home · Installation · Step-by-step instruction “Screed for parquet with your own hands. How to prepare the floor for laying parquet board Laying parquet board on a dry Knauf screed

Step-by-step instruction “Screed for parquet with your own hands. How to prepare the floor for laying parquet board Laying parquet board on a dry Knauf screed

The main purpose of the screed is to level the surface on which the floor is laid. According to the manufacturing technology that has developed over decades, the slabs that serve as the bases for the floors in serial houses are made smooth only on one side - the one that will become the ceiling of the lower apartment. The side that should become the floor is always uneven, with bumps and depressions, often the ends of the rods of metal reinforcement stick out of it. In addition, floor level differences in an apartment often reach 10 cm. Even a non-specialist understands that no coating can be laid on such a surface with high quality.

Floor screed for parquet can be produced in various ways, for example, consider several options:

self-leveling floor
In European technology for the manufacture of screeds, special self-leveling mixtures are used - the so-called self-leveling floors. Under these mixtures, for additional noise and heat insulation, a layer of polystyrene foam is often placed, and for additional waterproofing, a polymer film is laid on top. Such a floor dries much faster than a conventional screed (approximately 10-15 days), depending on the thickness of the screed. Tiles, laminate and carpets can be laid directly on the self-leveling floor. For laying piece parquet, a layer of plywood is required. In addition, the self-leveling floor layer has a very small thickness (from 25 mm), which is especially convenient in apartments with low ceilings. The excellent qualities of this floor have made it very popular with a small difference in heights in the room.

Combined variant
In this option, a second layer of European self-levelling mixtures is placed on the primary screed - concrete mixture. Waterproofing of rubber or bituminous mastic is applied to such a double screed, and, of course, plywood is applied to it. On plywood, in turn, lay parquet, laminate or carpet. For ceramic tiles, plywood, of course, is not needed. Such a floor will cost much more, but its performance properties will be much higher.

Dry floor screed for parquet
It is a slab of gypsum-containing substance with a waterproofing coating, which are laid on a dry backfill or polystyrene. Dry backfill in this case has a leveling function. The plates are overlapped on top of each other to cover all joints and provide the necessary rigidity. Such a screed has significant advantages. First, it does not require drying. You can lay the flooring without waiting 30 days, as in the case of using traditional mixtures, but the very next day. Secondly, it is much lighter than traditional concrete mixes. Now, with the optimal thickness of the screed from 3 to 7 cm, one square meter has to be laid from 60 to 140 kg of the mixture. Agree, this is a very serious load on the floors and load-bearing walls of the house: for an apartment with a total area of ​​100 sq. m, it will be necessary to lay at least seven tons of concrete mix. The disadvantage of dry floor screed is the fear of moisture, leaks.

The parquet floor is beautiful, neat, flawless. Walking on it is a pleasure, but everything related to its styling causes completely different feelings. The prospect of pouring the screed is especially frightening, because the parquet board requires a perfectly even base. And if we also take into account the fact that modern floor coverings have very high quality characteristics, then preparing the floor for parquet boards can be delayed indefinitely due to increased requirements for the base. About how to properly prepare the floor for laying parquet and parquet boards, what are the requirements for the base and what methods for leveling the floor are used by experts and will be discussed in this article.

The preparatory stage in any business is crucial. Parquet flooring is no exception.

Leveling the base with a concrete screed

In general, the process of leveling the base with a concrete screed consists of several stages:

  1. setting zero level
  2. displaying lighthouses
  3. pouring screed
  4. leveling the base

However, even such painstaking work will not be enough if you decide to decorate your house with a parquet board. A concrete screed allows you to only partially level out the main height differences, which at this stage can be from 1 to 7 cm. That is why the next step on the way to the ideal floor will be pouring a self-leveling mixture. Whether it will be concrete or any other mixture is not important, the main thing is to reduce the size of the drops to a minimum.

Leveling a concrete screed with a self-levelling compound is a great way to create an even surface.

After the top layer has dried, it is necessary to lay sheets of moisture-resistant plywood, which will make the floor warmer and protect the parquet from moisture.

Of course, it is possible to lay the floorboard directly on the concrete, excluding pouring the self-levelling compound and laying the plywood from the list of works, but such slovenliness can lead to the sad consequences that you can see in council housing. In such apartments, the parquet is glued with mastic directly onto the concrete. As a result, after a year, the plates begin to loosen, creak and fall out of their nests.

Don't forget about waterproofing. Thus, you will get a four-layer base: concrete screed, betonite, waterproofing, moisture-resistant plywood.

Raised floors as an ideal basis for parquet boards

There are two options for raised floors:

  1. adjustable lug design
  2. adjustable plywood construction

In the first case, planed bars with threaded through holes are used for screwing bolts into them, which will later become a support for the log. These bolts can be adjusted in height, choosing the level that suits your apartment.

Due to the fact that the logs do not come into contact with the base of the concrete floor, the space under them is ventilated, creating comfortable conditions for long-term operation of the parquet. As a result of this leveling of the floor, everyone wins: parquet flooring lasts longer, you live better, because the temperature inside the rooms and the temperature of the floor will have the same values.

Leveling the subfloor with raised floors along the joists is a quick and sure way to give the floor the desired characteristics.

In addition, raised floors on adjustable joists have several other advantages:

  • they are easy to assemble - just unscrew or tighten the bolts
  • with them it is easy to change the height of the floor, creating interesting design solutions, for example, podiums for a bed or a dining area
  • with them you can not be afraid of emergencies related to water, because if moisture gets under the floor, then the parquet will not suffer from this in any way
  • various communications can be carried out under the lags.

The second option is suitable for those apartments in which the ceiling height is low enough to mount raised floors in them on adjustable logs. The design on adjustable plywood excludes the use of logs, which means that the maximum lifting height of the raised floor from the top of the base will be no more than 3 cm.

In this case, special plastic bushings are used, the threads of which are located inside. They are inserted into holes pre-drilled in plywood, and then plastic rack bolts are fixed in them. The plywood is rigidly fixed through the bolts on the base of the floor with metal dowels, and its alignment occurs due to the rotation of the bolts with a wrench.

With plywood, leveling the base is a fast process

When the first layer of plywood is completely laid and brought to perfection, you need to lay the second. Sheets of plywood of the second layer are laid apart from the first, in order to completely cover all joints. You need to fix plywood on self-tapping screws.

The benefits of raised floors:

  • quick installation
  • no dirt or dust
  • saving money
  • high sound and heat insulating characteristics
  • Reliability - floors guaranteed for 50 years or more
  • Possibility to increase floor height
  • reducing the load on floors
  • significant extension of the service life of the finish coating

With a concrete screed, everything is more difficult: it does not take long to fill it, but it takes a long time to level it, and even longer to wait for it to dry. The terms of work on the installation of a parquet board in case of leveling the base with a screed can shift by a whole month, because the concrete dries for at least 28 days.

Which of the ways of preparing the floor for parquet you choose is up to you, but remember that the parquet board loves when the base under it is perfectly even and perfectly smooth.

As with the installation of other types of flooring, two basic requirements are put forward for the base, the first of which is the absence of bumps and depressions on the surface, i.e. the ideal plane, and the second is branded strength. All requirements for floor screed for parquet are described in the documents SNiP 3.04.01-87 "Insulating and finishing coatings" and VSN 9-94 "Instructions for installing floors in residential and public buildings."

The evenness of the base can be checked using a horizontal rail, at least two meters long. It must be placed on the base of the floor, while the gap between the rail and the screed should not exceed two millimeters, and the slope can be up to 0.2% of the entire floor area, but not more than 50 millimeters. Only such a screed can be used for laying any type of parquet, whether it be classic piece parquet, parquet or solid board.

If there are still irregularities on the floor screed, they must be eliminated. In cases where the height differences do not exceed 20 millimeters, they can be leveled with a grinder or self-leveling compounds, such as Vetonit 3000. If, on the basis, height differences of more than 10-20 millimeters are noticeable, then the screed will have to be refilled.

There is also a requirement for self-leveling mixtures, according to SNiP 2.03.13-88 "Floors", their compressive strength should not be less than 150 kilograms per square centimeter. To ensure that the strength of the manufactured screed meets the standards, cement-sand mixtures of the M150 brand are used in the preparation of the mortar. If you are going to glue the parquet directly to the base, then you need to make a stronger screed, for the preparation of which cement-sand mixtures of the M300 brand are used.

If the screed does not imply the passage of any communications in it, then its average thickness is about 40 millimeters. It should be borne in mind that even such a small screed will dry out for about months, at the rate of one week for every 10 millimeters of screed. If for some reason you cannot wait that long, then it is better to use a semi-dry screed. It will significantly reduce the time for complete drying, but at the same time significantly increase the cost of the material. This is the only way to shorten the time. For this, many craftsmen try to force-dry the screed with a building hair dryer, but it is not advisable to do this, since the solution can become loose from air flows, and cracks can appear on the surface, which significantly reduces the quality of the base. But, even with the natural drying of the screed, rare cracks are not excluded, they will need to be repaired separately with a special solution.

, caring for it and the possibility of laying it on the old floor. Therefore, let's figure out whether it is necessary to prepare the floor for a parquet board?

In the documentation, almost all manufacturers say that the parquet board can be laid on any even, clean, solid and dry base. Vacuuming the floor is usually enough to keep the floor clean. Adhesive, bitumen, primer should be removed, as well as particles of dust, dirt or grease.

You can check how flat the subfloor is using a two-meter level or rule. Height differences should not be more than ± 2-3 mm (in rare cases - 5 mm) for every 2 m and more than ± 1-1.2 mm for every 20-25 cm. You can level the base using plywood, cement, sanding, putty and other means.

The screed must be completely dry. The moisture content of the subfloor should be no more than 2-2.5% for a concrete (cement) base (according to the CM method), no more than 8-12% for a wooden floor and no more than 0.5% for anhydrite. It usually takes about 10 days to thoroughly dry each centimeter of screed. In this case, adequate ventilation of the room must be ensured. If the thickness of the screed exceeds 6 cm, then for each extra cm, an additional 3 weeks should be laid for drying.

In addition, the foundation must be strong. The recommended values ​​for the strength of the self-leveling floor and reinforced concrete screed are 150 kg / cm ² (15 MPa). The stability of the floor is also important: the base should not sag more than 1.5 mm under a load of 200 kg.

Should old flooring be removed?

When laying parquet board with adhesive, any old floor covering must be completely removed before you proceed with the installation of the parquet board.

When laying parquet boards using the floating method, it is necessary to completely remove only those coatings that allow moisture to pass through. This is primarily carpet, felt and other fleecy floor coverings, including carpet.

Moisture-resistant floor coverings may not be removed. If the base of the floor along with them is even, dry and clean, then the parquet board can be laid directly on them. Such coatings mainly include linoleum, PVC tiles, ceramic tiles and some others.

Keep in mind that the parquet board can only be laid on the old tiles in a floating way, but not on glue.

Laying parquet board on an old wooden floor

If you want to lay parquet boards on an old wooden base, then you must either remove the old flooring or put it in order.

To do this, it is necessary to remove all carpets and other coverings on top of the plank floor, and then securely fasten each board with self-tapping screws. They must be fastened together, making up an even base. At the same time, the boards should not be damaged by insects or covered with mold - they should be clean and strong.

Laying a new parquet board on the floor must be carried out in the opposite direction. The maximum allowable wood moisture content is 12%. It is also necessary to provide ventilation of the floor directly under the boards. For this, ventilation holes of 4 square meters should be provided. cm for every 1 sq. m floor.

Laying parquet on the screed is carried out only with preliminary leveling of the base floor. If the unevenness of the base floor exceeds 2 cm, then a screed can be used to level the floor (cement-sand screed, semi-dry screed with fiber). If the unevenness of the floor is less than 2 cm, then self-leveling mixtures (self-leveling floor) are suitable for leveling. All these works are included in the repair of the apartment ().

Laying parquet on a screed - stages of work

After the screed has completely dried, you can start laying the parquet. Laying parquet on the screed takes place in the following steps:

  • Primer screed;
  • Vapor barrier of concrete flooring;
  • plywood laying;
  • parquet flooring;
  • Sanding parquet;
  • Priming and varnishing parquet.

Primer screed

Before priming, the surface of the screed must be vacuumed. Primer screed otherwise, the primer coating will finally dedust the surface of the screed and create the first layer of vapor barrier. The screed is primed with a roller, starting from the corner to the exit.

Vapor barrier of concrete pavement

Vapor barrier is protection of the parquet flooring from the ingress of moisture from the screed to the parquet. Concerning the vapor barrier before laying parquet, there are opposing opinions. I stick with the following:

Vapor barrier before laying parquet is required . Only for vapor barrier use a special vapor barrier film (e.g. Eurovent) or a special vapor barrier compound (e.g. Elastopaz and Elastomix)

Plywood flooring before laying parquet

Parquet must not be laid on a concrete floor. Under the parquet on the screed, you need to lay one layer of plywood with a thickness of 12-18 mm. In this case, the thickness of plywood must be at least 3/4 of the thickness of the parquet.

Plywood before laying must be sawn into squares from 45 × 45 cm to 75 × 75 cm. This is done for two reasons.. The first is to relieve physical stress in plywood sheets, which can cause skew of large sheets and subsequent skew of the parquet. The second one is the possibility of smaller focal repair of the parquet in case of its emergency swelling.

Plywood sheets are laid on a two-component adhesive, fixed with self-tapping screws on plastic dowels and pressed down with a load.

At the same time, plywood is laid with a “brick” offset and expansion joints 3-5 between sheets and 7-10 mm. Between the sheets and the wall. For artistic parquet, expansion joints between sheets should be minimal.

Note: To increase the sound insulation of the parquet floor, two layers of 2 mm cork coating (sound insulator) should be laid under the plywood layer.

Self-tapping screws for fastening plywood are wrapped with a slight depth. Such a deepening will not interfere with the next step: sanding the plywood.

Sanding plywood

The laid plywood needs to be sanded. This is done by grinders with medium and fine sandpaper.

After sanding the plywood, the surface must be dedusted with a vacuum cleaner and coated with a primer to improve the adhesion of the parquet adhesive to the plywood.

Before laying the parquet, the plywood should be kept on the floor for 3-5 days, for climatization with the room.

Parquet installation

The parquet is laid according to a pre-selected parquet pattern. Laying parquet is made on a special glue. Glue is applied to the floor with a spatula. The parquets are shot to the edge of the plywood along the edge of the plank. For this, a special pneumatic or mechanical tool is used.

Sanding parquet

Before polishing the parquet, you need to take a technological break of 5-7 days, depending on the humidity of the room. During this period, the parquet "settle down" and it can be sanded.

Parquet varnishing

To be made with a preliminary varnish primer. Lacquer coating is applied in several layers. Each layer of varnish, except for the last one, needs to be sanded. This removes the pile of wood from the parquet.

That's all! The laying of the parquet on the screed is completed. Walk on the beautiful floor.