Leveling the floor for tiles

Leveling the floor, as well as the walls and ceiling, is a mandatory process in apartment renovations, when it comes not only to painting the walls. And this procedure must be performed efficiently. Why?

Why do you need to level the floor under tiles?

Because if this is not the case, there is no point in laying tiles, like other floor coverings. It will be instantly destroyed by the first person to step on it. All because of the unevenness. Ceramic tiles are extremely fragile and cannot withstand this type of load.

So leveling the floor before laying tiles and more is a must, both in the kitchen and bathroom, in bathrooms, living rooms and in all other rooms. And you should start by dismantling the old coating.

What is required for the process

In the process of preparing to level the floor, you should decide on the method of carrying out the work. There are several of them. The cheapest and most popular is a concrete screed.

1. To carry out the work, you will need grade cement from M300 and higher, sand, cement and various additives, for example, expanded clay, broken brick or glass. If it is not possible to complicate the work by making the mixture, you can buy a ready-made dry mixture, fill it with water and use it for its intended purpose.
2. First of all, you need to decide what to do with the old screed. The solution here is simple.If it is strong enough and holds well, and there is no need to significantly lower or raise the floor level, you can do without dismantling.
3. Whatever decision is made, work must still begin. So, the old screed is removed using a traditional set of tools: chisel, hammer and the like. If the screed will be made at a certain slope, it is recommended to use a concrete mixture, it is more stable. The concrete option is also used in cases where it is necessary to eliminate large holes and gaps.
4. The finished mixture is poured onto the floor that has been cleared of screed. All that remains is to wait for drying to complete, which can last up to three weeks.

Experienced repairmen recommend using a ready-made mixture, finding what works best for a particular floor. It will be a little more expensive, but the screed will dry in four to five days, that is, three times faster.

How to level a tile floor correctly

As often happens in construction and repair work, certain technological methods are unconditionally supported by some specialists, while others consider the use of such approaches a mistake. Many people choose dry mixes, and this makes serious sense.

The fact is that various functional additives are added to the mixture. These could be any polymeric materials, disintegrants, etc. They are often useful because they enhance the strength characteristics of the mixture or its elasticity.

After filling is completed, the still fresh coating must be carefully leveled, covered with plastic wrap and left alone for a while. You will have to wait from several days to several weeks. After the screed has dried, it should be treated with sandpaper to make it smooth.