Methods for leveling a wooden floor: how to level without removing the old plank flooring. How to level wooden floors? Leveling a wooden floor with your own hands under linoleum or laminate How to level an uneven floor from boards

The wooden floor begins to crack over time and lose its smooth surface. Therefore, sooner or later, the owners of houses with such floors face the question of covering them with new material. And for this, as you know, you first need to make the base perfectly flat.

Of course, leveling a wooden floor is not so easy, but if you follow all the tips and recommendations, then every home craftsman can handle this task.

General information

Wooden floors are those types of coatings that require constant care, as wood is subject to drying, warping and cracking. The leveling of the wooden coating allows you to eliminate various irregularities that can spoil the new coating in the future.

This applies to both hard floor materials, such as parquet or laminate, and soft floor materials, such as carpet or linoleum.

Do-it-yourself floor leveling can be done in one of several ways:

• Cycling;
• Using putty and PVA glue;
• plywood;
• Self leveling compound.

Determination of the state of coverage

To choose the right leveling method, it is necessary to determine the condition of the wooden floor.

This is done as follows:

• First you need to check the boards for non-susceptibility to rot and insect damage.. To do this, tear off one board and inspect its reverse side and log. If the board is dry and sound, with no signs of insect damage, then the floor does not need to be changed. If foci of decay or cracks are found, then low-quality boards will have to be replaced.
• Then you need to determine how much the floor deviated from the horizontal. This procedure can be performed using a laser level.

If the floor has many irregularities and deviations from the horizontal, then leveling or self-leveling mixture. If the floor is horizontal, but has surface defects, then they can be repaired with putty or scraped.

floor leveling

Alignment with scraper

Looping is one of the simplest and, but at the same time, the most time-consuming. Most often it is used in cases where they do not want to cover the tree with another material. Therefore, scraping is especially popular when leveling floors in wooden houses.

This method is of two types:

• Manual;
• Mechanical.

Manual scraping for the floor is too laborious and almost always unjustified. The mechanical one is carried out by a special scraping machine, respectively, it is of better quality. Therefore, if you have a question - how to level the floors in a wooden house, then mechanical sanding would be the best solution, provided that this procedure allows you to complete the condition of the coating.

This operation is carried out as follows:

• Before leveling the floor in a wooden house, it is necessary to prepare the surface. To do this, you need to pull out all the nails and buttons that can damage the scraping machine.
• Then all security measures should be taken, i.e. wear a respirator that will protect against dust and wood dispersion, as well as tight gloves.
• After that, you can proceed to the loop itself. You should start the operation from the corner and move with a snake from one wall to another, removing the first layer.
• Hard-to-reach places must be processed by manual sanding.
• It is possible that after this the floor surface will not be perfect, in which case cracks and holes should be repaired with putty, which has a color similar to wood.
• When the putty dries well, the floor should be cycled again.

Advice!
If a board is too badly damaged, then it can be turned over to the other side.

After the scraping work is completed, you should start cleaning up debris and dust. The surface must be thoroughly vacuumed and wiped with a cloth impregnated with a degreasing agent before varnishing.

Note!
Leveling can only be considered successful if the entire surface is smooth and free of any irregularities.

Leveling with PVA and putty

Recently, homeowners are increasingly using the method of leveling floors with PVA glue and putty. This method is the most unusual and innovative. With the help of sawdust, putty and PVA, a mixture is made that covers the floor. After hardening, it becomes strong and difficult to process.

Since the price of all components of such a coating is not at all high, it can be called a budget solution. In this case, the result resembles chipboard, with the only difference being that liquid putty can penetrate into the cracks. This type of leveling also combines floor insulation.

The work is carried out in several stages:

• First of all, slats-beacons are set on the floor according to the level, in the likeness of beacons for a screed;
• Then the floor is filled with a prepared mixture of PVA and sawdust.
• If it is necessary to apply a thick layer of sawdust, then the procedure should be performed in several stages. First, the first layer is applied, then, after complete drying, the second layer can be applied. All subsequent layers are applied after the previous one has dried.
• Then all errors must be checked using a level. If any are found, irregularities should be eliminated by applying additional putty material.

Advice!
So that sawdust does not absorb all the moisture from PVA, they can be pre-wetted.

Leveling with self leveling compound

If you want to cover the floor with new material, and not just paint or varnish, then sanding will not work in this case. You will have to use another way to level the floor - a self-leveling mixture.

To date, there are mixtures on the market that are designed exclusively for leveling wooden floors. They will allow even the most warped floor to find a perfectly flat and smooth surface. In this case, the thickness of the coating will be 0.5-2 cm.

The instruction for leveling the surface in this way is as follows:

• First you need to prepare the surface, i.e. fix all the boards so that they do not stagger. To do this, you can use screws or self-tapping screws. All nail heads must be driven below floor level.
• The next stage of preparation consists in grinding the surface, removing all varnish or paint residues from it. If there are large gaps in the floor, then they must be sealed with a self-levelling mixture of a thicker consistency than for pouring floors.
• Then the surface should be primed with a waterproof primer.
• After that, the level, the thickness of the layer are determined and a bar is installed in the doorway, equal in height to the thickness of the future coating.
• Then, a reinforced mesh with an overlap of several centimeters should be laid on the primed floor. You can fix it with a construction stapler.
• When the surface is prepared, you can prepare the mixture according to the instructions on the package and pour it onto the reinforced floor. The resulting bubbles should be eliminated with a studded roller. After that, the mixture must be leveled on the floor with a rubber smooth roller.

In the photo - removing bubbles with a roller

Note!
An excess volume of water can simplify the process, but it will lead to delamination of the coating.

Leveling wood flooring with plywood

This method is extremely common and popular. If you follow the instructions, it will allow you to get a flat surface suitable for covering with any floor material.

To align with plywood, you must perform the following steps:

• Along the entire perimeter, it is necessary to place self-tapping screws or screws like beacons at a certain level. Then the floor should be divided into squares with sides of 200-300 mm and beacons should be placed in the corners.
• After the level is set, it is necessary to lay the logs - plywood strips 3 cm wide, attaching them to the floor with self-tapping screws or glue.
• Then you need to cut the sheets into squares of approximately 60x60 cm.
• Sheets must be attached to the lags with self-tapping screws, placing them in a checkerboard pattern.

Advice!
Before mounting plywood sheets, you need to pay attention to their ends.
If they delaminate, then the material is not suitable for installation.

Conclusion

See the video in this article for more information on this topic." width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">

Conclusion

As we can see, modern technologies allow every homeowner to quickly and accurately level a wooden floor. The main thing is to have at least minor skills in working with the tool and follow the instructions above.

For more information on this topic, see the video in this article.

If the wooden floor has lost its attractive appearance or has irregularities, then you should not immediately dismantle it. It is better to use the recommendations on how to level the wooden floor and varnish it, or you can apply a decorative coating, such as linoleum. Work can be carried out without tearing the boards. Leveling a wooden floor takes place in several stages. Let's consider them in more detail.

Preparatory stage

First of all, it is necessary to make a thorough inspection of the old wooden flooring. Assess the feasibility of restoration work. Using the building level, determine how large the degree of floor difference in the apartment is. Further, they measure the room at the same distance from the corners, mark the strokes on the walls, as well as in the center of the floor. With the help of the building level, distances are measured, the degree of surface difference is determined. In the absence of broken, rotten boards, the presence of small scratches, cracks, chips or damage to the paint layer, the surface can be restored by sanding.

If the floor has significant irregularities, and the difference in its different parts is more than 5 cm, then for leveling, you can make a screed or lay a layer of plywood on the logs.

Surface putty

If the difference between the floor level in its different parts is no more than 3 mm, wooden boards can be treated with acrylic sealant or putty. Before filling, the surface should be primed. If the floor has a small area, then use a construction gun with acrylic sealant. For a large area of ​​wood floors, you will need acrylic putty, which is sold in large volumes in buckets. It is not recommended to lay a layer of putty with a thickness of more than 3 mm. To obtain a finished surface that matches the base, a colored sealant of the same shade is applied.

If it is planned to lay linoleum on a leveled wooden floor base, then the puttied surface must be sanded. To eliminate defects on wooden skirting boards, wood mastic is used. If it is necessary to solve the problem of how to level the wooden floor under the laminate, then to give greater strength to the wooden base, instead of building materials based on acrylic, you can use a composition based on PVA glue. For a layer with a height of not more than 2 mm, a finishing gypsum putty on PVA is used. With a higher layer height, wooden boards are covered with starting putty or PVA-based wood sawdust.

Due to the increased stickiness of the compositions, it is quite difficult to apply them evenly on the floor, and the resulting surface will require prolonged grinding until it is completely leveled. However, the base will turn out to be durable and can be used under a laminate or linoleum.

Processing with a scraping machine

Floor scraping is a simple process. Even a beginner can level a wooden floor with their own hands. For processing it is recommended to use a scraping machine. Before starting work, you need to make sure that the boards are firmly nailed, screws and nails do not stick out. Otherwise, the machine is likely to break down. A layer of a wooden board with a thickness of not more than 3 mm is removed mechanically. After removing the top layer of the wooden coating, all holes and cracks must be sealed with putty, the tone of which matches the color of the base. Mastic is used to seal cracks. In hard-to-reach places, surface treatment is carried out manually.

It is recommended to use the cycling method in a non-residential apartment. Since the process of the machine is accompanied by a lot of noise and high dust formation. In order to protect your hearing and breathing organs from dust or noise, you must use a mask, headphones and goggles. Treated boards must be cleaned of dust, wiped with a sponge dipped in solvent, and then varnished or painted.

Screed options

There are two ways to level an old wooden floor with a screed:

• pour a regular cement screed,
• use self-levelling mortars.

When choosing the first option, it must be taken into account that a cement mixture screed with a thickness of more than 5 cm will increase the load on the foundation and floors of the building by more than 70 kg / m2. In this regard, a cement screed is not recommended for use in a private house with wooden floors. When pouring a screed from a cement mixture, to protect the wooden floor from moisture, it must be insulated with a layer of polyethylene. When using a self-levelling mortar for leveling a wooden floor, an elastic and smooth base is formed, which is well suited for all types of flooring, including under linoleum.

Work with self-leveling compounds

This method can be used both in a wooden house and in buildings with concrete floors. At the initial stage, the preparation of a wooden surface is carried out. It is necessary to check whether the boards are securely attached to the floor base, and whether all screws and nails are screwed in below its level. Then the wooden base is sanded with a vacuum cleaner, the old layers of paint are removed and the floor is cleaned of dust. To seal the cracks, a special mastic for wood is used.

A layer of moisture-proof primer is applied to the prepared wooden surface, which will ensure good adhesion of the base and the self-leveling mixture. On the walls of the room, using the building level, mark the upper limit of pouring the mixture. A reinforcing mesh is laid on the floor, overlapping adjacent canvases. Then, according to the instructions, a self-leveling mixture is prepared and poured into it. For a more even distribution of the mixture, you can use a rubber studded roller. After the composition has dried, a coating is laid on the floor, for example, linoleum.

Leveling a wooden floor with a mixture is one of the simple and high-quality ways to get a smooth finish in an apartment or private house.

When and what kind of plywood is used

Covering an old wooden base with plywood sheets will hide even significant damage, as well as level the floor difference of more than one centimeter. Let's take a closer look: how to level a wooden floor with plywood.

• First of all, you need to choose the right sheet material. For a slight alignment of the base under linoleum or carpet, you can use sheets of plywood with a thickness of about 1 cm. For a base under parquet or laminate, use sheet material with a thickness of at least 2 cm.

• The environmental performance of the material is also important. In an apartment or a private house, plywood of the FK or FSF brands is used. The FK brand material is made without the use of phenols and is the most harmless to human health. However, indicators of resistance to moisture and mechanical damage are average. In the production of FSF grade material, formaldehyde resins are used. Plywood does not have high environmental properties, but is more durable and moisture resistant.

The leveling of the wooden floor with plywood is carried out using the first and second grades of sheet material. Linoleum or carpet can be laid on a plywood base.

Preparation of the surface and material for work

First you need to inspect the wooden boards, secure them firmly or replace damaged ones. If communication pipes are found under a wooden base, they are examined for damage or the need for replacement. After installing the plywood coating, it will be more difficult to replace.

Sheet material must be kept indoors for several days. As a result, the humidity of the material and the air in the room will be the same. This will reduce the likelihood of deformation after installation. If you plan to lay linoleum or laminate, be sure to arrange ventilation holes.

Methods for fastening sheet material

There are several ways to fix the material on the surface of a wooden floor.

Plywood is laid directly on boards, logs are not used. Adjacent sheets of material are placed at a distance of 0.5 cm and indented from the walls at least 1.5 cm. Then, wood mastic is applied to seal the indents. Plywood sheets are evenly attached to the highest points of the subfloor. If several layers of material are laid, then brickwork technology is used.

Another method involves creating a base in the form of a grid of logs and boards. Logs are bars made of wood or plywood, about 4 cm wide. Logs are mounted with an indent from the walls of at least three centimeters. A sheet material is attached over the resulting base. To seal the cracks, mastic is used.

With large differences in the level of the base of the floor, mini-lags are mounted. To obtain a flat floor surface as a result of work, accurate calculations are made of the places where the mini-lag is established, their height and size. To increase the height of the support, the logs are placed on special point supports. Lags are fixed with special glue or self-tapping screws.

Logs can be replaced with a crate of point supports made of pieces of timber or thick plywood, which are called shabashki. The thickness of the supports is calculated based on the difference in floor height. Sabbaths are installed at a distance of about 40 cm from each other, forming a grid. Sheets of plywood are stacked on the resulting grid of cobs and attached to them. To eliminate the gaps, wood mastic is used.

To improve the thermal and sound insulation properties of the floor, a thin layer of insulating material is laid on the logs and between them. After installing the plywood base, it is recommended to varnish it.

For decorative flooring, linoleum or other finishing material is covered.

The boardwalk sags over time, creaks, cracks, deflections, and slabs form. In order not to dismantle the coating, various surface leveling techniques are used, which we will discuss in the article.

Dismantling is a laborious, costly and dirty business. If the array is good, strong, without traces of rot, mold, and the size of the differences and cracks do not exceed a few centimeters, then the floor can be leveled by the following methods:

1. local alignment.
2. Cyclevka.
3. Dry screed.
4. Self-leveling screeds or screeds.

How to determine the best floor leveling? The simplest thing is to measure the differences with a level or a control measuring rail 2 m long. According to SNiP 3.04.01-87 (SP 29.13330.2001), the size of the irregularities should not exceed 2 mm per meter of the base.

If the differences are local, that is, slabs and recesses have formed in small areas, then the protruding boards can simply be scraped off with a planer or any other suitable tool, and the concave ones can be leveled with an elastic putty, sealant or homemade PVA paste and wood flour. After processing, the surface must be protected with varnish or enamel.

In cases where the differences do not exceed 1 cm on average over the entire floor, you can use a parquet grinder to remove extra millimeters of wood. This method, although dusty, is fast enough. It is better to rent a professional device, then purchase consumables and renew the old wooden floor for further varnishing or painting in 1-2 days. There is only one limitation - after processing, the height of the wood layer from the surface to the tongue should be at least 2-3 mm.

For more significant differences, a sheet or cement-sand screed is used. In the first case, sheets of chipboard, plywood, OSB, GVL, DSP and others serve as a means of smoothing. In the second - traditional wet leveling with the obligatory use of a separating waterproofing layer.

How to level a wooden floor with sanding

You will need the following tools and materials:

Wooden floorboards must be dry, durable and clean. The allowable gap between them is no more than 5 mm. All metal elements must be removed or sunk into the floor to the intended grinding depth.

Work begins with refueling with abrasive coarse nozzles, and the clamping force of the device is regulated with a special screw. Experts recommend the first treatment along the fibers. You need to move smoothly, without haste, jerks and excessive downtime. After several passes, the belt is replaced with finer sanding material.

The next strip should start with an offset of 2/3 relative to the previous one. As the grinding nozzle wears out, it is replaced with a new one.

It is recommended to finish grinding on a belt with a grain size modulus of at least 240 units. Only in this case, the leveled floor will be smooth, almost perfect. In the future, the surface can be treated with a primer or stain, putty and coated with any protective compound - oil, varnish, wax or enamel.

More information on looping.

Leveling the floor with a dry screed

With minor differences up to 1 cm high, wooden flooring can be leveled with any rigid sheet material - chipboard, OSB, plywood and others. Soft analogues like hardboard or substrate are not suitable, as they take the form of a base.

For leveling, plates with a thickness of at least 8 mm are used. Optimal - 16-18 mm. In particularly difficult cases, professionals recommend a two-layer flooring with seams offset by ½ or 1/3 of the sheet width. Such an overlap will ensure the reliability and durability of the structure.

If the boards creak, then it is advisable to pull them to the lags or base base before work. Plywood, chipboard, OSB are screwed to the base around the perimeter and crosswise, the interval between the fasteners should not exceed 30-40 cm. It is not necessary to follow the symmetry of the fixation points, because this is a subfloor. There is no need to lay anything between the boarding and the leveling slab. The only recommendation is to treat the materials with an antiseptic primer to eliminate any possibility of mold and fungi.

Advice! It is undesirable to use nails to fix plywood or chipboard. Materials may crack or split. The best solution is self-tapping screws.

With significant differences - more than 1 cm - the most optimal solution is to form an analogue of adjustable or raised floors. The bottom line is that suitable hardware is installed in the floorboards in increments of 10-20 cm, forming a new support above the floor. The height is determined by the level. See the video below for more details.

If there is a need to make additional insulation, then the technology of arranging the floor according to the logs is used:

1. Logs are attached to the boards. If necessary, pieces of plywood or wood are placed under the bars.
2. A diffusion membrane or complex vapor-waterproofing is laid over the finished frame.
3. A suitable insulation is inserted into the gaps (expanded clay backfill, mineral or ecowool, coniferous slabs, and others).
4. From above, the structure is closed with a vapor barrier material with an overlap of 15-20 cm. The joints must be glued with adhesive tape.
5. GVL slabs, grooved chipboard and others are laid. Sheets are fastened with screws or studs to the logs in increments of 30-40 cm.

Remember that only materials with a vapor permeability coefficient greater than zero should be used with wood. Insulators such as extruded polystyrene foam, polyethylene foam will not allow the wood to "breathe", which will lead to mold and rotting areas.

Since plywood, chipboard, OSB are derivatives of wood, these materials are characterized by seasonal fluctuations in linear dimensions. Therefore, it is desirable to leave a compensation gap at the wall of at least 5 mm.

You can often hear the advice "do not suffer with fasteners, glue the sheets to the tree." Such "experts" forget that joinery or structural glue is not a filling agent, so there will be a void in the gaps. Any adhesive composition (with the exception of adhesive sealants) is an adhesive compound that binds two components into a single whole. Therefore, the recommendation is relevant only for floors with minimal and very rare differences.

Leveling the boardwalk with self-leveling compounds

Mobile mixes based on cement or gypsum are rarely used to create a flat floor on a wooden base. The reason is simple - a long drying time and a lot of problems that arise (cracks, delamination, etc.). In addition, mineral mixtures, including thin-layer ones, weigh a lot and create heavy loads on the supporting frame of the house.

Not all compounds are suitable for wooden decking. Only those on the label of which plywood, chipboard, boards are indicated as bases. But it is better to play it safe and lay a waterproofing material between the layers that can protect the tree from water, prevent it from rotting and swelling.

The thickness of the cement-sand screed is not regulated, but a layer of 5-6 cm is considered optimal. Self-leveling self-leveling mixtures are used either complex (cement-gypsum) or cement with a layer of 3-7 cm. Thin-layer compositions are not suitable for such work.

• remove dirt, loose and rotten elements;
• replace damaged or dropped strips with new ones;
• fill gaps between lamellas, pits, chips with putty or sealant.

As a separating layer, a polyethylene film with a thickness of at least 150 microns, etc. can be used. The material is laid over the entire surface with a call to the walls. The joints are fastened with adhesive tape, a damper tape is glued around the perimeter.

Instead of films, the use of waterproofing compounds is allowed. These can be primers, water repellents, special impregnators and much more. The selected agent must be liquid and absorbent so that no oil or bituminous film forms on the surface.

Next, you can carry out the filling. The mixture is mixed with water in accordance with the instructions and distributed evenly over the floor. Self-levelling compositions must be additionally rolled with a spiked roller to remove air bubbles (deaeration). The last step is to cover the surface with a film to ensure proper drying and curing. After 7-28 days the floor is ready for use.

So, we told you how to level a wooden floor without tearing the boards. Choose the technology based on the features of your design, while trying to take into account all factors - from weight to operational comfort.

Advice! If you need repairmen, there is a very convenient service for their selection. Just send in the form below a detailed description of the work to be done and you will receive offers with prices from construction teams and firms by mail. You can see reviews of each of them and photos with examples of work. It's FREE and there's no obligation.

The use of plywood is rightfully considered an economical and well-established way of leveling the floor surface in wooden buildings. Dry screed using sheet material does not require incredible labor costs, does not require significant financial investments. There are no tangible technological breaks in the process that delay the finishing. But there are nuances that an independent performer needs to know about. Before proceeding with the planned repair, you should figure out how to level the wooden floor using plywood sheets in order to avoid unwanted and not at all cheap alterations.

How to create an impeccably flat surface using factory adjustable systems, the videos will demonstrate in great detail. The video is aimed at owners of city apartments with concrete floors.

In principle, the method of installing adjustable logs with plywood or plywood sheets with anchor posts on a wooden base does not differ from the scheme of their installation over cement slabs.

If the owner of a country bath has a surplus of money, he may well use ready-made adjustable sets. Alignment in the rest room, in the billiard room or in the dressing room will be carried out quickly and without much effort. However, we certainly will not classify adjustable plywood and logs as cheap methods. Let's explore budget options.

Methods and techniques for leveling plywood

The choice of the optimal technology for leveling a wooden floor with plywood determines the condition of the floors and the degree of deviation of the “relief” of the surface from the norm specified by the building requirements:

• with a difference in height levels of 2 mm, found on a plot of 1 m 2, even for laying linoleum, which is extremely sensitive to deviations, alignment is not required. A sufficient measure would be processing with acrylic sealant or puttying with a home-made mixture of moistened sawdust and PVA glue;
• with uniform deformation of properly laid floorboards with a difference in height levels of 5 mm, leveling the floor with plywood can be done by attaching the sheets directly to the plank floor;
• height differences of more than 1 cm, but not more than 8 cm, require the creation of point or strip supports. In fact, the process consists in arranging a crate from a bar or from cobs that replace solid logs, for the manufacture of which thick plywood or board is used.

Proper laying means that the builders alternated boards with different directions of the pattern of annual wood rings according to technological requirements. This means that bulges-humps or concavities-boats on the floor appeared through one or two boards.

If it is not possible to level the wooden floor with your own hands without problems due to too large height fluctuations, the structure must be dismantled and built from new lumber. Such serious deviations certainly have no less serious reasons.

It is important to note that dry leveling plywood can only be used if there are no complaints about the technical characteristics of the floor.

How to determine the difference in height?

A laser device is an excellent thing, but a two-meter level gauge will be more effective as a measuring tool in this case. It makes it easier to study the surface. It is necessary to mark the points in the corners of the room being repaired, to find and designate the centers of the floor and wall interface lines, the center of the room. Having divided the room into peculiar segments, it is necessary to examine each section. Evaluation of the recorded results will draw a picture of the upcoming repair.

Regardless of the range of upcoming work, it is imperative to carry out an audit and repair of the foundation. It is necessary to eliminate the creak, update the fasteners, replace the damaged elements, check the performance of the "underground" communications.

Method #1 - The "easiest" without installing a lag

Before laying plywood, it is necessary to provide the opportunity to "get used" to the conditions of the upcoming service. The material intended for arranging a regularly heated room needs to stand on the edge for a couple of days where it will be laid. In a room that is not spoiled by permanent, sheets moistened with warm water should stand for at least a day.

All wood floor elements and dry screed materials based on wood veneer or fibers are pre-treated with an antiseptic.

The easiest way to level the floor with plywood is the method without installing a lag. Installation of the support beam is not required, since its function will be adequately performed by the evenly distributed tubercles of the curved floorboards. In addition to plywood, DSP or GVL boards are suitable for such alignment.

It is pointless to level the wave-like deformed fiberboard floor. During operation, the material will shrink and repeat all the notches with tubercles of the rough base.

For a plank floor with a floorboard width of up to 20 cm, each of which is “swollen” evenly, we will buy plywood 8-10 mm thick. If a board with a width of more than 20 cm was used for flooring, and also if not every floorboard rests with a convex "hump" against a plywood sheet, sheet material will be required with a thickness of 18-20 mm.

The sequence of actions for leveling the subfloor with plywood:

• Along the perimeter of the repaired floor, we will set the bosses to form a mandatory two-centimeter indent from the walls.
• Plywood sheets are laid with a gap between them of 3-8 mm to cushion the movements caused by moisture fluctuations. When laying several rows, we imitate brickwork. That is, we place the plates of the next row with an offset to the plates of the previous one. There should not be a cruciform intersection of four butt welds at one point. The minimum offset size is a quarter of the sheet, the maximum is half.
• We fasten to the “crests” of the boardwalk at the points with the maximum height established during the preliminary survey. We try to distribute the attachment points evenly, focusing on the distances between the bulges identified as a result of measurements.

Holes for fasteners are recommended to be drilled in advance in two stages. First you need to use a drill, the size of which is equal to the diameter of the self-tapping screw. Then you need to make a hole with the diameter of the cap so that it can be completely sunk into the plywood sheet. The dowels along the perimeter of the plywood sheet should recede from the edge by at least 2 cm.

It is recommended to lay plywood sheets with one-sided roughness intended for the subsequent laying of a finishing coating with the unsanded side up to improve the adhesion of the coating to the leveling layer. It is better to turn the sanded side if you plan to simply mask the screw heads with acrylic sealant, and open the plywood with varnish from above.

Method #2 - with a band support device

The technology consists in the construction of a crate of longitudinal logs and crossbars, exposed in one horizontal plane. The logs along the perimeter are placed at a distance of 3 cm from the walls. The laying step of the longitudinal components of the frame system under construction determines the size of the plywood sheet. Usually its values ​​vary from 40 cm to half a meter.

Example - if the side is 152.5 cm, then the optimal distance between the axes, both the log and the crossbars, will be 48 - 50 cm. If the side is 122.0 cm, it is recommended to leave 37 - 40 cm between the axes of the support beam.

Step by step guide:

• Let's start with an example. Let's lay out the plywood without fastening, adhering to the standard brickwork scheme and providing gaps. Let's outline the outline of the plates, these lines will become guides for future marking the location of the lag. Don't forget to number the sample sheets.
• According to the markings made on the floor, we first mount the logs along the walls. The optimal material for the installation of a strip sheathing for plywood is considered a square beam with a side of 40 to 60 cm, options are allowed. If it is undesirable and not necessary to raise the floor too much, logs can be made by cutting plywood into strips, or using second-class boards.
• We install transverse jumpers with a step calculated according to the size of the sheet. They are attached to the lags with self-tapping screws, preferably using metal corners.
• We set the logs and transverse elements vertically into a single plane according to the readings of the level gauge. Those who wish to figure out how to correctly level the surface of an old wooden floor should adhere to the requirements specified in SNiP number 3.04.01-87. According to this collection of standards, it is forbidden to drive wedges from the remnants of lumber under the logs. Alignment is carried out by adding sand, with minor deviations by lining roofing material or roofing felt. Most often, a single lag plane is achieved by placing wooden pads such as point supports under them.
• After leveling, the log system is attached to the base with galvanized metal corners; it can be used to fix the dowel crate, the length of which is three times the thickness of the log.
• We complete the alignment by laying and fastening plywood.

The space between the lag bars can be filled with additional insulation or a home-made screed made of wet sawdust mixed in half with PVA glue.

We apply a mixture with a consistency resembling thick sour cream in two or three layers and wait for it to completely harden for two days. In such cases, thinner plywood can be purchased for leveling.

Method #3 - Alignment with a mini-lag device

It is used to level floors with a slope and with significant height differences up to 8 cm. It consists in installing slats and wooden linings in order to create a single support system for plywood. Without an accurate engineering calculation, it will be extremely difficult for the contractor to cope with a very difficult task.

First you need to try on, and then, using the lines marked on the floor, carefully calculate the size of each supporting element. You need to calculate the height and select the dimensions very carefully, since all elements of the supporting structure will be different.

Method #4 - with a crate of point supports

The point method consists in installing separate pillars, cut from a board, OSB board or all the same plywood. The thickness of the cob is selected in accordance with the difference between the created flat surface and the actual level. Ultimately, the support system should form a kind of grid that replaces the tape crate.

Since it is inferior to the tape type in terms of reliability and stability, the coven linings are installed with a smaller step. You should get peculiar cells with imaginary squares of 30 cm for sheet material up to 14 mm thick, 45 cm for thick plywood.

And don't forget to ventilate the underground! After completing the separation and installation of the skirting board, it is necessary to drill ventilation holes in it at the previously existing points. Cover the openings with a ventilation grill.

Figured out the best way to line your wood floor with plywood? The point is small, it remains to prepare mentally and technically and begin to implement plans. Surely everything will turn out fine, because the repair procedure does not present any particular difficulties.

During the renovation, the floors must also be replaced. The coating plays an important role in creating the interior, in addition, the use of creaky and sagging boards is not the best solution. To save money and effort, it is necessary to simplify the process as much as possible. For example, removing the old coating is a very costly pleasure. It's best to avoid this. The following is how to level a wooden floor without tearing the boards. There are several ways, the choice between them depends on how damaged the wooden floor is.

Sex examination

At this stage, it will be necessary to carry out not only a thorough inspection, but also the measurement of irregularities. The wooden floor must meet the following requirements:

• boards should not be damaged by rot or mold;
• gaps or gaps between elements should not be more than 5 cm (even if they are less than 5 cm, plywood alignment will be required, other methods cannot be used);
• height differences do not exceed 1-2 cm.

If these conditions are not met, then it will be almost impossible to repair and level the wooden floor without changing the boards. To select an alignment option, you need to know the elevation difference. The following instruments are used for measurements:

• construction levels (laser, hydraulic, bubble);
• rule.

The easiest option is to attach a long rail or metal profile to the floor and measure the deviation with a ruler. Also, to examine the wooden floor on your own, you can buy a bubble level at the hardware store. It determines the slope of the board and costs in the range of several thousand, depending on the length of the hull.

The hydraulic level can be made independently. All you need is a thin transparent tube and water. The disadvantage of such a device is that it is not very convenient to use. The most accurate way to measure a wood floor is with a laser level. Such a device is used by professional builders, its cost is high, and its use requires special skills. If you need to align the boards in a house or apartment on your own, there is no need for such accuracy.

Ways to perform work

There are several alignment methods, each suitable for different situations:

• Laying a substrate made of elastic material used if the irregularities do not exceed a few millimeters. This increases sound insulation. Most often, materials such as isolon or polyethylene foam are used. The thickness is assigned within 2-5 mm.
• For more serious defects, cycling is suitable.. This method is also not able to even out serious differences, but it can ennoble the surface and give it an attractive appearance. Before starting work, the floor is carefully inspected for the presence of metal fasteners. Staples and self-tapping screws will have to be removed, and the nails are recessed into the boards so that there is no chance of damage to the sanding machine.
• Putty is suitable for height differences of 2-3 mm. Sealants or acrylic compounds are used.
• Self-leveling floors or cement screeds.
• The most reliable option, which will allow you to level the wooden floor with serious drops and crevices, has become plywood or OSB boards. For work, material with a thickness of 14-22 mm is used. There are two methods that can deal with different sizes of bumps.

It is worth talking about puttying and plywood in more detail.

putty

Leveling the wooden floor in this way will require preparatory work. They consist in cleaning the surface from dust and dirt, priming. The primer layer allows you to guarantee a high degree of adhesion of the putty to the wooden surface.

The material for processing is selected depending on the finish flooring. If you plan to lay tiles, linoleum, laminate or parquet on the boards, then acrylic putty will do. When using a wooden floor as a finishing one, followed by coating it with varnish, a sealant is taken, matched to the color of the material.

Acrylic mixtures are characterized by low strength, so you can replace them with other compositions:

• if the layer does not exceed 1-2 mm, putty on gypsum using PVA glue is suitable;
• for a greater layer thickness, a mixture of sawdust and PVA is used.

The disadvantage of this composition is the difficulty of distribution over the surface, therefore, after drying, grinding will be required until it is completely leveled.

plywood laying

The most reliable way to level boards. After laying the plywood, you can mount the flooring (tile, carpet, linoleum, laminate, parquet). There are two technologies for performing work:

• without intermediate supports for differences less than 1 cm;
• with intermediate supports for differences of more than 1 cm.

Laying without supports consists in fixing sheets to glue and self-tapping screws. Before starting work, it is necessary to perform the layout of the elements and their cutting. The distance between the parts is assumed to be 2-4 mm, and between the wall and plywood - 8-10 mm. This is necessary so that the sheets do not act on each other, and waves do not appear when the material expands.

Plywood layout options

Having laid out the parts of the flooring, they are numbered. And start fixing. The adhesive layer should not exceed 2-3 mm. The composition is applied to the surface to be leveled. Sheets should be stacked with a run-out of at least 10 cm.

After the glue has completely dried, you can proceed with the installation of fasteners. Before starting work, holes are drilled in the sheets for self-tapping screws, which are located at a distance of at least 20 mm from the edge of the part. The fastening step is taken within 15-20 mm. After completion of the work, the surface of the plywood is polished with a special machine.

The use of intermediate supports increases the leveling capacity. You can use logs or point support points (shabashki). The former allow for higher reliability, while the latter save on materials. It is important to provide for the location of the elements so that the joint of the sheets falls on the place of support. The step of the elements is assigned depending on the thickness of the plywood sheet.

• when using flooring with a thickness of 12-14 mm, the step of the supports should be 30-40 cm;
• thickness 16-16 mm - 50 cm.

For OSB and chipboard, other values ​​\u200b\u200bare accepted:

• thickness 16-18 mm - step 30-40 cm;
• thickness 20-24 mm - step 50 cm.

The thickness of the supports is taken on average 15 mm. The width of the boards for the manufacture of logs is 40 mm. Fastening to the wooden floor is carried out on self-tapping screws. Attaching plywood to the supports can be done with self-tapping screws or glue.

When leveling the floor without removing the boards, it is important to make sure that the subfloor is in good condition. If the logs are rotten, then none of the methods described above will help, only the replacement of the structure will give the result.