The floor is made of sawdust and pva. We carry out high-quality floor leveling based on the advice of professionals. Leveling a wooden floor with PVA glue

Planning major renovation in a house or apartment, you have to take into account many different aspects. And laying a new one flooring one of the central issues that needs to be resolved. To install new flooring in an old house or apartment with wooden floors, quite often you have to completely dismantle them. But sometimes it is not at all necessary to do this; you can level the wooden floor and then lay laminate, tile or linoleum on it. Modern achievements V construction technologies make it easy to level a wooden floor with your own hands.

Wood is a material that requires regular care, but over time it still warps, cracks, dries out and sag. In order for a wooden floor to look perfect, it is leveled, after which any floor covering is applied. Leveling will allow you to remove various unevenness of the wooden base, which can negatively affect the new floor covering. This applies to both hard surfaces (laminate, tiles, parquet) and soft coverings(linoleum, carpet). To prevent this from happening, and to ensure that the new floor covering is of high quality and durable, a wooden floor can be leveled in one of the following ways:

• floor scraping;
• use self-leveling mixtures;
• using putty based on PVA glue;
• level with plywood sheets.

Scraping a wooden floor

This method of leveling a wooden floor is the simplest, but at the same time labor-intensive and effective. Floor scraping should be used if you plan to use paint and varnish materials as a floor covering.

The floor can be scraped manually or using a special scraping machine. In the first case, you will have to use a hand scraper to scrape out the entire surface and remove various irregularities. This approach is terribly time-consuming and difficult. In order to carry out all work with minimal costs forces, you should use a sanding machine. A significant disadvantage of scraping is the presence huge amount dust.

How to level a wooden floor with a sanding machine:

— during sanding, a lot of dust is produced, so you should protect your respiratory tract, hands, eyes, objects and surfaces from dust;

- remove any metal objects from the floor, using a hammer and hammer, press all nail heads into the wood, otherwise the knives may be damaged during scraping;

— we start scraping from any corner and, moving like a snake, remove the top layer of the wooden covering;

- after the first layer has been removed throughout the entire room, it is necessary to do a little cleaning and fill up all the cracks and cracks with putty;

- having waited completely dry putty, you can continue to sand the floor;

Important! Leveling a wooden floor paint coating can be considered complete when the surface is perfectly smooth and without cracks. Hard-to-reach places and baseboards will have to be scraped manually using an angular scraper.

— after scraping, the room must be thoroughly vacuumed;

— before applying varnish or paint, the surface of the wooden floor must be wiped with a lint-free cloth soaked in white spirit.

Leveling with self-leveling mixture

Leveling a wooden floor with a self-leveling mixture: the base should not have large gaps and cracks

Fill concrete screed has always been a success with builders, as simple and affordable way level the floor. But in houses with wooden floors this was unacceptable due to the large mass of concrete that had to be used. Thanks to modern technologies this problem has been resolved. Self-leveling mixtures allow you to level a wooden floor under linoleum, laminate or tile. The cement-adhesive composition, after drying, will create a smooth, durable and fairly elastic coating with low mass due to a layer of up to 20 mm. To do this you need to do the following:

— the floor surface is completely cleaned of old floor covering;

— we recess the protruding nail heads, remove any metal objects;

— using a sander or sanding machine, partially remove the top layer;

— all creaking and springy boards are secured to the joists using self-tapping screws;

- thoroughly vacuum and remove dust and dirt from the floor;

- putty all the cracks and cracks, let them dry completely;

Important! It is necessary to make the surface without wide gaps and cracks, otherwise the solution will go “nowhere”.

- impregnate the wooden floor with primer deep penetration with moisture-proof properties, if it seems too small, you can lay waterproofing membrane;

- we glue the joints of the walls and floor with an overlap on the floor and walls, using double sided tape, and glue a waterproofing membrane in the form of a strip onto it;

— on the walls we mark the level to which the self-leveling mixture will be poured;

Important! Minimum thickness filling is indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. Beacons can be used as level markers.

Scheme of filling with self-leveling mixture: insulating layers

— near the door we fix a wooden plank, the thickness of which corresponds to the level of filling;

— we lay a reinforcing mesh on the floor surface and secure it to the floor using self-tapping screws or staples;

Now that the wooden floor is prepared, you can start pouring the mixture:

— add the mixture to a container with water and knead using a drill and a mixing attachment;

Important! The mixture should be homogeneous and without lumps, prepared strictly according to the instructions.

We get rid of bubbles in the self-leveling mixture with a rubber roller

— pour the resulting mixture onto the prepared surface and use a special rubber roller with spikes to get rid of small bubbles;

- level the surface using a large spatula or rubber mop;

— now all that remains is to wait for the mixture to dry completely and prepare it for laying the floor covering.

Important! Drying of the self-leveling mixture must be carried out strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Leveling a wooden floor using PVA putty

This alignment method is one of the most unusual and innovative. Putty is a mixture of wood sawdust and PVA glue, which, after hardening, becomes quite strong and difficult to process. And thanks to the availability and low cost of the initial components, this putty is economically profitable. In essence, this putty resembles the well-known chipboard, with the difference that it is impossible to soften the board and fill all the unevenness with it. Using PVA-based putty allows you to level a wooden floor under laminate or linoleum. You can use it to level a wooden floor as follows:

— we clean the floor from the old coating and sand it;

— we fix sagging and creaking boards to the joists using self-tapping screws;

- we stuff it on the floor wooden slats as beacons in increments of 35-50 cm.

Important! To get a flat surface, all slats must be in the same plane; we use a level to level it.

- prepare putty from PVA glue and wood sawdust, knead until the consistency of thick sour cream.

Important! In order for the putty to dry gradually and not crack, the sawdust should be slightly wetted and squeezed out.

— using a spatula, fill the space between the slats with putty;

Important! The putty must be applied intermittently, in several layers, since after drying it shrinks slightly.

- after applied last layer putty, level the floor plane using the rule and, if necessary, add putty;

— wait for complete drying (about 2 days) and lay the floor covering.

Important! The disadvantage of putty based on PVA and sawdust is its insufficient strength for some floor coverings. To increase strength, it is recommended to lay sheets of plywood, chipboard or plasterboard.

How to level a wooden floor with plywood

You can also use plywood to level a wooden floor. Following the technology will create a perfectly flat and durable floor. This method is usually chosen when it is necessary to level a wooden floor under linoleum or carpet. To get the best quality plywood base, you should use a sheet of grade 4/4 or higher, the thickness should be at least 12 mm. Leveling a wooden floor with plywood occurs as follows:

- remove the old coating;

— we install beacons from self-tapping screws. To do this, screw them to the required height using a screwdriver along the entire floor. We start screwing in the corners and form a square with sides of 20-30 cm;

— level the height of the screws horizontally using a level;

The logs should form a grid of 35*35 cm squares

— we lay the logs in increments of 30-35 cm. For the logs themselves we use plywood strips or blocks of various thicknesses;

— we attach the logs to the floor using self-tapping screws or glue; if the logs sag a little, we place pieces of plywood or blocks under them;

Important! The logs must be leveled horizontally and firmly secured. The result should be a dense grid of logs in the form of squares with sides of 30-35 cm.

— lay out the sheets of plywood and adjust them so that the joints of the sheets fall on the joists;

Important! To avoid having to cut entire sheets of plywood, you can first lay them out on the bare floor and mark the boundaries of the sheet with a pencil. Then lay the joists according to these marks so that the plywood joints fall on the joists.

Leveling a wooden floor with plywood: fixing the plywood sheets to the joists

— we fix the plywood to the joists using self-tapping screws with countersunk heads;

Important! To ensure that the heads of the screws do not press through the plywood, a countersunk hole is made on the sheet using a drill.

- before laying the floor covering, you should go over the surface of the plywood with a sander, especially at the joints of the sheets;

Important! To add durability, plywood can be varnished and flooring can be laid on top. If laminate is being laid, then cork or polyethylene foam is placed on the plywood as a backing.

Modern building materials allow you to quickly and efficiently level a wooden floor without partially or completely replacing it. Anyone who knows how to handle a tool and has at least a little knowledge of the construction business can do this. The main thing is to adhere to technology and perform all stages of work efficiently. When leveling a wooden floor in one way or another, you should remember that upon completion of the work, the height of the floor will rise by a couple of centimeters, and you will have to trim the lower part of the door.

If the floor boards have dried out and cracks have appeared in them, and the floorboards have bent and their creaking with every step calls for urgent repairs, you should think about which method will give best result and will entail the least material costs. But it also happens that the condition of the floor is currently satisfactory, but its evenness leaves much to be desired. In this, as in the previous case, there are ways to qualitatively prepare the floor for laying the finishing coating.

Leveling the floor with a screed

If the floor is not rotten, but its evenness is not satisfactory, then you can not open the boards, but make a leveling screed directly on them. You must first decide to what height you need to raise the floor. It is important to correlate the height marks with doorways and pipes heating system. The doors may need to be replaced or shortened. Installation of concrete screed wooden surface carries a sufficient amount of risk, so choosing a manufacturer concrete mixture must be approached with all seriousness. An excellent option would be to purchase Vetonit 3300, which has the property of being easy to level and quickly gaining strength. It contains a special fiber that improves the quality of the floor surface. The coating thickness recommended by the manufacturer is up to 1 cm. But when working with a wooden surface, the thickness of the concrete layer should be at least one third of the thickness of the floorboard. The steps for leveling the surface of a wooden floor are as follows:

• Preparing the base. Over time, the top layer wooden boards wears out, the paint on it cracks, the wood fibers peel off, and a layer of dirt and grease appears on them. Therefore, it is highly advisable to remove this layer unsuitable for further use using an electric planer or grinding.
• Skirting boards should be removed.
• Floor boards must be firmly secured to the joists. To do this, use nails or screws of a suitable size. Thin boards that sag under the weight of a person should be replaced, and the cracks between the floorboards should be filled with putty. You can use any putty mixtures for wooden coverings. If there is a desire or need, you can prepare the following composition to seal cracks: mix 4 parts sawdust with 1 part oil paint.
• After removing the skirting boards, the resulting gaps between the floorboards and the wall must be closed with suitable durable slats. After the screed is completed, they are removed to provide slot ventilation of the floor space, which prevents the floorboards from rotting from below.
• Next, you should prime the surface of the wooden floor. For this purpose, you can use Vetonit Dispersion. A surface coated with this composition will ensure ease of spreading of the screed. If the floor is leveled by applying several layers of screed, then treatment with this composition should be carried out before applying each layer over the surface of the previous one.
• Next, you need to reinforce the wooden floor with fiberglass mesh using a construction stapler. You can do without staples, but in this case, during the process of applying the screed, the mesh will need to be “sunk in.”
• Next, we level the wooden floor using a concrete leveling screed device, according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Leveling a wooden floor with PVA glue

This method works great on any wooden surface. It is cheap and provides a durable, wear-resistant coating. You will need: sawdust, glue itself, wooden planks. The beginning of the work is the installation of guides, which will serve as a guide for the height of the leveling layer. To do this, retreating a small distance from the wall, at a distance of no more than 60 cm, rows of wooden planks are packed, the evenness of which is checked using a level. Next, you need to prepare a leveling composition: mix sawdust with glue until creamy. Before applying the composition, the floor surface must be cleaned of dust and degreased. The coating is applied layer by layer. This composition shrinks, therefore, after applying a 1 cm layer, you should wait for it to dry completely, and only then begin applying the next layer. We level the wooden floor using this composition carefully, layer by layer, without rushing. Despite the fact that this process takes quite a long time, the result will certainly please you: the surface will be strong and smooth. Next, thin plywood is laid over the leveling layer, which is attached to the floorboards using self-tapping screws.

Despite the emergence of various modern materials, insulation with sawdust has not lost its relevance, because it is not only much cheaper, but is also more effective in many conditions. Next we will talk about:

• various methods of insulation with sawdust;
• choosing the optimal astringent;
• features of the use of lime;
• choosing the most effective ways for insulation of floors, walls and ceilings;
• comparison of insulation using sawdust and other materials.

Methods of insulation with sawdust

Waste from sawing wood, which is sawdust, can be used for insulation in three main ways:

• backfill with compaction;
• production and installation of insulating boards;
• plastering.

Backfilling is the simplest method, the only advantage of which is low labor costs. Its main disadvantage is the subsidence of the sealing material due to caking and the appearance of voids. The voids themselves are not dangerous, because air is an excellent heat insulator, but any damage to the outer or inner lining will lead to air circulation and sharp fall thermal insulating properties. Therefore, this method is used only to reduce heat loss in utility rooms, where the appearance of cold bridges will not lead to serious problems and where after a year you can open the outer skin and add sawdust.

Insulating boards do not require annual refilling, but working with them is much more difficult. After all, you first need to make molds (matrices) for pouring the slabs, then select the optimal composition of the solution and fill the slabs in the matrices. After complete hardening, the slabs are attached to the walls, ceiling or floor lining. in various ways, and the gaps between them are sealed with fresh solution. The main advantage of the method is that the slabs can be cooked all year round if there is suitable space. Main disadvantage have low mechanical strength and high mass, which makes them quite difficult to work with.

Plastering with various sawdust-based solutions is another popular insulation method. It also includes pouring the finished solution into the voids between the outer and internal walls Houses. The main advantage of these methods is the ability to insulate surfaces of any shape. The first disadvantage is that after applying the solution, the insulated surface is filled with water, and the second is that it is difficult to insulate ceilings using this method, because due to the insufficient ratio of plasticity and specific gravity, the solution breaks off and falls every now and then.

Selecting the optimal binder

Insulation with sawdust alone is ineffective, so they are mixed with substances that transform the sawdust into a solid and immobile mass. The most popular binders are:

• cement;
• gypsum;
• clay;

Cement provides maximum strength to the hardened insulation; in addition, it withstands the effects of water more easily than gypsum or clay. The optimal ratio of sawdust and binder is 5:1; this composition ensures high strength of the hardened material and good thermal insulation properties. The lifetime of the solution is 2 hours, after which the reaction of cement with water begins and mixing of the solution leads to a loss of strength after hardening. An increase in the proportion of binder slightly increases strength, but an increase in the proportion of sawdust proportionally increases the thermal insulation qualities. Nevertheless, cement-sawdust insulation must be protected from precipitation using siding or any other method.

Gypsum provides less strength than cement for hardened insulation and is much less resistant to moisture. Specific gravity gypsum sawdust mass is slightly higher than the same composition based on cement due to the lower optimal ratio of insulating and binder materials at 4:1. The solution's lifetime is 10 minutes, after which the gypsum begins to react with water and stirring leads to a loss of strength after hardening. Special additives ( citric acid, casein glue or slaked lime) allow you to increase the pot life up to 30 minutes without seriously reducing the strength of the hardened composition.

The main advantage of clay is its accessibility, because it is enough to remove a meter of fertile soil and you have ready-to-use clay. After drying, the mixture of clay and sawdust turns out to be noticeably less durable than previous compositions, so insulation boards are not made from it. When insulated by other methods, it provides the same result as cement or gypsum. The obvious advantage of this binder is that after moisture enters the clay, it first softens and then dries again and regains its previous strength. In addition, clay provides maximum vapor transfer coefficient, so buildings insulated with it can easily discharge excess moisture into the atmosphere, thus regulating indoor humidity.

A mixture of sawdust and PVA, after hardening, is not inferior in strength to a cement-sawdust composition of the same proportions, and is also not afraid of water. So if it doesn't bother you appearance insulation, then you can do without exterior finishing. This approach is appropriate for chicken coops and other utility rooms, for which appearance is much less important than functionality. The pot life of the finished mixture is 3 hours, after which stirring slightly reduces the strength. This mixture has a minimal level of vapor permeability, so it should not be used for insulation. wooden houses, because it will deprive them of their main advantage - a comfortable microclimate in the rooms.

Features of using lime

Regardless of choice binder, and also in the case of insulation with sawdust alone, it is necessary to mix them with lime. This will not only protect the wood from rot and disease, but will also prevent the appearance of beetles and rodents. But rodents are the main problem modern insulation, they happily make holes in polystyrene foam, mineral wool and other materials. Thanks to lime, which is a strong alkali and burns animals, rodents avoid settling in the insulating layer of sawdust. Average percentage sawdust and lime 10:1, but it can vary up or down depending on many conditions.

How to choose the optimal insulation method

When choosing a method of insulation, it is necessary to proceed from the convenience of its implementation, because in terms of thermal efficiency they are all approximately the same. If it is necessary to insulate the ceiling, then first of all you need to find out whether all the work can be carried out from the upper floor by dismantling the floor, or whether everything will have to be done from below. If you can work from the floor of the upper floor, then any method will do, including insulation with sawdust alone, and the problem of shrinkage can be solved by more thoroughly compacting the material. You can also add a small amount of binder (in a ratio of 15:1 or 20:1), this will not create a strong insulating layer, but will prevent shrinkage. If it is impossible to work from above, then you will have to make slabs and attach them to the ceiling, because it is impossible to apply such a layer of insulating plaster.

When insulating walls, you also have to decide which method is easier to implement and also better suits specific conditions. If you have a lot of free time in the winter and have a heated garage or shed, you can prepare insulating boards, so that in the spring or summer their installation will take much less time than plastering or pouring. If the wall has voids, then it is necessary to determine how to get to them with minimal damage to the walls and which method is more effective in such conditions. In addition, when plastering or external pouring, it is necessary to sheathe the surface of the wall with a chain-link mesh, which will ensure maximum adhesion to the insulating solution.

Comparison of insulation with sawdust and other materials

We have already talked about the two main advantages of sawdust insulation - such work is inexpensive and mice do not grow in this material. However, they also have other advantages - they allow water vapor to pass through better than any insulation, so their impact on the microclimate of breathable houses is minimal. In addition, even a mixture of sawdust and gypsum is less sensitive to high humidity and falling dew than mineral wool. A mixture with PVA is many times more sensitive to high humidity and dew than mineral wool and is comparable to polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam and polyurethane foam.

Sawdust has another significant advantage, which manifests itself only in Russia, where the building materials market is filled with fakes and counterfeits. By taking free or buying waste from sawing wood at a woodworking plant or sawmill, you can be sure that they will not sell you a fake or counterfeit product, and that the material will not be toxic or poisonous. But this is especially important for bedrooms and children's rooms, so you can put up with the not so many shortcomings of this material.

In all other respects, wood sawing waste is slightly inferior to modern materials. Such insulation requires, albeit not much, but still more effort, because modern materials are supplied in the form of ready-to-use products, but the insulating solution or mixture still needs to be prepared. In addition, in terms of thermal efficiency, a sawdust insulation layer 10 cm thick corresponds to a layer of mineral wool 8 cm thick or a layer of polystyrene foam 6–7 cm thick. In cases where sawdust cannot provide the specified efficiency at a certain layer thickness and it is impossible to make the layer thicker, others are preferable materials. If you can increase the layer, then they are in no way inferior to any other material.

In terms of sensitivity to fire and danger during a fire, sawdust with a binder (with the exception of PVA) is comparable to mineral wool and many times superior to polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam or polyurethane. After all, it is very difficult to set them on fire, but if the house caught fire so much that the heat ignited the insulation, then such a fire will destroy the house with any insulation. But during a strong fire, sawdust does not emit toxic substances, which cannot be said about any other insulation except mineral wool.

Another important parameter, which depends on the correct choice of binder and adherence to technology, is the service life of such insulation. Foam insulation has to be replaced after a maximum of 50 years, mineral wool 100 years later, but in Russia and other countries there are still houses insulated with sawdust, the age of which has exceeded 150 years. And the insulating layer does not require replacement, because it is in excellent condition. According to this parameter, insulation based on sawdust left far behind all competitors. Therefore, it is impossible to say unequivocally whether sawdust is worse or better than modern insulation; they are intended for certain conditions and they are significantly superior to any analogues.

Does your home have wood floors? In this case, you know firsthand that he needs constant care. However, even with the most careful use, wood tends to deform and crack. If you want to make your home more aesthetically pleasing, pay attention to the flooring. But keep in mind that even with ideal installation of the coating, problems are possible. To avoid them, it is leveled before carrying out work. There are several ways to do this.

Leveling the floor with plywood

This technology is ideal for. You will need a sheet of plywood grade 4/4 or higher. The sheet thickness can be 12 mm and above.

Let's take a closer look at the algorithm:

• We dismantle the old covering;
• We install beacons. Self-tapping screws are screwed in at the required level over the entire surface. The work is done using a screwdriver. Beacons should be installed in corners. Thus, a square is obtained, the sides of which are 20-30 cm;
• Lighthouses are leveled horizontally using a level;
• Let's start laying the joists. They are made from plywood planks. The step between them should be approximately 30-35 cm;
• The logs are mounted using glue or self-tapping screws. If they sag, you can place plywood or blocks under the joists;
• along the horizon. Ultimately, we have a grid of logs, the sides of which are 30-35 cm;
• We lay out the plywood so that its joints are on the joists. To make the work easier, you can first lay sheets of plywood on the floor without joists and make appropriate marks so that the joints of the sheet correspond to the joists;
• Sheets of plywood are installed on the joists using self-tapping screws equipped with countersunk heads. On plywood, for self-tapping screws, a countersunk hole is made;
• The installed plywood sheets are carefully sanded.

If you plan to lay flooring, it is recommended to use plywood apply a coat of varnish. If the covering is chosen, foamed polyethylene or cork is used as a backing. Keep in mind that after leveling the floor height will be several cm higher, so it makes sense to think in advance about trimming the lower area of ​​the doorway.

Leveling the floor with PVA putty

Relatively original way. In terms of its consumer qualities, the putty is almost similar chipboard board. It is a composition of PVA glue and wood sawdust. When hardened, the putty forms a strong and reliable layer that is difficult to process. With its help you can fill in all the existing unevenness. The cost of the composition is very affordable, which makes this technology accessible to every person (). Putty is best used under linoleum or laminate.

Using PVA putty

Let's consider correct algorithm works:

• We dismantle the old covering. The floor is carefully sanded;
• Deformed boards are attached to the joists using self-tapping screws;
• Beacons are attached to the floor in increments of 35-50 cm. Wooden slats are used as beacons. Make sure that the beacons are located on the same plane. To work, you will definitely need a level;
• The putty is mixed. It contains PVA glue and wood sawdust. The consistency is similar to that of liquid sour cream. Before preparing the putty, it is recommended to wet the sawdust a little and dry it. This measure prevents the appearance of cracking of the putty;
• The gaps between the slats are filled with putty using a spatula in several layers. Some time must pass before applying the next layer;
• Before the final layer, the floor is leveled using a rule;
• PVA putty dries in approximately 2 days, then the floor covering is installed.

As already mentioned, their PVA putty is well suited for linoleum and laminate. It is less suitable for other types of floor coverings, as it is less durable. can also be used for leveling.

Floor sanding

To perform grinding, sanding units will be required. Their cost is quite high, and therefore it makes sense to look for this equipment for rent. The work of leveling the floor with scraping units will take no more than a day. You can purchase a tape grinding machine. However, working with it is more labor-intensive. If the sandpaper on the unit is coarse, you need to carefully monitor the level, otherwise you may damage the floor.

Grinding is already a little outdated. U this method There are many disadvantages: labor costs, waste of time, money and materials. It is easier to pay attention to other methods of preparing the floor for installation of the coating. However, it all depends on the characteristics of the house and the conditions of the event. repair work. Sanding is optimal if paint and varnish materials are chosen as the floor covering.

As already mentioned, the work is carried out using a special scraping unit. However, the surface can also be cycled manually. This will require a hand scraper. With its help, the floor is polished, all roughness is eliminated. Be prepared for the work to take a lot of time and effort. Another disadvantage is that sanding creates a lot of dust. You can make scraping easier by working with special machines.

Sanding a wooden floor

Grinding is performed as follows:

• As already mentioned, a considerable amount of dust is generated during operation. For this reason, it is important to protect interior items, furniture, and respiratory tracts from the smallest particles of debris in advance;
• Everything is removed from the floor surface metal elements. The nail heads are driven into the floor using a hammer and a hammer. This is necessary so that the knives of the scraping unit do not become deformed during operation;
• Sanding is done starting from any angle. The unit is moved along the snake line;
• After removing the first layer, any debris that has arisen is removed and cleaning is performed. Then all the cracks are filled with putty;
• After the putty has dried, additional sanding of the floor is performed. If you are leveling the surface for paint and varnish materials,
• The entire room must be thoroughly vacuumed until the resulting dust is completely eliminated.

After the floor has been sanded and you are planning to start applying varnish or varnish, the surface needs to be treated with white spirit. The floor is wiped with a lint-free cloth. Only then are paints and varnishes applied to the surface.

The beauty and practicality of laminate flooring is undeniable not only at home, but also in office premises. A variety of designs will allow you to choose the desired color for any room. There is quite wide choice laminate and its color range: from monochrome or with a pattern, to laminate imitating wood, marble, stone. The ease of installation is one of its undeniable advantages. Laminate flooring can be laid on almost any surface: wooden or concrete base, linoleum, tiles. It is prohibited to lay laminate on any carpeting.

Increased demands are placed on the quality of the main surface. So when carrying out repairs on your own, wooden base, you'll have to work hard with him. Basic requirements for the foundation: it must be level (unevenness less than 4 mm/m² is allowed), without drops, be reliable and well reinforced.

How to level a wooden floor?

To properly level a wooden floor under a laminate, you must first assess the condition of the existing wooden flooring.

Key points to pay attention to:

• Make sure that the boards and joists are intact (so that there are no traces of insects or rot on them). To do this, lift one board and inspect its underside and the condition of the joists. A dry and durable surface, without traces of insects, suggests that this floor can be safely covered with a laminate coating.
• Determination of horizontal deviation. Defined using laser level. The laser is placed in the corner with the highest elevation of the floor, and marks are made on the walls. In the absence of this useful tool this activity will become longer and more troublesome.

The highest part of the floor is visually determined, then the installation level determines the level and height of the leveled floor, which is marked along the entire perimeter of the room. When checking the floor for the presence of bumps, ropes attached to opposite walls are pulled according to the height of the future floor.

When the rope comes into contact with the floor, it is raised a certain distance and drawn again, thus marking the height of the new floor.

Ways to level a floor under a laminate covering:

• plywood;
• PVA glue + sawdust;
• concrete mixture;
• alignment on joists;
• self-leveling mixture;
• scraping.

Important. Before using any option for leveling a wooden surface, the base must be checked and strengthened. Additionally, creaking boards are screwed down with nails or self-tapping screws, and heavily damaged or uneven boards are replaced with the reverse side.

Now let's take a look various options How to level a laminate floor.

PVA glue and sawdust

It is very economical and universal method eliminating defects on wood surfaces.

To do this you need:

• PVA glue;
• sawdust;
• planks;
• level and spatula.

Level guides are installed, mounted at a short distance from the wall. It is possible to use plywood or thin wooden blocks as guides.

The guides are laid from the wall, with the most high level floor.

Important. The guides are set strictly according to the installation level.

If the height of the plank is not enough to smooth out the unevenness, a piece of plywood (plank) is placed under it and the structure is attached to the floor. The distance should not exceed 60 cm.

Advice. If, after leveling with an adhesive mixture, you plan to lay thin plywood, you need to place the guides at a distance equal to half the sheet.

To prepare the mixture, you need to mix sawdust and PVA glue. The mixture should look like homemade sour cream.

Advice. Dry sawdust can draw water from the glue; to prevent this before kneading, they are briefly dipped in water and squeezed out.

The mixture is laid out on a surface cleaned of dust and grease. After drying, the adhesive mixture shrinks greatly, so it is applied in layers no thicker than 1 cm. With stronger differences (more than 1 cm), the floor is leveled in several stages.

This lengthens the process, but is necessary for a high quality leveled base. After the screed has dried well, thin plywood is attached to the guides.

Leveling the floor with plywood

Leveling the floor using plywood is the most popular way to correct defects in the base for laying laminate flooring. Minor differences (3 - 6 mm) in the floor are leveled with thick plywood (chipboard, OSB).

Laying plywood on the joists

For structural strength, plywood sheets are laid out either crosswise, or as brickwork. The sheet is cut into four squares. After cutting, you need to carefully inspect all sections for the presence of delamination. If such a sheet is found, it must be replaced with a whole one.

When installing plywood on joists, markings are carried out in advance and the places where the sheets are fastened to the joists are indicated, which will simplify its further installation and the exact location of the joists will be known.

Video about leveling with plywood is below.

We use a concrete screed

The wooden floor is leveled using a concrete screed. However, this option is not recommended for use. Concrete screed increases the load of wooden floors from 75-100 kg/m, and not everyone can withstand such weight wooden floor. This type of screed is carried out when you are 100% confident in the quality of the wooden floor.

Screed for laminate

If it causes concern, then the concrete screed may crack and damage the laminate. To pour a concrete screed, the first step is to lay a waterproofing layer on the floor. Waterproofing material represents plastic film, laid overlapping, the joints are connected with adhesive tape. You need to add a plasticizer to the mixture, which adds elasticity (it will protect the screed when the boards bend slightly).

Self-leveling mixtures

The simplest and most effective option for leveling the base with small differences of up to 2 mm is to fill the base with a self-leveling mixture. It is sold in specialized stores as a mixture for dry bases. The disadvantage of this option is the high cost of such mixtures.

Preparatory work before pouring the self-leveling mixture:

• fix the boards if necessary;
• the cracks need to be covered with acrylic putty / PVA glue + sawdust;
• after the putty has dried, the floor is primed (protection from moisture);
• the floor and walls, up to the boundary mark of the leveled floor, are covered with waterproofing;
• a damper tape (thin wooden plank) is installed at the site of the interior transition or transition of coverings;
• when pouring a floor with a thickness of more than 1 cm, a reinforcing mesh must be laid on the floor, which is laid on a plastic film and secured with adhesive tape;
• the mixture is diluted according to the instructions;
• filling begins from the corner in strips about 30-40 cm wide;
• After pouring, the strip is leveled with a spiked roller, which releases air bubbles from the screed.

Instead of a roller, you can level wide spatula or a rubber mop. The mixture dries quickly, so pouring is done quickly so that the edges of the previous layer do not dry out.

The screed must be allowed to dry thoroughly, after which the floor is ready for laying the laminate.

The use of a self-leveling mixture is shown below (and instructions on which mixture to choose and what it depends on).

Leveling the floor on joists

This method is suitable for private houses or apartments on the ground floor. The essence of this method is that the old, worn-out flooring boards are removed, leaving the logs (if they are in good condition).

Laying a new floor and laying laminate flooring is quite an expensive undertaking. Using this method, the floor will be smooth, durable without the use of boards and at the same time will insulate the floor.

We fill the space with expanded clay

After removing old, worn boards, the underground space between the joists is filled with expanded clay. It is then covered with foam to level the surface and fill the entire space. The structure is covered on top with sheets of thick plywood, which is attached to the joists.

Looping

– quite difficult. Small irregularities and roughness can be smoothed out. The floor can be scraped manually or with a scraping machine. Manually scraping the floor is difficult and not very effective. The cycling machine makes loud noises and is very dusty. Therefore, you need good headphones to protect against noise and a respirator to protect your respiratory tract from dust.

The room should also be prepared before starting work: cover furniture and relief decorative elements so that dust does not get into them. Before operating the machine, you need to drive the nails several millimeters deep into the board to prevent the machine blades from breaking.

The scraping starts from the corner, gradually moving like a snake, and removing irregularities. Then the holes and various cracks are sealed with putty. After drying, scraping is carried out further.

If the board is severely damaged or uneven, it is removed, turned over and put back. This is necessary to level out the color difference of the floor boards (during use, the boards change color and therefore the damaged board is replaced with a new one).

Sanding the floor near the baseboard or in hard to reach places carried out by an angular hand scraper.

After completing the work, you need to wait time for all the dust to settle, vacuum and wash the floor with a lint-free cloth with a solvent (white alcohol), and cover the surface with a protective varnish.

We also looked at the most common options for . The choice of a specific method or a combination of them depends on the condition of the main floor and your financial capabilities.

When leveling a floor under a laminate, you need to remember that a high-quality base will extend the life of the laminate flooring and make it easier to repair. Good repair to you.