Wooden flooring has excellent characteristics, but they also become unusable over time. To prolong the life of a wooden floor, it is necessary to carry out preventive repairs from time to time. If things are really bad - the board bends, cracks and deformations are everywhere, then you will have to resort to leveling the coating.

Leveling the subfloor is not an easy task, but with certain knowledge, skills and materials, you can do the job on your own without involving expensive craftsmen. The cost of a rough wooden floor depends on its characteristics and performance, so today we will tell you how to make high-quality and durable, and most importantly, even floors with your own hands.

Often rough floors in wooden house level for laying laminate or other floor covering. This procedure is one of the main ones in the process of laying work, and the final result depends on it. And it doesn’t matter if you are going to lay a laminate, lay carpet or tile the floor - the surface must be even. So, on a curved floor in places where the floorboards bend, even the most durable linoleum will crack or rub over time, to say nothing of the whimsical laminate, which will soon begin to creak and loosen.

How to level a wooden subfloor

There are several effective ways to level drafts. wooden floors, the price of which professional craftsmen it can be very scary, but if you do everything yourself, you can save a lot!

So, today there are four ways to level the floor:

• putty;
• self-leveling compounds;
• laying plywood.

The choice of floor leveling method depends on the initial state of the surface and the desired end result. Let us consider in more detail the features of each method and the process of carrying out the work.

Tsiklevka

Sanding is the most effective and most time-consuming way to level rough wood floors. This method is relevant for those cases if you are not going to lay a new coating on top of the wood, but just want to open the floor with varnish or paint.

Scraping can be carried out both manually and with the use of mechanics. It is clear that if you have special equipment, then you do not need a manual scraper. Even if there is no car, it makes sense to rent it, because manual way irrevocably obsolete, as it takes an enormous amount of energy and time. Below we will consider the use of the mechanical scraping method.

First of all, take care of safety precautions and get protective plastic goggles, vibration-absorbing gloves (can be replaced with thick mittens) and construction headphones, since the scraping machine is very noisy. Don't forget a respirator to protect your lungs from wood dust.

Working process:

Self-leveling compounds

Self-levelling compounds are suitable if you are going to lay laminate flooring. It is pointless to cycle the surface for this, but the issue can be solved with the help of special mixtures in no time. Do not be deceived by the name and think that you just need to pour the composition on the floor, and it will even out on its own. This is a labor-intensive process, which, however, results in an ideal base for laminate or tile laying.

Working process:

Helpful Hints:

Carefully follow all the proportions and rules written on the package.

During drying, the recommended thermal regime must be maintained until the mixture is completely hardened.

If too much water is poured during the mixing of the mortar, the floor may delaminate after drying. If you add too little liquid, then the mixture will not be evenly distributed over the floor.

If you want to raise the level of a wooden floor, fill in two layers, with the first layer not being too thick.

Putty

Now you know how to level a rough wood floor for tiling and laminate flooring. Putty is not recommended for these purposes, but is ideal if you are going to cover the floor with carpet.

Today at construction stores you can find a lot of putty mixtures based on PVA glue and sawdust. This best option– reasonable cost, ease of use, large coverage area.

Working process:

Floor leveling with plywood

Leveling rough wooden floors with plywood is the most popular way because of its speed, simplicity and economy.

Working process:

Helpful Hint: To save time and effort when installing a plywood floor, mark with chalk the places where the joints will be.

Leveling the subfloor in a wooden house with plywood sheets is great for any finish, be it laminate, tile or carpet.

The floor in the rooms of the house or apartment may be different. However, the owners always want its surface to be attractive. appearance. Many people prefer to install wooden floors in their homes. Such a coating looks beautiful, it is environmentally friendly, durable, durable. But sooner or later you have to carry out repairs. One of the most popular problems is the leveling of a wooden floor. For many, and especially for beginners, this is a real headache. However, in reality, everything is not so difficult. How can I do that? Do the boards need to be taken apart? Next, consider how and what is better to level the wooden floor.

General information

Experts recommend working with at least two people. But you can level the wooden floor with your own hands and alone. No special knowledge is required for this. Here it is enough to be careful and follow some simple rules.

Eliminate minor irregularities

If the floor in the house is slightly uneven, then this situation can be corrected with a minimum of materials and tools. In the event that surface treatment of the boards is required, they will need to be removed, planed and laid again. This option is considered quite long and laborious. But at the same time, it is relatively inexpensive. You can use to level the coating. grinder. This method has its drawbacks. Firstly, this is a rather "dirty" option, since a lot of dust remains after work. In addition, before starting processing, the heads of nails and self-tapping screws should be sunk deeper into the boards so that they do not damage the tool. Minor Defects can be removed with acrylic putty. This process does not require special skills. Floor processing can be performed by any novice master on their own.

Crack repair

To process boards with such defects, a special mixture is used, which includes sawdust, putty and varnish. With its help, you can eliminate cavities and cracks in the wood, as well as nests of insects that destroy it. Before starting work, the processing area should be cleaned and degreased. After the mixture dries, the surface should be sanded and varnished.

Special solutions

Very often it is necessary to level the wooden floor under the laminate. The first step is to find out how strong the deviation is at the bottom. If the skew is small, then you can use leveling mixtures for a wooden floor. Such a solution is evenly distributed over the base. However, experts recommend using these mixtures with differences of no more than 1-2 cm. It is also effective to use them in the case when you need to close up small depressions and recesses in the base. The cost of such materials is quite high. But, as practice shows, they perfectly cope with their task.

Solution application

Before leveling wooden floors, they must be cleaned. Water is added to the solution required quantity and mixes. It is better to apply the mixture together: one cooks, the other levels the floor. Beacons must be installed first. The solution must be poured into the far corner of the room. Using a long spatula or doctor blade, it should be leveled. Next, the solution is rolled with a roller (needle). Particular attention should be paid to the junction of various batches. These areas need to be treated with a spatula. Use a hard bristle roller to remove air bubbles. After the solution has solidified, when it will be possible to walk freely on it, expansion joints are made with the help of a grinder. They are covered with elastic material.

How to level an old wooden floor?

What if the base has very large drops? It often happens that the wooden floor in the middle of the room collapses, and on the contrary, it rises against the walls. In these cases, as a rule, the previous coating is removed. But often disassembling a wooden floor is quite difficult. In addition, after carrying out such work, all doors will become higher. Will have to fix that too. But if the differences are very large, then dismantling is indispensable.

First step

Get a laser level. This tool is very useful in carrying out repair work. The level should be placed on the highest point of the base. After switching on, a line will appear (along the entire perimeter). It will be used to level the wooden floor. Mark with chalk or pencil. Then you need to make beacons. As them, you can use guides for drywall sheets. The advantage of these elements is their evenness. They should be laid out on the floor at a distance of approximately 60-80 cm. In this case, their upper part should coincide with the line that is marked along the perimeter. To check this, you need to take a flat narrow board or plywood and a mounting level. You can adjust the guides by placing boards or plywood under them.

Alternative option

If you are unable or unwilling to use laser level, you can use another method. In this case, you must also find the highest point of the base against the wall. From it you should measure 5-6 cm up and put a mark. After that, you should take a straight long rail or guide and attach it parallel to the floor along the wall. With help mounting level height needs to be adjusted. Next, the mark is placed on the opposite side on the wall. Dots must be placed around the entire perimeter. Next, you should take a rope or cord and stretch it from the mark located on one side of the room to the one on the opposite wall - crosswise. It is good if the rope does not come into contact with the floor. If the cord touches the surface, then all marks should be raised by 2-3 cm.

Second phase

It is advisable to attach the guides to the floor. This can be done with self-tapping screws. Further between the guides is poured mortar. The layer must be even. The next step is to use the rule. With this tool, the mixture is leveled. The solution can take quite a lot.

Using DSP

Leveling a wooden floor can be done without mortars. For this, cement-bonded particle boards are used. Before leveling wooden floors, they must be prepared. The work, as usual, includes the cleansing of the base. During preparatory phase a line is also drawn around the perimeter. To level the wooden floor with the help of DSP, it is necessary to lay out the boards on the base - instead of the guides. They should be laid at the level of the line around the perimeter. Pieces of plywood are placed under the boards. The base must be fixed. For this, the same screws are used. Next, the DSP is laid on the boards. Sheets are pre-cut, taking into account the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room. DSPs are attached to the boards with self-tapping screws. The cracks are covered with a rotband. The quality of laying is checked by the mounting level.

How to level a wooden floor with plywood?

The use of this material is considered to be the fastest and in a simple way foundation arrangement. In this way, you can level the wooden floor under the linoleum. What are the benefits of this foundation? Plywood is considered an indispensable material. It has a relatively low weight, flexibility, hardness, resistance to stress. Due to the perpendicular placement of adjacent layers, plywood is highly durable in all directions. To reduce the time of work, you can choose large sheets. This is especially true for large areas. The undoubted advantage of a dry screed is a small financial investment.

Technology

Before leveling wooden floors, it is necessary, as mentioned above, to assess the condition of the surface and establish the level of its deviation from the norm. A two-meter level is used to measure the base. Points should be noted in the corners of the room, the centers of the interface between the floor and walls and the middle of the room should be found. Next, you need to divide the base into so-called segments and examine each area. If the deformation of the floorboards is uniform, and the height level has a difference of 5 mm, the plywood can be fastened directly to wooden base. If the differences are more than one, but less than eight centimeters, then a crate should be made. Experts recommend creating tape or point supports.

Preparatory work

Plywood is aged indoors for several days. This achieves the same humidity as the room. Subsequently, this will avoid deformation of the material after laying. If the room is heated regularly, then the sheets are installed on the edge. In this position, the material is kept for two days, at least. If work is carried out in a heated room, the edges of the sheets are wetted with water at room temperature.

Material fitting

Before leveling wooden floors, the sheets should be adjusted to the size of the room. When cutting the material, it is imperative to take into account the width of the damper seams. The walls should have a gap of 1 cm, and between the blanks - 3-4 mm. If these gaps do not exist, the material may be deformed during temperature and humidity changes. After the cutting is completed, the ends should be checked for delamination and defects. If there are damaged sheets, then it is better to replace them. Next, you need to lay the material in the strand in which it will be fixed. All sheets should be numbered. It is also necessary to note the places where the logs will be placed. This is done by focusing on the joints between the sheets. Connections must fall on the center of the lag.

Base

Leveling logs are also made of plywood. Their width should be 3-4 cm. Logs are laid according to the marks made previously. If a gap forms between the floor and the strips, then pieces of plywood that are suitable in size should be laid. Pre-surfaces must be lubricated with glue. Logs are attached to the floor with self-tapping screws. Additionally, glue is used in the laying process. Horizontal placement is determined using a level. The evenness of the subsequent coating will depend on how carefully the lag is fastened. A seal should be placed between them.

Sheet fastening

After installing the lag, you can proceed directly to laying plywood. Sheets are attached in order, in accordance with the indicated numbers. Before laying, the material should be treated with an antiseptic. Plywood is fastened with self-tapping screws with plastic dowels. In order not to damage the sheets with hammer blows, holes should be drilled in the places where the screws are screwed in according to the diameter of the dowels.

Final processing

The final work will depend on the type of material that is planned to be laid on top. For example, if it is a carpet, then the surface is varnished in several layers. Before laying the laminate, the base is ground and processed protective compounds. If there is parquet on top, a special sound-absorbing substrate is laid on the surface.

Finally

Using the above technologies, you can quickly and easily level the wooden floor with any differences. With careful work, you can get, among other things, a strong and durable foundation. The coating laid on plywood will last more than one year. In addition, the material will act as additional thermal insulation.

The use of plywood is rightfully considered an economical and well-established way of leveling the floor surface in wooden buildings. Dry screed using sheet material does not require incredible labor costs, does not require significant financial investments. There are no tangible technological breaks in the process that delay finishing. But there are nuances that an independent performer needs to know about. Before proceeding with the planned repair, you should figure out how to level the wooden floor using plywood sheets in order to avoid unwanted and not at all cheap alterations.

How to create an impeccably flat surface using factory adjustable systems, the rollers will demonstrate in great detail. The video is aimed at owners of city apartments with concrete floors.

Basically installation method adjustable log with plywood or plywood sheets with anchor posts on a wooden base does not differ from the scheme of their arrangement over cement slabs.

If the owner of a country bath has a surplus Money, he may well use ready-made adjustable kits. Alignment in the rest room, in the billiard room or in the dressing room will be carried out promptly and without special efforts. However, we certainly will not classify adjustable plywood and logs as cheap methods. Let's explore budget options.

Methods and techniques for leveling plywood

Choice optimal technology leveling a wooden floor with plywood determines the condition of the floors and the degree of deviation of the "relief" of the surface from the specified building requirements norms:

• with a difference in height levels of 2 mm, found on a plot of 1 m 2, even for laying linoleum, which is extremely sensitive to deviations, alignment is not required. A sufficient measure would be processing acrylic sealant or puttying with a home-made mixture of moistened sawdust and PVA glue;
• with uniform deformation of correctly laid floorboards with a difference in height levels of 5 mm, leveling the floor with plywood can be done by attaching the sheets directly to the plank floor;
• height differences of more than 1 cm, but not more than 8 cm, require the creation of point or strip supports. In fact, the process consists in arranging a crate from a bar or from cobs that replace solid logs, for the manufacture of which thick plywood or board is used.

Proper laying means builders alternated boards with different pattern directions annual rings wood according to technological requirements. This means that bulges-humps or concavities-boats on the floor appeared through one or two boards.

If it is not possible to level the wooden floor with your own hands without problems due to too large height fluctuations, the structure must be dismantled and built from new lumber. Such serious deviations certainly have no less serious reasons.

It is important to note that dry leveling plywood can only be used if technical specifications gender no complaints.

How to determine the difference in height?

A laser device is an excellent thing, but in quality measuring tool in this case, a two-meter level gauge will be more effective. It makes it easier to study the surface. It is necessary to mark the points in the corners of the room being repaired, to find and designate the centers of the floor and wall interface lines, the center of the room. Having divided the room into peculiar segments, it is necessary to examine each section. Evaluation of the recorded results will draw a picture of the upcoming repair.

Regardless of the range of upcoming work, it is imperative to carry out an audit and repair of the foundation. It is necessary to eliminate the creak, update the fasteners, replace the damaged elements, check the performance of the "underground" communications.

Method #1 - The "easiest" without installing a lag

Before laying plywood, it is necessary to provide the opportunity to "get used" to the conditions of the upcoming service. The material intended for arranging a regularly heated room needs to stand on the edge for a couple of days where it will be laid. In a room not spoiled by permanent, dampened warm water sheets should stand for at least a day.

All wood floor elements and dry screed materials based on wood veneer or fibers are pre-treated with an antiseptic.

by the most the easy way leveling the floor with plywood is considered a method without installing a lag. Installation of the support beam is not required, since its function will be adequately performed by the evenly distributed tubercles of the curved floorboards. In addition to plywood, for the implementation of such an alignment, DSP boards or GVL.

It is pointless to level the wave-like deformed fiberboard floor. During operation, the material will shrink and repeat all the notches with tubercles of the rough base.

For a plank floor with a floorboard width of up to 20 cm, each of which is “swollen” evenly, we will buy plywood 8-10 mm thick. If a board with a width of more than 20 cm was used for flooring, and also if not every floorboard will rest against a plywood sheet with a convex “hump”, sheet material will be required with a thickness of 18-20 mm.

The sequence of actions for leveling the subfloor with plywood:

• Along the perimeter of the repaired floor, we will set the bosses to form a mandatory two-centimeter indent from the walls.
• Plywood sheets are laid with a gap between them of 3-8 mm to cushion the movements caused by moisture fluctuations. When laying several rows, we imitate brickwork. That is, we have plates next row with an offset to the plates of the previous one. There should not be a cruciform intersection of four butt welds at one point. Minimum size offsets - a quarter of the sheet, maximum half.
• We fasten to the “crests” of the boardwalk at the points with the maximum height established during the preliminary survey. We try to distribute the attachment points evenly, focusing on the distances between the bulges identified as a result of measurements.

Holes for fasteners are recommended to be drilled in advance in two stages. First you need to use a drill, the size of which is equal to the diameter of the self-tapping screw. Then you need to make a hole with the diameter of the cap so that it can be completely sunk into the plywood sheet. The dowels along the perimeter of the plywood sheet should recede from the edge by at least 2 cm.

It is recommended to lay plywood sheets with one-sided roughness intended for the subsequent laying of a finishing coating with the unsanded side up to improve the adhesion of the coating to the leveling layer. It is better to turn the sanded side if you plan to simply mask the screw heads with acrylic sealant, and open the plywood with varnish from above.

Method #2 - with a band support device

The technology consists in the construction of a crate of longitudinal logs and crossbars, exposed in one horizontal plane. The logs along the perimeter are placed at a distance of 3 cm from the walls. The laying step of the longitudinal components of the frame system under construction determines the size of the plywood sheet. Usually its values ​​vary from 40 cm to half a meter.

Example - if the side is 152.5 cm, then the optimal distance between the axes, both the log and the crossbars, will be 48 - 50 cm. If the side is 122.0 cm, it is recommended to leave 37 - 40 cm between the axes of the support beam.

Step by step guide:

• Let's start with an example. Let's lay out the plywood without fastening, adhering to standard scheme brickwork and providing gaps. Let's outline the outline of the plates, these lines will become guides for future markup lag location. Don't forget to number the sample sheets.
• According to the markings made on the floor, we first mount the logs along the walls. Optimal material for the device of a strip crate for plywood, a square beam with a side of 40 to 60 cm is considered, options are allowed. If it is undesirable and not necessary to raise the floor too much, logs can be made by cutting plywood into strips, or using second-class boards.
• Install cross bridges with a step calculated according to the size of the sheet. They are attached to the lags with self-tapping screws, preferably using metal corners.
• We set the logs and transverse elements vertically into a single plane according to the readings of the level gauge. Those who wish to figure out how to correctly level the surface of an old wooden floor should adhere to the requirements specified in SNiP number 3.04.01-87. According to this collection of standards, it is forbidden to drive wedges from the remnants of lumber under the logs. Alignment is carried out by adding sand, with minor deviations by lining roofing material or roofing felt. Most often, a single lag plane is achieved by placing wooden pads such as point supports under them.
• After leveling, the log system is attached to the base with galvanized metal corners, can be used to fix the dowel crate, the length of which is three times the thickness of the log.
• We complete the alignment by laying and fastening plywood.

The space between the lag bars can be filled with additional insulation or a home-made screed made of wet sawdust mixed in half with PVA glue.

We apply a mixture with a consistency resembling thick sour cream in two or three layers and wait for it to completely harden for two days. In such cases, thinner plywood can be purchased for leveling.

Method #3 - Alignment with a mini-lag device

It is used to level floors with a slope and with significant height differences up to 8 cm. It consists in installing slats and wooden linings in order to create a single support system for plywood. Without an accurate engineering calculation, it will be extremely difficult for the contractor to cope with a very difficult task.

First you need to try on, and then, using the lines marked on the floor, carefully calculate the size of each support element. You need to calculate the height and select the dimensions very carefully, since all elements supporting structure will be different.

Method #4 - with a crate of point supports

The point method consists in installing separate pillars, cut from a board, OSB boards or all the same plywood. The thickness of the cob is selected in accordance with the difference between the created flat surface and real level. Ultimately support system should form a kind of grid that replaces the tape crate.

Since in terms of reliability and stability it is inferior to tape type, linings-covens are installed with a smaller step. You should get peculiar cells with imaginary squares of 30 cm for sheet material up to 14 mm thick, 45 cm for thick plywood.

And don't forget to ventilate the underground! After completing the separation and installation of the plinth, it must be drilled ventilation holes at pre-existing locations. Cover the openings with a ventilation grill.

Figured out the best way to line your wood floor with plywood? The point is small, it remains to prepare mentally and technically and begin to implement plans. Surely everything will turn out fine, because there are special difficulties repair procedure does not represent.

Having correctly completed all the work, you can be sure that the wooden floor will become perfectly smooth, various irregularities will disappear and will not affect the quality of the new coating.

How to determine the condition of a wooden floor in a house

Before laying laminate, parquet or linoleum, you should assess the condition of the wood floor and level it.

Before leveling the surface, the floor must be cleaned of residues concrete pavement, dust, etc. it is also necessary to eliminate all cracks, holes. Thanks to this, you will be able to prevent the flow of material and premature wear of the coating.

Alignment and adjustment can be done in any of these ways:

• Tsiklevka
• Self leveling compound
• Plywood
• Glue and sawdust

Only by analyzing the condition of the boards, you can choose suitable option. First of all, the boards should be examined for a predisposition to rot and the presence of insects. The main enemies of wood are insects that lay their eggs in it, destroying the organic structure of the material.

Moreover, insects, multiplying, can destroy a tree in a few years, turning it into crumbling dust. Boards should be treated with a special solution to get rid of bark beetles.

It is worth noting that the wooden floor does not have to be damaged, perhaps the boards just “led”. In such situations, the floor in the house remains strong, without insects and rot, but with some irregularities. You can lay laminate, but it will not last long.

How to level a wooden floor?

Cyclevka - the best way if the boards "led". This option is only possible if the floor is horizontal. The advantage of scraping is that such a procedure will not only level, but also emphasize the structure of the tree, refreshing the cut.

The disadvantages of this method include the complexity of the process, the expensive rental of the scraper.

Cycling is necessary in a protective mask or respirator, overalls and headphones that will protect you from loud noise.

This processing includes the following steps:

• driving nails a couple of millimeters below the floor level
• dust protection for furniture
• machine processing
• putty (using acrylic putty the desired color should hide large cracks)
• final processing by scraping machine

It is best to start from the far corner of the room. After graduation last stage dust should be collected with a vacuum cleaner and treated with a special solution. Now the floor is ready, it can be varnished or laminated.

Leveling wooden floors in the house

When leveling use plywood. Using it will allow you to correct small defects and significant horizontal deviations.

The following stages of plywood adjustment are provided:

• markings are made on the walls (a laser level is used)
• self-tapping screws are made "lighthouses"
• logs are attached with glue (plywood or timber is suitable)
• plywood sheets are laid (plywood is sawn into 4 parts)
• during the final laying, the plywood is fixed to the joists with countersunk screws

After completing the work, you should carefully inspect the attached plywood. Any damage and delamination of the material will lead to problems during the laying of the laminate or any other coating.

The following nuances should be taken into account here:

• In order for the chipboard to “get used” to the humidity of the room in which it will be located, bring the sheets into the room for several days
• Under plywood sheets you can hide cables and communications
• Plywood can be used as top coat or as a base for laying laminate, linoleum or carpet
• If you have installed logs, then the level can be raised up to 10 cm

How else can you align

To level the boards, you can install plywood directly to the floor. The support in this case will be the “waves” of the boards and the highest points of the drops.

Proper alignment with plywood:

• Ideally, if the width of the boards is 10-12 cm. Then you will need a plywood board of about 10 mm
• Otherwise, you need to purchase plywood with a thickness of more than 10 mm

If the room has high humidity, then ordinary plywood will not work. To align the boards, you should choose a moisture-resistant material.

Sheets of plywood are attached directly to the floor with self-tapping screws. Seal the joints with acrylic sealant.

Adjustment with glue and sawdust

The most commonly used leveling method before laying laminate flooring is the use of sawdust and glue (putty method). The initial components are inexpensive, and the putty itself, after hardening, becomes strong, resistant to external influences. The mixture is prepared from sawdust and glue.

Leveling steps:

• installation of rails according to the level
• filling with sawdust the space between the slats (each layer is poured only after complete drying previous)
• checking the surface with a level
• laying laminate after complete drying

Most often, this mixture dries out in two days. It is worth noting that for some coatings, sawdust and glue putty is not reliable enough, so it is better to lay plywood or other suitable material on top.

Self-leveling compound - a universal remedy for correcting the floor

In situations where defects need to be fixed not in order to varnish it, but in order to lay another floor covering, a self-leveling compound is one of the most convenient and practical ways. After processing, the floor will acquire a perfectly smooth surface, and all flaws and cracks will be eliminated.

Despite its name, leveling a floor with a self-levelling compound is very difficult process. Also, this method is one of the most expensive.

Solutions of this class consist of polymeric materials, which contributes to almost instant alignment and smoothing of the new coating.

Before proceeding with the leveling process, it is necessary to carefully prepare the surface. Fill should be done carefully and quickly.

The main phases of floor adjustment in this way:

• movable boards are fixed, nail heads are driven in
• the surface is cleaned
• primed
• walls are being prepared, the level is being determined
• lined with a special reinforced mesh(used to secure building mesh) - this will allow you to extend the life of the coating
• the solution is poured onto the reinforced floor and processed with a studded rubber roller
• leveled with a smooth special brush
• the surface is dried

When using this method, it is worth remembering that the level of the floor will rise. This factor should be taken into account, especially if a laminate is subsequently laid on it.

Leveling a wooden floor with a cement screed

Experienced professionals are of the opinion that if the wooden floor is strong enough or initially laid for subsequent leveling, you can apply cement screed gender.

This method will allow you to make a rough surface with large swings almost perfectly flat.

In order to level the old wooden floor with cement, you must:

• the surface of the wooden floor is covered with a waterproofing compound
• after the layer has dried, lay polyethylene film or ruberoid. It will be right to do it with an overlap
• level measures the new surface
• lighthouses are laid out
• then prepare the cement mixture

Alignment in this case is not difficult: the cement mortar is applied to the beacons, then the alignment is carried out towards the door with metal rails.

The subsequent layer of self-levelling compound will be applied easily.

However, there is a risk of breaking the boards of the foundation of a heavy cement mixture. In this case, you will have to remove the coating and refill the floor. Use further layers of foam or expanded clay.

Ensuring ventilation

Regardless of the leveling method, ventilation of the floor boards must be provided in advance. This will allow you to prevent the appearance of mold, fungus and various kinds of pests on the surface.

Previously, for these purposes, a hole was drilled on the surface, into which a decorative lattice was fixed.

As an option - to carry out ventilation to the wall and install a decorative grille there.

If during alignment you notice something similar - do not rush to cover it up or close it.

Leveling the floor without tearing the boards: how to choose the best way

Before you start leveling the floor, you need to decide which of the proposed options will be relevant and beneficial for you. This is determined based on the following criteria:

• Alignment capability
• The need for wood flooring
• Relatively low cost of good quality material
• The complexity of repair work

Leveling the wooden floor will make the log house reliable, durable and of high quality. After processing the wood in any of these ways, the floor will not sag, and the surface will be smooth and without cracks.

It is useful to watch a video before performing all the manipulations, which describes all the stages and nuances of leveling wooden floors without breaking the board.

You can, of course, do all the work yourself. If you have weighed all the pros and cons, you can come to the conclusion that a specialist will make it both faster and better. In this case, the YouDo service will come to your aid, offering the services of professionals with extensive experience.

Ordering services from specialists

The leveling of wooden floors is evaluated based on several criteria:

• Is it necessary to dismantle the boards
• Application of floor insulation
• The presence of another waterproofing layer
• Cost of alignment material

Repair of apartments and private houses is often associated with the installation of new flooring. One of the problems associated with this is the need for additional work on alignment wooden base having various defects and irregularities. How to level a wooden floor and will be discussed in this article.

IN modern construction There are several basic ways to level a wood floor before installing new flooring over it. Some of them consist in working directly with the tree, others involve the application of various leveling compounds and sheet materials without dismantling boards and logs.

The first group includes:

1. Manual alignment.

The photo shows two fundamental approaches to leveling a wooden base. The first - with the help of flooring sheet materials. Second - mechanical restoration floor surface with a grinder.

The second group includes:

1. Leveling with sheet wood materials (plywood, chipboard and fiberboard).
2. Leveling with cement screed.
3. Alignment bulk floors.

Let us consider each of these methods in more detail, their nuances and features, the main mistakes made by non-professionals in their implementation.

Leveling wood floors by hand

If you find on the floor boards an abundance of protruding places, located, as a rule, near the knots in the boards, you must try to eliminate them. First make sure the log is strong, which serve as the basis for the existing and new coating.

Rotten, collapsed bars will not be able to withstand the weight of the new and old floor in the house. They will have to be replaced or the installation of a new base in the form of a concrete screed.

In the case of sufficient strength, the log can be safely leveled with a wooden floor. To work, you will need the following tools:

• Axe;
• Electric planer;
• Any type of grinder (belt, vibration, etc.).

Examine the surface of the boards and mark with a pencil or chalk problem areas. With a sharply sharpened ax in the direction of the wood fibers, you can roughly cut down protruding places high altitude. Irregularities a few millimeters high can be easily smoothed out with a planer.

At work mechanical tools Special attention pay attention to the presence of protruding heads of nails and screws in the boards, which can irrevocably ruin the knives.

Before leveling an old wooden floor with mechanical planing, go over the entire surface, deepen the fasteners or remove them altogether.

For the first type of work, it is convenient to make a simple finisher by cutting off a part of a rod with a cap 50-70 mm long from a nail No. 120 or 150. Having installed the device on top of the nail, with a few blows of the hammer, deepen it into the board and the log by 3-4 mm. To remove, use pliers or a nail puller, knocking it out with a hammer.

Perform the final alignment of the boards with a grinder, connecting a vacuum cleaner hose to it to reduce the dustiness of the room in the house. Alternating sandpaper with different size abrasive grain, you can get a perfectly flat smooth surface.

If the quality of processing is high, you can do without updating the flooring by getting a sanded floor in several layers.

Scraping floor leveling

Manual scraping has been used in carpentry for a long time, but it allows you to remove only micron layers of wood. Leveling a wooden floor is best done with a mechanical scraper, which can be rented from the relevant construction organizations.

The principle of its operation is similar to the principle of operation of an electric planer, but it is more adapted to leveling, flattening a horizontal surface. Similar to the process described above, possible metal defects on the surface must be carefully eliminated. This is especially true in an old house or apartment, where the floorboards were not fastened in the “hidden”, but from above.

If the need for laying a new floor covering is acute, then after mechanical sanding the floor surface can not be sanded.

Leveling the floor with sheet materials

The most common way to obtain a flat base is to lay wood-based panels on top of it. This method has several advantages over those described above:

1. Before leveling a wooden floor with plywood, there is no need for careful leveling.
2. The process is available to any master who has a jigsaw and a screwdriver in his arsenal.
3. Minimum waste during work.

If it is necessary to raise the level of the base, the sheets can be attached not to the boards, but to small logs made of bars with a section of 20x50 or 30x50, attached to the floor with self-tapping screws. It is necessary to position the crate so that the joints of individual sheets are located on its elements. The frequency of installation of new logs should not exceed a distance of 40-50 cm.

Leveling with concrete screed

One more is enough universal way leveling the floor, which can be done without tearing off old boards. It makes higher demands on the strength of the log, as the load on them increases due to the high mass of the concrete layer.

The advantage of this option is the minimum preliminary preparation. Before leveling the wooden floor in the house concrete mix, it is only necessary to carefully examine the state of the lag of the floors and the tightness of the boards to each other. The last aspect is related to the liquid component of the mixture. If there is large cracks it is recommended to pre-fill mounting foam, cutting it flush with the floor after solidification.

For leveling with concrete you will need:

• a sufficient number of components of the mixture - sand, cement and water;
• mechanical concrete mixer;
• device for leveling concrete on the floor;
• sheet steel beacons or self-tapping screws fixed to the floor at the required level.

Portions of the liquid mixture are laid out on the prepared base, distributed with a trowel or spatula and leveled with a meter-long metal rail - the rule. After the concrete layer has hardened, after a few days, they begin to install the floor covering.

Self-leveling floor on wooden boards

A relatively new type of steel self-leveling floors - mixtures based on various polymer compositions, which, after hardening, form a smooth, perfectly even horizontal layer on the surface of the base. It is possible to use this type of mixtures for leveling wooden floors.

It should be noted that this species refers to the most expensive of all described in today's review. In addition, the use of such a composition also requires high strength of wooden logs. This is due to a significant increase in the load on them. The video shows the process of creating filling surface on the plank floor.

There is no need to control the filling level, it is enough just to correctly distribute it with a special gear device called a squeegee. Navigate through the unfrozen self-leveling floor you need on special wooden platforms based on steel spikes - wet shoes.

Thus, in the framework of this review, we examined the main ways of leveling a wooden floor, provided that the log and boards for laying one or another type of flooring are preserved. Each of them has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, the choice of the final option depends on the specific conditions.