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How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

3D technology now makes it easier than ever to make self-leveling floors with your own hands. This guide will show you how to use specialized equipment to create a perfectly smooth surface in a fraction of the time it would take to spread and level concrete mix manually. You'll also be able to achieve greater accuracy and uniformity in your flooring while avoiding the costly mistakes from relying on manual techniques. By following the simple steps outlined in this guide, you can now achieve a perfectly level floor every single time!

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The now popular 3D effect floor can be assembled independently, with minimal finishing skills. You will learn how to do this from our article, where we will tell you in detail about what materials and tools are needed, and also consider the step-by-step installation technology.

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

The emerging new technologies for creating three-dimensional coatings open up a huge field for the imagination of designers. In the thickness of the transparent polymer material of 3D floors, you can place almost any image that will emphasize the stylistic orientation of a room or hall, creating a three-dimensional effect. Such work is within the power of not only specialists, if you carefully follow the technology and act strictly in stages, a three-dimensional floor can be made independently. Let’s try it.

We prepare everything you need for work

We need:

  • a ventilation hood for air purification or a fan for forced ventilation of the room;
  • aeration needle roller;
  • drill with a nozzle for mixing the composition;
  • brush or roller;
  • puncher;
  • grinder with a diamond disc;
  • rule;
  • construction level;
  • shoes with spikes on the soles;
  • clean buckets;
  • vacuum cleaner;
  • transparent polymer mixture based on ED-20 resin;
  • hardener PEPA (polyethylene polyamine);
  • decorative elements;
  • polyethylene film.

As decorative elements of the future floor, you can use the artist’s drawings, photographs, colored sand or pebbles, various crystals, dried plants, anything that your imagination tells.

We carry out preparation of the subfloor

It is necessary to remove the old covering from the floor, to dismantle the interior doors and skirting boards. For rooms with high humidity, waterproofing should be installed – this will extend the life of the floor. Then a concrete screed is performed, followed by its leveling with a cement-sand mortar.

Any self-leveling floors require a dry base. Therefore, before starting work with polymer material, the fresh screed is allowed to dry for at least 30 days..

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

In the process of further preparation you need:

  • remove any irregularities with a puncher and grinder;
  • to seal potholes and cracks in the screed with a mixture of cement and epoxy;
  • remove oil stains from the floor surface with thinner or gasoline, if any;
  • clean the prepared floor from small debris using a vacuum cleaner.

Then the concrete base is primed twice with a roller or brush, the first layer should dry well. This is done using a KNAUF primer for adhesion of the screed materials and the polymer layer of the future 3D floor.

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

Apply a base polymer layer

It is necessary for placing decorative elements on it. This work begins no later than a day and no earlier than 4 hours after priming..

When using artificial or natural materials, the base layer serves as a background for them. Therefore, you need to adjust its shade and perform the laying of the elements with high quality.

Before performing work, wear rubber gloves and turn on forced ventilation, since the components of the polymer mixture are very toxic.

For work, you can choose any polymer based on epoxy resins of domestic and foreign manufacturers: Bautech (Poland), IVSIL, NMG (Russia), Prospectors, Budmeister, Litokol, ABS (Sweden), Uzin (Germany), Caparol, Forbo , Durocem (Italy), “Fomalhaut-Polimin”, Vetonit (Finland), “Osnovit”, Bergauf, etc. Their products are distinguished by high adhesion to substrates, strength, resistance to chemical attack and ultraviolet rays. The average price for epoxy compounds with a hardener is 280-350 rubles per kilogram.

The minimum consumption of a self-leveling floor is determined by its fluidity over the surface of the base. At a lower flow rate, an ideal surface will not work. Therefore, it is usually taken 1 liter of the composition per 1 m2 floor with a layer of 1 mm.

It is also necessary to take into account the density of the solution to adjust its flow rate. Epoxy floors have a final density of 1.5 kg / l. Applying this coefficient, we obtain a flow rate of 1×1.5 = 1.5 kg / m2 with a layer of 1 mm.

Some manufacturers in order to reduce the cost of materials for self-leveling floors add heavy fillers to them. This increases the density of the composition and, accordingly, the cost of 1 m2 floor by about 30%. In most cases, the purchase of such mixtures is not economically feasible. Below is a table of material consumption and prices for 1 m2 self-leveling floor.

Materials for 3D floor Price RUB / kg Consumption for 1 m2/ kg
3D priming material 280 0.35
Base coat for 3D coatings 357 2.2
Finishing 3D layer 472 2.0

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

Now we are preparing the solution. To do this, mix the transparent finishing polymer with a suitable solvent in a 2: 1 ratio using a drill mixer with attachment. Then a hardener is added at the rate of 8–10% of the polymer weight. The process involves the use of clean dishes: a bucket, a basin or a tank. The polymer mixture is prepared in batches to produce it with leveling in one go. This is due to the rapid, within half an hour, the beginning of the hardening of the composition.

After thorough mixing, pour the mixture onto the floor surface. Base layer alignment is done by rule. In this case, a special needle roller is used, rolling the spilled substance with it, you need to remove air bubbles from it. In a day, the base layer will completely polymerize..

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

Apply the image

This is arguably the most expensive part in 3D flooring..

There are two ways to create an image for a 3D floor:

  • make a drawing with special paints
  • stick the finished image

The first method is safer, more efficient and much more expensive than the second. Here paints are used that are resistant to sunlight for a long time. The artist’s work to create a drawing is the main expense of the first method. After the paint has dried, it should be covered with a layer of protective varnish. This way you can protect the image from the impact of subsequent operations on the floor..

Sticking a ready-made image is the most common and affordable way. To do this, you need to select a drawing suitable for the room and process it using a graphics editor: adjust color, contrast, brightness, stretch, etc. Then you should print the image in the desired size on a suitable medium. An inexpensive option is a banner fabric with thermal printing and vinyl film. The work is carried out in a printing house, the resolution of the picture is selected with a value of over 1440 dpi. Cost 1 m2 image is about $ 100.

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

Transfer the printed image to the base as follows:

  1. Prime the base coat with a brush or roller. The primer is made from the finishing material diluted with solvent no. 646 in a 2: 1 ratio. Primer consumption – 300 g / m2.
  2. Then we carefully lay the image, press it and roll it with a dry roller to avoid the formation of air bubbles under it.

Then move on to the next step..

Apply the finishing layer

First, let’s calculate the required amount of transparent polymer for pouring it. With a layer thickness of 3 mm (this is its minimum value) per 1 m2 coating requires 4–5 kg of material. Greater effect of the “depth” of the 3D floor is achieved by increasing the layer thickness.

The procedure for working here is the same as when applying the base coat:

  • preparation of polymer solution;
  • its neat filling on the drawing;
  • leveling the surface with the rule;
  • rolling the layer with a needle roller to remove air bubbles.

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

You can only move on a fresh layer in shoes with high spikes on the sole.

After laying the polymer mixture, cover the finished floor with a film to gradually gain strength..

The final curing time of a new coating depends on its thickness, humidity and room temperature. On average – from one week to three.

How to make self-leveling floors using 3D technology with your own hands

Now, when the finishing layer of the floor has hardened, one simple procedure remains to be done. For additional protection against various damages, the 3D floor should be covered with a protective varnish. The properties of such a material will subsequently make it possible to do wet cleaning using any detergents.

The hardened polymer of the floor so reliably grows into its base that it is necessary to dismantle its pieces literally “with meat”, while removing part of the base itself, but this only confirms the strength of the 3D floor. If you get tired of his image, instead of dismantling it will be easier to apply another coating on top. Based on these “shortcomings”, 3D self-leveling coatings are made once and for a long time, especially since its service life is more than 20 years.

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Comments: 3
  1. Cambria

    Can you provide a step-by-step guide or any tips on how to create self-leveling floors using 3D technology on your own? I’m interested in trying it out but not sure where to begin. Any advice or resources would be much appreciated!

    Reply
  2. Piper

    Can you provide step-by-step instructions on how to create self-leveling floors using 3D technology without professional assistance?

    Reply
  3. Avery Russell

    I’m curious about the process of creating self-leveling floors using 3D technology. Can you provide step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish this DIY project? Are there any specific tools or materials required? And what are some common challenges one might face during the process? Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge!

    Reply
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