Do I need to level the floor? Is it necessary to level the floor for laminate - leveling wooden and concrete floors, the necessary materials and optimal technologies

Laying the parquet so that it does not start to creak and “walk” in the first month after repair will only work on a flat floor. Same story with the bathroom inclined surface— an incorrect slope will prevent water from flowing by gravity into the flange drain. There are plenty of other reasons to correct the geometry of the room, hence the demand for screeds and other approaches to creating a flat floor plane. Let's consider in what cases it is especially important to spend money on major renovation floor.

Why do you need to level the floor?

It is necessary to level the floors so that the finishing coatings lie down neatly, there is no need to place bars and felt scraps under furniture and equipment, and the plumbing fixtures cope with their functions. Leveling is not always a struggle with bumps and holes in a concrete floor slab; sometimes a perfectly flat surface is noticeably tilted, and this is much more dangerous.

Parquet, laminate and other floor coverings do not tolerate defects in the rough layer. Parquet without a screed will begin to loosen and creak in just six months, locking connections will fall apart, board will crack. The situation is similar with laminate, except that it will last much less than parquet, and on holes and bumps without a plywood backing, flaws will appear that are visible to the naked eye.

In the bathroom and toilet, a curved floor causes plumbing problems. Bathtubs and showers are initially made with the bowl tilted towards the drain. The water flows by gravity into the drain, and there are no puddles left. If the floor is inclined, gravity may not work due to the lack of the required angle in the direction of the drain.

In residential and non-residential premises a crooked floor causes problems with furniture and appliances. Simple task- install gas stove or a refrigerator - it turns into a problem and many hours of torment with placing pieces of plywood, linoleum, and felt under the legs.

Do I need to level the floor for tiles?

It is important to level floors with a tile screed for the reasons already mentioned above. In addition, when laying tiles on a lumpy surface, you will have to spend great amount glue, otherwise it will not be possible to keep the plane flat. Screed, as a rule, is cheaper, and the thickness of the tile adhesive layer should not exceed 9 mm, otherwise the strength and tenacity of the composition is lost. It’s even worse if the floor is sloped - in this case, the tiles may “float”, which will distort the pattern, and in adhesive layer cracks and voids will appear. If the tiles are laid in a damp room, for example, in a bathroom, fungi and mold will appear in the cracks - removing them from there will be very, very problematic.

About leveling the floor in a new building

Budget apartments from the developer in 99% of cases need serious improvement. The plane of the floor in neighboring rooms is often crooked, even visually, and when measuring the deviation it turns out that the slope is much greater than the norm of 1 mm per linear meter.

Are you going to install parquet or laminate? Get ready to make a screed. Self-leveling floors save the situation with differences of 1-2 cm, when a thin layer of coating is enough to smooth out flaws. In other cases, you will have to use a cement, semi-dry or dry screed.

Under linoleum or carpet, a screed is also required, otherwise roll materials will lie crookedly, distortions and folds will form. Prevent all these problems and not drag out repairs for months (and wet screed It takes at least three weeks to dry completely), a dry screed will help. Among the advantages of dry screed are ease and speed of installation, the ability to hide communications, no need to level the base, minimal load on the floors and 100% environmental friendliness. Solid base The Knauf prefabricated subfloor will hide unattractive pipes and wires, and for repairs or replacement it will be easy to reach communications.

The screed corrects surface defects, removes slope, and simplifies the installation of finished floor coverings. You can do without it only if the floors are initially flat, without a slope, and there are no convex or concave areas, but such are found only in high-rise residential complexes or expensive country cottages.

High-quality laminate allows you to create comfortable and environmentally friendly floors. But the desire to make such a floor often runs into a problem - the low quality of the subfloors, especially in old houses.

If the floor is not level, a poor-quality base can negate all the impressive benefits of embossed wood fiber panels. Already worked out for today different ways leveling the floor under the laminate. But despite its apparent simplicity, this technology has its own nuances that are worth knowing.

Is it always necessary to level a laminate floor?

In construction, with rare exceptions, it is customary to operate on smooth surfaces. But if in other cases it is possible to neglect perfection, then when it comes to the problem of leveling the floor under laminate flooring, you should still strive for the ideal indicator.

The reason for this approach lies in physical properties the laminate itself. It is these properties that force builders to level the floor as best as possible. Otherwise, an uneven floor will cause deformation of the laminate panels, poor adhesion between them, cracks, and divergence of seams. As a result, under flooring moisture will begin to enter with all the negative consequences.

The only thing a specialist can afford when installing a floor under a laminate is minor irregularities.

For good quality difference in floor height by 1 linear meter. base should not exceed 2.5 mm.

With such results, it is recommended to carry out light leveling of the base. If frequent bulges/depressions are observed, if the height differences in certain areas are significant, the leveling will have to be done more carefully. But if the difference in heights per unit area is no more than 1.5 mm, you can limit yourself to a simple substrate.

Having thus determined the state of the “relief” of the base, you can choose the leveling method. If you plan to raise the floor level to a height of up to 5 cm, it is recommended to screed with cement mortar. If the floor is even higher (for example, when large differences heights), then a lighter option is desirable. For example, you can use a dry screed made of gypsum fiber board panels or use the method of laying plywood sheets on joists.

Materials and tools for leveling the floor

Whatever methods are used for leveling, it is worth stocking up on the following materials and tools:

• building level;
• rule;
• beams for joists;
• cement mortar;
• plywood sheets;
• scraping machine;
• electric drill;
• hammer;
• wood hacksaw;
• screwdriver;
• screws, nails.

Concrete base leveling technology

Tools for leveling floors under laminate: hammer, ruler, logs, level, pliers, tape measure, brush.

Today, most laminate flooring bases are made of concrete. But rarely are they without defects. Possible cracks, potholes, chips, cavities, presence of concrete surfaces various sagging or peeling of the solution lead to differences in heights on the plane, which should be eliminated.

Experts offer the 2 most common methods for leveling concrete bases under laminate. Method 1 involves using cement screed, The second is based on the use of a self-leveling mixture.

Before use cement mortar from the surface concrete base All remnants of the previous floor must be removed. Sludges of solution are removed with a pick or hammer drill, while small ones can be left. If there are stains of oil or paint on the base, they should be removed with a solvent or burned out with a torch. Finally, the concrete is treated with liquid soil.

Then along all the walls of the room, in their lower part, using a level, mark the upper edge of the subfloor. Beacon slats are placed along the marked floor level. There is no method for fixing them special significance, but most often the slats are fixed with arbitrary slides of mortar. The width of each strip between the slats should not be longer rules.

Concerning cement-sand mixture, then in this case it is necessary to adhere to the following proportion - 25% cement M-400 to 75% quartz sand, pre-sifted. It is worth noting that when using this technology, the solution should be quite thick, which will prevent it from spreading prematurely.

Immediately after preparing the solution, it should be poured between the exposed beacons. Using the rule, the level of the solution is leveled to the level of the beacon slats. After pouring the solution, each strip must be rolled with a special spiked roller, which removes unwanted air bubbles.

After the solution has set and hardened, the beacon slats are removed. The grooves formed in their place are filled with solution.

But even after the solution has hardened externally, the readiness of the floor for laminate cannot yet be considered final. It must be borne in mind that the screed, especially a fairly thick one, requires a long time (up to 3-4 weeks) to harden so much that you can safely walk on it. She must be kept covered during this entire period. plastic film, regularly (2 times a day) moisturizing its surface.

Another option for preparing a flat floor is covering it with a self-leveling mixture. This method is fast and high quality execution. But all this can be achieved if only the process is organized correctly.

First, as in the case of screed, it is necessary to clean the room in which the floor will be prepared for laminate flooring. Sludges of mortar, debris, dirt are removed, bumps are knocked down, cracks and potholes are puttied. Finally, the surface is treated with deep penetration primer.

Next comes the preparation of the self-leveling mixture. The dry powder is diluted with water according to the attached instructions and mixed thoroughly until smooth. But you can deviate somewhat from the instructions for preparing the mixture by determining the proportions of dry powder and water experimentally. This is allowed if the employee has his own own experience flooring, taking into account, in particular, the fact that for preparatory layers different thicknesses self-leveling mixtures of varying densities are needed.

After the mixture is prepared for pouring, it is carefully applied to the base of the future floor. Moreover, this should be done at the highest point of the leveled surface, from where the solution will spread throughout the room. Speed ​​up this process You can use a spatula.

To ensure maximum high-quality alignment solution, good surface smoothness and removal of unwanted air bubbles from the mixture, the spread mass is rolled with a spiked roller. Then the resulting floor is left to settle for several days. After this, you can lay laminate panels on it.

This method using a self-leveling mixture is suitable not only for concrete, but also for wooden bases. In the second case, preparing the base for pouring the mixture mainly consists of securing loose boards, removing paint residues and protruding nails, after which the fixed base is impregnated with waterproof primer.

Leveling the wooden base

Often it is necessary to level a wooden floor, on which laminate will later be laid. Here you need to pay attention to the degree of wear of individual floorboards. The method of alignment will depend on this. The most common methods in repair and construction practice are two methods: scraping subfloor boards and leveling the floor using plywood sheets.

Sanding is used in cases where the master is dealing with a flat floor in good condition. technical condition. It usually eliminates minor defects. For this, 2 types of tools are used - a manual scraper or a special scraping machine.

In the 2nd case, the process will be quite fast and not labor-intensive. You just need to drive all possible nails and screws into the wooden floor, otherwise you may damage the machine’s knives. After the operation of such a mechanism, the floor usually becomes smooth and quite ready for laying laminate.

The second leveling method - using plywood or chipboard sheets - is used in cases where the floor is very uneven, but there are no plans to disassemble it. To do this, first carefully secure the loose floorboards with self-tapping screws, and if necessary, replace individual boards. And only then pre-cut sheets of plywood or chipboards are laid on the floor.

Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that there is a gap of several millimeters between the sheets being laid. This is necessary to prevent deformation of the sheets during their possible expansion or swelling under the influence of moisture.

Finally, all sheets are carefully attached to the bottom boards with self-tapping screws with countersunk heads. After this, you can begin laying the laminate.

Installation of underlay for laminate

Speaking about leveling floors under laminate, we should also mention the underlay, without which this process in some cases will be unfinished. Typically, a substrate is used when the difference in height of the base surface is small and the worker is faced with a problem - it is impossible to lay the laminate on the base without preparation, but there is no need to fully level it.

For this purpose, both synthetic substrates and materials based on natural components are used. Among synthetic ones, polyethylene substrates are most often used; among the most popular natural substrates, cork or cork-bitumen ones are used.

It should be noted that in many cases these components are not cheap building materials. But they guarantee excellent quality and speed of work completion. And this, combined with the skill of the performer, is the key to a beautiful, comfortable and durable floor.

Cozy home without special costs Kriksunova Inna Abramovna

Why is it necessary to level the walls?

Nowadays there are many advertisements in newspapers offering household services to the population. Among these services, European-quality repairs take pride of place. What exactly is this? As a rule, this means the following “gentleman's set”. Firstly, in a room finished according to European standards, there must be metal-plastic (or wooden, made according to the latest technologies) window frames with so-called double-glazed windows. Secondly, doors from natural wood or MDF (this is the name of durable, specially processed plastic with a refined surface finish). It would also be a good idea to install radiators of a new generation - small, neat, with square section sections. By the way, they provide the apartment with heat no worse, if not better, than the cast-iron accordion batteries we are used to. I'm not even talking about the advantage of new radiators over standard flat batteries.

The concept of “European standard” also includes tiling the kitchen, bathroom and toilet with improved quality tiles, and not only the walls of these rooms, but also the floor are finished with tiles. Also, an apartment finished according to European standards must have new generation plumbing fixtures, which include a toilet, bathtub, sink, faucet and sink (jacuzzi and bidet in ordinary apartments practically none, there is simply nowhere to put them).

And of course, all fittings (sockets, switches, all kinds of latches, door and window handles, etc.) must be of a new, modern design.

However, if at the very least you can do without the above things, provided, of course, that the existing windows, doors and plumbing are in quite good condition, then European-quality renovation is unthinkable without perfectly aligned walls.

The fact is that the walls in our Russian houses are initially uneven. And that's even putting it mildly! They can be frankly wavy, with curvature and depressions, not to mention the numerous voids on the surface of the concrete, etc. Those who have glued wallpaper on their own at least once know this very well. I don’t know why, but this is how we build. Sometimes, when joining panel slabs, builders, without further ado, seal up the joining seams almost “slap”, not at all embarrassed by the fact that after such sealing, unsightly cement plaques appear on the surface of the walls. As the unforgettable Raikin said, “with us, quantity is more important than quality!” This is how it remains to this day.

Don't think that things are different in newly built houses. Nothing like this! The walls also need to be finished, they need to be leveled, using kilograms of plaster for this. Did you know that now new houses are often handed over to homeowners without any finishing at all: without wallpaper or linoleum, not to mention parquet, etc.? They say that the owners will redo everything to their taste anyway, so why bother extra expenses for the finishing of a facility under construction?

In general, if you want your apartment to comply with European standards after renovation, you (more precisely, the craftsmen) cannot avoid the work of leveling the walls. Ideally, the walls should be as even and smooth as the walls of a refrigerator. And this is regardless of how exactly you are going to finish them: wallpaper them, lay tiles on them, paint them water-based paint etc. Even if you intend to close your walls decorative panels, then they (the walls) will still have to be leveled. Please note that the panels are mounted on wooden slats, installed horizontally. And if the wall is crooked, then the panels will not be able to lie flat on it.

So whether you like it or not, this work cannot be avoided. Yes, you’ve probably already seen for yourself, seeing the renovated apartments of your friends or acquaintances, how much more noble the aligned walls look compared to those we had before.

If work on thoroughly leveling the walls is being carried out in your apartment for the first time, then you will be amazed at how much putty may be needed for this. For example, to renovate a room with an area of ​​7–10 square meters. m may need about 150 (one hundred and fifty!) kilograms of vetonite - a dry powdery mixture, which is diluted with water and turns into a paste-like putty. In general, be prepared for the fact that during the work process you will have to buy additional vetonite, and perhaps more than once. As they say, an opening (in this case of the walls) will show.

Vetonit is by far the most common type of putty because it optimally combines price and quality. In addition to vetonite, Knauf's Rotband putty also works well to level walls. True, it is more expensive than Vetonite, but it is more plastic and therefore more convenient to work with.