The reinforced concrete floor slab has two sides. One serves as a ceiling and has a flat surface built into the production process. The second one has a large number of irregularities and defects. These may be metal protrusions of reinforcement, recesses and bulges. The screed can be made on the ground and on a wooden base.
Preparatory work.
To smooth out defects in a reinforced concrete slab, you need to have a hatchet, a scraper and a hair brush. Cut out all protrusions and protruding reinforcement. Dust the base of the slab and prime it. The use of liquid glass modified with silicon dioxide in the primer allows the composition to remain in its original state.Cover the slab with this solution, and you will be sure that you will not flood the neighbors on the lower floor. Cracks and depressions must be eliminated before you begin to fill with leveling mixtures.
Selection of screed material.
Construction markets have a large selection of dry ready-mixes, supplemented with hardeners and plasticizers. Ready-made mixtures of sand and cement in proportion can be used for screed. The dry mixture “smooth floors” will make your work easier, as it is self-leveling.
Screed technology.
Screed is performed by leveling the floors, or by filling in water and electric tape heating systems. To work, you need to use beacons, installing them at a distance of no more than a meter. Using a level, make marks on them that will show the maximum level of filling the solution. The work starts from one of the walls, moving towards the exit. When laying the solution, it is necessary to level and compact it. You will get high-quality floors if you use two types of mixtures at the same time. The first is for leveling, the second is finishing. All compositions are based on cement. Therefore, they must be stored in a dry place and follow the recommendations indicated on the packaging.
The shelf life of dry mixtures has time limits. Diluted compounds change their consistency, so work is carried out immediately after they are combined with water. Self-leveling mixtures are effective for small areas. They can even cover floors without beacons. When working with large areas, the work cannot be completed efficiently without them.
When using conventional sand and cement compositions, it is necessary to pull the cord over the entire floor area to the beacons in the places of the marks made by the level.It is recommended to cover the finished floors with polyethylene, ensuring gradual hardening. The beacons must be fixed to the base of the floor using alabaster or thick cement mortar. Do not perform work at low or high temperatures. Cracked floors are defective.
When using a semi-dry screed, you must follow the rules of technology. The mixture is laid, compacted and leveled. Control beacons must be present with this method. Don't trust your intuition, it can let you down. You can add water by sprinkling it at the end of the entire process. The quality of work will not suffer from this.
When carrying out work, you can use mortar beacons. To do this, according to the calculated level, piles of mortar are thrown at the established mark, which must harden. This method will not require eliminating the holes left after pouring. Or remove standard structures from the liquid mortar after it has been compacted and leveled as it moves along the base of the floor.
In some cases, to provide a thick layer of screed, reinforced mesh is used. It will improve the quality of work.
By following the work technology, guided by the recommendations indicated on the packaging, you will be able to screed the floors yourself. The entire further process of laying them depends on this.
