Concrete screed floor itself

Concrete screed is a layer of flooring, which is applied to obtain a smooth surface, which is the basis for laying the finishing (finishing) floor. Concrete screed floor with their own hands should be arranged taking into account the insulating and sound-proof properties, as well as the possibility of masking in it certain types of communications (systems such as "warm floor", for example).

The need to use screed, as a rule, due to the following technical reasons:

• the presence of well-defined irregularities on the surface of concrete slabs used as interfloor floors. It is not uncommon for outwardly protruding reinforcement, concrete flows and other defects to be found on the coatings;
• the preparation of the leveling layer is obligatory even if there is no substrate under the floor covering available in the apartment (from parquet or linoleum, for example);
• In addition, the need for additional leveling of the floor may be caused by the insufficient quality of the screed prepared during the construction of the house.

Mix preparation

To obtain a quality floor base, the thickness of the coating should not be less than 5 cm; and the initial mixture should be made strictly according to the instructions. Even small deviations from the stipulated proportions (the ratio of water, cement and sand) can lead to unforeseen consequences - the appearance of cracks and so on.

As the main components of the leveling mortar, building cement of a grade not lower than M400 and purified river sand, taken in a 1: 3 ratio, are usually used. But more often, for its preparation, ready-made dry mixes, diluted with water in the required proportion, are purchased.

Before you make a screed with your own hands - be sure to read the instructions for its preparation, according to which, simultaneously with the addition of water, the mixture must be thoroughly mixed, for example, using a construction mixer, until a homogeneous working composition is obtained.

Foundation preparation

The order of preparation of the base surface depends on the condition of the old coating, a careful examination of which will help you choose the right solution.

A sufficiently strong base is left unchanged and is poured with a thin layer of concrete screed. A weak (crumbling) old coating is completely removed with a punch or other percussion instrument.

After removing the old layer, it is necessary to determine the difference between the highest and lowest points of the “bare” base. The height difference can be quite tangible. Therefore, take into account that with a large difference in levels, the consumption of concrete mix that is required to fill the floor increases dramatically.

To fix the plane of the alignment layer location over the entire area of ​​the fill, using the level, special "beacons" are installed, which are metal profiles that are located at equal distance from one another.

Note! The distance between the beacons should be less than the length of the rule used to level the surface of the screed.

When leveling beacons by level, it is recommended to adhere to the following rules:

• waterproof materials (metal or plastic) should be used as lining for beacons;
• the distance between the individual pads along the length of the beacon should not exceed 30 cm, which excludes the possibility of its sagging;
• In accordance with the existing technology of arranging concrete pavements, the same solution is used for fastening beacons as for pouring the entire screed. In practice, quite often, ordinary alabaster is used for these purposes.

Pouring the finished solution

After the areas with the lighthouses attached to them are thoroughly “grabbed,” you can start pouring the solution prepared in advance.

In addition, before pouring the floor, you must carefully inspect the corner joints of the floor with the walls of the room. If there are well-defined voids in the joints, fill them with foam.

With all the procedures for pouring concrete floor you can see after watching the video. The above procedures assume that at first the prepared mixture is poured at the base of the floor and leveled at the beacons with the help of special hand tools.

Video

Pouring a concrete screed on top of the “warm floor”: