With the exception of a small percentage of secondary buildings with wooden floors, multi-storey buildings use slab floors. Either a floor covering made of tongue-and-groove boards or a subfloor made of edged boards, OSB, GVL, DSP, plywood or chipboard for other claddings (parquet, linoleum, PVC tiles, cork, tiles, carpet and other materials).
Therefore, repairing a wooden floor in a Khrushchev-era building can be done in a day (replacing tongue and groove) or take several weeks (laying sound insulation, insulation, joists and subfloor under parquet).
Because of complex design and numerous layers of the cake, repairing a wooden floor in an apartment is varied, labor-intensive and budget-intensive. If the appearance is lost, the surface of the tongue-and-groove board is cleaned of the existing layer of paint and varnish and painted in several layers to give the necessary aesthetic perception.
In all other cases, partial or complete disassembly covering or subfloor becomes inevitable. To simplify the search for reasons for reducing the performance properties of a structure, layer-by-layer dismantling is usually practiced:
The causes of creaking can be any structural element (floorboard, joist or self-tapping screw) when the mutual fixation with another part of the floor is weakened. Therefore, to eliminate squeaks, various methods are used - from filling the cracks in the floorboards with talcum powder to replacing the joists or screwing all the boards to the joists at an angle of 45 - 60 degrees in new places.
The causes of squeaking are wear and tear on the wooden floor elements.
Advice! When initially laying tongue-and-groove boards as flooring Only the first, every fourth and last rows of material are rigidly attached to the joists. After the floorboards dry out after 3–12 months, the flooring is re-tightened using jacks, clamps or other tools. This operation is not a floor repair, but refers to the maintenance of the coating.
When operating a multilayer structure, repairs wooden floors in an apartment it becomes necessary when there are auditorily and visually obvious defects that sharply reduce the comfort of living. In other words, they walk on the floor covering until they get tired of the squeaking or the user’s foot falls through.
A preventive inspection is not economically profitable, since it requires removing all the furniture, dismantling the baseboard, all or most of the floorboards. Repairs are carried out as the structure is dismantled; depending on its complexity, special technologies are used:
Important! After an inspection of the floorboards, boards that are unsuitable for further use are rejected. Either defective areas are cut out of them (rot, fungus, mold, warping, flying through knots).
IN Soviet times the use of wooden floors in Khrushchev and Brezhnevka was practiced. The logs were laid on glassine and leveled with wooden wedges. The tongue and groove board was pulled together once - during the finishing of the rooms, users were usually not warned that the floorboards needed to be pulled together again after drying.
The cause of the creaking is the weakening of the mutual fixation of two or more structural elements. Under the load from the traffic of residents, they bend and emit characteristic sounds.
To eliminate a squeak, the following algorithm of actions is usually used:
Boards in rows located far from the walls are very difficult to dismantle without destruction lock connection. Therefore, their spatial geometry and mutual arrangement relative to the floorboards in adjacent rows, they are adjusted using longitudinal wedges:
After this, local painting of the defective area is carried out or the floors are repainted entirely.
In dry rooms, a complete replacement of the floor covering is usually carried out, since the wear of the boards is the same. In rooms with high humidity and the abundance of cold water communications, sewerage, and hot water supply, restoration of individual areas affected by mold, mildew or rot due to pipeline leaks is more often used. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the following factors:
Important! The height of the groove/tongue of modern lumber may not coincide with similar locks of the tongue in use, produced during the Soviet era.
Therefore, the flooring restoration technology is used according to the following scheme:
Advice! It is forbidden to use gaskets between the joists and floorboards of the finished floor, since these are the parts that cause squeaking in the future. Plastic wedges should be placed under the logs, and the upper plane of the bars from which they are made should be controlled.
When repairing an old wooden floor, it may be necessary to replace the worn-out subfloor. At a lag pitch that satisfies the operational loads, these elements remain in place; only the subfloor is dismantled and replaced with a new one.
Depending on the finishing floor covering, the following materials can be used:
The work is carried out using standard technologies, ensuring natural ventilation in the underground space.
If the wooden floor covering has no visual defects, but its surface is uneven, there are creaks and other factors that reduce the quality of living, you will have to completely dismantle the parquet or tongue and groove board to provide access to the bars on which the floor covering is attached.
Before repairing the joists, the screed should be inspected and it is possible to replace the insulation, waterproofing and acoustic materials. In Soviet times, expanded clay or sawdust served as insulation; these materials are less effective than expanded polystyrene, ecowool, and basalt heat insulator. Therefore, they are collected in bags and disposed of.
Replacement of logs is carried out using the following technology:
The joists can be mounted on polymer wedges or special adjustable bolts (adjustable floor system). The block must be securely fixed to the floor slab (screed) with anchors to prevent creaking and movement during operation. Therefore, when using wedges, long anchors are used; in adjustable floor systems, the stability of the spatial geometry of the structure is ensured by metal studs:
Advice! The logs have a certain thickness, so in wooden floors (rough and finishing) by default there appears an underground space in which it is necessary to ensure natural ventilation. To do this, it is necessary to make cuts in the joists, and install gratings diagonally in the corners of the room into the subfloor and floor covering.
Despite the fact that the wooden floor in an apartment has soundproofing properties and reduces heat loss, it is often required additional installation insulating materials. Their relative position in the wooden floor pie is as follows:
Pie of wooden floor in the apartment.
Advice! The presence of all specified insulating layers does not constitute prerequisite. For example, the thickness of the floor slab may be sufficient so that the concrete completely eliminates the penetration of airborne noise. In this case, you can do without soundproofing material.
Painting floorboards is a cosmetic renovation. Before painting, the following work is carried out:
Options for painting wooden floors.
After which, the repaired floor is painted in several layers.
When saving bearing capacity elements of a wooden floor may require restoration of its flatness for a number of reasons:
At sufficient thickness tongue or parquet, these defects can be corrected without major repairs by grinding or scraping. Equipment for scraping is expensive and rarely needed, so this equipment It makes more sense to rent for the duration of the renovation.
Sanding the tongue with a belt machine.
Sanding does not require high qualifications; the necessary skills are acquired after processing 2 - 3 m² of flooring. A scraping machine is more difficult to use, so it is easier to order the service from qualified specialists.
Thus, when using a wooden floor in an apartment, repairs are available home handyman on your own. The easiest way is to level the floor, get rid of the creaking floorboards and paint the surface. Major repairs and replacement of joists and floorboards will cost more and take more time.
Advice! If you need repairmen, there is a very convenient service for selecting them. Just submit in the form below detailed description work that needs to be done and you will receive offers by email with prices from construction crews and companies. You can see reviews about each of them and photographs with examples of work. It's FREE and there's no obligation.
In old houses where the floors were made of wood, the problem of creaks and fragility of the coating arises very often. The board wears out, rots and dries out. Replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment looks rational. This can be done, including in homes. old building. Concrete flooring has excellent strength and service life; it can be covered with laminate if fully complied with technical requirements to this process.
Replacing a wooden base
Dismantling the old covering is the first step in replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment. For this, standard tools are used: sledgehammer, crowbar, crowbar.
After removing the old boards, access to the base opens. In apartments on reinforced concrete slab logs are laid, often they are not even secured. The space between them is filled with the remains of construction waste for sound insulation.
Everything needs to be removed. To collect garbage you will need bags and a place for their temporary storage.
After construction debris and dirt have been removed, the joists are assessed. If the wood is in good condition, you can create a base for pouring screed over plywood or chipboard, which will be placed on the existing substrate. But this will cause the floor level to rise, so it is worth deciding what is better: to make a new coating on the joists, without insulation, or to remove the joists and form a layer of concrete over the floor slabs.
In practice, most apartment owners act according to the second option. The logs are dismantled. After this, you need to carefully assess the condition of the pipes - cold and hot water, sewerage. If there is damage or signs poor condition, the interfloor sector should be replaced immediately. Later, after the concrete floor has been created, repairs will require much more problems and time consumption.
Removing a wooden floor
The slab, freed from the floor, joists, construction debris and other dirt, is inspected. Level measurements are taken. A laser level is useful, which can be used to determine height differences and their nature.
Several situations may arise:
It is necessary not only to evaluate the work according to the level of investment of funds, but also to plan for the smallest possible mass of the screed. For this purpose, a concrete layer is made minimum thickness, placing it on backfill or lightweight mortar.
The procedure for assessing the work of the future floor with a large difference in floor heights, from 70 mm, looks like this:
A cheaper method is to fill the rough surface with sand, but the mass of such a cushion will be significant. In practice, it is ideal to make a base of plywood, under which expanded clay is poured to level the level. This method of producing work simultaneously gives a smooth flat surface under the screed, the rough fill has a low mass and provides a certain degree of additional sound insulation.
The base for the plywood screed can be made on logs made of small-section timber. This is a convenient and fairly cheap way. The logs are laid on the floor, ensuring horizontal, while in the right places Small supports are placed under them. After this, the free space is filled with expanded clay.
When filling the base with sand, it must be spilled with water and compacted thoroughly. It is not recommended to use a vibrating tool - the neighbors below may damage the plaster finish or experience other troubles. After finishing the work, the sand should be given a couple of days to dry.
The difference is whether a wooden or concrete floor is located on the interfloor floor - in the mass of the coating. Although, not only this. About this video:
In houses where there is no reinforced concrete floor slab, there is one way to replace a wooden floor with a concrete screed: build a subfloor from plywood or chipboard. Some people recommend repairing the existing wood floor or adding additional covering.
However, in practice, such work takes a lot of time, money, requires replacing damaged areas, removing old paint and other coatings to assess the condition of the boards.
Therefore proceed as follows:
Preparation of the base for the screed begins with filling expanded clay into the interfloor ceiling on beams or I-beams. This layer will have low mass and have good sound insulation. Backfilling is carried out to the upper level of the lag. After this, they lay plywood or chipboard and operate in the same way as in an apartment.
Screed base
After the rough base for the screed is ready, they begin to create a waterproofing layer. For this you can use:
Before spreading the rolled waterproofing material, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. To do this, the entire perimeter of the room is taped with a special construction tape. Afterwards coating is carried out bitumen mastic cold type of application. Some compositions will require time to dry, so it is worth warning your neighbors in advance about the need to tolerate the unpleasant odor.
After the mastic has hardened, the perimeter is glued with damper construction tape 20 mm thick and the roll waterproofing can be spread. The strips of material are placed with an overlap of 10-15 cm, each subsequent strip overlaps the previous one. Along the perimeter of the room, the waterproofing agent should extend 10-15 cm onto the walls.
The seams are processed as follows:
It is not recommended to use floating class materials in an apartment. They require treatment with a kerosene burner, which, under conditions limited space and ventilation can become a problem.
Rolled waterproofing insulators on a self-adhesive basis will speed up the work. They cost more, but will speed up the flooring significantly.
After the waterproofing is laid, insulation is placed on it. This stage work is performed if a heated floor heating system is being built. In other cases, it is not necessary to use thermal insulation.
Waterproofing concrete floor
You can also place an aluminum mesh inside the screed. But the method using fibers is the leader in terms of convenience and rationality. This will allow:
Fibers for screed reinforcement are affordable, and their use can ensure uniform strength of the concrete layer. But when constructing a floor not on a reinforced concrete floor slab, it is recommended to act in the classic way using reinforcing mesh.
Mesh reinforcement
Beacons on the floor on a prepared surface are installed simply: special profiles or a corner for decorating corners during plastering are placed on small mounds of gypsum putty. The evenness of the surface formed by the upper points is checked using a long building level.
If the base is poorly prepared and there is a difference in levels in certain areas of the area, the height of the putty mounds varies. The beacons must be placed at a distance of 40-50 cm, directing them along a line from the window to the door. Parts cannot be moved until the putty has completely hardened and the beacons are securely fixed.
If you want to replace a wooden floor with a concrete screed and worry less about the pressure on the floor, you can use ready-made building mixtures. For example, KREISEL 440, 441, MZ150, which allow you to create a layer of up to 70 mm with a minimum of 35 mm. In this case, there is no need to stir the dry mixture - the composition is immediately ready to add water.
The standard approach is to apply the classical cement-sand screed. To prepare it you will need:
Before mixing with water, the dry mixture must be thoroughly mixed until a uniformly colored composition is formed. After this, they begin to add liquid, continuing to stir until the consistency of thick sour cream is obtained.
Recommendation: for quick and high-quality work, you should prepare in advance a large number of dry mixture. As needed, you can quickly dilute it with water. If you measure out equal parts of the composition, it is easy to figure out the amount of liquid required and prepare the solution extremely quickly.
The screed is laid from the window or far wall to the door. The solution is laid out in large portions and leveled with a long rule along the beacons. There are no difficulties during the work, you just need to act quickly so that the solution does not set and is easily smoothed out. It is recommended that two people work together to lay the screed. One is preparing the solution, the second is applying it.
In the apartment, I want to achieve maximum strength and at the same time the aesthetics of the concrete floor covering. There are several ways to do this:
If you plan to lay tiles on the floor, you can do without additional surface treatment. For laminate or linoleum coverings, it is recommended to carry out ironing. The most expensive version of self-leveling flooring allows you not only to obtain a smooth and even surface, but also to create an effective final coating. For example, a popular 3D floor or with graphic images.
Finishing option
The issue of creating the final coating should be considered in advance. The self-leveling floor will raise general level approximately 30 mm, a similar situation is with ceramic tiles. However, the final design can be considered as a secondary measure. As for the concrete floor itself, if you follow the given rules and methods, after complete drying in 2-3 weeks, you can create a very strong, durable coating at an acceptable cost of money and time.
delaypol.com
Replacing the floor in your apartment with your own hands will significantly save your budget.
Moreover, understanding the intricacies of such a process will also be useful if you hire specialists for repairs.
Work is in full swing
If the replacement of the old floor in the apartment was carried out in the next ten years, then there is no point in worrying about this yet. Unless you're already tired of him appearance, and the budget allows you to update the premises.
But in the case where the floors in the apartment have not been replaced since the construction of the building, it is necessary to carefully check their condition and, if necessary, take action.
Urgently needs repairs
Explicit external signs replacement needs are:
A closer inspection may reveal rotten or cracked boards.
Advice: on an old floor that has not been renovated, you should not lay linoleum or other decorative covering on top. Because any new finishing layer that has fallen into disrepair will quickly become unusable.
Since all the prerequisites for repairing the foundation are present, we will consider two ways to solve the problem:
The degree of unusability of the old floor and what kind of coating you are going to use on top in the future will determine which method to choose. Let's look at them in more detail.
Dismantling the surface
If, when examining the boards, you come to the conclusion that the base is quite in order, and only the upper floorboards have fallen into disrepair, then you can limit yourself to only repairing or replacing the boards.
The following instructions will help you with this:
Tip: use a sander to sand the boards. This will significantly improve the result and simplify the work.
External signs of rotting
Replacement of boards is completed
If more than 50% of the covering material is unusable, feel free to remove and discard the entire covering. It would be more profitable to completely replace the boards. Moreover, today the manufacturer offers special products with tongue and groove for such work, as shown in the figure:
Photo of a board with tongue and groove
This structure of the tongue and groove board allows the surface of the new floor to be made without through gaps, which, of course, will significantly improve functionality and durability.
Replacing a wooden floor in an apartment with your own hands is quite simple. The use of high-quality dry wood and the correct execution of the work give you a minimum ten-year guarantee on the new coating.
Preparation process
Two reasons may prompt you to decide to completely remove the tree and pour concrete yourself:
The most important thing about using this method is the ability to create a smooth and even surface. If you lack the skills, it may be worth considering inviting professionals to do this work. Although the cost of repairs will then be higher.
Filling can be done in three ways:
Let's carry out the preparatory work:
Waterproofing before screed
Example of using expanded clay
Reinforced mesh will increase the strength of the concrete pavement
Ready-made mixtures harden faster, up to 10 days, and even self-level. This greatly simplifies the work, but also increases the cost. Although if you do everything yourself and have already saved money on hired work, then this is quite a profitable option.
Dry screeding is done quickly, easily and cleanly. But it's expensive. The choice is yours.
The process of creating floors using dry screed
If the floors have not yet been changed since the purchase of the apartment, then this most likely needs to be done. However, the creaking boards are probably a reminder of this.
Depending on your budget, you can choose various ways how to replace a wooden floor in an apartment. You can also partial replacement boards and full, you can even replace wood with concrete and, again, using different methods. It all depends on your financial capabilities.
Everything is ready for applying the finishing coat.
The video in this article will introduce you to additional material.
One high-quality floor repair will save you from constant squeaking and the fear of one day failing for 10-20 years. Make up your mind!
shkolapola.ru
If the wooden floor is constantly exposed to dynamic loads, temperature changes and moisture, this will eventually lead to deformation and destruction. Then, at best, the coating will need to be repaired. But if the boards have been severely damaged and rotten, then there is only one way out - to replace the old coating with a new one.
An alternative wooden floor Concrete is installed in the apartment, its installation is carried out on an old screed or on a new one. Laying a concrete floor indoors requires dismantling the wooden covering and carefully preparing the old rough foundation on which the screed is applied.
Replacing a wooden floor is not an easy job, but it is not overly difficult either. You can handle this task yourself, if you have the desire. This work consists of a number of stages, each of them is important and determines the quality and service life of the future coating.
In addition, there are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account when removing the old coating and installing a new one. Much attention needs to be paid to the quality of the concrete base screed. So that you can fully imagine the complexity of such work, it is worth familiarizing yourself in more detail with each stage of the repair of replacing the old wooden floor with a new concrete coating.
The reasons for replacing wood flooring with concrete flooring vary, but the main ones are:
Old boards need replacing Replacing flooring is a difficult job that requires special skills, so if you are not confident that you can repair or dismantle the old floor and lay the concrete base yourself, then it is better not to experiment, but to immediately entrust these tasks to professionals. Because if you fill it up incorrectly concrete mortar and make a poor-quality screed, this will negatively affect the quality of the future floor.
Among all types of floor coverings, concrete floor screed is chosen for a number of reasons:
There are many other advantages that concrete floor screed has. We can talk about them for a long time, but even the advantages listed above are enough to understand that today this is the best alternative to a wooden floor in an apartment. But for such a floor to last a long time and become a reliable basis for installation flooring material, you should adhere to the technology of its installation, and it consists of several stages.
Attention! When repairing and dismantling a wooden floor, it is recommended to use safety glasses and a respiratory mask, because such work will entail a lot of dirt and dust, which is harmful to the eyes and lungs.
If you are wondering whether it is possible to renovate an apartment by replacing wooden flooring with a concrete floor, the answer is yes. First, the wooden floor laid in the room is dismantled; this step will allow access to the lower floors. However, keep in mind that during dismantling, debris and dust are generated, and the work itself is noisy, so carry out repairs in such a way as not to disturb your neighbors. It’s better if there is an assistant who can help you tear off boards, take out trash, make mortar, and so on.
Before you begin repairing and dismantling the old coating, prepare the following tools:
They begin dismantling from any part of the room, but it is more convenient to proceed from front door. If wood flooring in poor condition, you can leave only intact elements and throw away the rest. Good material will be useful for some other purposes and auxiliary operations.
Dismantling begins with the removal of baseboards. After this, they begin to remove the old coating and rough flooring, which is located under the floor. If present old insulation, it is also removed, the base is thoroughly cleaned of debris.
Removing old flooring Now that the old coating has been removed, you can begin installing the concrete floor.
Sequencing:
Diagram of a concrete floor The entire work process involves several stages:
Waterproofing layer 
Laying the thermal insulation board 
Pouring a concrete floor If the work is done correctly, as a result of the repair you will have a reliable concrete base for installing the flooring material. To better understand how floor replacement repairs are performed. and how to make a screed, watch the video presented here:
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Sooner or later, it is necessary to replace the wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment located on the ground floor. This is primarily due to increased humidity levels. This is especially true for houses that are built in climatic zones where it often rains heavily. With time wooden boards they begin to creak and sag, which causes great discomfort to the apartment owners.
The best option The base of the floor in the apartment on the first floor is concrete.
It is not at all afraid of moisture and is quite resistant to various types of mechanical damage. In addition, if necessary, such a floor can be insulated without problems. But to get the job done quickly and efficiently, you should take care necessary tools. So, you will definitely need:
Particular attention should be paid to the choice of cement for forming concrete base floor. It’s better not to waste money and spend money on a good brand of cement. This way the floor will last for a very long time, without allowing the communications that will be laid to deteriorate.
Replacing a wooden floor in an apartment involves dismantling the old base. It is necessary to carefully dismantle wooden joists. First, boards that are completely rotten and collapsed are removed. At the same time, we should not forget that if more than half of the covering is damaged, it is better to dismantle even the few remaining good boards. But if most of the base is almost like new, good boards you can leave it. It is only recommended to strengthen them further.
After the logs are removed, you need to clear the room of debris. It is very important that the floor is free of not only large specks, but also dust. This is the only way to ensure the strongest possible adhesion of cement to base surface.
Now we need to take care of communications. So, if necessary, all pipes, cables and cords are laid at once. If you plan to make a warm floor, then you should not lay it on the surface yet. This is done much later, before the final screed.
Now you need to lay out the initial base for the floor in layers. First, fine gravel or crushed stone is poured in a layer of about 7-10 cm. After this, approximately 5-7 cm of sand is poured, everything is leveled using a long direct rule. Next, you can lay a layer of waterproofing, and then thermal insulation. There are 2 options here: use separate materials or buy an expensive film that will both protect from moisture and help keep the apartment warm.
It is strictly not recommended to use coating materials for insulation. It is best to give preference to special film ones, having calculated the required area in advance before purchasing. At the same time, installation is quite easy with your own hands if you follow the diagram in the instructions.
Now you need to make a concrete solution for pouring. It needs to be thick enough. Usually sand and cement are taken in equal parts, then water is added little by little. In this case, you should constantly stir the solution so as not to overfill the water.
You need to make a concrete layer of about 10 cm. This thickness is considered optimal if the apartment has a high level of humidity. This will greatly improve the microclimate. But if the ceilings in the apartment are low, which does not allow you to make the thickest screed, you can reduce the thickness to 6-7 cm.
After this, you should wait until the concrete has completely hardened, and then pour fine crushed stone onto the base of the floor and carefully level it over the entire surface. On top of the crushed stone it is necessary to put a dense polyethylene film that will serve additional protection from moisture. And the floor will be warmer as a result.
Now you will need to lay out the slats on the floor. It is best to use regular long thin wooden boards for this. It is recommended to strictly maintain the same distances between them, and also to ensure that their ends are strictly adjacent to the walls along the perimeter. A cord should be pulled over the slats along the walls, which will determine maximum height final concrete screed. IN ideal The cord must be pulled exactly along the slats on the floor.
Mix a thick solution in a large container, then gradually fill the strips between the slats with it. When one strip is half filled with the solution, you need to use a long, flat board or a special rule to level the layer, then proceed to the final filling, leveling everything again. It is recommended to pour the solution at the very corners so that there are no voids as a result.
Each strip is filled in this way. When everything is ready, the solution will have time to set a little. And then you need to remove the slats and fill the remaining voids with the solution, again carefully distributing and leveling it. It is recommended to remove the slats gradually: after filling every 2 strips, remove them one at a time.
Now you should completely moisten the base of the floor with a spray bottle and cover it with plastic wrap. This will ensure the concrete hardens as quickly as possible and at the same time secure it as much as possible. After the base layer has set, all that remains is to apply the leveling thin tie.
The screed is also applied to wooden slats. But in this case it is already recommended to use thinner boards. Everything is done in the same way as the main filling, but you only need to use a special composition, which is sold ready-made. It contains special polymers that will protect the floor for a long time. The final coat takes about 4 weeks to dry.
As a rule, it is recommended to replace a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment using the proposed method on the ground floor. Indeed, in other cases it will not be possible to change the floor level using several layers of screed. But such a replacement of a wooden floor with a concrete flooring will protect the room from dampness as reliably as possible.
In old houses where the floors were made of wood, the problem of creaks and fragility of the coating arises very often. The board wears out, rots and dries out. Replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment looks rational. This can be done, including in old houses. Concrete floors have excellent strength and service life, and can be covered with laminate if the technical requirements for this process are fully met.
Dismantling the old covering is the first step in replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment. For this, standard tools are used: sledgehammer, crowbar, crowbar.
After removing the old boards, access to the base opens. In apartments, logs are laid on reinforced concrete slabs, often they are not even secured. The space between them is filled with the remains of construction waste for sound insulation.
Everything needs to be removed. To collect garbage you will need bags and a place for their temporary storage.
After construction debris and dirt have been removed, the joists are assessed. If the wood is in good condition, you can create a base for pouring screed over plywood or chipboard, which will be placed on the existing substrate. But this will cause the floor level to rise, so it is worth deciding what is better: to make a new coating on the joists, without insulation, or to remove the joists and form a layer of concrete over the floor slabs.
In practice, most apartment owners act according to the second option. The logs are dismantled. After this, you need to carefully evaluate the condition of the pipes - cold and hot water, sewerage. If there is damage or signs of poor condition, the interfloor section should be replaced immediately. Later, after the concrete floor has been created, repairs will cause much more problems and time.
The slab, freed from the floor, joists, construction debris and other dirt, is inspected. Level measurements are taken. A laser level is useful, which can be used to determine height differences and their nature.
Several situations may arise:
It is necessary not only to evaluate the work according to the level of investment of funds, but also to plan for the smallest possible mass of the screed. To do this, the concrete layer is made to a minimum thickness, placing it on backfill or lightweight mortar.
The procedure for assessing the work of the future floor with a large difference in floor heights, from 70 mm, looks like this:
A cheaper method is to fill the rough surface with sand, but the mass of such a cushion will be significant. In practice, it is ideal to make a base of plywood, under which expanded clay is poured to level the level. This method of carrying out work simultaneously provides a smooth, even surface for the screed; the rough filling has a low mass and provides a certain degree of additional sound insulation.
The base for the plywood screed can be made on logs made of small-section timber. This is a convenient and fairly cheap way. The logs are laid on the floor, ensuring horizontality, while small supports are placed under them in the right places. After this, the free space is filled with expanded clay.
When filling the base with sand, it must be spilled with water and compacted thoroughly. It is not recommended to use a vibrating tool - neighbors below may damage the plaster finish or experience other troubles. After finishing the work, the sand should be given a couple of days to dry.
The difference is whether a wooden or concrete floor is located on the interfloor floor - in the mass of the coating. Although, not only this. About this video:
In houses where there is no reinforced concrete floor slab, there is one way to replace a wooden floor with a concrete screed: build a subfloor from plywood or chipboard. Some people recommend repairing the existing wood floor or adding additional covering.
However, in practice, such work takes a lot of time, money, and requires replacing damaged areas, removing old paint and other coatings to assess the condition of the boards.
Therefore proceed as follows:
Preparation of the base for the screed begins with filling expanded clay into the interfloor ceiling on beams or I-beams. This layer will have low mass and have good sound insulation. Backfilling is carried out to the upper level of the lag. After this, they lay plywood or chipboard and operate in the same way as in an apartment.
After the rough base for the screed is ready, they begin to create a waterproofing layer. For this you can use:
Before spreading the rolled waterproofing material, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work. To do this, the entire perimeter of the room is taped with a special construction tape. Afterwards the coating is coated with bituminous mastic of a cold type. Some compositions will require time to dry, so it is worth warning your neighbors in advance about the need to tolerate the unpleasant odor.
After the mastic has hardened, the perimeter is glued with damper construction tape 20 mm thick and the roll waterproofing can be spread. The strips of material are placed with an overlap of 10-15 cm, each subsequent strip overlaps the previous one. Along the perimeter of the room, the waterproofing agent should extend 10-15 cm onto the walls.
The seams are processed as follows:
It is not recommended to use floating class materials in an apartment. They require processing with a kerosene burner, which can be a problem in conditions of limited space and ventilation.
Rolled waterproofing insulators on a self-adhesive basis will speed up the work. They cost more, but will speed up the flooring significantly.
After the waterproofing is laid, insulation is placed on it. This stage of work is carried out if a heated floor heating system is being built. In other cases, it is not necessary to use thermal insulation.
You can also place an aluminum mesh inside the screed. But the method using fibers is the leader in terms of convenience and rationality. This will allow:
Fibers for screed reinforcement are affordable, and their use can ensure uniform strength of the concrete layer. But when constructing a floor not on a reinforced concrete floor slab, it is recommended to proceed in the classical way, using reinforcing mesh.
Beacons on the floor on the prepared surface are installed simply: special profiles or a corner for decorating corners during plastering are placed on small mounds of gypsum putty. The evenness of the surface formed by the upper points is checked using a long building level.
If the base is poorly prepared and there is a difference in levels in certain areas of the area, the height of the putty mounds varies. The beacons must be placed at a distance of 40-50 cm, directing them along a line from the window to the door. Parts cannot be moved until the putty has completely hardened and the beacons are securely fixed.
If you want to replace a wooden floor with a concrete screed and worry less about the pressure on the floor, you can use ready-made building mixtures. For example, KREISEL 440, 441, MZ150, which allow you to create a layer of up to 70 mm with a minimum of 35 mm. In this case, there is no need to stir the dry mixture - the composition is immediately ready to add water.
The standard approach is to use a classic cement-sand screed. To prepare it you will need:
Before mixing with water, the dry mixture must be thoroughly mixed until a uniformly colored composition is formed. After this, they begin to add liquid, continuing to stir until the consistency of thick sour cream is obtained.
Recommendation: for quick and high-quality work, you should prepare a large amount of dry mixture in advance. As needed, you can quickly dilute it with water. If you measure out equal parts of the composition, it is easy to figure out the amount of liquid required and prepare the solution extremely quickly.
The screed is laid from the window or far wall to the door. The solution is laid out in large portions and leveled with a long rule along the beacons. There are no difficulties during the work, you just need to act quickly so that the solution does not set and is easily smoothed out. It is recommended that two people work together to lay the screed. One is preparing the solution, the second is applying it.
In the apartment I want to achieve maximum strength and at the same time -. There are several ways to do this:
If you plan to lay tiles on the floor, you can do without additional surface treatment. For laminate or linoleum coatings, it is recommended to carry out. The most expensive version of self-leveling flooring allows you not only to obtain a smooth and even surface, but also to create an effective final coating. For example, a popular 3D floor or with graphic images.
The issue of creating the final coating should be considered in advance. The self-leveling floor will raise the overall level by about 30 mm, a similar situation with ceramic tiles. However, the final design can be considered as a secondary measure. As for the concrete floor itself, if you follow the given rules and methods, after complete drying in 2-3 weeks, you can create a very strong, durable coating at an acceptable cost of money and time.
Replacing the floor in your apartment with your own hands will significantly save your budget.
Moreover, understanding the intricacies of such a process will also be useful if you hire specialists for repairs.
If the replacement of the old floor in the apartment was carried out in the next ten years, then there is no point in worrying about this yet. Unless you are already tired of its appearance, and your budget allows you to update the room.
But in the case where the floors in the apartment have not been replaced since the construction of the building, it is necessary to carefully check their condition and, if necessary, take action.
Obvious external signs of the need for replacement are:
A closer inspection may reveal rotten or cracked boards.
Advice: on an old floor that has not been renovated, you should not lay linoleum or other decorative covering on top.
Because on a rough layer that has fallen into disrepair, any new finishing layer will quickly become unusable.Since all the prerequisites for repairing the foundation are present, we will consider two ways to solve the problem:
- Full or partial replacement of wood covering.
- Replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one in an apartment.
Installation work
The degree of unusability of the old floor and what kind of coating you are going to use on top in the future will determine which method to choose. Let's look at them in more detail.
Restoring a wooden floor
If, when examining the boards, you come to the conclusion that the base is quite in order, and only the upper floorboards have fallen into disrepair, then you can limit yourself to only repairing or replacing the boards.
The following instructions will help you with this:
- Remove all traces of paint or varnish from the coating.
Tip: Use a sander to sand the boards.
This will significantly improve the result and simplify the work.
- We examine the boards for signs of rotting, cracks and other deformations. All rejected products must be replaced with new ones.
- We inspect the fastening of the floorboards to the joists. Old fastenings with nails should be secured with self-tapping screws for reliability.
- We use wood putty to treat all possible small cracks and recesses, leveling the surface as much as possible.
- If the crack is more than five millimeters, we hammer a specially prepared wooden wedge into it.
- After finishing with putty, we go through it again with a sanding machine.
- We carry out dry and wet cleaning of the premises.
- We cover the floor with paint, varnish or any other desired coating.
If more than 50% of the covering material is unusable, feel free to remove and discard the entire covering. It would be more profitable to completely replace the boards. Moreover, today the manufacturer offers special products with tongue and groove for such work, as shown in the figure:
This structure is without through gaps, which, of course, will significantly improve functionality and durability.
Replacing a wooden floor in an apartment with your own hands is quite simple. The use of high-quality dry wood and the correct execution of the work give you a minimum ten-year guarantee on the new coating.
Complete replacement of wood with concrete
Two reasons may prompt you to decide to completely remove the tree and pour concrete yourself:
- Complete disrepair of the old covering, including the base of the floor.
- The desire to use expensive external coating materials such as tiles, parquet, laminate and others.
The most important thing about using this method is the ability to create a smooth and even surface. If you lack the skills, it may be worth considering inviting professionals to do this work. Although the cost of repairs will then be higher.
Filling can be done in three ways:
- Use prepared cement-sand mixture (CSM) for screeding.
- Use levelers – dry cement mixture.
- Make a “dry screed” using gypsum fiber sheets.
Let's carry out the preparatory work:
- We remove absolutely all the old coating.
- We remove all construction debris, freeing the old screed or tiled floor.
- Lay down plastic film as moisture insulation.
- We glue damper tape around the perimeter. It compensates for shrinkage of the coating and increases reliability.
- We install beacons for direction.
- To level a particularly curved surface, it should be covered with expanded clay or sand.
- In case of increasing the reliability of the floor, we install a steel mesh.
Ready-made mixtures harden faster, up to 10 days, and even self-level. This greatly simplifies the work, but also increases the cost. Although if you do everything yourself and have already saved money on hired work, then this is quite a profitable option.
Dry screeding is done quickly, easily and cleanly. But it's expensive. The choice is yours.
Conclusion
If the floors have not yet been changed since the purchase of the apartment, then this most likely needs to be done. However, the creaking boards are probably a reminder of this.
Depending on your budget, you can choose different ways to replace the wooden floor in your apartment. You can carry out a partial or complete replacement of boards, you can even replace wood with concrete and, again, using different methods. It all depends on your financial capabilities.
One high-quality floor repair will save you from constant squeaking and the fear of one day failing for 10-20 years. Make up your mind!
Constant moisture and dynamic loads sooner or later lead to the fact that wooden floor coverings, common during initial commissioning, country houses, begin to rot, creak and sag.
A high-quality alternative to flooring is concrete. Installation of a concrete base involves the complete removal of the existing floor. Wood fragments are removed; Rotten logs of the building must also be removed.
If the log beams are in good condition, they can simply be protected from moisture and covered with a layer of coarse sand or fine gravel between all gaps and on top. Replacing a wooden floor with a concrete one, if the joists are irreparably damaged, involves... The formation of a concrete screed must take into account the level of the floor covering.
Replacing a floor is considered a job that you can do yourself with minimal construction skills. However, this requires the following tools:
Scroll preparatory work before laying the screed will depend on the area of the covering, as well as the depth of the base under the logs. It is recommended to fill the space under the house, which will prevent the rise of moisture and the formation of dampness.
To create additional depth, it is worth removing excess soil. If the niche under the house is larger than necessary, it should be additionally filled.
