We make an adjustable floor on joists instead of a concrete screed

Concrete screed, due to its structure, does not allow the formation of a surface that would be sufficiently smooth, and now, more and more often, mixtures such as “Betonite” or technology are used instead. A good alternative to all these “wet”, and therefore labor-intensive and dirty technologies, is a floor with adjustable joists.

These structures have special adjustable supports for the logs in the form of plastic post bolts. Moreover, the adjustable logs can be raised or lowered along the threads of these post bolts and thus easily adjusted to the level, which guarantees a perfectly level base for the finishing floors, and therefore no creaking floors.

Advantages of an adjustable floor on joists

Compared to leveling with concrete screed, adjustable joists offer the following advantages:

wet and dirty technical processes are excluded;
provided wide range floor lift levels from 5 to 15 cm and higher without any additional material and labor costs;
obtaining cost savings when raising the floor over 7 cm;
speed of the installation process (100 m2 in two days);
guarantee high precision alignment;
increased heat and sound insulation;
placement of all types of communications in the underground space, which makes it easier to access them during repair or replacement;
the lightness of the design, making it indispensable in houses where a large load on the floors is technologically unacceptable.

The following design options for adjustable joists are possible.

Installation of the floor on adjustable joists (video)

The main stages of installing an adjustable floor on joists

Preparatory work

The room in which it is planned to install adjustable joists is measured. Based on the measurements, the amount of timber for the logs with a margin for cutting, bolts-posts for installation and dowel-nails for attaching them to concrete are calculated.
The level of the floor slab is checked and the final floor level is set taking into account the height of the flooring (plywood, OSB) and the height finishing coating.
In the logs with the required pitch, through holes are drilled with a feather drill, then, if you do not have threaded bushings, threads are cut into the holes with a tap. If you purchased ready-made plastic bushings, they are inserted into smooth holes and fastened to the joists with self-tapping screws.
The stand-up bolts are screwed into the holes of the joists using a hex key - the outer screws in each joist are screwed in completely, and the middle ones - to a small depth.

Important! If the surface of the floor slab under the post bolt is very uneven, it should be leveled with a chisel. The post bolts must be securely fastened to the concrete. Minimum distance there should be 10 mm between the floor slab and the joists.

Installation of logs

First, logs are installed along the perimeter of the room with a distance of 10-70 mm from the walls, the distance between the wall and the ends of the logs is 10-30 mm. When choosing a pitch between lags, you should take into account the dimensions of the flooring sheets (slabs). The edges of the flooring slabs should rest on the joists and end near their central axes. The standard step size between the logs is 400-600 mm, however, to strengthen the structure, this step can be reduced to 300 mm. It is allowed to install cut-off joists supported by two stand-up bolts.
The outermost bolts in each joist are installed first. They are screwed into the joist to the required depth, controlling the preliminary position of the joist by level, after which all other stand-up bolts are lowered to the level of the slab.
After this, a thin drill is inserted into all the holes of the post-bolts and holes are marked in the concrete for the dowel-nails.
The lag is removed and the planned holes are drilled in the concrete. The joist is reinstalled, a dowel-nail is inserted into each bolt-post, which is lowered down the cone-shaped hole and falls exactly into the hole drilled in the concrete.
Next, lightly recess the dowel-nails in the 2 outer bolts-racks using a hammer. The log is set to the required height by rotating the two outer bolts with a hexagon, controlling the process by level.
The outer dowel-nails are finally driven into the concrete. Then screw the remaining stud bolts into the joists until they rest on the slab, recess and hammer the dowel nails into each stud bolt.

Using a chisel and a hammer, cut off the protruding ends of the bolts from the upper plane of the log. Check the rigidity of the fastening of the post bolts to the floor slab by pressing on each joist and trying to tear it off (lateral loosening is prohibited).

If any post bolt is not sufficiently fastened to the floor slab, it is unscrewed. Remove the dowel-nail and increase the depth of the hole in the concrete. The holes are cleared of dust and the post bolt is reattached.

If the required rigidity of fastening to the base is not achieved, then use other fasteners. For example, in the form of RDK - a nylon expansion dowel with a screw. The screws in the RDK dowels are tightened using a long bit with a screwdriver or drill. The screw must not be loosened or turned in the dowel thread.

Installation of the floor on adjustable joists (video)

Adjustable logs on metal studs

Let's consider how you can arrange adjustable logs from materials that can be purchased at any building materials store.

Regular steel studs can be used as adjustable supports for joists. The design of such adjustable lags on heels is as follows.

A standard dry planed timber with a cross section of 50x50 mm is used for the logs. His adjustable support contains an M 6 stud, two nuts, two washers and an anchor sleeve.
A hole is drilled in the concrete floor slab, an anchor sleeve is driven into it and a pin is screwed into it.
The lower (under the joist) nut with a washer is screwed onto the stud. A hole is drilled in the joist with a hammer on top.
The lag is put on the stud, so that the nut and washer are on its lower side. By rotating this nut you can adjust the position of the joist. The second nut (top) is necessary to fix the log at the set level.

As you can see, modern construction industry offers ever new alternatives to traditional construction technologies. Adjustable is a prime example of such an alternative, making it easier and cheaper to install and repair floors.

Professional installation of adjustable floors in Moscow and the Moscow region!

We make an adjustable floor using anchors and polymer bolts!

Sale of components for adjustable floors in Moscow and Russian regions.

We produce chamber drying logs for adjustable floors of any size 45x45, 40x50, 50Х50, 50x70 up to 3m/p.

We will deliver to your site with fasteners (plastic bolt, anchor pin) or under your fasteners. Pickup from our warehouse is possible.

Adjustable floors video.

Adjustable floor on merral anchors

Adjustable floor with polymer bolts

At the end of the 90s, Russian construction appeared adjustable floor technology. This one is absolutely the new kind foundations competed with concrete screeds, previously widely used in residential premises, apartments, and any buildings.
Adjustable floors They have such an advantage over concrete ones as simple and quick installation. They are used under finished floors made of parquet, laminate or parquet boards in modern buildings. As a result of official tests, it was possible to prove the durability of such floors. Their service life reaches 50 years if used correctly.
This floor leveling technology has significant advantages over other preparation methods:
absence of dirt and water;
the ability to adjust the floor within 6 -15 cm and above;
efficiency and manufacturability of the installation process, relative cheapness;
high installation speed – 100 m2 in 2 days;
alignment accuracy;
relative lightness of structures compared to concrete, dry screeds, and, consequently, lower loads on floors.
There are two types of adjustable floor designs, depending on the height of its rise. If you need to arrange a floor with a height of 4 to 7 cm, then a floor structure will be used, adjustable plywood on the stove. Adjustable plywood is most often used in new construction. If a higher floor is required or the differences are significant, then the design is used adjustable joist floors . It is also used for floors on floor beams. Most often, joist adjustment is used to replace old floors and dismantle them.
Adjustable floors help eliminate significant differences in height when dismantling an old floor when the required level is high. For example, during finishing works The old floor covering was removed, and the height between the required level and the resulting base does not allow resorting to other leveling technologies.
The design of an adjustable floor with joists is used for:
installation of floors in new buildings;
restoration of pilaf in old premises;
raising the floor to reduce the load on the floors;
installation of a multi-level floor;
hiding electrical equipment and utility networks under the floor.

Adjustable plywood ( ).

Installing floors using adjustable plywood.

Reluctance to raise the floor high or the lack of such an opportunity may lead the owner of houses or apartments to use new technology flooring installations - adjustable plywood.New buildings or apartments with low ceilings require a special approach. In such cases, it is inconvenient to use logs; instead, take threaded anchor rods, install them, and secure them at the base of the floor slab. Sheets of plywood are placed on the studs in advance drilled holes. For the floors, special moisture-resistant plywood sheets with a thickness of 10 mm and dimensions of 1.5 by 1.5 m are used. As a result, we get plywood with legs, because the sheets stand on anchor studs. These legs (pins) are attached to concrete floor. To adjust the height of the sheets, nuts with washer are screwed onto the studs, unscrewing or tightening which leads to the lowering or raising of the plywood the desired height until it works out Smooth surface flooring Finally, a second sheet is laid on top of the leveled layer of plywood and secured with a self-tapping screw. After which you can begin installing the flooring. Such a plywood base does not rise more than 7 cm from the level of the floor base.

Cost of adjustable floor installation depends on the volume of the room and additional work.

Modern construction technologies allow you to use effective ways to regulate the floor level and level it. If previously this was only used concrete screed, the creation of which is characterized by a long duration of work, a huge amount of dirt and significant costs, then today the role of such a rough foundation is played by adjustable floors, which can be easily and quickly installed with your own hands.

With the help of an adjustable floor, you can level the surface if the base is uneven.

There are a few in various ways, allowing you to create adjustable floors with your own hands and thereby raise the surface to a height of only three millimeters, which is important for apartments in multi-storey buildings, which are no different anyway great height ceiling. Adjustable floors are also very beneficial for old houses, where the floors may not withstand the installation of a heavy concrete screed.

Features and benefits of adjustable floors

The main feature of adjustable floors is that such floors can be lowered or raised using a special system of stands or pads. That is, you can achieve perfect result, simply adjusting the height of the bolts, and end up with a smooth, beautiful base, suitable for laying any type of flooring: from expensive solid board and parquet to simple linoleum.

Special anchors are used as support, that is, metal rods and bolts that have a stepped hole for attraction to the base. The dowels are driven in only after all the joists have been installed.

The advantages of adjustable floors include the following:

long service life - from fifty years;
minimal loads on the floors, lightness of the entire subfloor;
fast installation time, relative ease of work, affordable price;
durability and high strength;
no wet processes during assembly;
saving materials and costs when arranging a leveling base;
excellent sound and heat insulation properties, such a floor can save up to twenty percent of heat in a room;
high environmental friendliness: most of the materials are made from wood and wood products;
adjustable floors can be effectively used for multi-level structures;
you can hide everything under the surface of such a floor engineering Communication, to which free access will be provided;
floors can be used in a wide variety of spaces.

You can adjust the floor in several ways, including:

With the help of adjustable logs, which make it possible to raise the floor to a height of five to twenty centimeters. Under such a floor you can safely lay any communications. This option is the best alternative ordinary concrete screed. Between the logs you can lay an additional layer of heat and sound insulation made of expanded clay or mineral wool. This structure is assembled very quickly and is fixed using dowel nails.
Using adjustable plywood, which raises the floor by a height of three millimeters to three centimeters. This coating is optimal for apartments with low ceilings, as well as for placing communications that do not require laying under the subfloor. Fixation is carried out through holes in plywood sheets using bushings with internal thread. The entire floor frame is installed on the base and secured with dowel nails.

Leveling the floors in both options is carried out by freely moving the bolts along the axis down or up. In this case, the system can be attached to any base:

to monolithic concrete using dowel-nails;
to hollow concrete slabs ceilings and screed applied to the surface using polypropylene dowels for concrete and brick;
to the wooden floor in the form of beams using special self-tapping screws of the required size.

In this case, the anchors take on the responsibility of adjusting the height, ensuring the connection between the ceiling and the structure, and a significant part of the load.

Main stages of installation

Installing an adjustable floor involves the following steps:

the base is prepared and cleared of debris and dust;
holes are drilled for threaded bushings, and this step must fully comply with the load distribution requirements for the selected floor covering;
bushings and bolt-posts made of high-quality polymer are screwed into the holes;
all assembled elements are installed on the prepared floor, the bolts are precisely fastened to the base;
horizontality is ensured by rotating the rack-bolts around the axis, this is done with a special key;
all remaining parts of the racks are cut off;
After this, you can begin laying the plywood.

If you use several layers of plywood, you must ensure that the joints and seams of one layer do not coincide with the joints of the second, otherwise the necessary strength and reliability of the entire structure will not be achieved.

When laying on joists, it must be taken into account that the joints should be located on the surface of the joists, and not between them.

Installing an adjustable floor using plywood or using joists involves performing the same steps, the only difference is that in the first case, the plywood itself or the selected material is laid directly on the bolt posts, and in the second, the plywood is laid on the already leveled joists .

Assembly details

The assembly of an adjustable floor may depend on a number of features that must be taken into account before installation. So, if the future floor covering is laminate or parquet, then the pitch of wooden logs can be fifty centimeters, but for linoleum and floor tiles the step cannot be less than thirty centimeters.

For wooden floors It is better to use moisture-resistant plywood.

Also, during installation the following conditions must be met:

for ventilation and thermal expansion, a gap of ten millimeters is left between the wall surface and the adjustable floor;
the logs are attached to the base to a depth of forty millimeters, which ensures proper strength and reliability of the structure;
Stand bolts for adjustable plywood must only be raised or lowered using a special wrench. Height differences should not be more than one millimeter;
The dowel-nails can be driven in all the way only after leveling; all protruding parts of the racks are cut off with a chisel.

For flooring, only moisture-resistant plywood is used, which can be laid in one or two layers. Moreover, for one layer the thickness of the sheet cannot be less than 11-12 millimeters, and for two layers - nine. Often, when laying a double layer, factory-glued plywood is used, which has a kind of lock for ease and reliability of installation.

It must be taken into account that the maximum thickness for such double flooring should not exceed twenty millimeters. Instead of plywood, you can use fiberboard and chipboard sheets, moisture resistant drywall large thickness, OSB boards, cement bonded particle boards. All gaps between the wall and the subfloor are subsequently covered with baseboards after the floor is finished.

Areas of application for adjustable floors

Adjustable floors have gained popularity due to their relatively simple installation compared to screeds, as well as a fairly wide range of applications. For rooms where the ceiling height is quite low, such floors are a godsend!

Similar designs are also used for dilapidated houses, where the floors simply cannot withstand the enormous weight of the concrete screed, but lightweight wooden joists and plywood sheets allow you to complete all leveling work quickly and without much dirt.

Adjustable floors are also installed in offices and other commercial premises when it is necessary to carry out quick and relatively inexpensive work on leveling the floor and masking utility lines.

Today, an adjustable floor is a very beneficial technology for almost any room, which provides high-quality and quick leveling in an environmentally friendly manner. clean materials and does not require wet construction processes. Moreover, create adjustable floors without using professional builders, quite simple.

Not so long ago, in the process of laying lag on rough foundation pieces of plywood or wooden stakes were placed under the beams. In this way it was possible to protect the tree from moisture and level the rough base horizontally. But over time, the substrate dried out and became unusable, which affected the horizontality of the coating. In the article we will look at modern methods fastening the joists to various types grounds.

Features of the use of fasteners

In the process of attaching the log to a wooden base, no special problems arise. To do this, you can use long screws or corners. But what about a concrete base into which you can’t easily screw screws? To strengthen the joists on concrete, you need to use special types fasteners. The choice of fasteners required for installing beams to a concrete floor depends on the following factors:

Horizontality of the surface. Depending on whether additional leveling is required or not, height-adjustable or non-height-adjustable fasteners can be used;
Base moisture level. If the logs are mounted on a strip foundation, they will have to be laid almost on the ground. To secure the beams, they mainly use brick pillars, which protect the wood from moisture, acting as an insulating lining;
Degree of load on the base. You can strengthen the joists on the floor using self-tapping screws and brackets. However, if the floor is used intensively, the screws may not withstand the load. That is why the type of fastener is chosen in accordance with the expected load on the floor covering;
Heights of the underground. Wooden floors are prone to condensation accumulation under the covering and rotting. For guard wooden base from rotting and deformation, experts recommend using high supports for logs. They form an underground space under the beams in which air can circulate freely, which prevents the formation of condensation.

To properly secure the bars to rough floor, you need to understand not only the fastening methods, but also the types of fasteners. An adequate choice of support will extend the service life of not only the rough, but also the finishing coating.

Types of fasteners

As already noted, attaching beams to the floor involves the use of only two types of fasteners:

Simple - static supports that do not allow you to vary the installation height of wooden elements;
Adjustable - contain screw structures, thanks to which the fasteners can be adjusted in height, which allows you to achieve maximum horizontalness of the base.

What types of fasteners can be used to secure beams to the floor?

support posts;
self-tapping screws;
corners;
brackets;
anchor.

To understand the essence and features of the application of the above parts, let’s consider each of the categories in more detail.

Self-tapping screws

Self-tapping screws are simple fasteners that are used to finish wooden, but not concrete, floors. Sufficiently long rods with external thread capable of attaching beams to wooden floors, but only if the following nuances are taken into account:

Before fastening, through holes must be made both in the beams themselves and in the base;
It is necessary to insert a dowel into the through hole and only then screw in the self-tapping screw;
To ensure that the logs do not come off the wooden base, screws are attached in increments of 40-60 mm;
The length of the screw is determined by the thickness of the beams; it is desirable that during the screwing process the “tail” of the screw goes into the base at least 5 cm.

The affordable price of fasteners has made them very popular among home craftsmen. But in order to achieve the desired result, during the installation of the logs it is necessary to take into account the above points.

Anchor

Anchor – combined fastener with self-fastening, which, unlike dowels, not only easily attaches to the base, but also supports the weight of heavy structures. The anchor is one of the most durable and reliable types of fasteners that are used to attach logs to any foundation (strip, pile). If we discard all the “sentiments”, the anchor is still the same dowel, but with a more powerful base.

During the process of fastening the lag, the anchor is mounted in approximately the same way as a self-tapping screw:

Through holes are made in the beams, after which symmetrical, but not through, holes are made in the base;
To disguise the bolt head, the beams must first be countersinked;
Since the anchor is very strong and is capable of supporting heavy structures, no more than 4 fasteners will be required to attach one beam;
The locking parts of the anchors are inserted into the resulting holes, through which the bolts are screwed;
When stitching the joists through, you need to ensure that the bolts go deep into the base by about 6 cm.

To strengthen beams on a rough base, experts recommend using anchors with a diameter of 8 to 10 mm. Metal rods of this thickness can easily withstand very heavy loads.

Brackets

Brackets are cantilever supports that serve as a static base for fastening parts in vertical plane. As a rule, they are used in the process of attaching joists to support pillars. Cross-shaped (x-shaped) curved parts have fixed flaps into which timber is placed. The price of such products is much higher than in the case of self-tapping screws, however, the range of possibilities for such fasteners is much greater.

Very often in the process of laying a subfloor on strip foundation install brick pillars. They act as supports and protect the tree from moisture. Since the lag becomes dented over time, it can become deformed without additional fasteners. The only convenient and reliable way securing beams to supports - using brackets.

Support posts

Posts for logs – support structures, which are assembled from bricks with a cross-section of 1-2 bricks. In fact, these elements perform the task of an “invisible” lining, preventing the impact of dampness on the wood. The columns are mounted when laying the rough foundation on a strip foundation or concrete. Since the level groundwater can be constantly changed to protect the logs from water, specially forming an underground.

In order to properly strengthen the logs and erect columns, the following points should be taken into account:

It is undesirable to build supports from hygroscopic materials - artificial stone or sand-lime brick;
Do not install posts on loose soils that can be washed away by water;
Supports that will be installed on non-flowing soil must be made above the soil level in the underground by at least 2-3 rows of masonry;
It is advisable to lay the pillars with a single-row dressing, maintaining the same height level for all supports;
You can attach the beams to the supports using brackets, anchors, or special corners with self-tapping screws for concrete.

Corners

Corners – galvanized metal parts with two planes located orthogonal to each other. The price of such fasteners is largely determined by the size of the elements themselves, as well as their thickness. The degree of strength of the corners directly depends on the mentioned parameters. In the process of fixing the lag, it is advisable to pay attention to such nuances.

Are you planning to independently make repairs in your house, apartment, cottage, warehouse or office space? Then you will find our advice, recommendations and step by step instructions for assembling an adjustable floor.

There are several types of “adjustable flooring” depending on the purpose of the room, the quality of the base and the design height of the floor. To solve the problems of raising the floor level to the required height and placing various communications underneath it, a floor structure on adjustable DNT joists is used, which provides not only the required levelness of the floor for laying any types of coverings, including wood floor coverings requiring minimal differences in the base, such as parquet, parquet boards or laminate (no more than 2 mm per 2 linear meters), but also allows you to make a floor frame, if the quality interfloor covering wooden beams are used.

This design raises the floor to a height of 5 to 20 cm or more, depending on the height of the polymer bolts and the cross-section of the logs, and also allows it to be fixed to a concrete, wooden or any other base.

To solve the problems of leveling the floor base without loss of height, an adjustable floor design using adjustable DNT slabs is used. Its use allows you to prepare the base for parquet, laminate or parquet board with a difference level of no more than 2 mm per 2 linear meters. At the same time, the floor will rise to a height of 2 to 5 cm, which does not exceed the thickness of a conventional screed.

All these designs of adjustable DNT floors allow you to install in the shortest possible time (there are no wet and dusty processes associated with concrete) a smooth and reliable floor that has increased sound and heat insulation of the room, the cost of which is no more expensive traditional types leveling (concrete screed, semi-dry screed or Knauff floors), and with a floor lift height of more than 5 cm, it allows you to significantly save on preparing the base for the finishing coating.

Pros and cons of "adjustable floor"

The disadvantages of an adjustable floor may appear if the requirements for proper installation of the floor are not met, which also applies to other methods of leveling the subfloor.

At correct installation and compliance with all material quality requirements, the “DNT adjustable floor” is a reliable and durable base for any finishing coating on which you can not only walk, but also drive a car.

If you do not follow the DNT adjustable floor assembly technology, entrusting it to “woe to the specialists” or use a regular plastic dowel or nail to attach polymer adjustable bolts To concrete base, the adjustable floor will look like this:

DNT adjustable floor installation technology

Features of adjustable floors

You can install an adjustable floor yourself without the help of a professional. To do this, it is enough to purchase necessary materials and stock up on simple tools.
Installing the floor takes very little time: 1-2 days. For comparison, a concrete floor screed must dry for several weeks.
An adjustable floor allows you to hide communications in the technological space, which means you can save space and remove all visual defects under the base of the floor.
Using an adjustable floor, you can significantly increase the sound insulation of a room, which is why this type of flooring is often used in concert halls, studios and residential buildings.
The adjustable floor is quite light in weight. Therefore, you can install it in rooms with weak ceilings - in private houses or on loggias.
When installing an adjustable floor, practically no dirty work. Accordingly, this coating option is ideal for rooms where it is important to maintain cleanliness.
Adjustable floor can withstand loads of up to 2.5 tons per square meter. This means that this coating can be used for almost any type of premises (for residential buildings, offices, shops, warehouses).

Using adjustable floors

Despite all the advantages of adjustable floors, many owners still think about the advisability of installing this type of covering. So, in what cases is it best to use an adjustable floor?

If the floor surface is difficult or almost impossible to level (there are strong differences or unevenness).
If to level the floor according technical specifications It is impossible to use heavy materials.
If you need to make a floor with different height levels.
If there is a need to hide communications under the floor.
If you want to create additional insulation from noise or cold.

Before we get to detailed description process of installing an adjustable floor, let's look into it key features. Today there are two types of adjustable floors on the market: floors on joists and adjustable floors on slabs. The main difference between these types of floors is minimum height rise.

When installing a floor on joists, the rise is 5-20 centimeters or more. For an adjustable floor on slabs, the minimum lift height can be from 3 centimeters.

The process of installing adjustable floors on joists or on slabs is almost identical, but we will still describe the installation of each type in detail so that you can do it yourself at home.

Technology for installing adjustable floors on joists

Logs are planed timber. Its dimensions, as a rule, do not exceed 50x50 centimeters. So, before we begin installing the floor on the joists, we will decide on the materials and tools that we will need.

Video - Adjustable joists on homemade racks

Tools

For self-installation flooring you will need: logs, wear-resistant bolts, drill, laser or water level, hammer, dowel-nails.

Now we will look at step-by-step steps that will help you quickly and efficiently install an adjustable floor on joists.

Preparatory stage of work

Video - Adjustable joists preparatory process

Installation phase

We lay the wooden joists evenly on the base of the floor. The distance between the joists depends on the choice of floor covering. If you plan to cover the floor with linoleum or lay tiles, the distance between the joists should be small. Experts recommend taking a step between lags of no more than 30 centimeters. It is advisable to leave a distance from the joist to the wall of at least 1 centimeter. This will create the necessary ventilation.
After laying out the joists, we move on to rigidly attaching the bolts to the base. To do this, take a rigid drill and drill a hole in the concrete through the bolt. The depth of the hole should be about 40 millimeters. Next, we insert a dowel-nail into the prepared hole.
We hammer in the dowel-nail with a hammer, securing the polymer bolt to the base of the floor. Try to drive the nails as firmly as possible so that the entire floor structure does not move in the future. Also good fastening will avoid squeaks and noises when using the floor.

Alignment

After the wooden logs are installed around the entire perimeter of the room and tightly bolted, we proceed to leveling. To do this, we need a water (or laser) level and a special tool (key) for adjusting the height.

We carefully measure the level data. The height difference can be no more than 1-2 millimeters.
Using a special wrench, raise or lower the bolts, focusing on the level. We try to achieve perfect alignment, since the quality of installation of the final floor covering depends on this.

The final stage of work

After leveling the joists, firmly secure the nails to the floor using a hammer.
We cut off the unnecessary remains of the post bolts using a knife or any other cutting device.
If necessary, we lay materials between the joists for soundproofing or thermal insulation of the room.
We place the flooring on the upper base of the joists. The choice of decking materials depends on what type of flooring you plan to use. Most often, plywood is used as flooring. It is suitable for further installation of laminite or linoleum. GVL or DSP is also used as flooring.
After installing the flooring, we lay tiles, linoleum, laminate, parquet or any other covering on the adjustable floor.

The second type of flooring is done on slabs. It is chosen if the height of the floor should not exceed 3 centimeters. It is difficult to hide communications in such a space between the base of the floor and the covering, but it is quite possible to place cables from the telephone or the Internet here.

The process of installing this type of floor is somewhat reminiscent of installing an adjustable floor on joists.

Materials and tools

Before installing an adjustable floor on slabs, you need to prepare the following tools and materials: sheets of plywood or other material, bushings, stand-up bolts, drill, self-tapping screws, hammer, water or laser level.

Type of plywood	Description
Plywood FC	moisture-resistant appearance; urea resin is used for gluing veneer sheets. This plywood is intended for indoor use.
FKM plywood	has increased water resistance and is made on the basis of melamine resins. This type of plywood is unique, since environmentally friendly melamine resins are used for its production. Due to its environmental characteristics, plywood is used in furniture production and for interior finishing work
Plywood FSF	Veneer sheets are glued together using phenolic resin. This type plywood also has increased water resistance. It is not recommended for interior decoration premises, so phenolic resins are harmful to health. Typically used for exterior finishing work
Laminated plywood	It is based on FSF plywood, which is covered on both sides with a special film. Laminated plywood is used for the manufacture of formwork. This type can be used repeatedly
Bakelized plywood	Bakelite resin is used to glue veneer sheets together. This type of plywood is used in aggressive climates, sea water, aggressive environments, sometimes to perform monolithic work
Marine plywood	similar to bakelized, but less durable. Made from foreign wood species
Plywood Flexible	foreign version. Distinctive feature is the ability to bend well in the transverse and longitudinal directions

Video - Which plywood is better

Preparatory stage of work

Just like when installing an adjustable floor on joists, installing a floor on slabs requires certain preparation work surface floor. Be sure to remove excess debris and correctly distribute communications that you plan to hide under the floor. Remember that the maximum lift height will be about 3 centimeters.
Carefully place the sheets around the perimeter of the room. The distance between the sheets should be 2-3 centimeters on each side of the sheet.
Mark the points for drilling holes. With a sheet size of 1.5 by 1.5 meters, 9 holes will be enough. One hole should be located in the middle (center of the sheet), four holes can be at the corners of the sheet and four more should be located in the central part of each side of the sheet. This arrangement of holes will provide reliable fastening leaf.

First and second layers of plywood flooring

Final stage

If necessary, we place thermal insulation or sound insulation of the floor on top of the sheets.
After installing the sheets, we also lay out laminite, tiles, parquet, linoleum or any other selected floor covering.

Secrets to successfully installing an adjustable floor

After finishing installation work Be sure to thoroughly clean the floor surface before installing the flooring. Excess debris, sawdust, and pieces of plastic can create squeaking and noise after laying the top layer of the floor.

Carefully hammer and tighten all floor fastenings. The reliability of the entire structure depends on this.

If you are making a high floor, it is advisable to place soundproofing material between the joists. This will avoid unnecessary noise when using the floor.
Don't skimp on the quality of materials. It is more profitable to immediately choose more expensive materials for installing the floor, instead of completely redoing the entire job after a short time.

If, after installing the floor, you need to move communications, you can simply remove several strips of the adjustable floor in the right place. After execution necessary work you can easily put the floor back in its original place.

We hope that our tips, as well as step-by-step instructions, will help you install an adjustable floor in your home, cottage or office yourself, quickly and without any difficulty.

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Installation of the floor on adjustable joists (video)