Methods for leveling a wooden floor without opening it. How to level a wooden floor - a review of home repair methods How to level floors in a private house

If indoors uneven wooden floor, living in it becomes uncomfortable. The boards creak, sag or, conversely, bulge, diverge, forming cracks.

The aesthetics of the room are disrupted and a traumatic environment is created. On such a floor it is easy to fall and hurt yourself. To avoid serious troubles and improve the condition of your home, uneven floors are leveled. They do this in different ways.

Dry methods

An uneven wooden floor needs to be leveled if the height difference is more than 5 cm. This uneven floor is visible to the naked eye. The surface may have a slope in any direction. In another case, the boards are located unevenly, in waves: one protrudes, the other sinks, bends. There are several options for eliminating uneven floors using a dry method.

Installation of mini-lags from bars (tape support)

Tape support is one of the most reliable ways for leveling uneven wooden floors. The method is used for height differences from 3 to 10 cm. The timber serves as a lining for the boardwalk. He must be different thicknesses to be positioned evenly in the direction of increasing slope. For ease of installation, craftsmen use pieces of plywood rather than wood.

To install minilags correctly, make a preliminary calculation and check the readings meter level. The distance between them correlates with the thickness of the sheets made from wood waste.

It is not recommended to lay sheets that are too thick to level an uneven wooden floor:

• they are heavy and inconvenient to install with your own hands;
• create additional load on the floor and foundation.

Beams of different sections and sheet products are screwed with self-tapping screws to the wooden base of the floor. The fasteners must be of different lengths, since the distance to the boards varies. Mini-lags are attached across and along the boards. It is important to mark the sheets as accurately as possible at the drilling points.

Installation of leveling point supports (blocks)

If indoors uneven wooden floor, the defect can be eliminated and leveled using point supports, which are called slabs. They are installed under sheet products in the form of a mesh. This produces cells, the dimensions of which are determined by the thickness of the sheets.

Such cell sizes will not allow sagging during subsequent operation.

Since the supporting “posts” are located pointwise, careful markings are made on the sheets and screws are screwed in at the points. Additionally, the sheets are fixed to the very base of the floor, choosing longer fasteners.

Methods for leveling an uneven wooden floor without screed differ high efficiency. After leveling work, the surface acquires ideal shape and holds the finishing coat well. 8-10 cm is a height difference at which it is better to dismantle the old floor and lay a new base with replacement joists.

Wet screed method

For minor unevenness (up to 3mm), the wooden floor can be covered acrylic putty or sealant. Before carrying out work, the boards are primed to protect the wood and ensure better adhesion with leveling mixture. The composition is applied in a thin layer, distributing evenly along pre-made marks on the walls, along the beacons.

It is important to know: the thickness of the layer determines the amount of time it takes to dry. To prevent the putty from cracking over time, PVA glue is added to it. After the mixture has dried, the surface is sanded.

If uneven wooden floor has a slope of more than 3 mm, use. It's not really suitable way for a wooden base. The screed creates a significant load on the base and floors. It is most possible when the boards are laid on concrete or brick columns, reinforced concrete supports. The need for it arises, for example, when used as finishing coating tiles.

To level an uneven wooden floor using the “wet” method, dry mixtures with components are used that provide the screed with elasticity and special strength. These include various plasticizers and synthetic fillers.

1. Before applying the leveling compound, wooden floors are checked for ventilation. If it is not there, then holes are drilled in certain places on the surface, and decorative grilles are installed on top of the finishing coating.
2. The boards are covered with plastic film, which serves as waterproofing. The tree is afraid of water. And when wet screed The dry mixture is diluted with this liquid.
3. The leveling composition is poured onto the surface in portions and distributed evenly special rule. You can work gradually, filling small areas.
4. After the screed has dried, it is sanded and primed.

Wet screed on a wooden base is rarely done. The main reason is the incompatibility of the wood and the leveling compound. Wood is mobile and cement mixture It is static, so it may crack and crumble over time.

When choosing a method for leveling an uneven wooden floor, we focus on the specific conditions of the room. It is important that during subsequent use the surface does not deform and the finishing coating does not deteriorate.

Comfortable living in a home depends on many conditions. These include the quality of finish and general condition of surfaces, including leveling uneven wood floors.

Leveling the plank floor.

In some old houses from the times of Stalin and Khrushchev, plank, uneven wooden floors remained. Over time, the floorboards rot, become loose and begin to creak. And during repairs, in order to remove the defects of the old uneven floor, a new coating in the form of laminate or linoleum is used.

But before laying a new floor, it is recommended to level the subfloor using sheet material. You can carry out this procedure yourself without the involvement of construction specialists and with minimal costs. To level the floor, it is best to use plywood, since fiberboard sheets will eventually take the shape of an uneven floor and waves will appear again. Plywood has irreplaceable qualities for a material that is used to level an old wooden floor.

It is relatively light in weight, quite durable, resistant to stress and water, well polished, and has no unpleasant odor. The material does not change its properties with changes in temperature and humidity.

In order to carry out the procedure for leveling a wooden floor, it is necessary to prepare the tools and materials that will be needed during the work process.

• plywood sheets;
• roll insulation;
• screwdriver and screws;
• jigsaw;

Preparing to level a wooden floor in an apartment

• Initially, it is necessary to check the condition of the communications that are laid under the floor, since after completion of the work there will be no free access to them.
• Next, you need to get rid of various irregularities that are very typical for a wooden floor.
• Secure and, if necessary, replace old, rotten, creaky boards.
• As additional insulation, if the floor is initially cold, you can use rolled mineral wool insulation.

The prepared plywood sheets are laid on the floor and in order to evaluate the strength and reliability of the coating, you should walk on it. During such tests, additional defects may be revealed that can be corrected immediately without dismantling the floor. If it turns out that the floor is sagging, then it is necessary to additionally place pieces of fiberboard in these places.

The most optimal and reliable fastening of plywood sheets is fastening with self-tapping screws, which do not need to be driven in completely at the initial stage of fastening. In places where the plywood sags, it is unacceptable to make fastenings. After securing the sheets, you need to carefully walk over the finished flooring again.

This is necessary in order to check how firmly and correctly the sheets are fitted to each other. If the result of the test is satisfactory and pleasing, then all the screws will be driven all the way, firmly burying the head in the wood.

After fixing the sheet material, the screw heads and seams are puttied using acrylic sealant. The advantage of such putty is that even if the boards and sheets sag a little, the sealant, due to its high plasticity, will not break down or spill out.

After completing the installation of the plywood sheets, you can begin laying another linoleum or laminate flooring.

Leveling an uneven wooden floor - video

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In order to determine how uneven the floor is, you need to determine the floor marks in all corners, in the middle of the walls and in the middle of the room (if the room is very large or the floor is very uneven, then more marks are needed). The easiest way to do this is with a two-meter building level. with different measuring instruments, used for this purpose, are set out separately.

If the floor marks are at the same height

(plus or minus 5 mm doesn’t count, but it all depends on how demanding you are; you can’t even count a difference of 1-1.5 cm), which means the floor is flat. And if the height differences do not exceed 2-3 mm, then such a floor does not need to be leveled with sheet materials at all.

• You can putty such a floor 1-2 times with acrylic putty or acrylic sealant. The main advantage of acrylic putties is their high plasticity; even if the boards sag a little when walking on the floor, the putty will not collapse. If the amount of work is not large, then acrylic sealant sold in syringes for a construction gun will do. Floors must be treated with a suitable primer before applying putty to improve adhesion to the boards. It will look something like this:

Download more full version This video is available, video size is 60 MB, wmv format.

In this case, it was necessary to level about 1.5 m2 of floor. For large volumes, it is better to buy acrylic putty for wooden floors in buckets, however, the principle of applying the putty will not change. By the way, in this way you can level floors for painting and even for varnish, for example, parquet floors (of course, if they are in good enough condition), but then you will need a tinted sealant. However, buying tinted sealant to match the color of wood is now a small problem, although the choice of colors is not very large and they cost much more than white acrylic sealant, but still.

Before laying linoleum or carpet, it is advisable to sand the putty surface.

• The main disadvantage of acrylic putty is low strength. Therefore, instead of acrylic putties or sealants, you can use putty mixed with PVA glue. If the thickness of the applied layer does not exceed 1-2 mm, then you can use finishing gypsum putty mixed with PVA glue. If the applied layer is thicker, you can use gypsum starting putty mixed with PVA glue or sawdust, mixed with PVA glue. The main disadvantages of this method: it is very difficult to immediately apply the putty in an even layer due to the extreme stickiness of the putty (PVA is a very good glue), so the putty surface will have to be sanded for a long time to obtain an even surface.

The thicker the layer of sealant or putty, the longer it will take to dry. therefore, if the floor unevenness is more than 3 mm and there are many of them, then you can’t do without screeding or laying sheet materials. How linoleum was laid on the floor, previously leveled with putty, can be seen separately.

2.1. On an old wooden floor you can lay plywood 8-20 mm thick, or chipboard, OSB, MDF.

You can also use gypsum fiber sheets. In this case, the top of the wave will serve as a support (like a lag) for the new floor covering. With a board width of 10-20 cm and uniform distribution waves of plywood thickness of 8-10 mm are quite enough. If there are waves on the boards through one board or the width of the boards is more than 20 cm, then it is better to use thicker plywood (in the picture below).

Picture 1. Easy leveling of wooden floors.

It makes no sense to use fiberboard to level the floor, since over time the fiberboard will take the shape of the floor and waves will appear again. In principle, the thickness of sheet materials can be greater, but the thicker the sheet materials, the more expensive they are and, most importantly, the heavier. I prefer moisture-resistant plywood; it is irreplaceable for kitchens and hallways in Stalin and Khrushchev buildings, but it costs more than other sheet materials. Sheet materials are attached to the wooden floor using screws or self-tapping screws. To recess the head of a screw or self-tapping screw, a countersunk hole is made. Sheet materials are attached to the boards at the top of the wave (see figure). After screwing the sheets, the joints of the sheets and the heads of the screws are puttied with acrylic sealant. If you have high quality plywood with a good textured pattern, the plywood joints are neat and well-fitted and the grooves are evenly distributed, then you can select an acrylic sealant of the appropriate color and simply open the plywood with varnish.

Sometimes, if the old wooden floor is relatively flat, but there are small “pits”, then you can try to level the floor with plywood using foam. I myself have not leveled the floors this way, so I included a description of this method in a separate article.

If the height differences at the floor marks do not satisfy you, then you will have to tinker here. It is necessary to make a support for the new foundation at one mark. You can do this in 2 ways:

2.2. Tape support - mini logs made of timber.

This method is good if you need to equalize the height difference from 3 to 10 cm. However, to ensure that the timber is at the same height, wooden pads of different thicknesses are used - slabs. Typically, slabs are made from plywood of different thicknesses, but they can also be made from short bars using an ax or chisel. Where we are talking about millimeters, roofing felt or any other thin material is used waterproof material. The distance between mini-lags depends on the thickness of the sheet material and, in principle, requires engineering calculation , but as practice shows for plywood with a thickness of 12-14 mm and for chipboard, OSB with a thickness of 16-18 mm maximum distance between mini-lags 35-40 cm. For plywood with a thickness of 16-18 mm and for OSB with a thickness of 20-24 mm, the maximum distance between mini-lags is 50 cm. This logical series can be continued further, but laying thicker sheet materials is difficult even for two people, even under load the ceiling will again increase, it’s good if the ceiling is reinforced concrete or metal beams, but increase the load by wooden beams need to be careful. For large differences in height, it is convenient to use timber of different sections; where the difference in height is small, timber of a smaller cross-section is used, but it also needs to be attached to the floor boards more often; then timber of a larger cross-section is used.

Figure 2. Leveling wooden floors using mini-lags.

Mini-lags can be attached both across the boards (in the picture above) and along (in the picture below). Here it is important to accurately mark the sheets (determine the locations for the holes) so as not to drill extra holes.

For clarity, photographs 1 and 2 show the transition from an old wooden floor to a new coating in doorway. The floor was leveled with waterproof plywood, with scaffold supports in places, mainly on mini-lags made of bars of different sections, the total height difference of the old floor was more than 6 cm. Before gluing the LG PVC tiles, the self-tapping screws were puttied twice with tinted acrylic sealant:

Photo 1. View from the corridor. (increase)

Photo 2. View from the room

2.3. Point support - shabby.

This method is suitable if the height differences are not very large. Point support is less reliable than tape support, so blocks need to be placed under sheet materials more often, so that a mesh with a cell size of 30-35 cm is obtained for plywood with a thickness of 12-14 mm and for chipboard, OSB with a thickness of 16-18 mm. For plywood with a thickness of 16-18 mm and for OSB with a thickness of 20-24 mm, the cell size is 40-45 cm.

Of course, with both a strip support and a point one, you can make more distance between the supports, but in this case the new floor will be too susceptible to dynamic deformations; in other words, it can sag when jumping and dancing, and even when walking.

After the base of the floor is leveled, lay the finishing coating on it, be it parquet, linoleum, carpet, PVC tiles, fast, easy and pleasant. Just don’t forget about underground ventilation. To do this, in one of the corners (where the old ventilation was), after laying the finishing coating, a hole is drilled and a small ventilation grill is installed.

If the difference in height of the old wooden floor is more than 8-10 cm (and this happens), then it is better to remove some of the boards and replace them sheet material.

The floor can be leveled with a “wet” screed.

But only if you are absolutely sure of the strength of the wooden floor, for example, if the floors were immediately made for screed, or if these are wooden floors according to reinforced concrete floor, with logs on brick columns, while the logs and the distance between the logs and the thickness of the floorboards are selected in such a way as to ensure minimal deflection of the floors under design loads. The fact is that cement screeds work well in compression and much worse in tension; this can lead to the fact that the cement screed on a wooden floor will collapse or ceramic tile, glued to such a screed, will peel off. To level wooden floors, special dry mixtures with plasticizers and fillers are used to provide the screed with maximum strength and elasticity, as an example - Vetonit 3300. This screed is applied in a layer of no more than 1 cm; before applying the screed, a reinforcing fiberglass mesh is packed onto the wooden floors and the floors are primed. If the floor unevenness exceeds 1 cm, then such a screed will not help. Theoretically, it is possible to make a regular one on a wooden floor. cement screed 5-7 cm thick with a metal reinforcing mesh, in this case the load on the floor will immediately increase by 75-100 kg/m2, so before making such a screed, you must first check bearing capacity ceilings To protect the wood from the effects of water from the screed, it is laid on the wooden floor polyethylene film.

But in any case, regardless of the leveling method, we must not forget about the ventilation system for wooden floors so that the floors do not rot. The underground space must be ventilated. Previously, to do this, they drilled a hole in a board with a diameter of about 50 mm in one of the corners of the room and stuffed it on top. decorative grille, or did ventilation duct in the wall and nailed the decorative lattice to the wall. Such lattices look something like this:

Figure 3. Ventilation grates for wooden floors.

If you had similar gratings on the floor or wall, then do not rush to cover them up or cover them with wallpaper.

In general, old wooden floors, with cracks, paint stains, knots, chips, gouges and other defects - this is incredibly cool and super stylish, now more and more people are tired of straight lines modern design, they want to lay it on a perfectly smooth and even screed parquet board, stylized as old, time-warped wooden floors. This pleasure is not cheap, so before you sew up wooden floors, think about whether you need it?

I submitted questions related to leveling a wooden floor for laying laminate flooring, as well as a recipe for preparing a putty mixture from Ruslan.

The flooring in the rooms of a house or apartment can be different. However, owners always want its surface to have an attractive appearance. Many people choose to install wood flooring in their home. This coating looks beautiful, is environmentally friendly, durable, and durable. But sooner or later you have to carry out repair work. One of the most popular problems is leveling a wooden floor. For many, and especially for beginners, this is a real headache. However, in reality everything is not so complicated. How can I do that? Do I need to disassemble the boards down to the base? Next, we will consider how and what is the best way to level a wooden floor.

General information

Experts recommend working with at least two people. But you can level a wooden floor with your own hands and alone. No special knowledge is required for this. It is enough to be careful and follow some simple rules.

Elimination of minor irregularities

If the floor in the house is slightly uneven, then this situation can be corrected with a minimum of materials and tools. If surface treatment of the boards is required, they will need to be removed, planed and re-laid. This option is considered quite long and labor-intensive. But at the same time it is relatively inexpensive. To level the coating you can use grinder. This method has its drawbacks. Firstly, this is a rather “dirty” option, since a lot of dust remains after work. In addition, before starting processing, you should recess the heads of nails and screws deeper into the boards so that they do not damage the tool. Minor defects can be eliminated using acrylic putty. This process does not require any special skills. Any novice craftsman can do the floor treatment on his own.

Repairing cracks

To treat boards with such defects, a special mixture is used, including sawdust, putty and varnish. With its help, you can eliminate depressions and cracks in wood, as well as nests of insects that destroy it. Before starting work, treatment areas should be cleaned and degreased. After the mixture has dried, the surface should be sanded and varnished.

Special solutions

Very often it is necessary to level a wooden floor under a laminate. The first step is to find out how strong the deviation is at the base. If the distortion is small, then you can use leveling mixtures for wooden floors. This solution is evenly distributed over the base. However, experts recommend using these mixtures when differences are no more than 1-2 cm. They are also effective when you need to seal small depressions and recesses in the base. The cost of such materials is quite high. But, as practice shows, they do their job perfectly.

Application of the solution

Before leveling wooden floors, they must be cleaned. Water is added to the solution required quantity and mixes. It is better to apply the mixture together: one prepares, the other levels the floor. Beacons must be installed first. The solution must be poured into the far corner of the room. Use a long spatula or squeegee to level it. Next, the solution is rolled with a roller (needle-shaped). Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the junctions of various batches. These areas need to be treated with a spatula. Use hard bristled rollers to remove air bubbles. After the solution has hardened, when you can walk on it freely, expansion joints are made using a grinder. They are sealed with elastic material.

How to level an old wooden floor?

What to do if the base has very large differences? It often happens that the wooden floor in the middle of the room collapses, but on the contrary, it rises near the walls. In these cases, as a rule, the previous coating is removed. But it is often quite difficult to disassemble a wooden floor. In addition, after this work, all doors will become higher. We'll have to fix this too. But if the differences are very large, then dismantling is impossible.

First stage

You need to take a laser level. This tool is very useful when conducting repair work. The level should be placed at the highest point of the base. After switching on, a line will appear (along the entire perimeter). It will be used to level the wooden floor. Marks should be made with chalk or pencil. Then you need to make beacons. They can be used as guides for plasterboard sheets. The advantage of these elements is their evenness. They should be laid out on the floor at approximately a distance of 60-80 cm. In this case, their upper part should coincide with the line that is marked along the perimeter. To check this, you need to take a flat, narrow board or plywood and a mounting level. You can adjust the guides by placing boards or plywood under them.

Alternative option

If there is no opportunity or desire to use laser level, you can resort to another method. In this case, you also need to find the highest point of the base near the wall. From it you should measure 5-6 cm up and put a mark. After this, you should take a straight long strip or guide and attach it parallel to the floor along the wall. Using the mounting level you need to adjust the height. Next, the mark is placed on the opposite side of the wall. Dots must be placed along the entire perimeter. Next, you should take a rope or cord and stretch it from the mark located on one side of the room to the one located on the opposite wall - crosswise. It's good if the rope doesn't touch the floor. If the cord touches the surface, then all marks should be raised by 2-3 cm.

Second phase

It is advisable to attach the guides to the floor. This can be done using self-tapping screws. Next, between the guides it is poured mortar. The layer should be uniform. Next you should use the rule. Using this tool, the mixture is leveled. Quite a lot of solution can go away.

Using DSP

Leveling a wooden floor can be done without mortars. For this, cement bonded particle boards are used. Before leveling wooden floors, they must be prepared. The work, as usual, includes cleaning the base. During preparatory stage a line is also drawn along the perimeter. To level a wooden floor using DSP, you need to lay boards on the base - instead of guides. They should be laid level with the perimeter line. Pieces of plywood are placed under the boards. The base must be secured. The same screws are used for this. Next, the DSP is laid on the boards. The sheets are pre-cut taking into account the area of ​​the room. DSPs are attached to the boards using self-tapping screws. The cracks are covered with rotband. The quality of installation is checked by the installation level.

How to level a wooden floor with plywood?

The use of this material is rightfully considered the fastest and in a simple way arrangement of the foundation. In this way, you can level a wooden floor under linoleum. What are the advantages of this base? Plywood is considered an indispensable material. It has relatively low weight, flexibility, hardness, and resistance to stress. Due to the perpendicular placement of adjacent layers, plywood is highly durable in all directions. To reduce work time, you can choose large sheets. This is especially true on large areas. The undoubted advantage of dry screed is the small financial investment.

Technology

Before leveling wooden floors, it is necessary, as stated above, to assess the condition of the surface and determine the level of its deviation from the norm. A two-meter level is used to measure the base. In the corners of the room, you should mark points, find the centers where the floor and walls meet and the middle of the room. Next, you need to divide the base into so-called segments and examine each section. If the deformation of the floorboards is uniform and the height level has a difference of 5 mm, the plywood can be attached directly to the wooden base. If the differences are more than one, but less than eight centimeters, then a sheathing should be made. Experts recommend creating strip or point supports.

Preparatory work

The plywood is kept indoors for several days. This ensures the same humidity as the room. Subsequently, this will avoid deformation of the material after installation. If the room is heated regularly, then the sheets are installed on edge. The material is kept in this position for at least two days. If work is carried out in a heated room, the edges of the sheets are moistened with water at room temperature.

Trying on material

Before leveling wooden floors, the sheets should be adjusted to the size of the room. When cutting the material, it is necessary to take into account the width of the damper seams. There should be a gap of 1 cm near the walls, and 3-4 mm between the workpieces. If these gaps are not present, the material may become deformed due to changes in temperature and humidity. After cutting is completed, the ends should be checked for delamination and defects. If there are damaged sheets, it is better to replace them. Next, you need to lay the material in the order in which it will be fixed. All sheets should be numbered. It is also necessary to note the places where the logs will be placed. This is done by focusing on the joints between the sheets. The connections should fall on the center of the joist.

Base

Leveling logs are also made of plywood. Their width should be 3-4 cm. The logs are laid according to the marks made in advance. If a gap forms between the floor and the strips, then pieces of plywood should be laid that are suitable in size. The surfaces must first be lubricated with glue. The joists are attached to the floor using self-tapping screws. Additionally, glue is used during the installation process. Horizontal placement is determined using a level. The evenness of the subsequent coating will depend on how carefully the lag is attached. A sealant should be placed between them.

Fastening sheets

After installing the logs, you can proceed directly to laying the plywood. The sheets are attached in order, in accordance with the indicated numbers. Before laying, the material should be treated with an antiseptic. The plywood is secured using self-tapping screws with plastic dowels. To avoid damaging the sheets with hammer blows, holes should be drilled in the places where the screws are screwed in according to the diameter of the dowels.

Final processing

The finishing work will depend on the type of material that is planned to be laid on top. For example, if it is carpet, then the surface is varnished in several layers. Before laying the laminate, the base is sanded and treated with protective compounds. If there is parquet on top, a special noise-absorbing underlay is laid on the surface.

Finally

Using the above technologies, you can quickly and easily level a wooden floor with any differences. If the work is carried out carefully, you can obtain, among other things, a strong and durable foundation. The coating laid on plywood will last for more than one year. In addition, the material will act as additional thermal insulation.

Planning major renovation in a house or apartment, you have to take into account many different aspects. And laying a new floor covering is one of the central issues that needs to be resolved. To install new flooring in an old house or apartment with wooden floors, quite often you have to completely dismantle them. But sometimes it is not at all necessary to do this; you can level the wooden floor and then lay laminate, tile or linoleum on it. Modern advances in construction technologies make it easy to level a wooden floor with your own hands.

Wood is a material that requires regular maintenance, but over time it still warps, cracks, dries out and sag. In order for a wooden floor to look perfect, it is leveled, after which any floor covering is applied. Leveling will allow you to remove various unevenness of the wooden base, which can negatively affect the new floor covering. This applies to both hard surfaces (laminate, tiles, parquet) and soft surfaces (linoleum, carpet). To prevent this from happening, and to ensure that the new floor covering is of high quality and durable, a wooden floor can be leveled in one of the following ways:

• floor scraping;
• use self-leveling mixtures;
• using putty based on PVA glue;
• level with plywood sheets.

Scraping a wooden floor

This method of leveling a wooden floor is the simplest, but at the same time labor-intensive and effective. Floor scraping should be used if you plan to use paint and varnish materials as a floor covering.

The floor can be sanded manually or using a special sanding machine. In the first case, you will have to use a hand scraper to scrape out the entire surface and remove various irregularities. This approach is terribly time-consuming and difficult. In order to carry out all the work with minimal effort, you should use a sanding machine. A significant disadvantage of scraping is the presence of a huge amount of dust.

How to level a wooden floor with a sanding machine:

— during sanding, a lot of dust is produced, so you should protect your respiratory tract, hands, eyes, objects and surfaces from dust;

- remove any metal objects from the floor, using a hammer and hammer, press all the nail heads into the wood, otherwise the knives can be damaged during scraping;

— we start scraping from any corner and, moving like a snake, remove upper layer wooden covering;

- after the first layer has been removed throughout the entire room, it is necessary to do a little cleaning and fill up all the cracks and cracks with putty;

— after waiting for the putty to dry completely, you can continue sanding the floor;

Important! Leveling a wooden floor paintwork can be considered complete when the surface is perfectly smooth and without cracks. Hard to reach places and the plinth will have to be scraped manually using an angular scraper.

— after scraping, the room must be thoroughly vacuumed;

— before applying varnish or paint, the surface of the wooden floor must be wiped with a lint-free cloth soaked in white spirit.

Leveling with self-leveling mixture

Leveling a wooden floor with a self-leveling mixture: the base should not have large cracks and cracks

Fill concrete screed has always been a success with builders, as simple and affordable way level the floor. But in houses with wooden floors this was unacceptable due to the large mass of concrete that had to be used. Thanks to modern technologies This issue has been solved. Self-leveling mixtures allow you to level a wooden floor under linoleum, laminate or tile. Cement- adhesive composition after drying, it will create a smooth, durable and fairly elastic coating with low mass thanks to a layer of up to 20 mm. To do this you need to do the following:

— the floor surface is completely cleaned of old floor covering;

— we recess the protruding nail heads, remove any metal objects;

— using a sander or sanding machine, partially remove the top layer;

— all creaking and springy boards are secured to the joists using self-tapping screws;

— thoroughly vacuum and remove dust and dirt from the floor;

- putty all the cracks and cracks, let them dry completely;

Important! It is necessary to make the surface without wide gaps and cracks, otherwise the solution will go “nowhere”.

— we impregnate the wooden floor with a deep penetration primer with moisture-proof properties; if this seems insufficient, you can lay a waterproofing membrane;

— we glue the joints of the walls and the floor with an overlap on the floor and walls, using double-sided tape, and glue a waterproofing membrane in the form of a strip onto it;

— on the walls we mark the level to which the self-leveling mixture will be poured;

Important! Minimum thickness filling is indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. Beacons can be used as level markers.

Scheme of filling with self-leveling mixture: insulating layers

— near the door we fix a wooden plank, the thickness of which corresponds to the level of filling;

— we lay a reinforcing mesh on the floor surface and secure it to the floor using self-tapping screws or staples;

Now that the wooden floor is prepared, you can start pouring the mixture:

— add the mixture to a container with water and knead using a drill and a mixing attachment;

Important! The mixture should be homogeneous and without lumps, prepared strictly according to the instructions.

We get rid of bubbles in the self-leveling mixture with a rubber roller

— pour the resulting mixture onto the prepared surface and use a special rubber roller with spikes to get rid of small bubbles;

- level the surface using a large spatula or rubber mop;

— now all that remains is to wait for the mixture to dry completely and prepare it for laying the floor covering.

Important! Drying of the self-leveling mixture must be carried out strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

Leveling a wooden floor using PVA putty

This alignment method is one of the most unusual and innovative. Putty is a mixture of wood sawdust and PVA glue, which, after hardening, becomes quite strong and difficult to process. And thanks to the availability and low cost of the initial components, this putty is economically profitable. In fact, this putty resembles the well-known chipboard board, with the difference that it is impossible to soften the slab and fill all the irregularities with it. Using PVA-based putty allows you to level a wooden floor under laminate or linoleum. You can use it to level a wooden floor as follows:

— we clean the floor from the old coating and sand it;

— we fix sagging and creaking boards to the joists using self-tapping screws;

— we place wooden slats on the floor as beacons in increments of 35-50 cm.

Important! To get a flat surface, all slats must be in the same plane; we use a level to level it.

— prepare putty from PVA glue and wood sawdust, knead until the consistency of thick sour cream.

Important! In order for the putty to dry gradually and not crack, the sawdust should be slightly wetted and squeezed out.

— using a spatula, fill the space between the slats with putty;

Important! The putty must be applied intermittently, in several layers, since after drying it shrinks slightly.

- after applied last layer putty, level the floor plane using the rule and, if necessary, add putty;

— wait until it dries completely (about 2 days) and lay the floor covering.

Important! The disadvantage of putty based on PVA and sawdust is its insufficient strength for some floor coverings. To increase strength, it is recommended to lay sheets of plywood, chipboard or plasterboard.

How to level a wooden floor with plywood

You can also use plywood to level a wooden floor. Following the technology will create a perfectly flat and durable floor. This method is usually chosen when it is necessary to level a wooden floor under linoleum or carpet. To get the best quality plywood base, you should use a sheet of grade 4/4 or higher, the thickness should be at least 12 mm. Leveling a wooden floor with plywood occurs as follows:

- remove the old coating;

— we install beacons from self-tapping screws. To do this, screw them to the required height using a screwdriver along the entire floor. We start screwing in the corners and form a square with sides of 20-30 cm;

— level the height of the screws horizontally using a level;

The logs should form a grid of 35*35 cm squares

— we lay the logs in increments of 30-35 cm. For the logs themselves we use plywood strips or blocks of various thicknesses;

— we attach the logs to the floor using self-tapping screws or glue; if the logs sag a little, we place pieces of plywood or blocks under them;

Important! The logs must be leveled and firmly secured. The result should be a dense grid of logs in the form of squares with sides of 30-35 cm.

— lay out the sheets of plywood and adjust them so that the joints of the sheets fall on the joists;

Important! To avoid having to cut entire sheets of plywood, you can first lay them out on the bare floor and mark the boundaries of the sheet with a pencil. Then lay the joists according to these marks so that the plywood joints fall on the joists.

Leveling a wooden floor with plywood: fixing the plywood sheets to the joists

— we fix the plywood to the joists using self-tapping screws with countersunk heads;

Important! To ensure that the heads of the screws do not press through the plywood, a countersunk hole is made on the sheet using a drill.

- before laying the floor covering, you should go over the surface of the plywood with a sander, especially at the joints of the sheets;

Important! To add durability, plywood can be varnished and flooring can be laid on top. If laminate is being laid, then cork or polyethylene foam is placed on the plywood as a backing.

Modern building materials make it possible to level a wooden floor efficiently and quickly enough without partially or completely replacing it. Anyone who knows how to handle a tool and has at least a little knowledge of the construction business can do this. The main thing is to adhere to technology and perform all stages of work efficiently. When leveling a wooden floor in one way or another, you should remember that upon completion of the work, the height of the floor will rise by a couple of centimeters, and you will have to trim bottom part doors.

Over time, the boardwalk sags, creaks, and cracks, sags, and slabs form. In order not to dismantle the coating, we use various techniques surface leveling, which we will discuss in the article.

Dismantling is labor-intensive, expensive and dirty. If the solid is good, strong, without traces of rot or mold, and the size of the differences and cracks does not exceed a few centimeters, then the floor can be leveled using the following methods:

1. Local alignment.
2. Looping.
3. Dry prefabricated screed.
4. Self-leveling liquid formulations or screed mixtures.

How to determine what is best to level the floor? The simplest thing is to measure differences with a level or a control measuring rod 2 m long. According to SNiP 3.04.01-87 (SP 29.13330.2001), the amount of unevenness should not exceed 2 mm per meter of base.

If the differences are local, that is, on small areas If slabs or depressions have formed, then the protruding boards can simply be cut off with a plane or any other suitable tool, and the concave ones can be leveled with elastic putty, sealant or homemade paste made from PVA and wood flour. After treatment, the surface must be protected with varnish or enamel.

In cases where differences do not exceed 1 cm on average across the entire floor, you can use a parquet sander to remove excess millimeters of wood. This method, although dusty, is quite fast. It is better to rent a professional device and then purchase it Consumables and in 1-2 days renew the old wooden floor for further varnishing or painting. There is only one limitation - after processing, the height of the wood layer from the surface to the tongue must be at least 2-3 mm.

For more significant differences, sheet or cement-sand screed is used. In the first case, the means of smoothing are sheets of chipboard, plywood, OSB, GVL, DSP and others. In the second - traditional wet leveling with the obligatory use of a separating waterproofing layer.

How to level a wooden floor using sanding

You will need the following tools and materials:

Wooden floorboards must be dry, durable and clean. The permissible gap between them is no more than 5 mm. All metal elements must be removed or recessed into the floor to the intended sanding depth.

Work begins with filling with abrasive coarse-grained nozzles, and a special screw regulates the clamping force of the device. Experts recommend that the first treatment be carried out along the fibers. You need to move smoothly, without haste, jerking or excessive downtime. After several passes, the belt is replaced with a finer sanding material.

The next strip should begin with an offset of 2/3 relative to the previous one. As wear occurs, the sanding attachment is replaced with a new one.

It is recommended to complete grinding on a belt with a grain size modulus of at least 240 units. Only in this case the leveled floor will be smooth, almost perfect. Subsequently, the surface can be treated with a primer or stain, putty and coated with any protective composition– oil, varnish, wax or enamel.

More detailed information by loop.

Leveling the floor with a dry screed

For minor differences in height up to 1 cm, the wooden flooring can be leveled with any rigid sheet material - chipboard, OSB, plywood and others. Soft analogues like hardboard or substrate are not suitable, as they take the shape of the base.

For leveling, slabs with a thickness of at least 8 mm are used. Optimal - 16-18 mm. In especially difficult cases, professionals recommend a two-layer flooring with seams offset by ½ or 1/3 of the sheet width. Such an overlap will ensure the reliability and durability of the structure.

If the boards creak, then it is advisable to tighten them to the joists or base before work. Plywood, chipboard, OSB are screwed to the base along the perimeter and crosswise, the interval between fasteners should not exceed 30-40 cm. It is not necessary to monitor the symmetry of the fixation points, since this is a subfloor. There is no need to lay anything between the plank flooring and the leveling slab. The only recommendation is to treat the materials with an antiseptic primer to eliminate any possibility of mold and mildew.

Advice! It is not advisable to use nails to fix plywood or chipboard. Materials may crack or splinter. The best decision– self-tapping screws.

For significant differences - more than 1 cm - the most optimal solution is to form an analogue of adjustable or raised floors. The bottom line is that suitable hardware is installed in the floorboards in increments of 10-20 cm, forming a new support above the floor. Height is determined by level. See the video below for more details.

If there is a need to make additional insulation, then the technology of installing floors using joists is used:

1. Logs are attached to the boards. If necessary, pieces of plywood or wood are placed under the bars.
2. A diffusion membrane or complex vapor-waterproofing is laid on top of the finished frame.
3. In between suitable insulation(expanded clay backfill, mineral or ecowool, coniferous boards and others).
4. The top of the structure is covered with a vapor barrier material with an overlap of 15-20 cm. The joints must be taped with adhesive tape.
5. GVL slabs, tongue-and-groove chipboard and others are laid. The sheets are attached with self-tapping screws or studs to the joists in increments of 30-40 cm.

Remember that with wood you should only use those materials whose vapor permeability coefficient is greater than zero. Insulation materials such as extruded polystyrene foam and polyethylene foam will not allow the wood to “breathe”, which will lead to the appearance of mold and areas of rotting.

Since plywood, chipboard, OSB are derivatives of wood, these materials are characterized by seasonal fluctuations in linear dimensions. Therefore, it is advisable to leave a compensation gap at the wall of at least 5 mm.

You can often hear the advice “don’t bother with fasteners, glue the sheets to the wood.” Such “specialists” forget that carpentry or structural adhesive is not a filling agent, so there will be emptiness in places where there are gaps. Any adhesive composition (with the exception of adhesive sealants) is an adhesive compound that binds two components into a single whole. Therefore, the recommendation is relevant only for floors with minimal and very rare differences.

Leveling boardwalks using self-leveling compounds

Movable mixtures based on cement or gypsum base infrequently used to create a flat floor on a wooden base. The reason is simple - a long drying time and many problems that arise (cracks, peeling, etc.). Besides mineral mixtures, including thin-layer ones, weigh a lot and create large loads on the supporting frame of the house.

Not all formulations are suitable for wooden flooring. Only those whose labels indicate plywood, chipboard, or boards as bases. But it’s better to play it safe and lay between layers waterproofing material, capable of protecting wood from water, preventing its rotting and swelling.

The thickness of the cement-sand screed is not regulated, but a layer of 5-6 cm is considered optimal. Self-leveling self-leveling mixtures are used either complex (cement-gypsum) or cement layers of 3-7 cm. Thin-layer compositions are not suitable for such work.

• remove dirt, loose and rotten elements;
• replace damaged or fallen strips with new ones;
• fill with putty or sealant the gaps between the lamellas, holes, chips.

A polyethylene film with a thickness of at least 150 microns, etc. can be used as a separating layer. The material is spread over the entire surface, extending onto the walls. The joints are fastened with tape, and damper tape is glued around the perimeter.

Instead of films, the use of waterproofing compounds is allowed. These can be primers, water repellents, special impregnators and much more. The chosen product must be liquid and absorbent so that an oil or bitumen film does not form on the surface.

Next you can fill. The mixture is mixed with water in accordance with the instructions and distributed evenly over the floor. Self-leveling compositions must be additionally rolled with a needle roller to remove air bubbles (deaeration). The last step is to cover the surface with film to ensure proper drying and strength gain. After 7-28 days the floor is ready for use.

So, we told you how to level a wooden floor without tearing down the boards. Select a technology based on the features of your design, and try to take into account all factors - from weight to operational comfort.

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