Do-it-yourself floor repair in the apartment
In this case, it is not necessary to immediately look for a team of craftsmen - especially since in the relevant service sector one can often meet frank "hacks". In the end, everything can result in a completely unnecessary waste of time, nerves and money with a low-quality result. Why not try it yourself? If the owner has certain skills in general construction work, if you repair the floor in the apartment with your own hands in stages, in compliance with the recommended technological rules, then everything should work out!
The stages of repair, of course, develop from the type of floors, their initial state, the serving of sentences in the premises in which the work is carried out, the finishing type of coating. This publication discusses some of the most common options.
The initial stage is determined by the scope of work
Since the owner of the apartment is thinking about repairing the floor, then, most likely, there are motivating reasons for this, unless, of course, this is a cosmetic replacement of the coating due to another whim of the wife. Therefore, to begin with, it is necessary to identify and clearly formulate problems - the entire scale of research and repair work will depend on this.
Distribution in the dissemination of messages about the city network, the vast majority of multi-storey buildings of any gender has a structure in the form of a reinforced concrete floor slab. But here the limited design can already be significantly limited. The floor can be arranged on joists attached to the base, or be customized to a specific screed.
The wooden floor on the logs usually causes the appearance of creaks, instability of the coating - the floorboards "play" underfoot, the appearance of an unpleasant smell of rot, the formation and gradual expansion of cracks. Even worse, if suddenly one of the boards cracks or its fragment falls down.
The old screed, on which the coating is laid, from “old age” can also begin to wear a teacher for surprises, especially if it was once flooded with low quality. So, the appearance of squeaks and rustling from sand or small pebbles, the “flourishing” of the screed, the detection of washed out areas of the surface, the violation of the continuity of the finish coating, and sometimes the appearance of the destruction of a large fragment is also not excluded.
In any case, if there are obvious defects, remove the old coating.
Removal of old coatings
Remove all furniture from natural necessity, completely freeing it for medical work. If the repair does not take place in the entire room at once, from room to room, it will be necessary to provide protection against the spread of dust, for example, by covering the entrance with a curtain made of thick polyethylene film or a frequently absorbed cloth, and covering the gap under the door with a wet rag roller. True, the full effectiveness of this method is very suspicious, and the best option is to provide for the resettlement of family members for the duration of the repair. However, a dust barrier is necessary in any case.
Next, the old baseboards are removed. Do this carefully so that part of the wall to which they are attached does not form. If the skirting boards can be used in the future, then they are numbered according to their location and temporarily removed.
If someone has not come across this case before, then we can remind you that the skirting boards are attached to the wall, and not to the floor surface, that is, you need to correctly adjust the lever force. It will be easier if the skirting boards are mounted on self-tapping screws or on special brackets.
The next step is to actually remove the old coating. There are several options here:
A. If the floor is covered with some kind of rolled property, then it is hooked on one of the sides and they try to carefully roll it into a roll - it will be easy to take it out. In the event that a coating (for example, linoleum or carpet) is once laid without glue, directly on a concrete stretch, this will not be difficult to do. You can first, to facilitate the action, make proportional cuts with a convenient construction knife, thereby dividing all the strips into several narrower tapes.
But often there are situations when the old material departs along with the layers of the exfoliated screed. This construction debris does not interfere with work.
It happens that once high-quality glued linoleum, when removed, begins to delaminate itself, leaving dried layers on the screed. In this case, you will have to work with a scraper (spatula), warming up these areas with a building hair dryer or moistening the old adhesive layer with a floor detergent solution.
B. More trouble can be delivered by the old "playing" parquet. If it is of no value, then its dies are sequentially removed, immediately loaded into bags, which are taken out as they are filled. If the parquet was once glued to bituminous mastic or organic-based glue, then the removal of individual dies or even entire fragments can be difficult. The "recipe" is the same - a scraper, a chisel and heating with a hair dryer.
B. To remove old tiles, it is most convenient to use the Luxury Hammer, switched to chiseling mode, with a chisel-shovel installed. If such a tool is available
if not, then everything will increase significantly, with the use of a hammer and a chisel.
D. When stripping a plank floor, the hardest part is probably picking up and separating the first floorboard. Further, when it will be possible to freely start the lever, the work will go faster. For work, you will need a nail puller with a long lever handle, a hammer, and pliers. You need to try to take out the nails carefully, without destroying the boards, since, quite possibly, this material will still serve for a new flooring after repairs or for making logs.
If the old coating is fastened with screws (self-tapping screws), then you can try to dismantle it with a screwdriver.
Well, if the plank flooring is already of any value, then the greatest value will be to make cuts using manual vertical circulation (carefully and prudently so as not to hook the concrete base, not apply logs and not “run into” a nail). After this choice of long floorboards, they become a no-brainer.
Is it worth it to remove all plank flooring if obvious defects are observed only in rare areas, and the plans should not replace a different type of surface finish? Of course, you can get by with only partial repairs - replacing worn or damaged parts. But experts unanimously advise - shoot everything completely. There is no guarantee that if the decay process develops in one area of the floor, then it will not show itself to others in a year, or even earlier. It will be cheaper to renew the base and re-lay the floor, even using old material, than to return to such repairs again after some short period.
Foundation audit
After the flooring is removed, it is imperative to respect the base.
If there are logs on the floor, and it is planned to re-lay the boardwalk, then a thorough check of the condition of these load-bearing elements and the supports that are installed on them should follow. Log beams should not have areas of decomposition, rottenness, detection of fungus - such cases of mandatory replacement. Each lag is checked under load - it should not hang out, bend, creak, etc. If necessary, update the linings that go to the guide at the desired height.
protocol after the inspection and repair of the lag treatment of all wood with an antiseptic composition - this protects it from biological decomposition.
If the condition does not cause concern, then after a reliable cleaning in the spaces between them it will be possible to lay a new coating. Perhaps most floorboards are acceptable for this. After such a bulkhead, the floor will stop creaking and will acquire an exception. If required, thermal insulation material can be laid between the lags, which will also take on the role of a sound insulator.
However, on an old wooden floor, very often the logs themselves are quite worn out, and their repair is impossible or does not guarantee durability. In this case, they will have to be dismantled in order to subsequently install new ones. When removing the lag, remember that they can be firmly attached to the base base. It is necessary to exercise accuracy and prudence in order to prevent a strong destruction of the concrete base and not add unnecessary worries to restore it.
After removing the lag, the most thorough cleaning of the base of the floor is carried out so that you can proceed to the next steps.
In the event that, after removing the old topcoat, a concrete screed opens under it, it is most carefully examined. It must be assumed that the concrete is strong in itself, and repair of such a surface is optional.
The screed must be tapped - this will help to reveal areas of its delamination, which must be removed to a “healthy” base. The surface is checked for the presence of loose places, those where, due to a violation of the pouring technology, the solution did not gain strength or was eroded due to moisture. These areas also need to be cleaned.
It should not be left on the surface of large cracks - from here the process of destructuring of the base may continue. Slots and cracks will lie cutting in breadth and depth of at least 10 - 15 mm, for subsequent repair.
Sometimes, after removing unstable sections of concrete, a generally unsightly picture opens up, such as, for example, as shown in the photograph. However, it is quite repairable.
After removing defective areas and cutting cracks, a thorough cleaning is carried out. It is best to use a powerful construction vacuum cleaner in this matter - by other means it is extremely difficult to clean the surface and the resulting cavities from small debris and dust.
Sometimes you have to resort to the complete dismantling of the entire screed to the floor slab. This can be caused by the extremely low quality of the coating, which is impractical to repair, but it is better to refill completely. Often, mold or fungus finds a “shelter” in a screed in damp rooms. Another option is when the floors require additional insulation and sound insulation, and the height of the ceilings and the dimensions of the doorways in sq.
artire will not allow to raise the level of the coating (taking into account the thermal insulation layer and finish). The same measure is resorted to when it is planned to make a wooden floor on logs instead of thin coatings.
Of course, the process of completely dismantling the screed with the help of a jacking tool is very tedious, noisy and dusty, but no other good has yet been invented. This requires some care not to apply a concrete slab to the floors. The screed is chopped off in separate pieces, which are immediately raked to the side with a shovel and packed in bags for export. It is not recommended to use even small fragments as a material for filling a new solution, since they will not increase, on the contrary, the deterioration in quality.
After removal, a thorough cleaning of the surface was carried out - as described above.
Ground surface repair
What was the floor will not happen in the future to the flooring, the concrete base under it will appear in order. So, you can expose poorly sealed seams between floor slabs, cracks along the perimeter of the wall, potholes or cavities, etc.
Such repairs are required even if a new screed is planned to be poured. The solution may not penetrate into these withdrawals, air spaces are closed there, monolithic coatings are closed and the initial zones of screed violation are stopped. This is all the more important and mandatory if the screed is to be poured onto a separating layer or onto a waterproofing film (melting screed).
The next step of the surface is precise, at least twice primed with a deep penetration compound that is designed specifically for concrete.
Such treatment significantly strengthens the surface, which is especially important when it is loose, increases hydrophobic qualities, reduces the absorbency of concrete, and improves adhesion with repair compounds. Work is limited to work after the last surface layer of the soil is completely absorbed and dried.
As a repair composition, you can use a conventional cement-sand mortar. However, it dries and chooses the required strength for a long time, and it is better not to spare money for special repair compounds, also on a cement or epoxy basis.
Leveling screed
If the old screed or wooden floor was removed and the floor slab opened, then most likely its level is very far from the horizontal. Builders could not particularly care about the strictly verified level of floors. So, what was the floor was not supposed to do next, it is recommended to base and strengthen, and at the same time level with a screed. The thickness of this most poured layer should be extremely pleasant at least 30 mm.
First of all, it is necessary to determine the magnitude of the difference, that is, to identify the peak values obtained in the United States of America and the United States of America, and "test" the numerical value of the level. A system of beacons will be set at this mark.
To fill the screed, you can use the usual cement-sand mortar, which is prepared right at the place of work. Usually they proceed from the proportion of three parts of sand to one of M-400 cement - this ratio gives an optimal surface in terms of strength and wear resistance, on which any of their existing floor coverings can then be mounted.
Those novice builders who do not want to get involved in self-proportioning can be recommended to use ready-made building dry mixes. Their composition is already optimized for the screed, and it remains only to properly close it with water, in accordance with the attached instructions.
Which floor is best for the premises of the apartment?
There are many options for finishing floors in the apartment. The most attractive include natural wood - solid board, parquet or cork, linoleum, laminate, carpet, ceramic tiles.
wooden floors
They rightly consider the costs “cosy” and environmentally friendly. They are mounted on logs, between the hours you can freely link insulating and noise-absorbing material - this will only add comfort to the floors. The coating itself can be laid on logs, or, for example, parquet - on plywood that is inspected on logs.
Wooden floors are applicable in any of the living rooms.
It is worth using them with caution in the kitchen - abundant smells, properties for this room, can be absorbed into the wood and become intrusive or even sharply unpleasant over time.
Wooden flooring is not suitable for fishing or a bathroom - due to the possible contamination of it with water.
The hallway is also not the best place for a wooden floor. Firstly, due to the increased intensity of movement in it in street shoes, this leads to rapid abrasion of wood. Secondly, the level here can also be increased. And thirdly, it can be difficult to install the coating on the logs - this can interfere with the floor level in the entrance and the location of the front door.
One of the most difficult operations when installing a wooden floor is installing a lag system. They must determine stability and stability, and their level of
bakes a perfectly horizontal plane.
For logs, high-quality wooden beams are most often used. There are a lot of ways of mounting and setting the log horizontally, from simple ones with placing bars or pieces of plywood under them, to using adjustable supports or bracket amplifiers.
Laminate
This type of coating, made from wood-polymer composite, has gained immense popularity over the past 10 ÷ 15 years. Such floors imitate natural materials surprisingly accurately, but are more affordable. And some types of laminate are significantly superior to wood in terms of wear resistance, moisture resistance and service life.
Linoleum
Despite the emergence of new types of coatings, linoleum does not give up its common positions. This is a very high height and the possibility of stacking its own strength.
carpet
This coating was very popular not so long ago, but gradually the number of its supporters decreased significantly due to the characteristic shortcomings of the material.
While the carpet is new, it looks very advantageous, it is not annoying to walk on - the surface is always warm and soft. However, even with the highest quality material, this “period of youth” ends quite quickly - the pile is wrinkled, rubbed, and reveals its color. With such a coating, a spot was sent very unexpectedly. But the main thing is that dust accumulates among the villi, and in order to clean it out, the power of a vacuum cleaner is required.
would have been found - a great solution for a children's room, especially since covers with a very interesting design are on sale. But the softness and warmth of the coating does not compensate for the increased susceptibility to allergic reactions in a child or even chronic respiratory disorders. For children's choice - a coating that can often be put in order by frequent cleaning. For the same reason, this material is not particularly suitable for an adult bedroom.
Not a carpet for walk-through rooms either - a path will be “trodden” on it very soon, the pile will be clogged with dirt and dust applicable on shoes from the street.
In an exceptional place where its share of the population can be used with care is the living room. But in this case, do not avoid frequent cleaning with a vacuum cleaner.
Almost completely used carpet in apartments where there are pets. This is both permanent hair, tangled on a fleecy surface, and a “testing ground” for cat claws. Well, if a pet accidentally “did it” on such a floor, this is generally akin to a “catastrophe”.
If, nevertheless, the choice is made in the use of carpet, then its installation, in principle, is not much different from working with linoleum. A clean, level surface is also required, such as a base poured with a self-levelling compound.
Ceramic tile
Facing floors with ceramic tiles is most appropriate in rooms with high humidity. Such a coating, when properly laid, is not afraid of dampness, does not absorb fat or oil into its surface, accidentally poured in the kitchen.
High-quality tiles are not afraid of long-term abrasion, that is, they are great for rooms with the approach of people moving - for a corridor or hallway.
The ceramic coating is easily and quickly washed from external contaminants, while freely maintaining any household detergents and solvents.
Even a direct hit of water, quite likely in the bathroom, can not be any harm to the tile.
Ceramic tiles come in a wide variety of colors, textures and patterns. For floors, of course, it is best to choose a material with a micro-relief surface, so that the roughness does not make it possible to slip on a wet floor.
Ceramic flooring can be adjusted to basically any prepared surface, and the ideal smoothness of the base is not of decisive importance here. Including, there are technologies for laying a new tile over the old one, without tedious dismantling.
Of course, there are disadvantages to ceramic coating. So, it is always very hard, and, for example, a cup or plate damaged on the floor is practically doomed to be broken. The same factor of significance and comfort of such a floor, therefore, it is extremely rarely arranged in living rooms.
Another significant drawback of ceramics refers to "cold" materials, and walking on it on bare feet or even shoes to a small extent is not entirely pleasant. True, this deficit is quite acceptable for laying under such a coating with the presence of a thermal floor.
