remember that the closer the tool is to the mounting point, the less damage you will cause to the baseboard.
3. In cases where the heads of the nails were previously puttied, and therefore their location is very difficult to determine, then you can insert the nail puller at a distance of 10-20 cm from corner wall. Usually the last fastenings are located in these places. Slightly lift the baseboard and determine where exactly the first nail is located. And the second nail, as a rule, should be located at the bend. Working by analogy, we need to remove the entire baseboard strip.
4. Next, we proceed to inspect the floor covering and if among them you find a board with a smaller width than usual, then dismantling begins with it. In cases where such a board still does not exist, then you need to start with a board that is laid a quarter down.
5. As a rule, the floor covering is secured with screws. Using a screwdriver or screwdriver, unscrew them and remove all the boards one by one. But in cases where the floor boards were nailed, to remove them, you will again have to use a nail puller. We insert this tool into the gap between the wall and the first board, but the nail puller should rest against the joists. Then we raise the board from the floor level by 1-3 cm, after which we use a hammer and plywood to put it in place. As a result of this operation, the heads of two nails should protrude above the board by approximately 1 - 1.5 cm.
6. Then use a nail puller (placing plywood under it) to remove the nails. This action is carried out in all areas where boards are attached to the joists. By analogy, we dismantle the remaining boards.

See also:

One of the most important conditions successful implementation repair work, in particular the replacement of flooring, is the preparation of surfaces. Whatever the finishing coating, you need to understand that it must be laid on the most flat and durable surface possible. Installing a new coating on top of the old one is unacceptable, as this will reduce its strength, aesthetic and other properties. performance characteristics, which means you need to know how to remove the old floor, and not only know it, but also do it correctly.

For a professional person in this matter, dismantling any old floor covering is unlikely to cause any difficulties, but those who are faced with the need to carry out this type of work for the first time should familiarize themselves with some rules.

Work rules

The work of dismantling old flooring will vary to some extent depending on the type of flooring. Therefore, for a better understanding of the issue, it is better to divide the description of these works into several separate paragraphs.

First of all, you need to understand that work related to the dismantling of indoor coatings will lead to the formation of dust and dirt, so before starting, you need to prepare the means personal protection. You will need safety glasses or a mask, gloves, a respirator, and garbage and dust bags. In addition, it will not be possible to do without auxiliary tool like a claw hammer, a hammer drill, a screwdriver and a hammer. Then you need to remove the furniture from the room. After the preparation is completed, you can begin the work itself.

If rolled materials such as linoleum, carpet and the like were used as flooring, then work must begin by removing the baseboards. This structural element must be cleaned around the entire perimeter of the room. It should be noted that it often happens that the nails with which the plinth is attached rust and their dismantling becomes possible only when the plinth itself is completely destroyed. In this case, the remaining nails must be cut off using a chisel. After removing the baseboard, the coating simply comes off the surface, but you need to know that it is best to start from the corner of the room.

In the case when parquet or laminate is used as a floor covering, the floor should be dismantled depending on what type of installation was chosen. If the coating was installed using a floating method, then first, as in the previous case, the baseboard is removed, and then the coating is disassembled into individual elements. Moreover, if there is lock connection, then these elements can be reused.

If the coating is fixed glue method, then things are somewhat more complicated. In this case, after removing the plinth, it is necessary to beat each element separately using a hammer drill. To do this, you need to install a special attachment on the hammer drill. If there is no puncher, then you can do the work using a crowbar, prying the element from below and tearing it off.

If the room was installed wooden floor on joists, then such a coating can be removed quite simply. If the boards were attached to the joists with self-tapping screws, then you just need to unscrew them, and the boards can be easily removed. If nails were used, the boards at the fastening point are pryed off with a crowbar and torn off. If you don’t need to save the boards, then you can do it simpler. Using a jigsaw, the boards are cut across and simply torn off. The logs are also dismantled depending on the method of fastening. If attached anchor bolts, then they are unscrewed. Or you can simply knock the joists off the base using a sledgehammer.

When it comes to dismantling a tiled floor, for example, a tiled floor, you should know that the work ahead will be dusty and quite labor-intensive. The tiles are removed using a hammer drill with an attachment or a hammer and chisel. It is important to note that the main difficulty with this type of work is removing glue residues and leveling the base. For these purposes, you can use the same hammer drill.

It may also happen that a leveling base made of plywood can be placed under the topcoat. Sheets of this material must also be removed, since a new coating laid on top of the old base may begin to creak after a while. If the plywood is screwed with self-tapping screws, then you just need to unscrew them, and if the plywood is glued to the screed, then it is removed using a hammer drill. It must be remembered that it must be positioned at an acute angle to the surface.

The work of dismantling old flooring is not too complicated from a technological point of view, and it does not matter whether we are talking about removing wooden floors or disassembling a tile floor. It just takes some knowledge and diligence. However, it is important to follow safety rules.

Dismantling work takes the lion's share effort and time when carrying out overhaul housing. Old floors are no exception. They may lose appearance, start creaking or simply serve out their time and rot. Therefore, dismantling the wooden floor, which is often found in old houses, is an integral part of the work during renovation. How to remove such a floor with minimal loss of time?

When dismantling a wooden floor, not only the flooring boards themselves are often removed, but also the joists on which they are attached. This is quite hard work, although it seems quick and easy from the outside. At the same time, you need to do everything carefully so as not to harm yourself.

On a note! Sometimes it is necessary to dismantle new plank floors, although more often it is the old coverings that are dismantled. In the first case, you need to remove the boards as carefully as possible so that they can be used again later.

In general, the reasons for removing boards from the floor can be very different:

• loss of appearance;
• high level of coating wear;
• increasing the level of air humidity in the room;
• rotting processes damaging boards;
• cracks and other mechanical damage to the floor surface;

• creaking and dips when moving on the surface;
• the formation of colonies of various microorganisms, including mold, mildew, etc., causing harm floor covering and human health;
• errors made when laying the material;
• use of low-quality materials when arranging floors;
• destruction of boards by insects;
• laying a new coating.

In general, when carrying out major renovations in an apartment, it is better to immediately update the floors. Especially if the wooden covering has been used for several decades - during this time it has significantly deteriorated from the point of view of operation. Despite the fact that the work is not as simple as it seems, it will still be justified and far from unnecessary.

Repairing “playing” floorboards - an alternative solution

Advice! Finding out whether the boards are rotten or not is very simple. To do this, the floor surface is tapped with a regular hammer. Those elements that produce a dull sound when struck must be removed and replaced with new ones. It is necessary to completely disassemble the floor if such a sound is heard when hitting with a hammer anywhere on the covering.

By the way, few people think that not only floors made from solid wood are wooden. This category also includes coatings such as wood laminate, parquet board. Each type of dismantling takes place in its own way, but there are certain similarities between the works.

Basic methods of dismantling a wood floor

Wooden floors can be dismantled in different ways. And in order to decide how this process will go, it is important to decide what the final result should be. This is what will determine how all the work goes.

Methods for dismantling a wooden floor.

By the way, it is always better to carry out the work of dismantling a wooden floor as carefully as possible. In this case, it will be much easier to dispose of all the generated garbage, even when using the first method.

Attention! Splinters resulting from cleaning can cause a lot of trouble. You can reduce the risk of damage by working carefully and wearing gloves.

Features of professional floor removal

There are certain requirements for the dismantling of old floors and rules for carrying out the work. Some of them may not be observed depending on how the old coating will be removed.

By the way, sometimes not only the wooden covering itself is dismantled, but also the screed that is located under it. After all, if it has become unusable, this will also affect the condition of the new coating installed in the future.

Where to start dismantling the floor?

Before proceeding directly to dismantling the wooden floor, it is important to carry out a series of preparatory work. They are not so complicated, but, nevertheless, they are necessary to ensure that all the work goes as smoothly as possible. comfortable conditions and fast.

Preparing to dismantle the wooden covering

The first step is to remove all the furniture from the room. Otherwise, dismantling will simply be impossible, since any detail of the furniture will interfere with the removal of the boards. Armchairs and chairs will have to be rearranged from place to place, and this is unnecessary labor costs and a waste of time. That is why it is important to remove everything possible from the room - the room should become completely empty. It is also worth removing all debris from the room - it will interfere with assessing the condition of the floors.

Once this preparation stage is completed, the condition of the floor is assessed. To do this, it is important to inspect it and tap it with a hammer. Rotten floorboards will make a hollow sound. The level of the boards is also assessed, that is, the evenness of the floors.

On a note! If the floor boards are not deformed, and also if it is not planned to install a self-leveling floor, then the plank covering does not need to be removed - it is enough to carry out cosmetic repairs.

It is important to choose the right time for dismantling floors if the work will be carried out in apartment building, since the process will be accompanied by quite a lot of noise. You shouldn’t get to work early in the morning; the optimal time period is working hours, when most residents are not in the apartments. It is also better to work on weekdays rather than on weekends.

You should also choose work clothes. Personal protective equipment for eyes and respiratory organs is purchased. Clothes should be those that can be thrown away later, because during the dismantling of the floor a mass of fine and corrosive dust appears. It is also recommended to use gloves to reduce the risk of splinters. Strangers, and especially children, should not be present during the dismantling process.

It’s better to call a friend or relative to help you - this will make the process go faster. IN small room You can work in turns, but the strength of a partner will significantly speed up the work.

When dismantling they can be used various instruments- it can be:

• axes;
• hammer;
• crowbar (crowbar) or nail puller;
• hacksaw, jigsaw;
• mites;
• sledgehammer;
• screwdrivers, chisel.

Removing skirting boards

Before the old floor boards are removed, it is important to remove the baseboards along the walls. They will slow down the work process and greatly interfere if this preparation stage is skipped.

To avoid damaging the wooden baseboard, you need to disconnect it from the base starting from the end. The location of the outermost nail is calculated and here the plinth is carefully raised a couple of centimeters using a crowbar. In the same way, the plinth rises at each point where the product connects to the base. If necessary, return to the first nail and again raise the plinth higher, successively lifting it at other points. The closer the crowbar is to the fixation point, the greater the chances of removing the product carefully without damaging it.

You can also try to remove the nails themselves by prying up their heads with a nail puller. A piece of board, a sliver, or plywood, which is placed under the working tool, will help protect the baseboard from dents. If you do not plan to save the plinth, then it can be broken.

The plastic product is much easier to remove. To do this, the protective strip is removed from it, the fasteners are unscrewed and the plinth is easily separated from the wall.

Technology for dismantling wooden floors

Let's consider how the dismantling of a wooden covering proceeds if the old boards are removed and they will not be used again.

Table. Instructions for dismantling the floor.

Steps, photo	Description of actions
	A cut is made along one of the floor boards in its center using circular saw, jigsaw, regular saw. This is usually done on the board that is located close to one of the walls of the room.
	A crowbar is inserted into the cut made, one of the halves of the boards is lifted and then removed. To do this, pressure is applied to the handle of the crowbar - the handle of the tool is used as a lever.
	The second half of the sawn board is removed. Construction waste is immediately removed from the premises so as not to interfere with further work.
	Other floor boards are sawn through with a jigsaw. The cut is made perpendicular to the removed floorboard. The work is done in this way if there is no need to preserve the boards in their entirety. The cuts are made so that the boards are divided into sections 30-60 cm long.
	Each board must be completely removed - only then do you move to another floorboard and work with it.
	If the crowbar does not fit between the board (the board is not pliable) and the base (or joists), then it is driven under it with a hammer. Then, when you press the tool, the board lifts and is completely removed.
	Each board, if well secured, rises evenly from one edge to the other. This is especially important if the boards need to be kept intact.
	In the same way, all boards are completely removed.
	Completes dismantling work removing debris from the base.

If it is planned to replace the logs, then the old ones are removed. To begin with, after opening the floor, the insulating material is removed, if any was laid between the joists. If there is glass wool under the floor, then you only need to work with it wearing gloves. The logs themselves are broken using a crowbar or an ax and thrown away.

If necessary, the old screed is also removed. The work is carried out using a jackhammer or hammer drill. The base is finely crushed and then removed piece by piece.

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Video - Dismantling a wooden floor

Video - Dismantling parquet boards

You can remove wood floors yourself. The main thing is to follow all the rules for carrying out work. And, as they say, breaking is not building, so there are usually no problems with this stage of the restoration work.

Updating or replacing an old, worn-out floor in an apartment is one of the most labor-intensive operations in general process carrying out repairs. Just imagining the scale and cost of what is to come, many homeowners very often refuse to repair floors, limiting themselves only to changing decorative covering on them. But time takes its toll, and sooner or later the moment comes when you have to delay similar works becomes simply impossible.

In this case, it is not at all necessary to immediately look for a team of craftsmen - especially since in such a service sector you can very often meet outright “hack workers”. As a result, everything can result in a completely unnecessary waste of time, nerves and money with a low-quality result. Why not try it yourself? If the owner has certain skills in general construction work, and if you carry out the work in the apartment with your own hands step by step, in compliance with the recommended technological rules, then everything should work out!

The stages of repair, of course, depend on the type of floors, their original condition, the purpose of the premises in which the work is being carried out, and the type of finishing coating. This publication will discuss several of the most common options.

The initial stage is to decide on the scope of work

Since the owner of the apartment is thinking about renovating the floor, then, most likely, there are motivating reasons for this, unless, of course, this is a cosmetic replacement of the covering at the next whim of the wife. Therefore, first you need to identify and clearly formulate problems - the entire scale of further preparatory and repair work will depend on this.

This publication is about a city apartment, and in the vast majority multi-storey buildings any floor has a base in the form reinforced concrete slab ceilings But further design may differ significantly. The floor can be built on joists fixed to the base, or laid directly on a concrete screed.

• A wooden floor on joists usually begins to show its defects with creaking, instability of the coating - the floorboards “play” underfoot, the appearance unpleasant odor rot, formation and gradual expansion of cracks. It’s even worse if suddenly one of the boards cracks or a fragment of it falls down.

The dilapidated wooden floor reminds of itself with creaking and “playing” boards

• An old screed on which a coating is laid can also begin to present surprises due to “old age,” especially if it was once filled with poor quality. So, it is also possible that there may be obvious creaks and rustling sounds from sand or small pebbles, “bumping” of the screed, the appearance of dented areas of the surface, disruption of the evenness of the finishing coating, and sometimes obvious instability of an entire large fragment.

In any case, if there are obvious defects, remove the old coating.

Removing old coating

• All furniture will need to be removed from the room, completely freeing it for further work. If the renovation is not carried out in the entire apartment at once, but from room to room, it will be necessary to provide protection against the spread of dust, for example, by covering the entrance with a thick curtain polyethylene film or a frequently moistened cloth, and cover the gap under the door with a roller made of a wet rag. True, the full effectiveness of this method is very doubtful, and the best option However, it is necessary to provide for the resettlement of family members during the renovation. However, a barrier to dust is necessary in any case.
• Next, the old baseboards are removed. They do this carefully so as not to damage the lower part of the walls to which they are attached. If the skirting boards are intended to be used further, they are numbered according to their location and temporarily removed.

If anyone has not encountered this issue before, we can remind you that the baseboards are attached to the wall, and not to the floor surface, that is, you need to correctly direct the lever force. It will be easier if the baseboards are secured with self-tapping screws or special brackets.

The next step is actually removing the old coating. There are several options here:

A. If the floor is covered with some kind of roll material, then they pry it off from one side and try to carefully roll it into a roll - this will make it easier to take it out. If the covering (for example, linoleum or carpet) was once laid without glue, directly on a concrete screed, this will not be difficult to do. You can first make it sharp to make things easier construction knife parallel cuts, thereby dividing the entire canvas into several narrower strips.

But there are often situations in which old material comes off along with the layers of peeled screed. Then you will have to remove it fragmentarily and immediately take it out of the room along with pieces of concrete, so that this construction garbage did not interfere with further work.

It happens that once well-glued linoleum, when removed, begins to delaminate itself, leaving dried layers on the screed. In this case, you will have to work with a scraper (spatula), warming up these areas using construction hair dryer or moisturizing old adhesive layer solution detergent for floors.

B. Old “playing” parquet can cause more trouble. If it is of no value, then its dies are sequentially removed and immediately loaded into bags, which are taken out as they are filled. If parquet was once glued to bitumen mastic or organic-based glue, then removing individual dies or even entire fragments can be difficult. The “recipe” is the same - scraper, chisel and heating with a hairdryer.

IN. To remove the old one tiles, it is most convenient to use a rotary hammer switched to chiselling mode with a spade chisel installed. If such a tool is not available, then everything is done manually, using a hammer and chisel.

G. When removing a plank floor covering, the most difficult thing is probably to pick up and separate the first floorboard. Then, when you can freely move the lever, the work will go faster. To work, you will need a nail puller with a long lever handle, a hammer, and pliers. You should try to remove the nails carefully, without destroying the boards, since, quite possibly, this material will still be used for a new flooring after repairs or for making joists.

If the old coating was attached with screws (self-tapping screws), then you can try to dismantle it using a screwdriver.

Well, if the board covering is no longer of any value, then the most convenient way would be to make cuts using a manual vertical circular saw (carefully and prudently so as not to catch concrete base, do not damage the joists and do not “run into” a nail). After separating the long floorboards this way, removing them will be an easy task.

Is it worth removing the entire plank floor covering if obvious defects were observed only in certain areas, and there are no plans to replace it with a different type of surface finish? Of course, you can only limit yourself partial renovation– replacing worn or damaged parts. But experts unanimously advise - remove everything completely. There is no guarantee that if the deterioration process has manifested itself in one area of ​​the floor, then it will not show itself in another in a year, or even earlier. It will be cheaper to renew the base and re-lay the floor, even using old material, than to return to such repairs again after a short period.

Conducting a foundation audit

After the floor covering has been removed, it is necessary to carefully inspect the base.

• If there are logs left on the floor and you plan to re-lay the plank flooring, you should carefully check the condition of these load-bearing elements and the supports on which they are installed. Log beams should not have areas of decomposition, rottenness, or fungal damage - such parts must be replaced. Each joist is checked under load - it should not dangle, sag, creak, etc. If necessary, update the linings that hold the guide at the desired height.

If the condition of the joists does not cause concern, then after thorough cleaning, a new coating can be laid in the spaces between them. Most old floorboards will probably work just fine. After such a bulkhead, the floor will stop creaking and gain the necessary stability. If required, thermal insulation material can be laid between the joists, which will also act as a sound insulator.

However, on the old wooden floor very often the logs themselves are quite worn out, and their repair is impossible or does not guarantee durability. In this case, they will have to be dismantled in order to subsequently install new ones. When removing joists, remember that they may be quite firmly attached to the base. Care and caution must be exercised to prevent severe damage concrete base and not add unnecessary worries to its restoration.

After removing the joists, the subfloor is cleaned as thoroughly as possible so that you can proceed to further steps.

In the case when, after removing the old topcoat, underneath it opens concrete screed, she will be examined most thoroughly. You need to trust that the concrete is strong in itself, and repairing such a surface is not necessary.

The screed must be tapped - this will help to remove areas of its detachment, which must be removed to a “healthy” base. The surface is checked for the presence of loose areas, those where, due to a violation of the pouring technology, the solution has not gained strength or has been eroded due to exposure to moisture. Such areas also require cleaning.

Large cracks should not be left on the surface - this may continue the process of destructuring the base. Slots and cracks must be cut in width and depth by at least 10 - 15 mm for subsequent repairs.

Sometimes, after removing unstable sections of concrete, a completely unsightly picture is revealed, such as, for example, shown in the photograph. However, this too is completely repairable.

After removing defective areas and cutting out cracks, a thorough cleaning is carried out. It is best to use a powerful construction vacuum cleaner– using other means to qualitatively clean the surface and formed cavities from small debris and dust is extremely difficult.

Sometimes you have to resort to complete dismantling of the entire screed down to the floor slab. This may be caused by the extremely low quality of the coating, which is impractical to repair, but it is better to completely refill it. Often, mold or mildew finds refuge in screeds in damp rooms. Another option is when the floors require additional insulation and sound insulation, and ceiling heights and dimensions doorways in the apartment will not allow raising the level of coverage (taking into account the thermal insulation layer and finishing). The same measure is resorted to when it is planned to make a wooden floor on joists instead of thin coverings.

A complex, but often simply necessary operation - complete removal of the old screed

Of course, the process of completely dismantling the screed using a breaker tool is very tedious, noisy and dusty, but no other method has yet been invented. This requires some care to avoid damaging concrete slab ceilings The screed is cut into separate pieces, which are immediately shoveled to the side and packed into bags for removal. It is not recommended to use even small fragments as material for filling a new solution, since they will not enhance, but rather worsen the quality.

After removing the old screed, thoroughly clean the surface - as described above.

Base surface repair

Whatever the floor was, it was not planned for the flooring in the future; the concrete base under it needs to be put in order. Thus, poorly sealed seams between floor slabs, cracks around the perimeter of walls, potholes or cavities, etc. may be exposed.

Such repairs are necessary even if it is planned to fill a new one. The solution may not penetrate into these flaws; air cavities will remain there, reducing the solidity of the coating and becoming the starting point for the destruction of the screed. This is especially important and mandatory if the screed will be poured onto a separating layer or onto a waterproofing film (floating screed).

All surface defects must be thoroughly cleaned, if necessary (for example, slab joints) cut, and then even the smallest chips and dust removed with a vacuum cleaner.

The next step is to thoroughly scrub the surface at least twice, which is specifically for concrete.

This treatment will significantly strengthen the surface, which is especially important when it is loose, will increase the hydrophobic qualities, reduce the absorption of concrete, and improve adhesion with repair compounds. Further work begins after the last applied layer of primer has been completely absorbed and dried.

As a repair composition, you can use ordinary cement-sand mortar. However, it takes quite a long time to dry and gain the required strength, and it is better not to waste money on special repair compounds, also cement-based or epoxy-based.

Primed surface defects are filled as tightly as possible with the repair compound, comparing with the general floor level. You can use a regular spatula for this. Some repair compounds are sold in plastic tubes, and it will be more convenient to apply them using a construction syringe or a special “gun”.

If the defect is large in volume, then in some cases you can resort to filling it polyurethane foam. After it dries, the excess is cut off, and then this area is brought to the general surface level with a repair compound.

Repair “patches” are given time to completely harden, in accordance with their instructions, after which the surface can be trimmed using sandpaper, wrapped on a block. Then it is recommended to go over the entire surface with primer again. If increased absorption of the composition is noted in areas where repairs are being carried out, then these areas are primed twice.

After the soil has dried, the surface can be considered ready for further work.

Leveling screed

If it was removed old screed or a wooden floor, and the floor slab has opened, then, most likely, its level is very far from horizontal. The house shrank over time, and even when it was built many years ago, the builders may not have cared much about the strictly verified level of floors. So, no matter what the floor was, it was not planned to do anything further, it is recommended to strengthen the base and at the same time level it with a screed. The thickness of this poured layer must be at least 30 mm at the highest point

First of all, it is necessary to determine the magnitude of the difference, that is, to identify the peak, the highest and the highest low point surface and “break through” the zero level line. The beacon system will be set at this mark.

To fill the screed, you can use a regular cement-sand mortar, which is prepared directly at the work site. Usually they start from the proportion of three parts of sand to one of M-400 cement - this ratio gives a surface that is optimal in terms of strength and wear resistance, on which any of them can then be mounted. existing coatings floor.

Those novice builders who do not want to deal with drawing up proportions on their own can be recommended to use ready-made dry construction mixtures. Their composition has already been optimized for screed, and all that remains is to properly seal it with water, in accordance with the attached instructions.

How much materials will be needed in this or that case? It all depends on the level of height difference in extreme points, planned minimum thickness screeds, area of ​​the room, characteristics of the solution.

Usually on the packaging of dry building mixtures their normalized consumption is indicated in kilograms per 1 square meter poured area with a layer thickness of 10 mm. Based on this, you can use simple calculations to determine the required amount of material.

To make the task easier for readers, here is a calculator that allows you to quickly and accurately make such calculations.