What mortar level the walls. Do-it-yourself wall alignment

Or putty.

How well this part of the work is carried out will directly depend on the appearance of the finished surface and its performance.

If pre-treatment is neglected, then an uneven base may begin to deform and crack over time, which will violate the aesthetics of the top, finish coating.

Any type of cosmetic repair, or painting, tiling, involves an indispensable preparatory procedure. Hired professional finishers can do it, but you can do it yourself.

First you need to inspect the entire room, determine the size and nature of defects and irregularities. Without this, it will be difficult to plan the progress of the upcoming work.

What is the best way to align the walls, how to do it easily and quickly?

To accurately assess vertical flaws, you can use the water or.

So the degree of curvature of existing defects will be visible more clearly.

When the assessment activities are completed, the actual leveling of the wall surfaces begins.

How to level the wall yourself. Training

Depending on the type and size of flaws, the number of defects and irregularities, various methods for leveling walls are distinguished.

  • Dry. It involves the installation of auxiliary structures of various types. For example, it can be drywall. The method is more time consuming, because it will require the manufacture of a frame, on which sheets of material will then be attached.
  • Raw. This method involves the use of special building compounds: putty and plaster, including. This method is well suited in the presence of irregularities ranging in size from three to five centimeters. All holes are carefully sealed with mortar, the resulting irregularities are carefully smoothed out.

Necessary materials and tools

For each type of finishing construction work, materials are needed that cannot be dispensed with. To align the walls you will have to stock up:

They have some disadvantages: drying time, not very good adhesion, slight cracking. The first type of mixtures can be considered more versatile.

Gypsum

Gypsum-based compounds are especially popular for work.

Leveling the surface with gypsum allows you to apply a fairly wide layer, which dries quickly, has excellent plasticity, high heat and noise insulation properties.

There are special gypsum compositions - rotgypsum and rotbands: special additives in them significantly increase the adhesive properties.

Heat-saving

Straw, sawdust and other natural materials are used as a filler, thanks to which it is possible to maintain an optimal microclimate in the room.

wall leveling process

Leveling walls with plaster

What is the structure of work on the preparation of the wall?
Before starting work on leveling the walls, it is important to do special preparatory work: dismantle the old coating, evaluate the work surface intended for.

It should not delaminate or crumble. Often, already in the process of working on the old layer, after the freshly applied one has dried, defects become noticeable that were not visible before. In order for the result of the work carried out to please you, observe the following conditions:

  • the wall should be properly;
  • the building mix must be chosen correctly;
  • Beacons are a must.

For brickwork it is best to use one of the types of cement mixtures, the cost of which is very negligible. The material can be applied in a sufficiently thick layer, which is especially important when processing masonry walls. But it is important to remember that if the applied layer is thicker than two centimeters, a plaster mesh is certainly used to reinforce the composition.

For smooth concrete surfaces gypsum-based leveling compounds are suitable. They contain microparticles of quartz, which give the surface some roughness. Before that, she wall must be primed. For reinforcement, a polymer mesh of five by five millimeters is used.

For foam concrete surfaces gypsum-based mixtures are also used with a mandatory preliminary primer.

Installation of beacons

What is called beacons in construction?

These are a kind of guides, with the help of which the surface leveling is controlled when using liquid products. In this capacity, a special perforated profile is usually used for plastering, whose width is determined by the thickness of the applied composition.

It is very convenient to use purchased factory products that do not have to be removed after the events, and, accordingly, to mask the irregularities resulting from this.

Such beacons are located vertically, on strips of a quick-hardening mixture intended for plastering. The distance between individual beacons is calculated according to the size of the rule so that it does not slip off them, relying on a pair of neighboring ones.

Plastering technique

To do this, you need a tool with a handle, which is called the "falcon": outwardly, it resembles a familiar trowel, but has a much larger base. With such a “falcon” and a trowel, an excess amount of solution is thrown into the gap between individual beacons.

From the "falcon" the mixture is collected with a trowel, then dumped onto the wall. The use of such a device improves labor productivity, since there is no need to constantly approach the working container for the mixture. And this reduces the time required for the event.

Further, the solution is neatly distributed by the rule from the bottom up. To apply a more voluminous and massive layer of plaster, make a rough mark without leveling. When this preliminary layer dries up, a finishing mark is carried out, which is to be leveled.

Leveling the wall with putty

Before starting work, the surface is primed. The process of puttying with your own hands is not difficult.

But the method is not suitable in all cases: it is possible to level the wall in this way only if the height differences are not too significant.

What will be needed for work?

You will need:

  1. narrow and wide spatulas,
  2. low cuvette.

The mixture should have a sufficiently thick consistency so that the resulting stirring does not change its shape.

Over time, the composition begins to thicken, so periodically a little primer or water is added to it.

Getting rid of bumps with it can be considered one of the most effective, and at the same time low-budget options.

It can be done with or without a frame.

Aligning the walls with the frame


If you prefer the frame method, then you must first make the frame itself - sheets of material will be mounted on it.

It can be made from:

  • metal profile (rack-mount and guide)
  • or wooden beam.

The latter is less durable, since the wood is afraid of exposure to moisture, microorganisms, and can be deformed. And yes, it's a bit more difficult to install. It is for this reason that the metal profile often acts as the basis.

To build the frame, we screw a pair of parallel profiles to the ceiling (in relation to each other).

After 40-60 cm, taking into account the width of the sheet, we place the guides. At this stage, it is most rational to conduct insulation with foam plastic or mineral wool, if there are intentions to do this.

When the frame is ready, drywall sheets begin to be attached to it. To do this, you will need special screws made of oxidized metal.

The distance between the individual fasteners should be between 40 and 60 centimeters. Hats are a little "recessed" into the material.

Aligning walls without a frame

The frameless method has significant differences. Sheets of material are attached directly to the surface to be finished with glue. The obvious disadvantage of this method is that walls with large-scale defects cannot be fixed with it.

There are other ways to level the walls. To do this, use plastic panels or sheets of durable plywood. The technology of their installation is similar to the actions with drywall, only wooden blocks are used instead.

This is a simple and quite economical way, which is popular. Among other things, it allows you to mask all communications. They are actively used in the decoration of bathrooms, country houses and garages.


A beautiful apartment and high-quality renovation, tastefully selected modern furniture and a comfortable interior are the dream of any person. But only all this splendor fades in rooms with uneven walls. Very often, people try to hide a small blockage and cover it with furniture or resort to other tricks. In vain, since uneven walls need to be leveled, not masked. For example, furniture only emphasizes such a disadvantage. Therefore, in this article we will talk about how to align the walls and achieve the desired result.

The reasons for uneven walls can be different. Ceilings and walls in old houses often leave much to be desired, but in many new buildings they are also not ideal. Most panel houses have curved walls due to the fact that the panels are a little uneven. But only not to such an extent that the house cannot be put into operation - this aspect does not affect its reliability in any way. During the installation itself, the plate could turn around a little. For a more visual representation of the situation, you need to find a landscape sheet of paper and put it on the table. The sheet is even, but if you take it by the ends diagonally, and then pull one end up and the other down, you can see an interesting picture. What happens to the sheet? A concrete slab can also be bent according to the same principle. This deviation is insignificant, but it is enough to block the walls and violate the geometry of the corners in the room.

Definition of vertical deviations

It is quite possible to level the walls with your own hands, but first you need to determine where there is a blockage. To do this, you should pay attention to the corners, if there is an assumption that some wall is uneven, then you need to check the correctness of your thoughts. This is done in an elementary way: a heavy object is tied to one end of a thin but strong rope, and the opposite end must be attached to the corner of the junction of the upper ceiling and the wall. Well, are the line of the wall and the rope parallel? This means that the walls are even, and if deviations are observed, that is, there is a blockage and it needs to be eliminated.

Important: it is advisable to carry out such a check together - one person holds the cord, and the second evaluates the parallelism of the lines from a distance of several meters.

There is another option for assessing the condition of surfaces. For this process, you will also need a homemade plumb line with a weight that does not rotate. In each corner you need to perform the so-called hanging. To do this, the plumb line is fixed on a nail driven into the wall.

Important: the nail is hammered near the ceiling, so that the plumb line is located near the wall, but does not touch its surface.

A similar operation must be carried out with the other edge of the wall. The next step is to stretch the cords along the four lighthouse points, as a result, you can get an accurate picture of the state of the wall surface.

Determination of the verticality of the walls

With a slight deviation of 10 mm during the repair, it will be necessary to carry out putty work using gypsum and cement mixtures for leveling. And with more significant vertical deviations, it will be necessary to resort to leveling the walls with drywall.

Getting Started - Surface Preparation

How to properly align the walls, that is, what order should be followed? First, the surface is prepared: a solid base and the absence of crumbling areas are important. It is also necessary to remove the remnants of old wallpaper and dilapidated plaster. Next, the prepared wall is carefully primed with a roller, brush or sprayer. The primed base should dry for about 12 hours, so this work is best done closer to the night, so as not to waste time waiting.

Ways to level walls

Depending on the materials used, there are 2 ways to level the curvature of the walls. The first is raw (using building mixtures) and the second is dry (assembly of structures). Both methods are good, but only with strict observance of all processes. And each has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Basically, leveling with plaster is used for small differences (30-50 mm). Of course, they can also be used for surfaces with greater curvature. But these are additional financial costs for both labor and materials. Therefore, the best option in such cases is the installation of the frame and lining it with drywall.

Plaster leveling with beacons

So, if the irregularities have already been determined, and the surface of the walls has been prepared, you can proceed to direct leveling.

Important: do not forget about electricity - you must first turn it off. And when cleaning the walls, act carefully so as not to damage the electrical wiring elements that are hidden in the wall.

For a strong fixing of the plaster, the walls must be primed. This process prevents extremely undesirable delamination of materials, and also increases moisture resistance. For cement mixtures, cement milk is used, consisting of cement, water and sand.

Installation of beacons before "wet" leveling with plaster

When wet leveling with plaster, it is best to use the “beacon” technology. This is a special metal element made of flexible aluminum. The lighthouse is built into a curved wall, and it is along it that the subsequent alignment takes place. For greater clarity, we can give the following example: if the wall is littered at the top, then it can be understood that the lighthouse must be rested against the wall from below, and some material will be placed on top between the wall and the lighthouse, for example, a rotbant - it eliminates unevenness.

Beacon installation process

The installation of lighthouse rails begins with the installation of profiles on opposite walls. The verticality of each lighthouse is checked by a plumb line, and such profiles are mounted on the wall with building plaster. Gypsum is applied to the rail at several points while maintaining a distance of 50 cm. Then a cord is pulled through the lower, middle and upper profiles. The following rails are also mounted on the wall, but so that the cord barely touches them.

Important: the distance between the beacons is selected based on the size of the tool with which the plaster will be applied.

It is also possible to fix the beacons with self-tapping screws. This slows things down a bit, but then it makes it a lot easier. Even a non-professional can easily adjust the verticality of the lines by twisting or unscrewing the screws.

What is the best way to level a wall?

The leveling composition depends on the maximum thickness of the leveling layer, as well as on the type of binder - cement or gypsum. The cement mixture is most suitable for a wet room (bathroom, kitchen), and it is advisable to use the gypsum composition in living rooms, because it perfectly maintains the microclimate of the room.

Wet leveling

When the display of lighthouses is over, there is little left to do. Now you need to dilute 10-15 liters of plaster and apply it between the beacons. The mixture should have a certain consistency, it should not be too thin (will slip) and too thick (will be difficult to apply). If gypsum compositions are used in the work, then their quantity should be such that the mixture is worked out within an hour.

After applying the mixture, a rule of the required length is taken and pressed against the beacons, and then the surface is leveled with movements from the bottom up, or vice versa, whichever is more convenient for you. If in some places there was not enough mixture, then it is necessary to add it and again carry out the rule. These actions are repeated until the wall becomes perfectly flat.

When the applied layer of plaster dries, it will be possible to notice the roughness of the wall. For this reason, there is a need for its processing with finishing putty and grinding with fine sandpaper.

The advantages of this leveling method are that the useful area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room is not taken, and the disadvantages are that preliminary cleaning of the walls is necessary and this is a rather laborious process, after which a lot of debris and dust remain.

Plaster square - a device for forming ideal angles

A separate moment of the alignment process is the corners. How to align the corners of the walls, because these are the most problematic areas? It is advisable to use an angle trowel, level and other auxiliary tools in this work. Aligning corners is a painstaking task and requires experience and knowledge. For a faster setting of the mortar in the corners, you need to add a small amount of gypsum to the mixture.

How to eliminate significant irregularities?

How to level the walls in an apartment with large differences and terrible curvature of the walls? In this case, it is rational to resort to the installation of specific structures, followed by sheathing them with drywall. This method has the main drawback - “eating up” the usable area, but it is also characterized by positive aspects: there is no need for preliminary work, and communications can be hidden inside the constructed frame and sound and heat insulating materials can be laid.

This method has the right to life. First, the frame is mounted, which is subsequently sheathed with drywall. It is possible to level the blockage, but still the blockage does not disappear anywhere, but simply hides under the skin. If the apartment is small, then such frauds will make the living space even smaller.

Preparing walls for wallpaper

If repairs have begun in the apartment, then the question will surely arise, how to align the walls under the wallpaper? Wallpaper and other decorative coverings require a smooth surface to be prepared.

If the irregularities are minor, you can safely treat the wall with ordinary putty. For this purpose, it is necessary to use a spatula, which is designed for jointing cracks and their subsequent puttying. The most convenient option is to use two medium-sized spatulas.

Perfectly smooth walls - a beautiful room

With a large amount of work, you can dilute the putty in the basin so as not to constantly jump up and down. And for small holes and crevices, a small vessel is used.

Important: if the volumes are still large, then it is better to dilute the mixture with a drill with a special nozzle.

And if the layer is thick, then the surface must first be treated with a starting putty. With the right technology, putty is applied in several stages, but only when the previous layer dries. Three layers are usually applied, the last one is the finishing putty to finish the job. Then the entire surface is cleaned with sandpaper.

The bathroom is no exception to the rule.

The most common reason for leveling the walls of the bathroom is the type of future finish. If it is a tile, then you need to know how to align the walls under the tile. It should be noted that working with tiles is a responsible and serious process that needs a competent approach, and uneven walls are no exception. So, before proceeding with the main process, you need to think about how to align the walls in the bathroom, adhering to the technology.

Laying ceramic tiles is possible only on even walls, because if you ignore this issue, the result can be disastrous: protrusion of the masonry with bumps and spoiled appearance of the room. The most common alignment method is the same beacons.

Scheme for installing beacons for alignment

Walls with lighthouses are more durable, because after the completion of work they are not removed from the wall, but continue to support the plaster. When working with plaster angles, you can get excellent 90-degree angles.

The plaster is applied according to the principle of "throwing" the wall. For this purpose, it is advisable to use a trowel. A small area is covered at a time, and not the entire surface of the wall. After the mixture is applied, you need to give it time to dry, and then you can cut off the excess protruding parts of the solution that go beyond the beacons. Water is added to the cut solution and the following intervals are rubbed again.

Installation of beacons with gypsum mixture

After the plaster has dried, the walls are primed, and then the tiles are laid. The primer promotes better adhesion of the adhesive solution to the base.

There are options for leveling walls, knowing all the subtleties and tricks of this laborious process, you can achieve a good result. The work of a plasterer, a master of his craft, is based on a quality surface, plaster composition and accurate beacons.

Video instruction for leveling walls

If you still have questions and need to learn everything in detail about how to align the walls - a video example with well-written material should help.

The main thing is to strive for something better, and not live on the principle of "it will do." No, it won’t do, a person’s housing should be properly designed: with smooth walls, beautiful decor and suitable furniture. Living in a room with such conditions is much more comfortable than contemplating crooked corners and collapsed walls every day. Perfectly even walls are the norm to strive for, since neither high-quality wallpaper nor compositionally installed furniture will hide the curvature.

Very often, when starting to finish the walls, you may encounter a problem that is associated with the quality of the base. Moreover, this problem occurs in most new buildings: the walls of the apartment are uneven, with many different defects. Such a surface cannot be painted, glued wallpaper on it, because. the wallpaper pattern will “float”, and the sheets will stick crookedly. How to properly level the walls with your own hands so that the surface becomes perfectly flat?

How to align the walls with your own hands

There are two ways to level the walls: using drywall sheets and using dry mixes. The plasterboard wall can be further putty, paint, glue wallpaper on it. But many craftsmen do not recommend gluing tiles on drywall: they say that its surface is too smooth. A universal way to level walls is to use dry mixes (plasters, fillers). The finished surface turns out to be perfectly flat and is perfect for any material - tiles, wallpaper or just for painting.

How to evaluate surface roughness

Before starting work on leveling the walls, it is necessary to measure the unevenness of the surface. To do this, you will need a plumb line or a long level (2-2.5 m). Drive a nail into one of the corners of the room, leaving about 2-3 mm on the surface. This will be the first beacon. Now take some kind of load, for example, a nut and attach it by the thread to the nail. Hang the plumb line so that the weight almost reaches the floor. When the weight stops swinging, the plumb line forms a straight line. Then drive the second carnation into the bottom of the wall so that the head of the nail and the thread are in line.

First of all, you need to carefully prepare the surface for work.

In the same way, drive in nails and lower the plumb line from the opposite side of the wall. You will get four driven nails around the perimeter of the wall and, accordingly, two straight lines. Now, to measure the unevenness, you will need a long thread that you need to stretch from one end of the top nail to the opposite side of the bottom one. When fastening the thread cross to cross, make sure that it does not come into contact with the wall. Stretched threads are the best guideline by which you can see the deviation and you can decide how to align the walls, videos and photos of the process of installing beacons will help you imagine this system.

Now, thanks to the cords stretched at four points, you can see the exact condition of the wall surface in the room. If the deviation is small and does not exceed 10-15 mm, gypsum or cement mixtures for leveling will be needed to level the wall.

How to tile walls

If it is planned to finish the wall with tiles or tiles in the room, it is necessary to level the walls with dry building mixtures. This method is considered more time-consuming than, for example, leveling with drywall sheets. We will take a closer look at how to level the walls in an apartment using mixtures.

The first step is surface preparation. Clean the walls of the old coating (wallpaper, paint, loose plaster), turn off the power supply. The second stage is the base primer. It is necessary to prime the surface so that the plaster is well fixed on the surface. It increases moisture resistance, prevents delamination of materials. Under cement mixtures, the so-called "cement milk" is usually used - a solution of sand, water and cement.

In order for the tile to lay flat and without defects, the surface must be perfect.

To calculate how to align the walls, you need to install indicative beacons. The installation of rails, which will serve as a guide, begins with the installation of a profile on opposite sides of the wall. The vertical position of the lighthouse is checked using a plumb line. The profile is fixed on the wall with building plaster - it is applied to the rail at several points. Now pull the cord through the profiles in the middle, bottom and top. Install the rest of the rails so that the cord touches them lightly. The distance between the beacons is selected in accordance with the size of the tool with which the plaster will be applied.

Choosing a leveling compound

After that, you can start applying the building mixture. When choosing a leveling compound, pay attention to the maximum thickness of the layer to be applied and the type of bonding material. Gypsum building mixtures are best used for living rooms (bedroom, living room, children's room, etc.), as they support the indoor microclimate well. For damp rooms, such as the kitchen or bathroom, cement mixtures are recommended. Cement-based mixes do not allow moisture to penetrate into the concrete base, which prevents the development of fungus and mold.

The choice of a dry mix must be taken very seriously, because this is the key to successful repair work. In this case, you can not save by buying cheap building mixtures of dubious production. In addition, remember that a certain type of mixture is suitable for each room. For example, you can not level the walls of the bathroom with gypsum mixture, which may remain after leveling the wall in the bedroom. Regarding brands, you can get recommendations directly from the hardware store.

Plaster solutions can be prepared independently. For cement mortar, you will need 1 part of M400 cement and 6 parts of sand. Pour sand into the mixing box, and then add a layer of sand. Mix the ingredients thoroughly, start adding water gradually. Stir until creamy. Some craftsmen prepare cement mortars based on 1 part of cement and 2-3 parts of sand. A mixture with a small amount of sand is more plastic, and therefore easier to work with. Dilute the purchased dry mix according to the instructions. Ready-made solutions must be used within 1-2 hours after preparation, otherwise they may lose their properties.

Work order

By determining the curvature of the walls using a plumb line, you can calculate the approximate costs and consumption of the selected material. By the way, in order to reduce costs, it is not at all necessary to plaster all the walls to a perfectly smooth surface. In some cases, it is enough to carry out finishing work only on those surfaces on which it is very noticeable: walls on which light falls, walls opposite a window, etc. The surface behind the furniture, cluttered with cabinets, does not have to be perfectly smooth. But, if you decide to fix only the most visible defects, think over this step well, all of a sudden after a while you decide to rearrange or re-paste the wallpaper, and all the bumps will become noticeable.

The work of leveling walls with a plaster falcon requires certain skills, but is not too difficult.

Get your plastering tools ready. In order to level the walls with your own hands, you will need a spatula for mixing, spreading and smoothing the mortar, a drill with a nozzle (construction mixer) for mixing dry mixes and a plaster falcon. The stucco falcon is an indispensable assistant when carrying out finishing work. Many craftsmen do without it, despite the fact that this tool greatly simplifies the process of puttying and plastering. It is a square shield 45x45 or 40x40 cm, in the middle of which a metal or wooden handle is attached. The required amount of plaster is applied to the falcon, which is immediately used. Using a falcon, you will not need to constantly lean towards the bucket.

Clean the walls of old paint and wallpaper. After cleaning, carefully inspect the walls for rust stains, soot, oil stains, and fungus. Remove all defects found mechanically. For some types of stains, special acid or alkaline formulations can be used. After that, inspect the old plaster, selectively tapping the wall surface. Beat poorly adhering plaster from the surface in order to subsequently plaster this place with a stronger mortar.

It is impossible to carry out finishing work on a damp wall. All damp places from old plaster or stains must be dried. After that, the surface of the wall is carefully primed. Due to the fact that the primer penetrates deep into the substrate surface, it significantly improves the adhesion of plaster layers applied to the wall.

In preparation for work, clean the floors of debris and cover them with thick paper or cardboard so that you do not subsequently clean them from the dried solution. So, let's get to work. Take a plastering spatula in your right hand, and a falcon in your left. Having typed the required amount of plaster on its surface of the falcon, throw a portion of the solution onto the wall and start leveling. You can plaster a wall by spreading mortar from a falcon. At the same time, it must be attached directly to the wall and the falcon should be directed from the bottom up with the contents.

Without experience, it will be quite difficult to get a perfectly flat surface, because. this kind of work requires accuracy and accuracy. The same beacons will help to achieve even walls. As a guide, there can be slats of the required length, a width of 2-3 cm and a thickness equal to the thickness of the plaster coating. You can fix the slats with plaster mortar or nails.

Installing beacons will help achieve a better result and facilitate the alignment process itself.

Plastering with beacons is done as follows: the solution is leveled with a trowel and carried out as a rule in the direction from bottom to top. The amount of mortar is added until the layer of plaster reaches the level of the beacons. After that, the rails are carefully removed, and the remaining space is filled with mortar.

At the junction of the walls and ceiling, angles are formed that need to be made absolutely equal. Curved corners can also form at the point where two walls meet. How to align the corners of the walls, and remove defects after plastering? Alignment can be done both on the level and on the plane (along the bumps). If the walls are being prepared for wallpaper, then it is better to level the corners. For other types of finishes: decorative plaster, painting, etc. corners can be flattened.

When leveling the corners with gypsum plaster, the lighthouse is made in the very corner, after which the corner is tightened to the width of the rule. The smoothness of the transition from the corner to the wall depends on the width of the rule. The longer the tool, the less noticeable the transition will be. When working, it is gypsum plaster (starting putty) that should be used, since it is this mixture that allows you to even out thin layers without sagging.

Alignment of walls for tiles using drywall is of high quality

You can align the inner corners with a reinforcing tape. Moisten a wide spatula with water and apply putty on both sides of the inner corner. Make sure that the surface is evenly covered and that the putty layer is not too thin. On both sides of the corner, the coverage of the area should be about 50 mm. Dip the reinforcing tape into a bucket of water and bend it in half lengthwise. Now put it on the corner and press it into the putty. Start straightening it by holding the top end and straightening to the bottom edge.

Then moisten the wide spatula (10 cm) again and run it over each side of the corner. In this case, the edge of the spatula must be kept as close as possible to the bend. The force with which you need to press should be sufficient to squeeze out excess putty from under the tape. To avoid sagging and unevenness, clean the surface of the corner with a dry spatula. It is not recommended to use sandpaper or a sanding grid for stripping, because. doing so may damage the tape. Repeat the application of putty until your angle is perfectly equal. Apply the last coat with an angled trowel more than 25 cm wide. After applying a fresh coat of plaster, run the angled trowel over the wall surface, pressing it against both sides. Now grab a 15-25 cm section along the wall. If you get a slight corrugation - remove it with a thin layer of finishing putty.

How to align the walls under the wallpaper

It is much easier to level the walls with drywall than with dry mixes. Gypsum boards are fixed on a special frame made of metal profiles. A standard drywall sheet is 2500x1200x12.5 cm. Based on these parameters, determine the amount of material.

Measure the walls. If their length is the same at the top and bottom, then you can safely continue. If the length is different, this must be taken into account when mounting the frame. For example, the length of the lower edge of one wall is 3 m, while the length of the opposite wall is 3 m 5 cm. Therefore, these 5 cm must be taken into account when initially marking the room for the frame. You need to start marking from a longer wall, taking into account the distance under the guide.

The walls under the wallpaper, lined with drywall, look flawlessly smooth and even.

Next, stepping back 3-4 cm from the wall and ceiling, screw in the self-tapping screw. Attach a plumb line to it on a thick thread (you can take a regular nut). Now tie a thread to the screws and pull it. Do the same operation in all corners of the room, stretch the threads on the floor and near the ceiling. Thus, the contour of the future drywall sheet will be obtained. After checking the length of the parallel lines, remove the threads and attach the guides to the screws. After that, insert the guide racks into the guides on the floor and ceiling, in increments of 40-50 cm, after sawing them to the height of the room. The resulting frame must be firmly strengthened. This is done by fixing the racks to the guides with self-tapping screws. Now each of the racks must be firmly attached to the wall. Use simple wooden planks for this, slipping them into the gap between the wall and the gypsum board wall, attaching them with long self-tapping screws, after inserting the dowels. Drywall sheets are attached to each rack in 30-40 cm increments. In this case, the heads of the self-tapping screws need to be slightly sunk into the drywall.

When you install all the sheets, you will get a perfectly flat surface that can be painted, wallpapered or applied to it with decorative plaster.

Video guide

Why align the walls?

The walls are aligned for many reasons, of course, initially it is an aesthetic component. The appearance of your apartment depends entirely on the geometry of your walls and the smoother they are, the more expensive and elegant your apartment looks. Of particular value are the aligned walls with putty, and not sheathed with drywall, because. the latter visually reduces the space of the apartment, and also creates inconvenience associated with its operational properties (it is difficult to hang pictures, mirrors, etc. on drywall).

In addition, the owners of apartments with broken wall geometry (this is especially common in the so-called "Khrushchev") suffer from wavy skirting boards (both ceiling and floor), which follow the contour of the wall and break the visual geometry in your apartment. If you are faced with a similar situation, then this is a great solution for you.

Materials and tools required for alignment


Prices for mixtures for leveling walls and ceilings

Mixtures for leveling walls and ceilings

Step-by-step instructions for leveling a wall in an apartment without beacons

  1. So, materials and tools are ready, it's time to start leveling. Initially, we prepare the walls, tear off the old wallpaper and clean the surface. In order to free the wall surface from old wallpaper, it is necessary to moisten the wallpaper with water using a sprayer (which is sprayed with flowers), so it will be easier to remove the old wallpaper.

  2. Next, we unscrew all the screws and bolts, there were no screws on my walls, except for the stretch ceiling, which I removed, as well as a special mount on which I. We unscrew all the fasteners and screws from the walls.

  3. Attachment removed. The next step is sockets and light. For my TV, which will be located on the wall, I decided to make an outlet. So, with the help of a grinder, we cut the wall and, it is advisable to lay the wiring in the cable channels.

  4. The hole for the socket must be drilled using a special round nozzle on the drill.

  5. The next step is this. Priming of the walls is necessary so that the adhesion of the putty to the wall is strong enough.

  6. Has the wall priming been completed? Now let's start sewing the seams. In order to seal the walls as well as possible, it is necessary to add PVA glue to the solution, and then mix the solution with a drill with a special nozzle. You can see the process of mixing the solution in the video below.
  7. Then comes the next stage - this is the application of a rough layer. The rough layer is applied using plaster, which is sometimes worth mixing with PVA building glue, for stronger adhesion to the wall surface.
  8. The application is not carried out spontaneously, ideally, you need to install special building beacons, adjusted using the building level, and then, based on this, use the building rule to apply plaster to the wall, but this is a very costly method in terms of plaster consumption. It is easier to use the building level and mark the gaps with a pencil in the differences, and then apply plaster to these places. The process of leveling a wall without beacons will be shown in the video below.

Video - how to level a wall without beacons part 1

Video - how to level a wall without beacons part 2

When the rough finish is finished, the next part comes - this is the finishing with the finishing coat (Vetonit putty). It is worth noting that Vetonit putty is applied quite simply, unlike plaster, the application process of which is very heterogeneous and causes difficulties for novice builders.


Wall worn with a rough layer of plaster - photo

Smooth walls are the key to perfect repairs and often the most expensive of all procedures. To reduce the price of work, many people ask themselves the question: how to level the walls with their own hands.

The first thing to do is to understand why you need perfectly smooth walls. The alignment of the walls in the apartment is usually due to pasting wallpaper and the correct geometric shape when arranging furniture.

Walls don't need to be aligned if you're using live wallpapers. They smooth out small irregularities and for them it is not fundamentally a perfectly smooth surface (for example, bamboo wallpaper).

The process itself is presented on the Internet by many videos and photos of wall alignment. Also, before starting work, I would like to advise you to seek help from people who already have experience working with plaster and subsequently read the instructions on the packages with mixtures more carefully.




Types of alignment

If the alignment of the walls cannot be avoided, then this process can be done in several ways. Plasterboard leveling is the least time consuming. To do this, you just need to attach sheets of drywall to the wall, armed with a level.

The list of plaster for interior work is large. It comes with various impurities. If you bought an apartment with already aligned walls, then most likely they were leveled with ordinary sand concrete, but the evenness of such walls must be rechecked.

If you have small differences in the level of the walls, then you can also do this work with sandstone. However, it should be borne in mind that the degree of its drying is longer and therefore the work may be delayed.

How to level the walls with plaster, before this question, you need to be puzzled by others, which plaster to choose. Based on experience, it is better to choose gypsum.

Plaster

If you have chosen leveling with plaster, then in addition you will have to purchase beacons (this is if you have the rest of the materials and tools).

Alignment of the walls along the lighthouses is their correct installation. First, we set up beacons throughout the room. Along the height of the wall, every 30-40 centimeters, we install a dowel with a self-tapping screw into the surface. Usually such “columns” are made at a distance of 80-90 cm from each other throughout the room.

The main thing is that they are all the same. Applying equal to the heads of self-tapping screws, we set the level over the entire height. We do this procedure with the whole room.





We knead a small amount of plaster and fix the beacons on these planes. At the junction with self-tapping screws, we strengthen with plaster. After the procedure is completed, we wait a while and let the plaster dry.

We prepare a mixture of plaster based on the information written on the bag. We throw the finished mixture between two beacons starting from the bottom. Then we take the rule, set it between two beacons and begin to lift the mixture from the bottom up with wiggles. We make such movements until the mass is leveled.



Remove the rest of the mixture from the rule with a spatula and throw it on a non-plastered area. At this rate, we finish all the walls. The walls should be even and smooth. Depending on the type of plaster, the walls turn white, due to the presence of gypsum in the mixture.

putty

After the plaster has dried, we can begin to putty the walls. Putty is needed to remove small porous holes and bring the state of perfect smoothness.

After puttying, we can begin to remove the beacons. In order to remove them, you need to pry from the bottom with a screwdriver and pull them out along the entire height. Do not be alarmed, we close up the resulting gap with plaster and the rule.

It is possible to level the walls simply with putty, but this case helps when the wall distortions are not so great. Permissible deviation is not more than 5 mm.

Drywall

Alignment of walls with drywall is of two types. One has already been described above, but I want to dwell on the other in a little more detail. If you have very strong differences in the walls, then it is cost-effective to level them with drywall.



To do this, a frame is made along all the walls. A guide profile is attached to the level of the floor and ceiling. On them, every 60 cm, a vertical profile is installed. And drywall sheets are attached to this entire installation.

The joints must be glued with a special mesh and all irregularities and holes from self-tapping screws should be covered with putty.

If you want to make the walls some kind of figured, then only drywall will help, because under other conditions, the consumption of materials will be gigantic and cost a pretty penny.

Smooth walls in our life are not a tribute to fashion, but a vital necessity. Improperly aligned walls can make life in your home miserable. The most harmless is constantly peeling wallpaper, but the worst thing is various fungi and bacteria.

Before leveling, determine if it will be easier for you to knock down some sections of the walls to reduce material consumption.

In Soviet times, the walls were lined with plywood sheets, but it has poor moisture resistance. Also, the joints of the sides of plywood sheets had to either be decorated or left as is.

As a result, for better work, it is better to sand what has been done in order to remove microcracks invisible to the eye.

Wall alignment photo