When you get into a new apartment or just make repairs in an existing one, you want the floor to be alright too. But to lay parquet, linoleum or laminate, you need a strictly horizontal base. And then the question arises: how to level concrete floors? It is quite possible to do it yourself, so you can save money, and you do not need special skills. It will be enough for you at least once to see how such work was performed from the outside.
If we talk about how to level concrete floors, it is worth noting that any work begins with markup. You should find the highest point of the floor. This is done using a hydraulic level, a good cord, cups or chickens of different heights. Two people first pull the cord diagonally from corner to corner, and the third only touches the level to this cord, inserting it strictly horizontally. All the mounds on the floor must be below this cord. When you have reached the goal, in the center of the room on the floor a beacon is set up, a chock of the desired height is selected, and in the corners of the room markings are placed on the walls in the places where the cord is located. The second diagonal must be constructed in exactly the same way.
Speaking about how to level concrete floors, it should be noted that the highest hillocks are usually in the corners of the room, as well as where the seams are located. If the difference in height is large enough, it is worth assessing, it may be better to cut a high hillock than to fill the cement with almost the entire room with cement.
Understanding how to properly level the concrete floor, it is necessary to draw a marking line from the cord. This line can be raised to the same height depending on the irregularities, but it can not be lowered, because the central beacon has already been exposed at the highest point. Now it is necessary to advance the cord along the lines on the walls to put additional beacons on the floor of the room. The distance between them should be 70 centimeters. It is necessary several times to check the correctness of their exposure to exclude the formation of new irregularities. To do this, pull the cord from wall to wall in all directions. The marks on the walls should be on the same level as the height of the beacons.
We understand further how to level concrete floors. The next step is to proceed to pouring. Before this, the floor must be covered with soil. For a screed, you can use a conventional cement mortar, however, a special mixture is recommended. The density of the mortar must be selected according to the thickness of the cementitious screed. Here the principle is very simple - the thicker the screed, the thicker the solution should be. Installation of concrete floors should be carried out as accurately as possible, evenly filling the space with mortar. In this case, the screed must pass exactly along the exposed beacons. The surface should be leveled with a wooden strip very carefully. When the screed tightens a little, the beacons need to be removed, and in their place, pour the solution. The surface should harden well, so do not walk on it ahead of time.
Now you know how to level concrete floors.