How to make a floor screed

To save money when carrying out repairs in the apartment, you need to perform many types of work yourself. To do this, you need to know, for example, how to make a floor screed with your own hands. Screed is a sexual layer, intended for laying the floor covering. It is on its quality indicators that further performance characteristics of the floor will depend.

Floor screed can be of two types:

1. Monolithic (cement-sand, plaster, self-leveling);
2. Dry screed.

Activities before pouring the screed

• Cement screed is made of cement and sand in the ratio of 3: 1 with the addition of water;
• The type of screed is determined on the basis of the functional purpose of the room and its humidity;
• Next in the room is determined by the zero level using the water level. The zero point is determined simultaneously in all rooms at a distance of 150 cm from the floor surface. At this distance, a mark is made on the wall and projected onto all other walls using the water level. Then all the marks are connected by a single line, and the zero level of all rooms is obtained;
• Measure the distance from the dash to the floor surface on all walls. The smallest figure suggests that at this point the floor is the highest;
• Having decided on the type of screed, proceed to the preparation of the base for its application. You will need to dismantle the flooring, remove the peeling base elements, and then remove dust from the surface with a vacuum cleaner. The final step in the preparation will be a primer base for better setting.

When using all types of screeds, except for self-leveling, screed layer must exceed 3 cm.

Technological process of filling the floor with a coupler

Bottom of the walls around the perimeter is pasted with ruberoid tape so that its width exceeds the future layer of the screed by 15 cm. If there are holes or crevices on the floor surface, treat them with a nonshrinkable glue that will protect your neighbors from the bottom from the screed leakage.

Beacons for filling

The next step of self-pouring screed is the placement of beacons. The course of further work depends on the quality of their installation. The role of lighthouses will play T-shaped guides of metal. They are fixed with a screed solution. The first lighthouse is located at a distance of 20 cm from the surface of the wall. The rest of the lighthouses are attached parallel to each other in increments of 30-40 cm. Having laid the lighthouses on the solution, align them using a level. It is necessary to level in all directions from the lighthouses. If the level on the entire surface of the floor is zero, then you did everything correctly, then it remains to wait for the solution to solidify.

Fill solution for screed

Once the beacons are installed, and the solution finally froze, you can start directly pouring screed. This is done as follows: a mixed solution is poured between two beacons, starting from the far wall. Further, using the rule, the layer is leveled towards itself. Similarly, the entire surface of the floor is poured. It is advisable to carry out this process with a partner who will level the layer while you are kneading a new portion of the solution.

Self-leveling final procedures

After the whole room is covered with a screed, the process is not over yet. You need to provide optimal conditions for its drying. For complete hardening of the layer will take from 24 to 28 days. To prevent the screed from drying out early, it must be sprayed with water several times a day for at least 14 days. Or you can lay a plastic wrap on the floor and moisten it as it dries.

You can move on the floor after a week, but the screed will be ready for operation only after a month. If you hurry, then all the work done may be spoiled, and you will have to start all over again.

Verification of work performed

After the required amount of time, you need to make sure the quality of the screed.

1. Make a visual inspection of the color of the coating - it should be uniform.
2. You will need to check the flatness of the surface using the two-meter rule. Norms allowable clearances of no more than 4mm.
3. Next, check the surface hardness by hitting a tangent with a hammer. In case of improper exposure the floor may become cracked.

This process of self-pouring floor screed can be considered finished, and if you have done everything, following the technology, then your floor will serve you the maximum allowable period and will delight you and the whole family.

Otherwise, you will have to redo all the work first or seek the help of professionals, and this in turn will require large financial costs.

We recommend to read:

Laying laminate on a wooden floor with their own hands.

Video

Detailed instructions for performing floor screed in video format: