If the old wood flooring in your home has lost its appearance, has not decayed or broken, or if you want to heat it up, you may be interested in information on how to put the floor on wooden floors without dismantling them. So, the concrete screed will be poured on top of the existing base, for which it is initially necessary to coordinate the height of the future cover with doorways and communication lines (pipes, radiators, etc.). In most cases, door leaves have to be shortened by sawing them from below. Sometimes they resort to installing new doors, and all highways are laid in a new way, here the decision is made by the owners of the home.
For the device of high-quality screed on an existing wooden flooring, mixtures are selected that are suitable for such purposes, otherwise there is a risk of collapse destruction if the old floor is rotten or sank from old age. Here bulk liquids that are easy to level and quickly harden are the best fit. For greater strength, such a screed should be reinforced by reinforcing it, and it is advisable to check the compressive strength after 28-30 days after installation. Typically, the height of the concrete layer is 10 mm.
Concrete as a screed: installation steps
Anyone who is familiar with construction knows that any such process begins with preparatory work, and the installation of flooring in a wooden house is no exception.
Foundation preparation
The main task facing the masters in this case is to ensure high strength of the screed after it hardens.
If you are dealing with a very worn-out previous foundation in a house poured with concrete, you need to eliminate the exfoliated layer by grinding or milling. The fat, glue base, old bulk mixtures accumulated over the years of long-term operation of the floor structure must be removed, as well as the unevenness, the differences of which exceed 10 mm. For such purposes, special cement-based mixtures are used, or, more simply, concrete. The final alignment can only be performed after the solidification of the mass that has filled the recesses is complete.
Arranging the fill on the old wooden flooring in the house, all rotten and broken boards are removed, and new ones are nailed to their lags. It is also necessary to ensure that each board is securely fixed and does not swing, which can be eliminated using conventional screws. In no case should there be a creak or deflection of the floor when exposed to its surface. If there are holes in the flooring through which concrete will leak, they are sealed with putty on wood, which consists of wood dust and plastic components. You can also prepare such a putty yourself: mix the sawdust with oil paint in a ratio of 4: 1. Water-soluble putties are not suitable for such purposes.
In stages, before the main process, the rough floor is prepared as follows:
- Plinths are dismantled, and in their place are placed planks that will cover the openings between the wall and the floor.
- The gaps between the installed planks and the base are putty. After removing the planks between the wall and the floor, the ventilation of the underfloor space will be restored.
Padding
The wooden flooring in the house needs to be sanded, and then with a vacuum cleaner to remove all debris and primed. The primer will significantly improve the adhesion between concrete and the old coating and prevent air bubbles. Also, the soil will not allow the water contained in the solution to quickly absorb into the wood and will ensure uniform spreading of the mixture on the base. Dry flooring needs to be primed twice, and in the case of multi-layer leveling, each filling layer is processed. Make sure that before applying the primer, the floor is not wet even to a small extent, otherwise the result will not give the desired effect.
Reinforcement
For a weak wooden base in the house, it is best to purchase a fiberglass mesh that will strengthen the leveling layer. It is mounted directly on the base with brackets and a special stapler. Staples will not allow the grid to float after pouring the solution. The reinforcement system must be mounted in the middle or slightly below a third of the thickness of the screed. When hammering the brackets, control the strength of their fixation to the flooring.
Knead Concrete
Particular attention is paid to the preparation of the solution, because the final result depends on its quality. Basically, for such purposes, dry compositions in bags of 25 kg are purchased. About 6.5 liters of water are consumed for such an amount of dry matter. If the required consistency is not obtained, another 0.5 liters of liquid can be gradually added. Do not overdo it, as the liquid solution is difficult to fill, and it will not have the necessary strength properties. The kneading process itself is best carried out using a drill with a special nozzle until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. The finished solution must be used within 15 minutes after kneading, otherwise it will harden and will be unsuitable for work. Also, do not forget to control the temperature in a wooden house and in mortar. The optimal indicator is not lower than + 10C. If you carry out work in a new, unheated building, warm water will come to the rescue, the temperature of which should not exceed + 35 ° C.
Pour concrete
Now that the wooden base and mortar are ready, you can mount the bulk floors in the house. The screed is poured continuously until its surface is perfectly aligned. In work, spatulas with steel or serrated blades are used. After 4-5 hours after the wooden flooring is covered with mortar, you can gently step on it. 6 hours after the completed process, surface grinding is allowed, if necessary. It is usually carried out for future staining or applying liquid floors. Before grinding, they take out boards that are temporarily installed instead of skirting boards, they have fulfilled their mission and are no longer needed.
We process expansion joints
In those places where there were expansion joints (doorways) using a grinder with a diamond wheel, a layer of screed is cut. This process is performed only after the filling surfaces have hardened and are allowed to walk on them. Next, each seam must be filled with special material that is designed exclusively for such purposes. It has high elasticity and hermetically fills holes in the screed. When you will calculate the required amount of material for bulk floors, proceed from the following parameters: for a layer thickness of 1 mm, 1.5 kg / sq.m is consumed. mixtures.
After finishing work, be sure to clean the tool until the solution has hardened on it, which will complicate such actions. To do this, rinse the spatulas and rules with water, and clean the hardened mass with a rough brush or a spatula with a flat blade. Now you know that in a house with an old wood coating, you can arrange a screed of concrete mortar, and you are also familiar with the technology of such work.