Floor installation is one of the most important tasks that future owners face when building a house. The floor design may vary. 2 possible options:
Most often, preference is given to flooring with joists, as it is easier to lay. However, constructing a floor using wooden beams has a number of advantages over constructing a floor using joists. Beams are important functional element designs wooden house. If the floor spreads along them, then the house acquires additional stability, since the beams are built into load-bearing walls. However, this is the only drawback of such a floor arrangement. By means of beams built into the frame, any mechanical impact on the floor is reflected on the load-bearing walls.
In addition, the advantages of installing a floor on beams include low material costs, since it is not necessary to make a lower floor under the floor, as well as the low weight of the material used. Moreover, if you build a frame for the floor that does not have points of contact with the walls of the house, then the only drawback of this design will be eliminated.
First of all, it is necessary to determine the required number and cross-sectional size of the beams. As a rule, beams with a section of 15x15 cm or 20x20 cm are used. The distance between them should be no more than 60 cm. Such a structure will have the necessary strength and stability.
IN brick house, in which it is lined with bricks top part foundation, the beams must be sealed tightly into the walls. This must be provided for at the stage of laying brick walls. Sockets are left in the required places for installing beams. To ensure that the edges of the beams that will be located in the nests do not rot, it is necessary to line the openings under them with roofing felt in 2 layers, and the ends of the beams must be treated with a fire-retardant compound. It is recommended to apply similar compounds to all wooden elements of the structure. The ends should not be coated with a compound that would prevent the wood from breathing. If this is not provided for, then condensation will accumulate on the wooden elements. Resin should not be applied to the ends.
If the openings in the wall are larger than the cross-section wooden elements, then the space remaining free must be filled with insulation (for example, foam plastic or mineral wool) or cement mortar. It is necessary to take into account that between the timber and the walls of the nests in brick wall must stay air gap 3-5 cm. The timber is not attached to the brick. Minimum permissible distance between load-bearing wall and the first beam - 5 cm. Their supporting part must be at least 15 cm, and the depth of the opening in the wall - 18 cm.
It is imperative to provide for cutting the end of the beam at the desired angle. This angle is 60°. In addition, the end is laid so that the cut in the upper part is on greater distance from the wall of the opening than at the bottom. That is, the lower edge of the beam should be as close as possible to the brickwork.
The beams of the lower floor during the construction of a frame or wooden house are laid in a different way than in brickwork. If we're talking about O frame structure, then the lower floor beams are mounted on the lower frame of the house. The beams are attached to the bottom frame with nails.
Building a house from logs or timber involves cutting openings in the wall for floor beams. These openings must be treated with an antiseptic composition. In this case, the beams that make up the lower ceiling must be located at a distance of at least 40 cm from the base of the stove and chimney.
For beam floor There are certain rules for laying flooring.
Subfloors have several types depending on their purpose and installation method. First, you should consider their features and differences, and then talk in detail about the construction method. As always, we will use an example to consider the most complex option; if it becomes clear, then it will be much easier to make simpler subfloors.
The distance between the floor beams is ≈ 1–1.2 meters, specific values and thickness values are calculated depending on the load. Then logs are placed on the floor beams with a distance of 40–60 cm. Why do double work, it is much more expedient to install the floor beams a little more often, while reducing their size. These same beams will serve as joists. What will happen as a result? Significant savings in materials.
If you calculate the amount of timber for beams and joists in traditional version construction, then the second option makes it possible to achieve savings of at least 40%. At modern prices for natural, high-quality materials (and only the highest quality lumber is used for this work) High Quality) in monetary transfers, the savings amount to significant amounts. Another definite plus is the increase in height interior spaces, with a log height of within ten centimeters this is a noticeable increase.
Any low-quality materials can be used for the subfloor, except if it serves as the basis for installing finishing floor coverings. These can be either pieces of boards, OSB sheets, plywood or chipboard, or unedged boards. The thickness of the materials does not matter; boards or slabs with a thickness of one to three centimeters can be used on one floor. They will lay on it thermal insulation materials, for them minor differences the height of the base is not critical. Of course, unedged boards must be sanded; wood pests breed under the bark.
Second important point for all subfloors – protection from the negative effects of moisture. Currently, there are quite effective antiseptics available, which need to be used to soak the boards at least twice.
Important. Before impregnation, the lumber must be dried. The lower the relative humidity, the more antiseptics they absorb, the more reliable the protection.
No antiseptic - no problem. Just sand the boards, the effect will be exactly the same. Treat the ends of the subfloor boards with particular care. Inattention to the ends is one of the main mistakes of inexperienced builders. They first lay the cut boards on the supporting elements, and then use a brush to treat two surfaces, forgetting about the ends. The ends of the wood absorb the most a large number of moisture, in this place all the capillaries of the wood are open.
And one last thing. Keep in mind that no antiseptics will help if the underground of a wooden house does not have an effective natural ventilation. The subfloor will sooner or later lose its original properties. You will have to change not only it, but also the entire floor covering.
If you are afraid of rodents entering through the air, place metal grilles on them. If it seems to you that in winter the floors in the rooms on the first floor are very cold due to the vents (and this may be the case), then close them during the cold period. But be sure to open all the vents as it gets warmer. Ventilation, by the way, required condition durability lower crowns log house
Practical advice. Use smoke or a lighter to check the effectiveness of the products. Bring an open flame to the holes and observe how and with what force the flame reacts to air currents. Poor air movement - take immediate action to increase ventilation efficiency.
Let's consider one of the most difficult options - installing subfloors on joists without floor beams. This gender is often found in small rooms a private house or in cases of peculiarities of log house construction technology, when floor beams were not used.
Important. Be sure to soak all lumber twice with an antiseptic and dry it well before doing this.
Step 1. Marking. Along the perimeter of the room using water or laser level make a zero mark. This will be the finished floor level. From this mark you need to minus the thickness of the final coating and the lag. Make a second mark; the supports for the joists should be located at this level. They can be made from concrete, blocks or bricks. There must be concrete in the ground; only the above-ground part is allowed to be laid with bricks.
Step 2. Make supports in any way; the distance between them should take into account the linear parameters of the log and the total load on the floor.
Step 3. Place all the logs under the rope, do not forget to insulate them with two layers of roofing felt.
Practical advice. If possible, nail long boards along the entire length of the log at the bottom; their width should be 6–8 cm greater than the width of the log. The subfloor will be laid on these projections. Doing this is much faster and easier than fixing cranial bars on both sides of the log in an awkward position and cramped conditions. Of course, the thickness of the boards should be taken into account when marking the position of the support posts.
Step 4. Secure the joists. For this you can use metal corners and fix them to the walls of the log house.
Do not forget to leave a gap of approximately 1–2 cm between the walls and the ends of the joists; take metal corners with oblong slots to ensure free longitudinal sliding. Tighten the screws in such a way that the logs can move in the slots. For reliability, it is recommended to attach the logs with dowels through at least one post; the side of the corner fixed to the log must also be movable.
Step 5. Prepare the material for the subfloor.
We have already mentioned that in our case all the scraps are suitable, some can be covered with plywood or OSB, and some with pieces of boards or unedged materials. It is desirable that the sheets of plywood and OSB be moisture-resistant; if they are not, then soak them with drying oil or an antiseptic.
Step 6. Check the distance between the joists. If it is the same, then all the workpieces can be cut to a standard length.
Practical advice. It's much faster to work with a template. Cut one board to size; it should fit between the joists with a gap. With this template, go along the entire length of the joists. The dimensions are correct - use this piece as a template when cutting the rest of the pieces. Remember that measurements should only be taken from the template, and not from fresh cut boards. If you use a new piece each time, then errors will accumulate, and they will certainly occur, and the final boards may differ significantly from the required dimensions.
Step 7 Place the boards on the prepared shelves. We have already mentioned that these can be either wide boards nailed at the bottom of the joist or skull blocks installed later on both sides. You should not try to make the subfloor continuous; small gaps do not affect anything. In order to save materials, it is recommended to specifically leave a distance of 5–8 centimeters between individual boards. But this can only be done in cases where pressed mineral wool or foam boards are used as insulation.
Step 8. Steam and waterproofing. If you have extra money and time, you can install hydro- and vapor barriers in any case.
If you don’t want to act rashly, then figure out why such protection is needed. Mineral wool has excellent heat saving properties, does not rot, and does not promote the proliferation of microorganisms, including fungi. This is great, but it has two very significant drawbacks. First, with increasing relative humidity, thermal conductivity increases sharply. Water conducts heat well; there is no need to talk about any heat-protective functions. Secondly, it takes a very long time to dry. This means that all adjacent wooden elements will constantly be in conditions high humidity. There is no need to explain what the result of such conditions is.
If you insulate the ground floor with mineral wool, then a vapor barrier is required. It will prevent moisture from the ground from penetrating into the thermal insulation. If foam-based materials are used as thermal insulation, then such vapor barrier is unnecessary, these materials do not absorb water.
Now about waterproofing. In any case, the subfloor below does not need to be covered with such materials; there are no “gushing” sources in the underground. But after thermal insulation is laid on the subfloor, it is necessary to protect it from moisture penetration from the finished floor. This applies to all types of materials, mineral wool and foam. Waterproofing protects not only them from water, but also the subfloor boards and joists.
Insulating layer over mineral wool
With its help, not only the loads are evenly distributed over the surface, but also the logs or concrete bases. Such floors are used under laminate, piece parquet and parquet board or linoleum. The materials used are sheet plywood, OSB or fiberboard; all materials must be waterproof.
The screed must be level, the difference in height cannot exceed ±2 mm.
There are two ways to lay a subfloor over a screed: on slats or directly on the base. The first method is used in cases where the base has significant unevenness and it is necessary to lay network engineering or make additional insulation.
Align concrete covering using slats is much easier and faster than re-screeding using cement-sand mortars. Waterproofing must be placed between the slats and the screed; the height of the slats is leveled with various pads and fixed with dowels. The subfloor slabs are nailed down; the dimensions of the slabs must be adjusted to the distance between the slats. Side faces should be located in the middle of the rail; two plates are fixed on it at the same time. Make sure that the four corners do not meet in one place; this position of the sheets can cause swelling of the finishing flooring.
The second option for laying a subfloor on a screed is used on level grounds, which do not require additional insulation. To achieve an ideal surface, construction adhesive can be used. It is spread with a comb under the slabs and eliminates even the slightest irregularities, the subfloor becomes a single monolith with the screed. Further, the algorithm for installing the floor depends on the materials used.
The heads of the hardware must be completely recessed; for this purpose, special or homemade hammers are used. If according to subfloor If you plan to lay linoleum, it is recommended to sand the entire surface with an electric machine.
Putty plywood floor
Remember to always leave a gap of 1-2 centimeters between the subfloor and the wall. To prevent passage bridges from appearing in these places, place pieces of any heat insulators in them.
From the author: Hi all! When we hear something about wood, such as a wooden house, wooden furniture or a wooden floor, associations with warmth, comfort and ecological naturalness immediately arise in our heads. If we are faced with a choice between wood and plastic, between wood and stone, we will always choose wood. It’s not for nothing that many people set out to bring into their lives as many things as possible from this wonderful material. Some have already made their dreams come true by building a wooden house, while others are just planning this step. But it will be useful for both to know how to lay a subfloor on wooden beams.
The subfloor is a kind of frame, the skeleton of the floor. It contains insulating elements and other materials that give the coating the required characteristics. Let's list what it consists of:
In certain cases, you can do without some elements, but it all depends on the desired end result. Also, the subfloor is the basis for a finishing coating, for example, for parquet, laminate or boards, which will later be polished. It comes in two types: single or double.
Components for covering the rough flooring can be chipboards, plywood, OSB board. A material such as fiberboard has also begun to gain popularity. It has excellent properties and is perfect for making bottom flooring. Fiberboard does not support combustion, does not transmit sound waves well, is an excellent insulation material, frost-resistant and moisture-resistant. The components of this material are wooden fibers, “hairs,” impregnated with a solution of durable cement.
This task must be taken seriously, because not only the lifespan of the floor, but also the entire house will depend on the correct choice. When choosing wood, you should focus on the following important aspects:
Before we begin installing the rough coating, let's take a closer look at the method of its manufacture.
There are two types of subfloors: for installation on the ceiling, that is, for the manufacture of floors between floors, and for installation along the base - for the first floor.
There are two options for arranging wooden floors: along beams and along logs. The choice of one or another method of performing work depends on the individual characteristics of the room and the preferences of its owners. Among the advantages of floors made on beams, it should be noted high level their strength and low cost of work. Let's look at how to build floors on wooden beams below.
The use of wooden beams, compared to reinforced concrete ones, is distinguished primarily by their more affordable cost and ease of work. In addition, the floor has almost the same strength characteristics. Usage wooden structures helps reduce the overall weight of the house and its load on the foundation base.
Among the advantages of floor beams in a wooden house, we note:
To install a floor on wooden beams, you do not need specialized equipment, since a few people are enough to lay the beams. Main load-bearing element a wooden beam protrudes from the structure. She has a shape wooden beam, the height of which ranges from ten to thirty centimeters, and the thickness from seven to twenty centimeters. Optimal step the laying of beams ranges from 65-100 cm. To determine the cross-section of the beams, one should take into account individual characteristics premises, load and weight of the building, span length and other important factors. Wooden boards connected to each other and mounted on an edge will help replace the timber. The use of hewn logs will be the most economical option for arranging the floor.
In order to determine the cross-section of a beam installed in a particular house, you must first determine the level of load that affects it. To determine the total load, the weight of the floor, the load from people and fittings that will be installed on it are taken into account. General value the total load is four hundred kilograms per square meter. In relation to this value, the section and size of the beam is determined from the table:
If the span is about 4 m, then with an installation step of 65 cm, a beam measuring 10x20 cm will be required. Please note that the length of the beam must be 15 cm longer on each side to ensure its installation in the wall. That is, to determine the length of the beam, add 30 cm to 400 cm, you get 4.3 m.
Correct calculation of wooden beams allows you to select optimal size materials with the help of which it will be possible to correctly distribute the load in the building.
Laying of wooden beams is carried out in a direction parallel to each other. At the same time, the interval between the beams must be maintained in almost all areas, with the exception of chimney pipes and other structural elements of the floor. The interval for laying beams in a house made of wood is about one meter. If the house is made according to frame technology, then this distance is reduced to 50 cm. If this value increases, in relation to design features building, then between the beams it is installed additional element, improving their load-bearing capabilities.
If in the area close to the staircase opening there is no place for attaching the beam, an additional structure in the form of a wooden crossbar should be installed here. This will become the place to install the beams. At the same time, beams can be installed directly on or into the crossbar. In order for beams to easily withstand the loads placed on them, the following requirements must be met:
Using this relationship, it is possible to select best option beams for arranging floors. If the installation of beams is carried out in a section of fastening grooves, then the size of the beams should increase slightly. In order to reduce the thickness of the beam, if the floor is quite long, support pillars are installed between them.
If the installation of beams is carried out in outbuildings, garages, change houses or other non-residential premises, the level of average load decreases and ranges from 100 to 300 kg per square meter. At the same time, the cross-section of the beams should also be reduced.
If you could not find the specified size of beams, then it is possible to construct them independently using regular boards. At the same time, they are laid in a checkerboard pattern, connecting to each other using nails.
During the further construction of the stove and chimney in the house, one should take into account the fact that the distance between it and the beam should not be less than thirty centimeters.
The wooden beams are fixed directly to the wall. If the ceiling is installed in the attic, then the beams are installed on the last crown of the wall, made of timber or logs.
A hole should be made in the wall, comparable in size to the beam. Before installation, the beam should be covered with tow. If there are beams that are too thin, they are installed 10-15 cm into the wall. In this case, a special cutting method is used. It is possible to attach the beam using a connection called a dovetail.
This option is suitable for houses that are also made of timber. To fix a beam in a house made of wood, it is used trapezoidal connection, and a clamp is installed for additional strength. In this case, the crossbar and the beam will be on the same level. The most in a simple way Installing floor beams involves installing cranial bars and fixing the beams on them. IN in this case, the size of the bars will be about 5x5 cm.
If the house is made of panels, then to lay the beam you should make a hole in the wall in the form of a nest. Each end of the beam is installed inside the holes. In this case, each beam socket must be at the same level. The optimal depth of the nest is about 15-20 cm, and the width between the beam and the wall is about 1 cm. Each of the ends that are installed in the nest is lined with tow. Next comes the process of treating the beam with an antiseptic solution. Thus, it will be possible to extend its service life and protect the coating from mold and mildew.
It is possible to fix the tow using steel anchors. One end of the anchor is installed in the socket, and the second is fixed on the beam with screws, while the length of the beam is calculated so that it does not fit into the wall and is equal to the length of the floor.
If the house is made of brick, then installing wooden beams will also require the construction of nests. They are supporting elements for holding beams. Try to build the nests as level as possible. In order to install the beams at the same level, you will need to level the bottom of the nests using concrete mortar. After the concrete solution has completely dried, roofing felt or roofing felt is installed on its surface to protect the wood from moisture.
In this case, the size of the nest is 6-10 cm larger than the thickness of the beam. The gap between the wall and the wooden beam should be about three centimeters. The depth of the nest is about 20-25 cm, but the beam is installed inside only 15 cm. The areas of wooden beams that are placed in the nest should be coated with hot bitumen.
Next, they are wrapped with roofing felt or glassine in two layers. After this, the rest of the beam is covered with a solution with antiseptic properties. After laying the beams in the nests, they should be filled with concrete mortar, for which crushed stone is used as a filler. The beams are aligned flush with the wall.
The rolling part of the floor is the ceiling on the rolling floor. There are several ways to lay out flooring. Most often, cranial bars are installed on the beam, the cross-section of which is 4x4 or 5x5 cm. The cranial bars are installed in such a way that they are flush with the beam. Next, it is laid on the surface of the bars wooden knurl as wooden boards, the thickness of which is from 10 to 20 cm. At the same time, there should be no gaps between the boards. A ready-made wooden panel or ordinary plywood will help replace the boards. In order to create a flat ceiling on the lower floor, plasterboard sheets or plywood are installed on top of the slope.
Using another method of installing the roll-up, it is possible to significantly increase the ceiling area, if it is not large enough. Bars with a cross-section of 4x4 cm are installed on a wooden beam. The roll is laid on them, and its installation is carried out perpendicular to the beams. Next comes the installation of the filing in the form of boards, the thickness of which is the same as that of the previously installed bars.
In addition, to make the knurling, a beam is also used, the thickness of which is from 6 cm. Skull bars, the cross-section of which is 4x4 or 5x5 cm, are installed on the beam. Next follows the process of laying the beam. In this case, they are connected using the quarter method using a cut groove in the beam . The thickness of the beam depends on the height of the beams; they should be located at the same level. In this case, the beam performs the function of both rolling and filing. In addition, making a fastening groove inside the beam will help replace the cranial bars. In some cases, the bottom of the beams is left exposed and unfinished. This method relevant when used in a country style room.
Next comes the process of arranging the floor on wooden beams. To begin with, bars are installed on each of the beams, in relation to which the surface of the flooring is formed. This stage involves adjusting the floor and constructing a rough covering. Therefore, it is allowed to use unplaned boards, however, it must be covered with protective materials and impregnations.
Next comes the work of waterproofing the decking. The best option is to use a clay-sand mortar that has the consistency of putty. Another option to do waterproofing works, is the use of roofing felt. With its help it is possible to provide high-quality waterproofing, which does not take up much space. After this, the process of providing thermal insulation follows. The most popular materials for carrying out this work are the use of:
The most popular insulation for floors on wooden beams is mineral wool. It has high thermal insulation abilities, has a long service life, is resistant to rodents and is quite antiseptic.
Mineral wool is installed in such a way as to fit tightly to the floor surface. After this, a vapor barrier is installed, since this material not resistant to moisture, which can reach it through a wooden floor.
In order for the subfloor on the beams to be sufficiently strong and durable, the repair of the base must be carried out taking into account many technological nuances. Firstly, you should take into account the load that will be created on the floors, and secondly, the method of arranging the floor depends on the type of foundation (soil, concrete). The article will discuss the main nuances of arranging a rough base on wooden beams.
Beams are supporting elements that are laid into the foundation of a structure during the construction stage. Some private house projects do not provide for laying beams. In this case, the repair of the rough foundation begins with the arrangement of brick pillars - supports on which the logs will subsequently be attached. In both cases, the difference lies only in the method of installing the supports; all subsequent stages of work are identical.
If foundation repair begins with laying beams, first of all, it is necessary to determine the degree of load created on the floor. The following indicators will depend on this parameter:
It is worth noting that the cross-section of the material must be impressive to ensure sufficient rigidity of the coating. Most developers, when installing floors in modern buildings, choose logs with a cross-section of at least 150 by 150 mm. Wherein maximum distance between the beams is 70-80 cm.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the installation of beams in brick and wooden houses happens in different ways. In brick buildings, logs are tightly embedded into the wall, so even at the stage of building a house, special “nests” are made in the walls for laying logs.
What is the layout of the rough foundation for the beams? The floor base is a cake, which consists of the following layers:
Installation of the counter batten ensures the presence of a technological gap under the coating necessary for floor ventilation;
Sound-absorbing materials are often installed in multi-story buildings; Finish coating. At the final stage of repair, the layered cake is covered with finishing material - solid boards, decorative plywood, parquet, etc. It is worth noting that the base pie may consist of fewer layers. The diagram discussed above gives an idea of the possibility of laying certain materials in the process of arranging the rough foundation. The “correct” layered cake scheme is presented in the video. First floor floor. Features of the arrangement
Repair of the first floor floor requires a special installation technology
A more detailed process of arranging the floor of the first floor of the house can be seen in the video.
Finishing the floor of the second floor of a house is technologically very different from the method described above. In this case Special attention pay attention to the following points:
In most cases, flooring is installed on joists. Wood does not create a large load on the floors and, accordingly, does not cause their deformation. How is the foundation of the second floor arranged?
In order not to renovate the floor of the second floor after just a few years, you need to consider the following points:
As a rule, the floor in a log house is made of wood so as not to disturb the “ecological” harmony. Logs and beams are not heat conductors, therefore they prevent heat loss in the log house. In this case, repair of the base can be done in two ways:
When installing a rough base in a log house, you need to consider the following points:
You can see how to lay subfloors in a log house in the video below.
A floating floor is a base laid on a structure in which there are no load-bearing beams, built into the walls. In other words, the floating floor is not connected to the supporting walls in any way. A similar design is used when finishing the base in houses with strip foundations.
How to make a floating floor?
You can see how to make a floating floor in the video.
Repairing the base along beams involves using only high-quality and durable wood that can withstand large static and dynamic loads over a long period. That is why in the process of choosing logs you need to take into account the following parameters:
Characteristics of wood used for floor joists
