What is the best way to level a laminate floor? We level the floor under the laminate: recipes and methods of all levels of complexity How to fill the floor in the apartment under the laminate

If the plank floor is lost appearance and there is a desire to replace it with a laminate, it is not at all necessary to start a large-scale repair. Dismantling the old coating is justified only in case of serious wear and large damage, for example, a lot of rotten or cracked boards. If the floor is still strong, it may well serve as a rough foundation, you only need to eliminate minor defects and properly prepare the surface. And now more about how to level a wooden floor under a laminate and why to do it.

The laminate itself is relatively rigid and can withstand short-term loads without visible deformation, of course, within reasonable limits. But under the weight of a person or large-sized furniture, the panels will definitely sag, and the longer the impact, the stronger the deformation. With a sharp pressure, the laminate can even break through if there is a void under it.

If the irregularities are very small, the panels are unlikely to break, but they will not hold firmly either. First, the coating will begin to spring underfoot, then the locks will loosen, gaps between the lamellas and an unpleasant creak will appear. All this leads to rapid wear of the laminate, and very soon it will also have to be changed. It is easy to avoid such problems - it is enough just to level the old floor with high quality.

Panel creaking is the least of the problems that can happen when laying laminate on an uneven floor.

We identify problem areas

First of all, you need to make sure the strength of the structure. To do this, you should walk around the entire area, stepping on each floorboard.

The absence of deflections and strong squeaks indicates a good condition of the floor, but if such defects are found, you should try to find their cause. Perhaps it's just dried boards or loosened nails, which can be determined visually. Heavily damaged floorboards, that is, rotten, with wide longitudinal cracks, gnawed by mice, must be replaced with new boards.

Kronospan laminate prices

Kronospan laminate

Next, the baseboards and one or two boards are carefully dismantled to assess the state of the lag. It often happens that the flooring is in good condition, and the logs have already begun to rot or crack, sagged under load. If such damage is detected, as well as the smell of dampness from the underground space, the flooring will definitely have to be removed and the damaged elements replaced. But if everything is in order, the boards can be laid in place.

If necessary, the floor is stretched with self-tapping screws, strengthening problem areas, protruding nails are hammered in, and rusted ones are changed. Hats of hardware must be deepened into the boards by 1-2 mm.

Now you need to determine the degree of unevenness of the floor, since the complexity of the work depends on it. IN different places rooms on the floor lay the level and measure the height of the clearance. At the same time, they check whether the floor has a slope, which will also have to be eliminated.

Alignment methods

So, having determined the degree of unevenness of the plank floor, you can easily choose best way to level the surface. The more drops, the more time and effort will be needed, but the result is worth it.

floor condition	Way to eliminate irregularities
	It is enough to cover such minor defects with a polymer or cork substrate. The main condition is that the thickness of the substrate should correspond to the largest difference. Such material perfectly compensates for uneven floors and at the same time increases the sound and heat insulating properties of the laminate.
	Damage is best repaired with wood putty or a home-made repair compound made from sawdust and PVA glue, and sanded after drying. The protruding areas are also easily removed with sandpaper.
	The best option is to perform floor scraping. In order for the result to be of high quality, such processing is carried out after pulling the flooring, and not before it. In addition, the heads of the fasteners must be recessed into the boards by 3-4 mm, since the scraping machine removes the top layer of wood. The work requires some effort, but as a result, the base is even and smooth.
	Here the best option there will be floor sheathing with sheets of plywood, chipboard, OSB or DSP using linings or narrow logs. These materials will provide a perfectly flat plane and completely cover all defects in the subfloor.
	This floor can be leveled with wet screed. The main condition is the device of reliable waterproofing of the subfloor to avoid rotting wooden elements. The method is laborious, but it allows you to perfectly align large differences and create a solid base for the laminate. To reduce the load on the logs, it is better to prepare the solution with light aggregates, for example, fiberglass

With a significant deformation of the floorboards, severe wear and drying of the tree, these methods will be ineffective. If such a floor is covered with plywood, this will not stop the destructive processes, and one day the base under the sheathing may fail.

Material requirements

When choosing materials, it is necessary to take into account the operating conditions of the floor and the type of room. For residential buildings and apartments, environmentally friendly materials with appropriate labeling should be selected. This concerns not only the floor covering, but also repair compounds, impregnations, as well as boards used for leveling - OSB, plywood, chipboard. Do not think that the laminate will protect against harmful fumes: no matter how tightly the lamellas are laid, toxic substances will definitely find a way out, especially when the temperature in the room rises.

When choosing chipboard, OSB or plywood, be sure to pay attention to the emission class - in residential premises it is allowed to use class E1 materials, with the smallest content formaldehyde. The higher the class, the more toxic resins in the slabs. Now you can find OSB with an emission class of E0 - in these boards, formaldehyde resin is replaced by a synthetic binder that is safe for health.

As for the thickness of the plates, it all depends on the degree of load on the floor and the strength of the flooring itself. If the floor boards are thick and strong, and the intensity of the loads is low, plywood or OSB 12-15 mm thick will do. For a walk-through room, it is better to take slabs 18 mm thick, and if the flooring is done directly on the logs, then it is recommended to use slabs 15-18 mm thick and lay them in two layers with dressing of the joints.

Sealants, fillers and leveling mixtures should be designed specifically for wooden surfaces. They have sufficient elasticity and do not crack during the thermal expansion of the boards, which means that the floor under the laminate will last longer. The same applies to protective impregnations: you need to use only those compositions that are suitable for wood processing indoors. When buying such products, carefully read the information on the package so as not to be mistaken.

How to level the floor with your own hands

Consider two options for leveling plank floors - using plywood and DSP. Both methods allow you to achieve an ideal plane, but at the same time they differ in the complexity of execution and the duration of the work.

Plywood leveling

This method makes it possible without much effort to eliminate large differences in the floor - up to several centimeters. True, it is not suitable for rooms with heavy traffic and heavy loads on the floor, but for a bedroom, living room, office, it is quite an acceptable option.

What you need for work:

level;
screwdriver;
self-tapping screws 5x60 mm;
plywood sheets 8 and 10 mm thick;
scraps of plywood, drywall, wooden planks for substrates;
jigsaw;
a circular saw;
tape measure and marker.

Step 1. First you need to determine the zero level and put markings on the walls. The most convenient to use laser level, but if it is not there, the water level will do. Along the markings on the walls, you need to put dots every 25 cm - these will be beacons for laying substrates.

Step 2 From scraps of wood, plywood and other improvised materials, square-shaped blanks are cut for substrates. In size, it is desirable to make them the same, but the thickness should be different, since the height differences in different points the sexes are also different. The more irregularities, the more blanks will be needed.

Advice. Instead of a large number substrates can be used strong wooden slats of various thicknesses, which are stuffed in increments of 30-40 cm over the entire area of the subfloor. They act as a log for plywood and can effectively eliminate slopes up to several centimeters.

Step 3 The floor is cleaned of debris and dust, and markings are made on the floor using the beacons on the wall: a cord is pulled between the marks on opposite walls and straight lines are drawn on the floor.

Step 4 The substrates are screwed along the lines to the floor in increments of 20-25 cm. First, the substrate is applied to the floor, checked with zero level, then screwed with a self-tapping screw in the center. Having completed the row, a level is laid on top of the substrates and the plane is checked again.

Advice. In order not to check each element, you can screw the outermost substrates in a row and lay on them metallic profile. After that, it is enough just to attach the part to the profile to find out whether it fits in thickness or not.

Step 5 Having fixed the substrates over the entire area, proceed to the installation of the skin. The first sheet is laid from the corner of the far wall, leaving a gap of 10-15 mm around the perimeter. The horizontal is checked again by applying a level to the plywood in several places.

Step 6 Another sheet is laid next to it with a gap at the junction of a few millimeters, the edges are adjusted. Be sure to check the absence of a difference along the seam between the sheets.

Step 7 Screw the plywood to the floor. For secure fastening, the plywood must be screwed through the substrates, but since they are located below and are not visible, it is necessary to make markings on the surface of the sheathing. The reference for this is the rows of substrates that have not yet been covered with plywood. Self-tapping screws are screwed along the marked lines at a distance of 25 cm from each other.

Step 8 Cut and trim the remaining sheets. Since in this case the plywood is mounted in two layers, it is not necessary to move the joints in the rows - they will overlap with the top layer of material.

Step 9 The plates of the second layer are laid so that the direction of the fibers is perpendicular to the fibers of the lower layer, and the intersections of the seams completely overlap. In addition, plywood should be positioned so that the side cuts are directly above the substrates. For accuracy of fixation, it is desirable to make the same markup as on the bottom layer. At the joints between the sheets, you can insert thin pieces of fiberboard to maintain the uniformity of the gaps.

Advice. Before screwing in the self-tapping screw, it is necessary to drill holes in the plywood with a thin drill. This will securely pull the sheets to the floor and not damage the fibers.

Step 10 After completing the installation of the second layer, once again check the plane with a level. You also need to make sure that all the screws are sufficiently recessed into the skin, otherwise the sharp protrusions will damage the laminate over time. Now it remains only to clean the surface of dust and debris.

As a rule, such a floor does not need additional processing. You can immediately lay a thin substrate and proceed with the installation of the floor covering. But some masters recommend sealing the joints and recesses from the caps of self-tapping screws with putty.

DSP alignment

It is more costly and laborious way, although quite common. It is used in case of small drops or slope of the floor plane.

Step 1. Dismantle the baseboards and clean the floor of debris. Now you need to determine the location of the lag. Usually you can see them by the heads of the nails in the floor, arranged in rows across the deck, but if the nails are hidden under a thick layer of paint, you will have to proceed differently. To do this, just remove one of the boards under the wall - the edges of the lag will be in sight. If the flooring is parquet, you need to remove a few extreme planks, insert a screwdriver into the hole and run along the gap.

Step 2 They mark on the surface of the floor where the logs pass and stretch the boards with self-tapping screws. Self-tapping screws are screwed in every 10 cm to tighten the coating more tightly.

Step 3 In places of the greatest differences, substrates from boards, plywood scraps or fiberboard of suitable thickness are screwed to the floor.

Step 5 Having laid the first sheet, screw it around the perimeter in increments of 15 cm and in the center. Wood screws are used for fixing. In the same way, the rest of the sheets are mounted, laying them in a run.

Step 6 After DSP installation the surface is carefully dedusted, primed and, after waiting for the soil to dry, covered with a thin layer of leveling mixture. The mixture is rolled out using a spiked roller. This layer will eliminate minor defects, such as recesses from the heads of self-tapping screws and possible drops at the joints.

Step 7 The dried floor is primed again, and after a few hours, they begin laying the substrate under the laminate and the laminate itself.

Video - How to level a wooden floor under a laminate

When planning to replace the flooring, many opt for a laminate. The material is unpretentious and aesthetically attractive. In addition, it is easy to install. But in order for the laminate to serve for a long time, it is very important to lay it on a well-prepared and perfectly even base. Let's figure out how to level the floor under the laminate.

One of the most popular materials for finishing the floor is laminate. This finish option attracts many because it is easy to stack. Therefore, many take up the work on their own.

However, sometimes the result is not encouraging - the floor creaks, noticeable cracks appear on the coating, which worsens its appearance. All these troubles are due to the fact that the base was not well prepared before laying the laminate. We will figure out how to properly perform floor leveling work.

Why align?

Some home craftsmen underestimate the importance of thorough surface preparation, believing that the substrate should compensate for irregularities in the base. However, the thickness of the substrate is very small, so it is futile to use it for leveling.

If you lay the laminate on an uneven base, then backfire this error will show up very soon. Laminate is a material that does not differ in elasticity, therefore, under loads on uneven areas of the floor, the lock joints will begin to collapse. Therefore, leveling the floor is not a waste of time, but a necessity that ensures long term coverage services.

The choice of alignment method depends on the following parameters:

base material - wood or concrete;
the degree of unevenness, that is maximum height drops.

wood floor

It is difficult to find a perfectly flat wooden floor, especially after several decades of operation of the coating. Before you start leveling, you must:

clean the floor thoroughly from dust;
make an audit to identify loose or damaged boards;
if necessary, part of the boards must be strengthened or replaced.

cycling;
the use of self-leveling compounds;
use of plywood.

Let's consider these methods in more detail.

Cycling

This leveling option can only be used if there are minor differences on the surface. To perform the work, it is necessary to use a mechanical machine and a manual scraper (manually it will be necessary to process corners and other hard-to-reach places).

The essence of the method is to cut off the top layer of the boards that make up the floor covering, while eliminating small irregularities on the surface.

Advice! After cycling, the floor is usually covered with two or three layers of varnish or paint.

Use of plywood

This option should be used if the floor boards are old. They should be dismantled and removed. Next, you should check the lag system on which the floor is laid. If necessary, they need to be strengthened. In order for the log system to serve as a reliable floor support, it is necessary to place them in increments of 15-20 cm. Alignment in height must be done using a level.

The optimum thickness of plywood used for leveling the floor is 12 mm. It is necessary to lay sheets "in a run", that is, the joints between sheets in odd rows should not coincide with the joints of sheets in even rows. Sheets are fastened with self-tapping screws. It is important that the screw heads do not protrude above the floor surface, so countersunk head screws must be used.

Advice! When choosing this method of leveling the floor, keep in mind that its level will rise by about 2-3 cm, and when using the system of adjustable lag racks, you can raise the floor up to 10 cm.

Self-leveling compounds

To level the wooden floor, you can use special self-leveling compounds. Such mixtures in a wide range are presented in every hardware store. You must select an option that can be used on wooden surfaces so read the directions on the packaging carefully.

Work order:

a revision of the state of the floor is carried out, if loose or half-rotted boards are found, then they must be replaced;
all cracks must be covered with wood putty;
spread a layer of waterproofing on the floor so that the film goes on the walls;
prepare the mixture according to the instructions on the package;
apply it on the floor surface, let dry.

Concrete floor

If it is necessary to level the concrete floor, then it is necessary to make a new screed. To perform the screed, it is convenient to use ready-made mixtures, their use greatly simplifies the leveling process. The manufacture of the screed using the finished mixture is carried out in two steps.

First stage

At this stage of work, the concrete floor is leveled “roughly”. The finished mixture is laid in a sufficiently thick layer, filling deep recesses and leveling the differences. For the manufacture of a rough screed, mixtures with large particles are used.

The process of making a rough screed:

the concrete floor must be thoroughly cleaned and inspected. Upon discovery of old adhesive coatings or places with weak, crumbling concrete, they must be removed by cleaning the surfaces;
using a level, it is necessary to outline the thickness of the future screed by drawing a line along all four walls;
on the floor surface, it is necessary to lay a concrete solution in slides for the installation of pendulum rails. Beacons are installed in increments of half a meter, they need to be leveled with a level;
now you need to prepare a mixture to create a screed, for this you need to follow the instructions on the package with a dry mixture;

the finished mixture must be distributed over the floor surface, leveling with a long rail - the rule. In order to align the solution correctly, it is necessary to lean the ends of the rule against the edges of the pendulum rails;
to remove air, which in the form of bubbles may be contained in the mixture, the finished screed must be rolled with a spiked roller;
now you need to give time for the solution to dry, how much time it takes depends on the type of mixture used, the drying time is indicated on the package.

The final stage

After rough screed dry, you can proceed to the final leveling of the floor. For this, mixtures with fine fractions (finishing) are used. These mixtures have a more liquid consistency and create a thin layer with an even surface.

The preparation of the mixture is carried out according to the instructions indicated on the package. It is not necessary to level it, since it is quite liquid and spreads over the surface, forming a thin even layer (therefore, these mixtures are called self-levelling). After the finish layer has dried, you can proceed with laying the substrate and installing the laminate.

So, before you start laying the laminate, you need to carefully level the base. The choice of leveling method depends on the base material and its condition. On a concrete base, a screed is performed, wooden floors are cycled or sheets of thick plywood are laid along the logs.

Laminate is one of the most popular floor coverings today. And it's not cheap. Therefore, it will be very disappointing if, after some time, the locks on it begin to diverge, or the floor begins to creak. The cause of such troubles is often an uneven floor. So if you want your flooring to be of high quality, before you start laying laminate, you should level the floor. Below will be described in detail how to level the floor under the laminate.

Leveling the floor under the laminate can be done in different ways.

floor leveling

Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages and is suitable for certain conditions.

If the differences are insignificant, then you can apply.

Leveling with cement-sand mixture

You can take a ready-made mixture, or you can cook it yourself. The composition of the mixture is cement, water, sand. The consistency of this mixture resembles sour cream.

It is necessary to set level marks on the walls, which will be shown by a special laser or a simple equalizer;
Beacon rails are installed on a clean surface;
The screed is mounted between the guides, after which you need to level the solution with a rail;
After about two hours, the floor must be rubbed with a wooden trowel;
After one day, the slats must be dismantled, the holes that remain after them should be sealed with a solution that looks like a screed.

Only a month after such alignment, the coating will become as durable as possible. During the hardening period, it is necessary to moisten the screed twice a day. It is also important to protect it from drafts, for this you can cover the surface with polyethylene. The process is complex and lengthy, but relatively inexpensive.

Laminate can be mounted on a screed if its humidity is not more than 5%.

If this figure is higher, then a waterproofing layer is laid and a cork substrate is mounted.

This one is very efficient, however, it will cost more than the previous one.

The method is very efficient

Differences in the relief of such a floor can reach up to 0.5 centimeters.

If you do not plan to fill such a mixture in several stages, it is not necessary to set up beacons and mark the level. But it is important to note the highest point of the floor to which you will pour the mixture. This can be done using a special laser;
Before pouring, the floor must be primed and waterproofing applied to it;
The self-leveling mixture is poured into a strip, and then leveled with a spatula. It is better to knead the composition in small portions, since fifteen minutes after kneading it becomes not so plastic. After you apply the mixture to the floor, you will need to take a break for 3 days. Eliminate drafts and temperature fluctuations in the room.

This is the dry method. The screed in it is created by logs, and then plywood is laid.

Construction is being made

That is, a structure is made from a bar, to which sheets of gypsum fiber, plywood and other materials are attached.

First, you need to set marks for a certain floor level;
Next, lay on draft basis waterproofing layer;
After that, a surface system is made on the logs;
Lags are aligned horizontally. Then they are attached to the floor with dowels or anchors;
On top of the beam, the material is applied in several layers. Installation of panels and sheets is carried out with self-tapping screws.

Such leveling of the floor under the laminate will be appropriate if the ceiling height is sufficient. So reducing it by 10 centimeters will not make much difference. Each of the described methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The dry method avoids wet processes, as with concrete screed.

In addition, unlike other methods, it is quite fast. When creating raised floors, the laminate is isolated from the concrete base. So the floor in this case will be much warmer. Raised floor allows you to hide and communications.

Cycling

This method is considered very time consuming, but at the same time the most effective. Scraping involves the removal of the surface layer. During the removal of such a coating, the surface is freed from oils, varnish and other dirt. Before you start scraping, you need to thoroughly clean the surface. It is also important to assess the current state of the surface. If there are sagging boards, then it is better to replace them. After that, you need to do the following steps.

Clean the floor, use white spirit to remove the protective layer from the coating;
Find out if there are communication systems under the floor. If they are, then it is worth attaching boards with screws that have access to pipelines;
Insulate the floor;
If the caps protrude at the nails, they should be drowned;
Carry out spatula.

After that, it will be possible to carry out the scraping directly.

Cycling

Sandpaper is inserted into the drum of the machine. After that, the drum starts. It is better to start work from the corner. Each subsequent track should overlap the previous one. Replace sandpaper periodically, as it will deteriorate. Also, do not be lazy to clean the dust container.

This affordable way creating a flat floor, during which they are laid. Such logs are created from strips of plywood. In this case, sheets of various thicknesses can be used. First, beacons are installed over the entire surface of the floor. Next, the laying process begins. In this case, it is worth focusing on the installed beacons. Since the edges of the sheets will fall directly on the logs, you will first need to spread plywood on the floor and circle it with chalk. Logs are placed along the drawn lines.

It is important to ensure that there is no sagging lag.

After you lay out the logs, you will need to wait a while if glue was used. After that, you can start laying plywood sheets. They are fixed with self-tapping screws.

Attached with self-tapping screws

The attachment points will need to be lightly sanded.

This method is the cheapest. In its technology, it is similar to the method using a cement-sand screed. Before you start laying the laminate, sheets are laid on the sawdust-adhesive screed thin plywood. The mixture itself is chalk diluted with PVA glue. If there are irregularities on the floor, then small sawdust is added to it.

A mixture of sawdust and PVA glue

The only disadvantage of such a putty is that it dries for a rather long time due to the content of glue in it. The method is old, but very effective. The cover will be durable.

Video

In this video you will learn how to properly level the floor under the laminate.
Thanks to this material, you will get a lot of useful information.

Photo source: www.pol-comfort.ru; pol-inform.ru

An immaculately leveled subfloor plane is the main condition for long-term flawless service and aesthetic appeal of the laminate laid on top of it. Those who want to know how to level a floor for a laminate can get several equally correct, technically sound answers. It all depends on the type of foundation and the preferred floor layout. Choice optimal technology in turn, it is focused on the size of the budget, the limits of time and labor costs.

Leveling is an obligatory preliminary stage of a full-fledged laminate laying process. If there are even minor defects on the base surface, the locks will loosen due to an unevenly distributed load, an annoying creak will disturb, and the panel may crack over time. In order to prevent the consequences, the screed is made of concrete or wooden base, on which the laminate is most often laid.

Methods for leveling a concrete base

A concrete subfloor is often a sad confirmation of a poor builder's work. cement screed or plates, Smooth surface which is the ceiling of the room below. Fundamentally, the choice of technology for leveling the cement base is focused on the state of the base surface, which predetermines the amount of labor costs and the amount of financial costs.

If the leveling was done professionally, but managed to last a couple of decades, the destruction of the upper cement layer of the heavily loaded floor plane still occurred.

Grinding as the simplest leveling method

Minor differences in surface level can be eliminated by grinding. To process a large room, you can order the services of workers from a repair organization who perform this species alignment with specific grinding machines. You can simply rent equipment from the same organization. A not too damaged screed in a small nursery or in a home office is enough to bring it to the required performance by sanding.

The polished surface is coated with a primer before forming strong crystalline compounds in top layer bases. However, often grinding work is completed by pouring a self-leveling mixture.

Pouring self-levelling compound

Not too cheap, but quite a quick method is used to level the cement floor with relief drops of up to 0.5 cm.

If multi-stage pouring of a self-leveling screed is not expected, it is not necessary to mark the level and set beacons. But to indicate the height of the screed being performed, it is recommended to determine the highest point of the floor using a laser device or level gauge and make marks on the walls to which the mixture will need to be poured.
Before pouring, the base surface is primed and a layer of waterproofing is applied to it.
Prepared in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, the self-leveling mixture is poured into a small strip and leveled with a spatula.

Note. It is better to prepare the mixture in small portions, because 15 minutes after cooking, it loses its plasticity and begins to harden. Batch preparation and sequential processing of sections will eliminate the possibility of misuse of material.

After applying the screed to the entire surface of the base floor, a technological break should be made, giving it time for complete curing. It is 3 or more days. The polymerization of the mixture must take place without drafts, temperature fluctuations, heating devices and forced ventilation devices must not be turned on.

Traditional sand and cement screed

A cement-sand mixture for leveling is used in case of significant differences. To do this, use factory dry compounds or a home-made mixture of 1 part of cement, 3 equivalent parts of sand and water, the amount of which allows you to get a consistency similar to thick sour cream.

Level marks are set on the walls, determined by a laser device or a simple level gauge.
Beacon guide rails are installed on a clean, dry floor.
The screed is placed between the guides, then the solution is leveled with a rule or a special transverse rail.
After a couple of hours, the surface is additionally rubbed with a wooden trowel.
A day later, the lighthouse rails are dismantled, the holes remaining after them are sealed with a solution similar to the screed flush with the leveled surface.

Maximum strength cement-sand layer alignment will gain only 28 days after completion of work. During this period, the screed should be moistened twice a day, protected from drafts and covered with polyethylene. However, the lengthy, labor-intensive process is relatively inexpensive.

Main trump cards cement-sand screed- the porosity of the structure, which provides excellent sound and heat insulation, minimal shrinkage due to the limited amount of water and the availability of manufacturing materials. And how to make such a screed with your own hands and technologically correct, we will tell in the material:.

Laminate can be laid on the screed if its humidity is not higher than the limit of 5%. If the humidity does not meet these conditions, lay a layer of waterproofing and lay a cork substrate.

Dry screed GVL, drywall sheets, chipboard, plywood

To level the cement floor using the dry screed method, logs are installed, that is, a structure is constructed from a bar to which gypsum-fiber sheets, plywood, chipboard panels and similar material are attached:

Marks of the planned floor level are set.
A waterproofing layer is laid on the draft plane.
A floor system is being built on logs, the rules for its installation are described in the corresponding article.
Logs, previously aligned horizontally by laying wood chips and squeezing off excess, are attached to base floor dowels or anchors.
One or more layers of the material selected for the dry screed device are laid over the lag beams. Sheets and panels are fastened with self-tapping screws.

Note. To simplify and speed up the construction of the floor on the logs, factory-ready systems with adjusting devices will help.

The technology is applicable if the ceiling height can be reduced by 10 cm or more. The advantage of the technology is the ability to lay laminate immediately after work is completed.

Wood floor leveling

A wooden floor with tangible defects and dips must be disassembled, the damaged elements replaced, loose boards must be firmly nailed, driving the fastener heads deep into the material. After which you can:

build a dry screed along the logs by analogy with the method described above, using a vapor barrier material instead of a waterproofing layer;
lay plywood, GVL, plasterboard sheets directly on the wooden floor;
sanding the wood floor.

How the floor is leveled with plywood is described on our website:. Step-by-step instruction performance of work.

Information on how to level the floor will help determine the priority technology for performing the screed. The owner himself is free to decide what is more profitable for him: reducing costs, minimizing labor costs or increasing the pace of repairs. Knowing the advantages of each of the alignment methods guarantees a competent choice of the most appropriate option.

Laminate flooring has long been in vogue and steadfastly holds its position. This is due to the simplicity of its installation, which allows an inexperienced buyer to install the floors himself, without the involvement of specialists, thereby saving family money. Laminate has the widest choice of colors, allowing you to create a variety of interiors. However, for the installation of a laminate coating, you need to know some of its characteristics in order to avoid rapid wear of the floor in the future. To install laminate flooring, the substrate must be level.

Why level laminate flooring?

This question is asked by everyone who is going to lay a laminate in their apartment or room during repairs or initial construction. It may not be so important for other types of flooring, but for a laminate floor it is a must. This is due to the fact that the laminate is very sensitive to changes in floor relief, with an uneven base, its integrity may be violated and its working properties may be lost:

Laminated boards under the weight of a person have the property sag if under them there are voids formed as a result of laying the floor on an uneven surface.
With a relief surface of the base, the locks fastening the panels can open up and let in moisture to the inner side of the panel, which is not covered with a lamella. The floor below can quickly delaminate and become unusable.
Under the influence of loads, cracks form in the locks or swelling of panels due to a large difference in relief that does not comply with SNiP standards.
Boards under walking people can publish characteristic creak .

To avoid such shortcomings, the base for the laminate should be even and flat.

How to determine the unevenness of the floor

It is quite difficult to determine the unevenness of the floor by eye, especially if concrete base it is filled evenly and there are no visible humps. However, there are such floor errors that are immediately visible, these include:

All this needs to be eliminated. The instructions for laying a laminated sheet clearly indicate the norms according to which the relief difference should be no more than 1 mm / m, it is better that it does not exist at all. In this case, properly laid laminated boards will serve you for a long time.

Ways to level the floor under the laminate

A concrete base often shows poor builder work that needs to be corrected. All floor leveling technologies depend on the condition of the concrete base. Even if in the previous repair the concrete slab was leveled for some kind of coating, it still needs to be brought to the standard level, because during this period it could crumble or get other irregularities.

The choice of leveling method largely depends on the condition of the flooring and the tasks that you have set yourself.

If during the repair you decide to raise the floor by 3-5 cm, you can apply cement-sand screed.
If the floor is so uneven and it will have to be raised above 5 cm, then it is recommended to level it using the “dry” screed from GVL or using plywood sheets that are mounted on wooden logs. Application cement mortar for leveling a high floor will result in plate weighting pressing on the lower floor.
Your wood floor is in good condition - take your time to dismantle it. It can serve as a base for a laminate, leveling can be done sanding in places where there are problems.
When overhaul it is better to get rid of the old coating, because the old wooden floor will begin to sag over time, and laminated coating starts to fall into disrepair.

How to level the floor under the laminate with your own hands

Cement-sand mortar

You can level the concrete base with a cement mortar in two stages.

The second step is to pour a quick-hardening self-leveling mixture over the entire surface to achieve a more High Quality alignment.

Self-levelling compound it is possible to pour a concrete base in case of a relief difference of not more than 5 mm / m. It represents bulk material sold in all hardware stores; the instructions attached to it clearly indicate the proportions of its dilution with water. The filling process is very fast and convenient:

The disadvantage of the cement screed method is its long time period, and if you do not live on the first floor, you need to lay it under a concrete base waterproofing layer so that liquid does not show through on the ceiling of the lower floor.

Dry way

It is possible to level concrete without pouring it with mortar. To do this, use dry mixes for leveling floors.

If the concrete base has slight unevenness, you can simply put a 2 mm waterproofing layer first, and loose plywood sheets on top.

Leveling a wooden floor

Repair the slightly damaged floor, replace the old boards with new ones, sand it. If the floor is fairly level, no further preparation is needed. If, nevertheless, it is required, you can level the floor by laying it on wooden planks sheets of plywood or cement particle boards (DSP), which greatly simplifies installation. They are placed on a wooden flooring, the resulting gaps are closed, and they are attached to the boards with self-tapping screws. Beacon rails for leveling the wooden floor in this case are not needed, for this a device is enough - a level.

If the relief of the floor does not exceed the norm of more than 2 mm / m, you can apply scraping work to the repaired floor. For scraping the area, a drum scraping machine is used, for processing corners - an angular one. Before scraping work, it is necessary to prepare the surface to be treated.

If your wooden floor is quite old with rotten boards, remove it and level the concrete base in other ways.

Leveling your floor for laminate flooring depends on how much you can raise your base so the ceilings don't get too low; the existing floor, the level of its condition and relief.