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Leveling surfaces for cladding

This article talks about the importance of a properly-leveled surface when installing cladding. The process of leveling the surface requires careful planning and preparation. Failing to prepare adequately can create an expensive problem. An uneven surface can lead to a decrease in the efficiency of the insulation, water ingress and poor aesthetics. Quality materials which are installed on a leveled surface will provide an improved aesthetic, an increase in the performance of the insulation and a decrease in heat loss. Not only does proper leveling enable the cladding to look more aesthetically pleasing, but also ensures the cladding performs best.

Surface alignment is performed if the planes have a large deviation from the specified axes or they have large irregularities.

Leveling floors

When leveling the floors, you may need to lower their level or, conversely, raise them. The first is performed by dismantling part or all of the layers available on the base. The second is implemented by the production of screeds.

Cutting down hillocks

If it is necessary to make the floor surface slightly lower than the existing one and in the presence of single large bumps on concrete screeds, part of the concrete is cut out with a hammer and chisel, you can use a perforator with a shovel. Oiled areas of the screed are also cut down. If the level needs to be lowered very much, then all layers are removed to the base. The easiest way to do this is with a jackhammer or a powerful hammer drill. If there are no concrete or cement screeds on the base, the floor level cannot be lowered. Sometimes you come across wooden floors that are very easy to disassemble with a crowbar. The potholes resulting from dismantling have to be repaired with cement-sand mortar. The smoother the base for the tile is, the easier it is then to make the cladding.

Waterproofing floors

Waterproofing must be done before screed and in wet areas. It can be made from roofing material or from special mixtures that are sold in stores. If waterproofing is needed only to prevent leaks during the production of the screed, then thick polyethylene or glassine is suitable. Roofing material, polyethylene or glassine is spread on the floor, leading to the edges of the walls. The height of the edges on the wall should be 15 centimeters higher than the floor. The material folds neatly in the corners. There should be no holes in the waterproofing. If one piece is missing, then the panels are laid with an overlap of 20 centimeters. If the waterproofing is done long-term, then with the help of rubber-bitumen mastic, the joints of the canvases and the abutment to the walls are glued. When making waterproofing from mixtures, you must act according to their instructions. After pouring the screed, the protruding parts of the temporary insulation are cut.

Adding buta

If you have to seriously raise the height of the floor level (more than 50 mm), then it is allowed to add a layer of sand, expanded clay or construction debris under the screed. The underlying layer is leveled and moistened before the production of the screed. To prevent expanded clay from floating up when pouring a solution, a mesh is laid on its layer, which is pressed with small heavy objects (cuts of reinforcement, fragments of tiles, etc. are suitable). If the future screed is designed to give strength to the floor, then a reinforcing lattice or metal rods are laid on top of the buta.

Installing beacons on the floor

Before making the screed, it is necessary to install the lighthouse rails, which will ensure the correct level and evenness of the screed surface. The slats can be made from scraps of water pipes, wooden blocks, special profiles or plaster. The slats are laid in 1-2 meters. The level of the top of the light rails must correspond to the required height of the screed surface. This is achieved by placing wedges under the slats. Then, with a long level or rule, they check the correct location of the rails along the plane and slope. When creating a screed with a slope, the slats are installed with the same slope.

The beacon slats must be fixed (frozen) with plaster or alabaster every 20-40 cm. This will protect them from shear and subsidence when pouring the screed. After the screed is made, the pipes or bars are removed and the resulting grooves are sealed with a solution. Plaster beacons are more labor intensive to install. Before installing them, plaster marks are installed every 1-2 meters throughout the room. The height of the marks should correspond to the required thickness of the screed in this place. Grades are checked by level or rule. Then a gypsum mixture is thrown between the two stamps and pressed down by the rule put on two adjacent stamps. With a spatula, the excess plaster is removed from the sides of the rule, and it is carefully removed. Thus, all the marks that form the lighthouse are connected. The advantage of such beacons is that after pouring the screed, they can not be removed.

Screed production

The screed is done when it is necessary to level the floor surface with large irregularities, remove or tilt the floor surface or raise its level. With a screed thickness less than 15 mm, a polymer-cement mortar is used, which is kneaded from cement and sand (1: 3) on a PVA emulsion with diluted water 1: 4. If the requirements for the screed surface are very strict, then it can be made in two steps. First, an ordinary screed with a level 3-5 mm below the required level, and then a layer of self-leveling floor leveler (“Vetonit Vateri Plus”, “Plitonit R-3”, etc.). A conventional screed is made of a cement-sand mortar in a ratio of 1: 3.

Before laying the mortar, the surface of the underlying layer is moistened to prevent excessive suction of moisture from the mortar. In large rooms, the solution is laid between two lighthouse strips in strips through one. In small rooms, the entire surface is poured at once. The solution is leveled with an even rail or a rule, which is supported by two lighthouse bars. In large rooms, the flooded strips are allowed to freeze, the slats are removed and the filling is continued using the edges of the laid strips as beacons.

At low air humidity, the freshly laid screed is protected from moisture loss until the solution acquires the required strength. For this, it is covered with matting and watered with water. After the solution has solidified, the plane is checked again, and if necessary, minor defects are eliminated. Additional waterproofing can be made on top of the screed. The average consumption of cement per 1 mm of screed thickness per 1 square meter is 500 grams, sand is 1.5 kg, and PVA is 100 grams.

Wall alignment

Align walls to correct large slopes or curvatures in their surfaces. Before the production of work, smooth walls are pre-cut with a perforator or chisel.

Chopping mounds from walls

From the surfaces of walls made of soft materials (gypsum blocks, plaster, etc.), bumps are easily removed with a perforator with a spatula, chisel and hammer or spatula. If the bump needs to be removed from a hard surface, then a grinding machine with a disc for concrete will help out. When cutting down bumps under the ceiling m in the corners of the premises, you must work carefully, in these places there may be electrical wiring. After removing the bumps, small potholes are closed with mortar.

Tensioning the plaster mesh

The plaster mesh is stretched before leveling the walls with plaster if there is no confidence in the firm adhesion of the plaster to the base or the layers exceed 20 mm.

Before stretching the mesh under the ceiling, holes are drilled through 20-30 cm. Wooden corks are hammered into them (furniture dowels of a suitable diameter are very good for this). Carnations are hammered into these plugs. Then a piece of mesh is cut to the height of the room. It is hung on the nails with a bend towards the inside of the room, so it will be easier to level the mesh. The nails are bent, and then holes are drilled through the holes in the mesh every 20-30 cm in height and length. Corks are clogged in them and the mesh is pressed against the wall with nails. Be sure to fix all the edges of the mesh. If the mesh moves away from the wall in places, then additional fastening of the mesh to the wall is made in them. When drilling holes, keep in mind that there may be pipes and wires in the walls. They are usually 10-20 cm from the ceiling, floor or corner. If there are pipe leads on the wall, then it is better not to make holes along the horizontal and vertical axes relative to them. The amount of mesh is easy to calculate based on the area of ​​the surface to be plastered and the width of the mesh. Plugs and nails need about 25 pieces per 1 square meter.

Installation of beacons on the walls

Lighthouses are installed for precise plastering of walls. You can use commercially available special T-profiles, bars or install plaster beacons. When installing lighthouses on the walls, they are placed every 1-1.5 meters vertically. Carefully check the verticality and relative position along the plane. If it is necessary to ensure their perpendicularity when leveling the walls, then check this parameter with a square and two even slats. Lighthouses must be firmly fixed to the wall so that they do not change their position when plastering.

Plastering walls

Plastering of walls is carried out according to the installed beacons with cement or gypsum plaster mortar. Such solutions can be made from dry mixes that are sold in stores. Gypsum mixes are more convenient to work with and allow you to work at a faster pace. The mixtures of “Khauf” firm: “Rotband” and “Goldband Noy” have proven themselves very well. After hardening, cement mixtures have greater hardness, but require breaks for a day or two after plastering. Of these, mixtures of “Optiroc” firm are good: “Vetonit T” and “Vetonit TT”. If you need to apply a thick layer of plaster, then, to save money, you can pre-level it with an ordinary cement-sand mortar (1: 4), and then apply a covering layer from a good mixture.

Before applying the plaster mixture, it is required to moisten the walls with water or a special primer (15% PVA emulsion is also suitable). Then the mortar is mixed and applied to the wall using a steel trowel or trowel. When plastering in several layers, first make a basting with a trowel of a liquid solution. After applying the mixture to the wall, as a rule or with a smooth rail supported on two beacons, the surface is leveled.

The rule is led from the bottom up in sharp zigzags, strongly pressing against the lighthouses. If the solution has floated due to its thickness, then some part of it is removed to leave a distance for the second layer. Then the surface is treated with the notched side of the trowel, for better adhesion of the layers. After completely filling the space between the beacons and leveling the surface with the rule, the plaster is allowed to dry and the wooden beacons are removed. Then fill in the missing places in the corners. The surface obtained earlier is used as a beacon. You should not rub the plastered surface, let it be rather rough.

Average consumption per 1 mm of layer per 1 square meter for gypsum mixtures is 1.2 kg, and for cement – 1.5 kg.

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Comments: 2
  1. Rowan

    What are the most effective methods for leveling surfaces before applying cladding?

    Reply
  2. Carter Parker

    What techniques or tools are commonly used for leveling surfaces before cladding? Any recommendations or tips for ensuring a smooth and even surface?

    Reply
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