When building a new house or renovating an old one, it is very important to correctly install the floor flooring. If you are going to make a subfloor in wooden house with your own hands, then you should know how to construct it and the technology of its implementation to choose the best option. To choose the right subfloor option for wooden house, you need to take into account the features of the floor covering, as well as the need for hydro- and thermal insulation.
Regardless of the choice of method for installing the subfloor, the following layers must be provided in the structural cake:
Two flooring options are suitable for a wooden house:
In turn, the arrangement of floors along logs in a private wooden house can be carried out on beams or a concrete base. By the way, such floors can be installed in a brick house or a building made of foam blocks.
If you decide to make a subfloor using joists with your own hands, keep in mind that the joists are a supporting element for laying subflooring made of plywood, boards, or OSB. In turn, depending on the design of a private structure, logs can be laid on pillars, beams or a mortgage element. They can be used not only in a private wooden house, but also in a house made of foam blocks.
If the room has big sizes, then attaching the lags with their edges to the beams will not provide adequate strength to the base. In this case, it is necessary to use intermediate posts. The pitch of the support columns depends on the cross-section of the logs. Usually the step is taken to be 0.8-1 m. The material of the columns is brick or concrete. Even in a house made of foam blocks, it is better to make columns from durable materials.
The post is installed on a shallow concrete foundation. The foundation is installed over a layer of compacted sand and crushed stone. The brick column is insulated from the joists and the foundation with rolled insulating material, for example, roofing felt.
The subfloor in a wooden house with joists is done in the following order:
Video instructions - installing the floor along the joists:
Often the subfloor in a frame house can be laid on the ground. Sometimes such a base near the floor is made in houses made of foam blocks or bricks without a basement. As a rule, a dry screed is laid on a specific base. In this case, the base of the floor will consist of the following layers:
Important: if difficult geological conditions are observed at the construction site (soil swelling, high level groundwater), then installation concrete preparation It's better to do it with reinforcement.
For reinforcement concrete pouring use a rod with a diameter of 8 mm. A mesh with cells measuring 150x150 mm is made from it. Installation of the reinforcing mesh is carried out on mortar heaps, so that after pouring the concrete preparation, the mesh is located in the thickness of the layer. On each side it should be protected with a two-centimeter layer of concrete. This must be done to protect the fittings from corrosion.
After pouring the concrete preparation, further installation of the floor can be done after 28 days. Work on installing a dry screed in a wooden house is carried out in the following order:
Important: try not to damage the integrity of the insulating material. If cuts or punctures appear, patches must be applied.
Video instructions for installing dry floor screed.
The durability of the finished floor covering also depends on the quality of the base preparation. It is for this reason that laying the subfloor plays such a significant role. The material used during installation must ensure evenness finished design and be strong in compression. Modern technologies offer several options for arranging subfloors using different materials.
The subfloor in cross-section resembles a layer cake:
Not every owner can build something like this, however, you can make a subfloor with your own hands in different ways. Fortunately, there are several options for its arrangement.
The most popular methodology. Its implementation does not require special skills or high costs. The screed is carried out using gypsum or cement-sand mortar. Most relevant in houses with slab floors. The screed is poured onto the layers of thermal insulation. The top of such a floor must be leveled and dried, and only then covered with the final finishing layer.
There are three main types of wet screed floors:
Pouring the base is a great way to create the perfect surface for laying carpet, laminate or linoleum.
The positive qualities of a wet screed include: moisture resistance, fire resistance, strength and relatively small thickness. The cost of the material is affordable: $1-3 per kilogram of the mixture.
To minimize the installation time of the subfloor, use a dry screed. Solutions practically do not participate in the process of its formation. For this reason, the screed does not require long drying. The creation of the “pie” involves insulating material, sheathing and wood flooring. During installation, ventilation gaps are created.
Important! The screed under ceramic tiles must be treated with a primer. Failure to do so may result in the coating peeling off.
We are talking about a dry screed. It is mounted on top of slabs or flooring with boards. A prefabricated floor is a structure made of rolled, sheet materials and dry backfill. The “pie” usually consists of screed, thermal insulation materials, joists and dry mixtures. A subfloor is installed on top.
Prefabricated floors have a high level of sound insulation and serve as the base for most finished floors. They are almost 2 times lighter wet screeds, but they have a decent thickness, so they are not suitable for thin roll coatings.
This type of subfloor is most often found in old houses. The logs level and greatly facilitate the installation of a wooden floor, and also prevent the weakening of the load-bearing beams.
Arranging floors on joists seems quite simple, but it cannot be done without proper preparation. It is impossible to work with them without knowing all the subtleties.
It is not permissible to level the joists using wooden wedges and wood chips. Such a structure is not viable and after some time the floor begins to creak and sag. To level, sand is poured under the joists or the material is trimmed.
Antiseptic treatment and ventilation increase the service life of the frame. It is covered on top with slabs or sheet material, and to reduce the reduced noise index, polyethylene foam or fiberboard can be laid under the logs.
These floors are supported on the floor slab through threaded posts. They help raise the finishing coating to a height of up to 7 cm (if we are talking about plywood) or up to 22 (using logs). To create a subfloor, beams, cranial beams and boards are used. coniferous species wood, as a rule, with a reduced grade.
To correctly answer the question: how to make a subfloor, you need to decide what materials are needed for its arrangement.
The base is assembled from the following components:
Of course, these are not all the necessary elements. Their variations are due to the variety of types of rough coating and the wishes of the owner. The quantity is calculated based on the size of the building premises.
The lifespan of a floor directly depends on proper preparation and the positive qualities of the materials included in its composition, including coatings.
GVL and GVLV create a perfectly even base for finishing coating. Usually they are laid in two layers, fixed with glue. These slabs are usually used for leveling over expanded clay backfill or to create a heat and sound insulation coating. They are also suitable for old flooring subfloor. The only thing that should not be done is to combine GVL (GVLV) with lags. In this combination, the material cannot withstand local loads: even furniture legs can break the floor.
The base is suitable for almost any finishing surface: laminate, carpet, tiles, linoleum, cork or parquet. To protect the subfloor from the influence of possible leaks, you need to treat the slabs with a water-repellent compound.
The material can withstand heavy loads (we are talking about the idea of high-density chipboard) and allows you to form a fairly even base. Due to its increased strength, it can be laid both on backfill and on logs.
Chipboard has good thermal and sound insulation properties. Typically, slabs, like drywall, are fixed with glue. They are laid in two layers, not forgetting about treatment with a water-repellent compound.
Important! Chipboard is best used in dry rooms and covered with carpet, parquet or linoleum. For additional sound insulation, the slabs are covered with technical cork.
The material has excellent characteristics:
DSP does not burn and is not afraid of even serious leaks. The market offers slabs with a thickness of 1-3.2 cm. They are laid on the backfill or on frame joists, laid in two layers (the top one is treated with a waterproofing or water-repellent compound).
DSP is excellent for laying parquet and laminate flooring. The only drawback of the slabs is minor deviations in thickness at the joints (up to 2 mm). In this case, it is unacceptable to cover the surface with cork or linoleum without first preparing the base. Defects are eliminated by sanding and putty.
Multilayer plywood has many variations in thickness (from 0.3 to 3 cm) and cost ($2.7-39). Due to its high strength, it is often laid on frame joists, but it is also often laid directly on a concrete base under parquet or laminate.
Construction technologies are constantly changing. Modern methods often more effective, but not always cheap. In particular, one of the most affordable flooring technologies is a subfloor with joists. Yes, it's not perfect, but so far it's the most cheap way make the floor In any case, in those regions where the price of timber is still low.
In floor construction, subflooring can serve two functions. The first is to serve as the basis for laying heat, hydro, and sound insulation materials. The second function is to serve as a support for finishing flooring or floor screed under the floor covering. Moreover, insulating materials can also be used to improve performance.
One of the options for heated floors and tiles using
Is it possible to make a finished floor without a subfloor? Basically, it is possible, but in this case it is more difficult to achieve the required characteristics. If the requirements are not too high (dacha, summer or guest house, technical building) and it is important to get only minimum required, you can do without a subfloor.
If the requirements are high (for a residential or heated building), as a rule, a structure without rough flooring requires more money. Why? For subfloor use inexpensive materials. The main selection criterion is strength. On appearance no attention is paid and this allows the use of inexpensive materials. For example, an unedged board (after appropriate processing), construction plywood, a slab of lean concrete. Other materials are laid on the rough base and the claims to their strength are minimal. The main emphasis is on “protective” characteristics. After all, the load falls on the floor structure and rough flooring, and not on these materials. And as a rule, they are relatively inexpensive.
All rough substrates can be divided into two large groups: dry and wet. All types or are considered wet. But we are not talking about them here. We will talk about dry ones, and in terms of joists and beams.
Today there are more modern technologies, but the subfloor remains the cheapest in terms of joists. This traditional version, which has been modified in order to adapt it to modern requirements of comfort and efficiency. But even with changes, it is difficult to achieve those parameters that are considered the norm today. In particular, sound insulation and thermal insulation cannot be ideal. You can only get closer to the norm. But the solution will not be the cheapest.
The beams in the floor structure are wooden or metal elements, which rest on the foundation and serve to transfer the load. Since wood is still the cheapest tool for us, most often our beams are wooden. They are made from timber - solid, glued, or spliced beams (from several boards) are used.
Beams can rest only on the foundation and can have intermediate supports. In houses with a subfloor, piers serve as intermediate supports; in the absence of a subfloor, brick columns are stacked or columns are made from reinforced concrete. Two layers of waterproofing (roofing felt or something like it, but not film) are laid on these supports, and beams or joists are supported on the waterproofing.
How do beams differ from joists? In short, beams are load-bearing structures, but joists are not.
A beam is a linear element of load-bearing structures, supported at both ends (unlike a console) and working primarily in bending. As a rule, the cross-section of the beam is rectangular or square. In wooden houses they also make hewn log. The installation step of the beams and their cross-section are considered when developing the project. Logs are also prescribed, but they are not so critical, so their characteristics can be changed during the construction process.
The logs are not elements of the supporting structure and are simply made from a thick board, which is often placed “standing” - resting on the narrow part. With this installation, it is convenient to lay insulation between the joists - when choosing the step for installing the joists, the width of the insulation is also taken into account. The subfloor along the joists can also have insulation on top. This type is called a floating floor, since the finishing coating does not have direct contact with the base (in this case, the rough flooring).
There are two important points. The first is when using mineral wool as insulation, you need to measure the actual width of the roll or slabs. It does not always coincide with what is stated. Second, the distance between the logs should be 3-4 cm less than the width of the insulation. Then it can be placed in a spacer and it will hold on due to the force of elasticity. This makes installation easier. But there is one more advantage of this solution. Even if the insulation shrinks a little or dries out during use, gaps will not appear between the wool and the joist, since the material will straighten out.
When laying insulation, the main thing is not to leave any gaps and minimize cold bridges When using polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, or polyurethane foam as insulation, the pitch of the logs (and their cross-section) is also better to select. But in this case, “compressing” it will not work. The slabs are cut into pieces slightly smaller than the distance between the joists, and the cracks are filled with polyurethane foam.
The installation step depends on the board from which the logs are made:
The subfloor is the basis for the finishing floor, so it must be leveled to the horizon. The smoother the base, the less problems when laying other materials. Therefore, already when installing the logs, their edges are brought out at the same level.
One of the possible options If the pitch of the beams is small - up to 80 cm, the rough flooring can be laid immediately, without logs (40 mm board). If the beam spacing is large, logs are laid across, and a subfloor is laid on them.
A couple of comments about the wide board. If your budget is limited, you can save money by making prefabricated joists. Two 25mm thick boards cost less than one 50mm wide board of the same length. We buy two boards, stack them one on top of the other, connect them with nails or self-tapping screws (nails are preferable). We install the fasteners on both sides in a checkerboard pattern. The logs are placed “on edge”, so that they are even stronger than the board – there is less chance of cracks appearing along the wood layer. There is one more nuance that will help to avoid “torsion” of the prefabricated log: we arrange the boards so that the annual rings are located towards each other.
When installing a subfloor, a board is often used. Basically, it serves only as a basis for laying insulation. The load from the insulation is small, so you don’t have to knock down the flooring tightly, but leave a gap of up to 1 cm. But such a sparse installation is suitable for materials with sufficient density. When using bulk thermal insulation, you will have to make a continuous sheathing.
At long length beams or joists also make intermediate jumpers for a more stable geometry If necessary, you can do it. The only question is whether the beams can withstand the load. This is calculated separately. What's good about this design? Because:
Using the same principle, you can make a subfloor using wooden joists without cement. As a top layer, you can lay plywood, OSB and other sheet materials that you consider suitable in two layers. Again, tiles and any other type of finishing coating can be laid on such a base.
What kind of logs and board should I use? You can/should be selected, since the thickness of the board depends on the step of installing the logs:
In this case, the subfloor may not be continuous, but with gaps. Under a concrete slab, it is best to use extruded polystyrene foam or high-density polyurethane foam as insulation. You can use foam glass (foam glass), but it is very expensive. These materials can normally withstand the weight of a monolithic screed. By the way, since it is laid on an unstable base.
With this type of floor design wooden beams, it is important to protect the subfloor board as best as possible from rotting. If there is an underground floor below, you need to make sure that it is ventilated (vents) and that the humidity in the underground is as low as possible. You need a blind area around the house (preferably insulated), as well as a drainage system.
As an additional measure, a film with sand is used. A thick sheet of paper is spread on the ground PVC film in two layers - glue the joints with tape, place them on the foundation and secure them there. A layer of sand is poured on top of the film (at least 5 cm, but more is better). The film does not let in most of the moisture (if it is intact and the joints are well taped), and the sand adsorbs the excess and then slowly dries out. The same method is used when using any other subfloor along the joists.
Subfloor made of OSB (OSB). You can remove the rough flooring from the board and lay the slab in two layers As already mentioned, the subfloor board can be edged or unedged. Required condition— operating humidity. Few people will use kiln drying, but the board must be dry - at least 6-9 months of drying. If the floor of the first floor is being laid, the material must be processed protective compounds. The humidity in the underground will be high, so the quality of processing should be good. It is better to process several times. There are more than enough chemicals for wood today. You can select by properties. If needed folk remedies is a processed oil.
The ceiling of the first floor above an unheated underground floor is different in that it must be well insulated. If you are not going to heat the floor, you need to make sure that it is comfortable even with working air. To do this, it is better to make two layers of insulation and place them in different directions.
In this design, the rough flooring is only a support for the first layer of insulation, so it makes no sense to take a thick board here. Usually they take 25 mm, process it and use it for filing. In the design shown in the figure, a cranial block is nailed to the bottom of the beams. Usually its cross-section is 25*25 mm. A roughing board is placed on the cranial block. The segments are short - the length is equal to the step between the lags. You can use substandard lengths for this flooring, but there is less waste if the length is a multiple of the joist pitch.
Waterproofing is laid on the rolling boards. Please note that if mineral wool is used as insulation, the material must be vapor permeable. It should make it possible to remove moisture from the insulation. If the insulation is polystyrene foam, polystyrene foam, foam glass, they themselves do not conduct steam and this layer is generally irrelevant.
The thickness of the insulation should be such that its upper edge is 2-3 cm below the edge of the beam. This is necessary to provide a ventilation gap. Wood changes humidity and it is necessary to give this opportunity by leaving a ventilation gap.
A cross frame is laid across the beams. These are lags. Their height depends on the required thickness of the insulation, and the installation step depends on what kind of flooring you plan on top. The dependence of board thickness on lag pitch is described above. But this can be not only a board, but also any sheet material.
Waterproofing flooring at a distance of 2-3 cm from the surface of the insulation Vapor-waterproofing is laid on top of the insulation. This time the material should retain both vapor and liquid. In the case of using mineral wool, it is better to use a membrane with one-sided vapor permeability (for example, Isover or other brands have it). It must be laid so that steam can escape from the insulation. This solution is better, as it makes it possible to maintain normal humidity in the floor cake.
There are also options with one layer of insulation (in the picture above). This method is convenient if, according to thermal calculations, the thickness of the insulation is not too large.
The subfloor can be made from boards (edged or unedged without bark) and any sheet material, including plasterboard. Sheet materials include:
Now we are not talking about the environmental safety of the listed materials. Here everyone makes their own decision. The point is that any of these materials can be placed on the logs. These materials fulfill their role as foundations. The thickness of each material depends on the installation step of the beams or joists. Once you decide on a specific material, choosing the thickness will be easy.
To make a subfloor in a wooden house with your own hands without violating technology, you must comply with the requirements of SP 31-105 (Energy Efficient frame house single-family).
A subfloor on wooden beams is used exclusively as a base for floor coverings that do not have the design strength for the planned operational loads (for example, linoleum, carpet, laminate).
In addition, the flooring provides flat surface for small-format cladding (for example, parquet, PVC tiles) by analogy with continuous roof sheathing for flexible tiles. Or it protects floor coverings from excessive heating when installing underfloor heating contours (for example, linoleum).
The only guide on how to make a subfloor inside a wooden cottage is currently SP 31-105.
A cottage made of logs, timber or built according to frame technology, can rest on any type of foundation depending on the topography and soil conditions:
Important! IN latest version The installation of a subfloor in a wooden house is made using the technology of cold or insulated flooring above the subfloor. Therefore, inside it is necessary natural ventilation, protection from radon and moisture. Materials must be laid taking into account the increase in vapor permeability from the inside to the outside.
We should start with the fact that, in the absence of specialized education, individual developers unfamiliar with professional terminology call different structures subfloors:
These structures are not always found in pairs in floors. For example, in garden house and other seasonal buildings without heating, there may be no lining along the skull block, since insulating the ceiling in this case does not make sense. But when choosing a laminate as a floor covering, installation of a subfloor in a wooden house in this example is necessary to ensure the strength of the cladding base.
The building code regulations indicate how to properly lay a subfloor over wooden floors or beams over a concrete slab or earthen floor. The flooring is made from slab materials(plywood, chipboard, OSB), edged boards and tongue and groove. The main requirements are:
Important! Fastening is carried out with self-tapping screws, with the exception of the base for the elastic floor covering. In this option, you can only use nails with ribs or ruff notches.
Insulating materials are located inside the floor pie as follows:
Wooden floor pie with subfloor.
It is recommended to impregnate wood with antiseptics, fire retardants or complex fire-bioprotection before cutting materials. After sawing, drilling, etc. machining It is necessary to treat the cut area with a brush.
Even if impregnation with the specified substances was not carried out due to lack of time or the developer’s forgetfulness, this can be done after installation. However, before treating the subfloor with a fire retardant and antiseptic, you should clean the surface and, if possible, remove dust.
Allowed to use OSB boards and other materials with sufficient rigidity and strength. In wood-containing boards, the formaldehyde emission class must be low - only E0 or E1.
Thickness construction material selected according to the table:
| Beam pitch, m | Material thickness, cm | |||
| DSP, plywood | GVL | board | Chipboard | |
| 0,4 | 1,5 | 3 | 1,6 | 1,6 |
| 0,5 | 1,6 | 3,6 | 2 | 2 |
| 0,6 | 1,8 | 3,6 | 2 | 2,5 |
Advice! The thickness of gypsum fiberboard and plywood can be reduced to 1.2 cm if the final floor covering is a tongue-and-groove board with a minimum thickness of 1.8 cm, laid strictly perpendicular to the beams in increments of 0.6 m.
The main tasks when constructing this structure over an unheated underground are:
Important! Conventional polyethylene film completely transmits harmful radon, which is why it cannot be used as waterproofing in the presence of an underground floor. This material is destroyed by cold and has a low service life.
Therefore, currently only film membranes of the following types are used:
If you confuse which side to lay the hydro- and vapor barrier, all the moisture will remain inside the ceiling structure, which will lead to rapid destruction of the wood.
The location of the membranes inside the ceiling under the subfloor.
The classic scheme of a subfloor on wooden floor joists looks like this:
The design has now been improved:
Thanks to the damper layer, the structure becomes floating, the walls are relieved, and the service life is increased. However, as the height of the beams increases and the width decreases, stability deteriorates. Therefore, spacers and horizontal and vertical connections are used between adjacent 5 x 20 cm boards installed on edge.
If the project includes beams of 10 x 15 cm or 15 x 15 cm with a large step between them, the above-described floor scheme using modern methods will cost the developer less for the following reasons:
Floating soundproofed wooden floor.
Various ways to support beams on walls are shown in the figure below.
For independent choice beam sections, it is necessary to know the loads and span sizes. The table will help with this:
In interfloor wooden floors, the owner usually uses a continuous board or slab material in his house.
IN basement floor There is no lower floor, so decorating the ceiling of the underground is not required. This allows you to reduce material consumption and construction time:
Advice! IN interfloor ceilings The ceiling lining can be immediately made from a block house or eurolining and used as a ceiling cladding.
After laying all the insulating layers into the finished on our own wooden frame flooring, subflooring is made:
For most existing siding, it doesn't make much of a difference what the subfloor is made of. However, for porcelain stoneware, tiles and mosaics, it is necessary to use DSP or GVL, with which the tile adhesive has normal adhesion.
Important! For sheet materials, the recommended fastening step for screws, nails or self-tapping screws is 15 - 30 cm. The caps are usually recessed flush, then puttied. Chipboards, tongue and groove panels and gypsum fiber panels with locking connections provide ideal floor flatness, but are more expensive than edged boards, OSB and plywood without locks at the edges.
Since moisture can penetrate into the base of the flooring from the soil below and from the room above, the subfloor materials need to be impregnated with an antiseptic. In addition, to ensure the fire safety of lumber and wood-containing boards, they should be coated with fire retardants, which increase the fire resistance limit.
The most popular antiseptics are:
Important! When using organic-based antiseptics, the application technology is similar to dyeing; dipping materials into these liquids is allowed. Water-soluble antiseptics and dispersions should be intensively rubbed into lumber with a brush until foam appears, indicating the beginning of a reaction with the material and normal quality of impregnation.
To save construction budget, it is enough to choose a budget “preventative” water-soluble antiseptic for interior work. Unlike the “medicinal” hydrophobic liquid, it does not correct existing defects in wood and does not have decorative properties and does not require additional treatment with a glaze composition that emphasizes the structure of the fibers. But it absorbs and dries faster, and is easier to wash off tools and workwear.
Fire retardants are rarely sold separately; they are usually included in combination products. For example, the fire-bioprotection product contains both fire retardants and antiseptics, which reduces the processing time of structural materials.
The black floor allows the use of decorative flooring facing material, which does not have self-supporting properties, rigidity and strength to bending loads. The main difficulties arise with the installation of partitions and remote consoles.
To ensure the operational life of the partitions, their installation should be carried out along the floor beams. If an internal non-load-bearing wall passes between the beams, they must be reinforced with jumpers made of boards or bars according to the diagram below. In order for the subfloor wood to withstand the loads, the following conditions must be met:
Important! Jumpers are not needed if the partitions run perpendicular to the beams.
The internal main wall of a wooden cottage must rest on the lower wall or floor purlin. It can be shifted by 0.6 m in any direction relative to the support unit of the floor beam between floors and by 0.9 m in the attic.
If the size of the side of the opening in the ceiling perpendicular to the axes of the beams is more than 1.2 m, then they should be made double. Jumpers that limit the opening parallel to the beams are reinforced in a similar way if the size of the opening in the ceiling exceeds 0.8 m.
If there are bay windows in the wooden cottage project, the ceiling can extend beyond the perimeter of the walls in a cantilever manner. In this case, the following conditions must be met:
In the latter version, the beams are spliced “into the floor of the tree”; the cuts must be processed with hand or power tools.
Thus, the subfloor for laying flooring should be considered as part of a wooden floor, and not as a flooring made of edged boards. Before laying sheet piles or gypsum fiber boards, chipboards, it is necessary to check the correct location of other layers, treat the materials with fire protection and select a rational beam design.
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A high-quality and beautiful floor is the basis of comfort in the home. The floor is an interior decoration, but not only. During operation, it can withstand the weight of people and furniture in the house and helps conserve heat. For everything to be exactly like this, he needs a reliable foundation.
In the case of a wooden house, this base will be a subfloor on wooden joists. It is easy to make with your own hands, it is strong and durable.
In general terms, a subfloor is a flooring over the floor or beams in the foundation of a building that is laid under the flooring. For its production it is used various materials, most often wood. This could be OSB board, plywood or cutting boards. In the case of non-residential buildings, you can use lumber without pre-processing the ends, as well as used timber.
The subfloor helps solve three main problems:
One of the most popular subfloor designs is the joist design. It is easy to place rolled insulation material in the space between the beams, which will significantly reduce heat loss.
It's difficult to create a beautiful floor uneven surface. This can be solved using wood-based boards or multi-layer plywood.
A high-quality and reliable base will allow you to use any floor coverings without regard to their strength.
There are several subfloor options. The main difference between them is the material. The floor may represent a time-tested concrete screed. This is a good choice in case of premises with high humidity. Concrete base Suitable for a bathroom in the house, shower or bath.
If you need to prepare a flat base for linoleum, laminate or other material that is not very durable, it is enough to make a simple subfloor from plywood or OSB boards. It cannot boast of good thermal protection, so it is more suitable for non-residential premises.
Advice. Best choice For the residential part of the house there is a subfloor on wooden beams. This great option, which in equally Suitable for any room in a wooden house and more.
The floor is based on wooden joists (beams). These are wooden beams or polymer materials, laid parallel to each other, which serve as support for sheet material. This is one of the most common options for creating a subfloor.
It is distinguished by:
It is impossible not to note the versatility of this type of subfloor. The logs can be laid on the ground, wooden or concrete surfaces Of course, in all cases it is important to ensure maximum protection of the wood from moisture. The result of work done correctly will be a dry, ventilated subfloor, which will have a positive effect on the characteristics of the floor and the structure as a whole.
The reliability and durability of the floor directly depend on the quality of the material used. This primarily applies to beams. To make them, you will need a beam with a cross-section of 50 x 50 mm or a board with a thickness of at least 50 mm and a width of 150 mm. The exact parameters are selected individually for each specific project.
An important part of the floor on the joists are the cranial bars - small cross-section slats (approximately 20 x 30 mm), which are attached to the beam along its length and serve for laying the material that supports the thermal insulation. OSB boards or plywood are most often used as such.
Timber and boards for subfloors must have sufficient strength and be resistant to rotting. The structures are made of coniferous wood. Beams can be made from any available wood, the most common option being pine.
In addition to the timber, you will need sheet material to create a base for the floor covering, roll waterproofing, antiseptic for wood impregnation and heat insulator (mineral wool).
Anyone can make a reliable and durable subfloor in a wooden house with their own hands. House master. This is not a very difficult matter, but to achieve the desired result, you will have to work hard. The work itself can be divided into two large stages. The first is the preparation and fastening of the logs, the second is the cutting and laying of sheet material.
The first thing you need to do before starting work is to sketch out a floor plan and calculate the amount of material. You need to count the number of beams and multiply by the length. It is important to choose the correct installation step. It is calculated individually and depends on the area of the room, the material that will be used in the second stage, its thickness and mechanical strength.
Advice. The installation of a subfloor with insulation has its own specifics. When choosing a lag pitch, you should choose its standard value, namely 55–58 cm. This is due to the fact that the width standard sheet mineral wool – 60 cm.
Before starting installation, it is necessary to saturate the beams with an antiseptic. Professionals recommend processing wood in two stages, which will provide maximum protection to the wood, and therefore, the durability of the structure as a whole. If the ends of the logs will lie on the foundation, be sure to lay two layers of roofing felt or a modern equivalent between the wood and concrete.
To attach the beams to the wall, you will need metal holders. Several of their modifications go on sale, choose best option for each specific case will not be difficult. The fasteners are easy to install and guarantee high reliability of the floor and its durability.
When installing logs, it is important to ensure that their upper edges lie in the same plane. To control, you can use a long, flat rod to make sure the surface is horizontal, you will need building level. It is not difficult to correct a slight misalignment; you need to place an adjusting pad under the sagging beam. It should be made of metal or plastic (wood will soon sag, causing the floors to begin to creak).
Using a screwdriver or electric drill with an attachment, screw the cranial bars along the lower edge of the lag. Their task is to support the plywood or wood board, which will serve as a support for the mineral wool. Sheet material is cut, focusing on the pitch of the beams. Instead of slabs, you can use offcut boards.
Advice. When cutting sheets for laying in the space between the joists, there is no need to strive for perfect accuracy; on the contrary, it is better to cut the workpieces 1–2 cm narrower. This compensates for the possible curvature of the beams themselves, and the cracks can be easily sealed with polyurethane foam.
The assembled frame is covered with a vapor barrier. You can buy expensive roll material membrane type or limit yourself to cheap polyethylene film. In any case, the insulation must be reliable. The film is secured with a construction stapler, and the joints are taped.
Lay the first layer of cotton wool. If a standard step is selected when installing the logs, there will be no problems. If necessary, the cotton wool is lightly compacted along the edges so that it fills everything inner space. Next, lay the second layer. It is important to offset half or a third of the sheet.
The thickness of the insulation is selected based on local climatic conditions. For middle zone 10 cm is enough, for the north of the country - no less than 15 cm. Waterproofing is laid on top of the top layer. On beams it is additionally fixed with a stapler; the joints must be sealed with tape.
A 20–30 mm thick lath is placed on top of the logs; it will provide good ventilation the finished floor will protect it from mold. The warm subfloor is almost ready. All that remains is to lay the finished floor boards or sheet material, which will serve as the basis for carpet, linoleum, or laminate.
In order for the new floor to fully meet expectations, you must initially decide on the purpose of the room and the type of flooring; the width and thickness of the beams and their spacing depend on its parameters. For the most part, a subfloor using OSB boards or plywood seems optimal. The technology for working with the material is not particularly complicated, and the result is an even and reliable coating.
Working with sheet material is really simple, but to avoid mistakes, you should follow a few simple recommendations:
Don't try to save on material. It is important not to forget that the reliability of a product consists of the quality of parts and components plus good performance. To make good subfloors in a wooden house, you need to soberly assess your strengths.
Yes, this is not the most difficult task, but you definitely can’t do it without the initial skills of a builder and the ability to work with materials. It may be worth involving a specialist in the work, or at least not be afraid to ask for advice.
