Each owner of an apartment or a private house, who decided to do major repairs of his dwelling, raises many different questions about the conduct of certain construction or finishing works. One of the most common: what methods of leveling the walls, available for self-implementation, exist, and which one to choose in a particular case.
It is necessary, with regret, to state that the walls not only in private houses, but also in modern high-rise buildings, are rarely perfectly even, and in this regard, even the most expensive decoration on them will not look properly. Therefore, whatever the decorative coverage for the final design of the premises is planned, to bring the walls in order, giving them the necessary evenness, it is necessary in almost any case.
Before you choose the alignment method, you need to determine how much the wall is curved. This can be done in several ways using different tools.
To determine the degree of deformation of surfaces, use a long rule, levels of different design and plumb.
- The rule, in this case, is the same as one of the building levels, it must have a length of at least 2000 ÷ 2500 mm, since it is required that the tool should rise vertically almost to the full height of the wall, and also so that it can be easily rotated diagonals. As a rule, if it is not in the home "arsenal", a perfectly flat rake can be used. But it should not be too thin, bending with the application of force, otherwise exact measurements will not work. It will be sufficient for its size in the section of 20 × 50 mm.
The rake, level or rule is applied to the wall surface vertically, horizontally and diagonally. Track the size of the gaps formed between the wall and the tool, which will show the degree of unevenness of the surface.
- Another simple and affordable way to check the verticality of the wall, not requiring expensive tools - the use of a plumb. Even if the farm does not have such an adaptation, it is not difficult to make it quickly yourself. This requires a thin, but strong cord length of about three meters, as well as a weight of 150 ÷ 200 grams, best of all - a balanced, symmetrical shape.
To use a plumb bob is simple: for this purpose, a nail is fastened to the wall, under the ceiling, from the joint 25 ÷ 30 mm, and the weight attached to it is freely lowered vertically, along the wall. The load must hang freely, without reaching the floor by 10 ÷ 15 mm. When the load calms down and does not move, you can see how distorted the surface is - to measure the gaps at different points in height - and compare the results.
- In addition to the evenness of the walls, it is necessary to check their perpendicularity, that is, the corners of the room should be straight.
The definition of this parameter will help the construction corner, which is applied in several places along the entire height of the joint and makes the necessary notes. True, the gon should be large enough to pinpoint possible deviations.
If there is no large square, then it is better to apply the rule of the "Egyptian triangle". To do this, two legs are added from the angle along the walls, multiples of 3 and 4, and the hypotenuse should be a multiple of 5. For example, one wall is measured with 1.5 m (0.5 × 3), the other with 2 m (0.5 × 4), and the distance between these points should be 2.5 m in a straight line (0.5 × 5). If this is not the case, then the angle is clearly different from the direct one, and it is necessary to search for the cause and the way to eliminate it.
- The most probably optimal and accurate option is the use of a laser level (laser plane builder).
This device specifies perpendicular vertical planes, projects in space lines along which simple measurements with comparisons of the dimensions of the gaps can easily reveal irregularities in the wall surfaces, their correspondence to the vertical plane and mutual perpendicularity.
Having determined the deviations of the walls from the required plane, the location of the irregularities - depressions or bumps, immediately evaluate their approximate height or depth.
- In the event that surface defects or deviations from the vertical plane are 8 ÷ 15 mm or more, the walls should be leveled by beaconing or by installing plasterboard sheets.
- If the differences do not exceed 5 ÷ 8 mm, then you can fix the surface, bypassing the application of a thin layer of plaster or shpatlevochnogo solution.
Preparing surfaces for leveling
In order to understand the stages of the work on leveling the walls, it is worth considering these processes in more detail. However, before proceeding to a brief description of each of the equalization methods, a few words need to be said about the general preparatory activities for all technologies.
The preparatory stage can be complicated and tiring, but it should not be dismissed, so here is guaranteed the quality of the leveled surface and its operational durability. Especially carefully it is necessary to approach the preparation of walls for plastering, but also drywall also requires its own special approach.
So, the preparation of the walls for further alignment includes several important operations, which include the following:
- The first step of the wall must be completely cleaned of the decorative coating, if it is on the surfaces - the old paint or wallpaper is removed. These processes are produced in different ways, which are described in detail in a separate article.
- After the walls are freed from the old finish, the plaster layer opens, which requires the most thorough examination. Such a revision is necessary, because during the operation, cracks could appear on it, or detachment, partially or completely, is not excluded.
Depending on the degree of damage to the old plaster layer, it will have to be removed completely or to make proper repairs. If this layer has a sufficiently large thickness, a poor-quality material is used for it, and its surface is uneven, then it is better to completely get rid of it.
If the wall has large protrusions, they will have to be knocked down, and small bumps can be ground or scraped with a metal brush.
- If the wall is supposed to "wet" work, then to ensure electrical safety, the room is likely to have to be de-energized. Usually in such cases it is planned to replace the sockets and switches, which means that the old ones must be dismantled and then the exposed wires should be isolated.
- Having cleaned or repaired the surface of the wall, it must be primed several times - this is to strengthen and dust the surface and to create conditions for reliable adhesion between the surface and a new leveling solution.
- If it is planned to level the wooden walls with plaster, they are cleaned of dust and ground with an antiseptic primer over the wood. After that, the dried walls are covered with wooden slats - shingles, which will create a good grip of mortar and wood.
Methods for leveling surfaces
The choice of the method of wall alignment directly depends on their state, that is, whether they have significant curvatures, or simply have to remove a small relief of the surface, which can manifest through the layers of paint or pasted wallpaper.
In fact, there are not so many technological methods of leveling the walls. They have been used for decades, but with the advent of new building materials - are constantly being improved.
So, the walls are leveled in the following ways:
- Plastering, that is, applying a special mortar to the surface of the leveling layer. In turn, this method can be divided into two types - the alignment of walls by lighthouses and without their use.
- Installation of gypsum boards, specifying the desired evenness of the wall surface (often it is also called "dry plaster"). This version of the alignment is also divided into two different approaches - fixing the sheets on the frame, or frameless fastening of GVL directly to the wall.
- Aligning walls with putty This method of bringing the surface in order is used in conjunction with the other two, mentioned above, or independently. If the walls have a smooth surface without large geometric distortions, but there are small irregularities on it, then it is the putty that will help to bring them to an ideal smoothness.
Wall plastering
A few words about leveling solutions
At present, a wide range of ready-made building mixtures intended for plastering works is presented in construction shops. They can be on different bases
- Cement-based plasters are used for outdoor applications, as well as for rooms with a high level of humidity
- Gypsum mixes are suitable for walls from almost any material, but the area of their use is limited only to interior decoration of premises.
However, many masters-finishers and homeowners prefer to prepare plaster solutions themselves. And the basis for this, in addition to cement or gypsum, may be still lime or clay.
Lime and cement-lime solutions have proved themselves for external and internal decoration, and clay-based plasters are generally seen as inexpensive (in the presence of free raw materials) and are suitable for leveling wooden, clay or brick walls.
If you want to try your hand at plastering walls with a homemade solution, then the "recipe" for cooking can be spyed out in the table below:
Name of solution Components The proportions of the solutions, depending on the specific layer "Nabryzg" "priming" Covering or "namyvka" Cement Cement: sand 1: (2.5 ÷ 4) 1: (2 ÷ 3) 1: (1 ÷ 2) Lime Lime paste: sand 1: (2.5 ÷ 4) 1: (2 ÷ 3) 1: (1 ÷ 1.5) Clay Clay: sand 1: (3 ÷ 5) 1: (3 ÷ 5) 1: (3 ÷ 5) Cement-clay Cement: clay: sand 1:4:12 1:4:12 1:4:12 Cement-lime Cement: lime paste: sand 1: (0.3 ÷ 1): (3 ÷ 5) 1: (0.7 ÷ 1): (2.5 ÷ 4.5) 1: (1 ÷ 1.5): (1.5 ÷ 2) Lime-clay Lime paste: clay: sand 0.2 ÷ 1: (3 ÷ 5) 0.2 ÷ 1: (3 ÷ 5) 0.2 ÷ 1: (3 ÷ 5) Lime-plaster Lime paste: gypsum: sand 1: (0.3 ÷ 1): (2 ÷ 3) 1: (0.5 ÷ 1.5): (1.5 ÷ 2) 1: (1 ÷ 1.5) Plastering of walls without installing beacons
The leveling of walls with plaster mortar without beacons is possible in those cases when the wall is relatively even, without serious deformations, depressions and depressions, and it will be sufficient to apply an equalizing mixture of relatively small thickness to bring it into order. I must say at once that this way of putting the surface in order is much more complicated than plastering on lighthouses, since alignment has to be carried out by eye, and it is not easy to do this without proper skill. Therefore, if there is no experience in this work, it is better to entrust it to professional masters.
The process of plastering walls without beacons can be divided into several stages - it is "nabryzg", "ground" and "namyvka."
- "Nabryzg" - this is the first layer of mortar applied to the wall when it is leveled. The mixture for this stage should have a consistency of thick sour cream.
When applying the mortar on a brick or stone wall, its layer should be 10 ÷ 12 mm, on a shingle of a wooden surface 15 ÷ 18 mm.
"Nabryzg" is carried out by the trowel, on which the solution is drawn and from itself, with a small effort, pushes to the surface. If the wall surface is relatively flat and does not require the application of a thick plaster layer, then sometimes the masters "spray" even with a wide brush. When spraying a solution with a brush, do not make the hand a large swing, otherwise, part of the mixture will be sprayed around the room.
It is possible to apply the first layer of plaster using the "smearing" method. In this case, a spatula with a width of 200 ÷ 250 mm is required, by means of which the solution is taken from the container and evenly distributed along the wall surface by smears. Ideal alignment of this layer is not required, as it will become the basis for further work.
- "Priming" - this is the second layer when plastering walls without beacons, and it is applied only after the "spray" has completely dried. For the application of "soil" a thicker solution is used - it is thrown on the surface, starting from the bottom of the wall, filling it with areas not covered by the first layer, thus bringing both layers to approximately the same thickness.
Applying this solution on a wall section with a height of 350 ÷ 400 mm, it is leveled by a rule, collecting excess mixes for it, which is sent back to the container, since it can still be used for further work.
When leveling, additional unfilled areas may appear in addition, which must immediately be filled with a solution and then traversed the area with a rule.
Sometimes, instead of the rule for aligning this layer, a special tool is used - a half-circle.
The half-shell also level the solution, collecting both its excess and filling the identified voids.
- "Rinsing" or covering layer of plaster consists of a liquid solution and is intended for liquidation of all flaws remaining on the surface of the wall after application of "soil". The thickness of this layer should not be more than two millimeters, so it is very important to observe the correct consistency of the plaster solution.
In this regard, if the mixture is prepared independently and not purchased in finished form, all materials used in it must be sieved through a sieve with cells no more than 0,5 ÷ 1 mm. The solution is stirred to a homogeneous state, since it should not leave even small lumps.
Further, the surface of the wall is wetted with water and a thin layer of liquid solution is applied to it using a spatula and a half-wiper. Then, the wet solution is rubbed in circular motions, which are made counter-clockwise. Therefore, this stage of work is often referred to as surface troweling.
When choosing this method of wall alignment, during each of the stages of work it is necessary to control the verticality and the necessary smoothness of the surface with the help of the rule and level.
Aligning walls with plaster on beacons
Aligning walls with plaster mortar on beacons is a more popular method than without installing them, since these elements greatly simplify the work and allow you to get a perfectly flat surface as a result. However, to work successfully, performing them, there is no need to hurry, especially if the process is performed by the master for the first time.
Leveling Beacon System
As beacons for leveling surfaces, special perforated metal profiles with a projection, the height of which can vary depending on the required thickness of the plaster layer, are most often used.
Lighthouses are installed on the wall surface vertically, at a distance from each other, providing a convenient work rule of the available length (approximately 200 ÷ 300 mm less than the length of the rule). For beginners, usually the installation step is not more than 1000 ÷ 1200 mm. Fastening of profiles is most often performed on the quick-drying solution laid out along the slides.
Sometimes for making beacons used improvised devices, for example, pieces of plywood, gypsum board or ceramic tiles, which are also glued to the solution along the pre-marked marks and plumb line.
However, it is much easier to level the whole profiles, since they are fixed vertically from floor to ceiling and do not give a retreat from the intended level.
The conclusion is that the most important in the process of leveling the walls by the lighthouses is their correct exposure, which is performed in compliance with certain rules.
- Further, the applied solution, starting from the bottom of the covered section of the wall, is leveled by the rule, which is pinned to metal beacons and led along them, as on rails. At the same time, excess solution is collected on the rule, which is regularly removed with a spatula, sent back to the container and used for the next spray. When leveling, the rule is shifted upwards, but at the same time slightly moving horizontally in one and the other side, which helps fill all the voids in the layer and maximize the use of the entire applied solution.
- Most of these passages, the rule will have to be done several times, with filling with the help of a trowel or spatula of identified cavities. As a result, you should get a flat surface, level with the guides of the lighthouse system.
- After plastering the wall, when the solution grit slightly, the beaconing profiles are carefully removed from the plaster layer. The remaining grooves are closed with a mortar and leveled over a common surface.
- Further, still the wet surface of the plaster is rubbed with a special construction float. The work is performed in a circular motion counter-clockwise.
- To ennoble the inner and outer corners of the wall a special corner spatula is used.
- External corners, especially in those cases when a thick leveling layer is applied, is recommended to be strengthened with metal perforated corners, which are pressed into the wet solution and adjusted for the building level.
1 - the old wall surface to be leveled;
2 - twisted screws, whose butt ends are aligned in the same vertical plane. The step between the screws is 200 ÷ 300 mm;
3 - slides of building glue on a gypsum base;
4 - sheet drywall.
It is much easier to install a drywall on a more or less even wall, having prepared it with a primer. To do this, on the sheet itself or on the surface of the wall, a glue mass is applied pointwise to the slides.
Next, the gypsum board rises and presses against the vertical surface, and then, if necessary, its verticality is adjusted by a gentle tapping. In order not to damage the sheet, the adjustment can be carried out by the edge of the rule, which will cover the entire width of the sheet at once.
When fixing a sheet on the wall, the correctness of its position must be checked by the building level. To the first, fixed on the wall, the finishing cloth, the second and all subsequent sheets are fitted. After the glue dries, the seams between the plasterboard are sealed with a mesh-serpyank or a special tape, and then zashpatlevyvayutsya.
Frame method of plasterboard mounting
The skeleton method of wall alignment has its advantages and disadvantages, and is even more popular than fastening sheets to glue.
The disadvantage of this technology can be called the fact that the frame system very significantly conceals the area of the room, since the crate itself, plus a sheet of plasterboard, to it is a total thickness of at least 50 mm, that is, the room will decrease from each side to this distance.
The merit of such an alignment is much greater, therefore, if the area permits, this method will become an ideal variant of the transformation of the room.
The obvious "plus" of this installation is the ability to insulate and soundproof the wall by placing a layer of appropriate material in the space between it and the lining. This is especially true for apartments located in panel houses.
On the positive side, it can also be attributed to the fact that under the skeleton system is not required "super-thorough" preparation of the walls.
- They need to be cleaned from the decorative coating just to make sure that there are no deep cracks in the wall. Small surface defects do not interfere with the installation work.
- Priming walls before fixing the profiles is necessary, and for this an antiseptic solution is used, which will protect the surfaces from the appearance and development of mold.
After the primed surface has dried completely, it is possible to proceed with the marking and installation work.
Profiles are usually set in steps of 600 mm (along the axes), since the width of all sheets of plasterboard is 1200 mm. Thus, each sheet set vertically will be fixed on three lines. In addition, it is convenient from the point of view that the overwhelming number of insulating materials is produced by mats of exactly this width - 600 mm.
To achieve an ideal flatness of the walls, it is necessary to carefully align the metal profiles along the vertical, thus setting the future plane of the surface to be created.
Since the profiles are fixed in special brackets - straight hangers, with perforated side "wings", it is possible to accurately adjust their distance from the wall. Suspensions are fixed on the line using dowels or self-tapping screws (depending on the wall material) in increments of 500 ÷ 600 mm.
The protruding ends of the side shelves are easily folded back after securing the pillars in them, so they will not interfere with further fixation of the drywall sheets.
To make it easier to manage the alignment of the frame, first accurately exposed vertically and relative to each other and fastened to the outer racks. Then, cords are stretched between them, which indicate how far the intermediate profiles should be pushed out from the wall.
If the ceilings in the room are high enough, horizontal cross-pieces are sometimes mounted between vertical racks, which will give the system additional rigidity and strength.
Fastening sheets to the frame is done with the help of special black screws TN25 (3,2 × 25 mm), the caps of which need to be drowned in the gypsum board for 1 ÷ 1.5 mm. In the future, these holes left from the hats will need to be puttied.
It should be noted that sometimes sheets of plasterboard are mounted in two layers - in this case the wall covering to be created will have a higher strength. The sheets of the outer layer must overlap the joints of the sheets of the lower layer.
After the wall is leveled with the gypsum board system, they begin to seal the joints, and after the solution dries, the wall is primed and shpatlyuetsya. The layer of putty should completely hide the joints. The final stage of the work is the application of a decorative coating - paint or wallpaper.
Alignment of walls with putty
Bringing to the ideal of the surface of walls with putty can be called the final stage for any chosen method of their alignment with interior decoration. In addition, the putty, as the only leveling layer, is used if the wall itself is sufficiently flat, but has small errors in the form of small depressions or minor roughness that can manifest through decorative decoration - wallpaper or paint.
The putty has a finer structure of the mixture, and when it is kneaded it acquires high plasticity, it is easily applied and distributed on the prepared, primed surface, masking flaws and making the wall perfectly smooth.
The application of this leveling layer is carried out with spatulas (trowels) of various widths, but in large areas a wide spatula is always used, with a working surface of 400 and more millimeters.
Shpatlevanie walls - this process is quite complex, which requires a certain experience, as it is necessary to achieve smoothness of the walls, and the spatula in inept hands with its edges almost always leaves a surface of a moist plastic groove of different depths, and this must be avoided. If they are formed, they should be immediately aligned, since after setting the putty mixture this will be difficult.
Typically, two (or even more) layers are applied - one leveling, and the second, finishing - bringing the surface to the ideal. Accordingly, different types of fillers can be used for different stages.
The final stage of shpatlevochnyh work is always grinding the surface to the desired degree of smoothness. This final stage of wall leveling is carried out using a special float on which meshheads or sandpaper of the required degree of granularity are installed. There is also a special electric tool - grinders of different principle of operation, which make it possible to speed up this rather laborious process.
Many craftsmen, in order to achieve an ideal result, use portable lighting when doing grinding work, which perfectly reveals poorly aligned sections of the wall, down to the smallest surface defects.
So, proceeding from all the above, we can conclude that even with no experience in leveling the walls, it is possible to choose a method that will be able to even for a beginner builder. Taking on the performance of these works, you can not only save a decent amount, but also be confident in their quality - after all done, as they say, "for yourself." Therefore, starting the renovation of the apartment, you need to properly weigh your financial and creative capabilities, and boldly get down to business.
At the end of the publication - a small video sketch, which also should help the reader in choosing the method of leveling the walls.
Video: What kind of wall alignment to choose?
Curved walls are always conspicuous. They can spoil the impression of the most high-quality wallpapers, prevent the installation of furniture. In this article we will find out what are the ways of leveling the walls.
To avoid a negative impression, the walls need to be leveled. Fortunately, using modern materials and tools, this will not be a problem. There are two basic ways of leveling walls - using plaster or using sheet materials. Both options have their pros and cons, which we will disclose in this article.
Aligning walls with sheet materials
The industry offers us several materials for leveling the walls. Most often used plasterboard or fibreboard. The general principle of installation is one - the creation of a frame, which is stacked over flat panels. The frame is created from wooden bars (in this case, pay attention to the dryness of the material - it is too wet wring when drying) or, preferably, from special metal profiles.
pros alignment of walls with sheets:
"Dry" installation - no need to interfere with the solution and dry the finished surface;
minimum requirements for the qualification of employees - fairly elementary accuracy;
speed of work - two people with experience can level the walls of a two-room apartment per day;
ease of posting communications, you can skip them directly behind the sheets;
do not need a finishing lining, just fill the joints;
sheet alignment is easily combined with noise insulation, for example, with mineral wool.
Minuses sheet materials for leveling:
the complexity of the delivery of material, the sheets are usually fragile, and the standard length of 2,700 millimeters will not allow the use of a passenger elevator;
problems with the fastening of shelves and cabinets, it is required to provide in advance the places of possible installation for strengthening the walls in these places;
alignment with sheets consumes the useful area of the room;
low moisture resistance of sheet materials - with a bay on top of them can lead.
For a person without any experience in building drywall - the easiest material to use. For alignment, you need a minimum set of tools:
screwdriver (if you do not have it - choose the device with two batteries in order to avoid downtime in work);
level (better laser level, but with a limited budget you can get by and ordinary);
perforator for fixing profiles to the wall;
a mock (construction) knife - for cutting sheets;
hacksaw or Bulgarian - for cutting profiles;
gon - for measuring angles;
spatula - for processing joints.
From the materials, in addition to the sheets and profiles themselves, the following will be needed:
Self-tapping screws. Black enough, the load on the separation will be minimal. In most fasteners, suitable self-tapping screws are designated by the name of the sheets - GKL.
Filler for joints. The edges of the drywall are rounded, in addition, during the installation between the sheets it is necessary to leave a gap, which will be plastered.
Anchors for fixing profiles or vibro-suspension (allow "to open" the wall of the room from the supporting structure, improving noise insulation).
If the alignment of walls with plasterboard is combined with sound insulation, mineral wool will also be needed. Select any sheet material - the roll in the wall with time settles down, reducing the insulating properties of the structure.
Gypsum board installation technology
First of all, before leveling the walls with gypsum boards, you need to get an assistant - the mass of a standard sheet 1200 × 2700 with a thickness of 12.5 millimeters is about 33 kilograms. In addition, when using a laser level it is more convenient to work together - one person controls the initial parameters and sketches the circuit, and the second walks with a tape measure and reads the measurements.
First step when aligning, measure the angles. To start it is necessary from obtuse corners of a premise, differently the standard furniture at installation will leave clearances, and drawing on floors does not converge.
In the second stage with the help of the level, the most prominent point on each wall is determined, further calculations are carried out from them.
From the protruding points on the adjacent walls, the final cladding is marked.
Third step - Marking of walls for installation of profiles. The width of the standard sheet of gypsum board is 120 centimeters, hence the skeleton pitch, which is a multiple of the width. It is better to put profiles more often, for example, every 60 centimeters between the axes, then the finished structure will be less subject to fluctuations. In addition, 60 cm - the width of the insulation sheet, so it can later be placed between the profiles.
The fourth action - installation of profiles. Vertically, they must form a plane, so you'll have to use either plywood trim linings or hardboard, or use adjustable anchors. The optimal step between the anchors is 30-50 centimeters, then the profile will not be bent.
Fifth stage - installation of the sheets themselves. If sound insulation is provided, mineral wool is laid, and sheets are mounted on top. The sheets are attached to the profiles with self-tapping screws with a distance of 25-30 centimeters. Between the canvas is to leave a distance of 3-5 millimeters.
At the sixth, the final, step putty joints between sheets. The putty dries, as a rule, 3-6 hours, if necessary, the protruding parts of the seal are skins.
Alternatives to gypsum plasterboard
In addition to gipsokartonnyh sheets for leveling the walls are used and other materials. Most often these are wood sheets, MDF or fiberboard. Less often, but PVC panels are also used.
Compared to gypsum plasterboard, these materials have a lower density, which worsens noise insulation, but they often make finished panels on their basis. Using ready-made panels allows you to avoid finishing.
If the area of the room is initially small, no additional noise insulation is required and there are no time limits - it is necessary to level the wall by plastering it. This method also has a number pluses:
practically the useful area of a premise (if the curvature of corners is not beyond limits) is not lost;
fastening of hanging cabinets or shelves does not require additional tweaks;
the wall will not be "rumbling";
at the Bay of Neighbors, the integrity of the structures will not be violated;
alignment can be done without helpers;
it is possible to use textured (decorative) plaster, which does not require further processing, except for painting.
There are also minuses:
it takes a rather long (up to 30 days) time for complete drying;
finishing (shpaklevanie) of the whole surface is necessary with subsequent grinding;
for leveling walls with plastering, a certain qualification is required, as a rule, in novices, a really flat wall is obtained from the second or third time;
technology involves two stages of work - before and after the removal of beacons.
With a certain accuracy, the wall can be plastered by a person without experience, especially if further finishing will hide small irregularities or beat them (as in the case of decorative plaster or tiling).
Plaster for beacons
If you decide to self-plaster, you need to stock up on the following tools and inventory:
Puncher for installing beacons.
Electrodrill with a nozzle-mixer for kneading a solution. You can also use a punch, but keep in mind that it can not work for a long time on torsion, take care of the tool and let it cool.
Trough as a container for the finished solution.
Spatula for applying plaster to the wall.
The rule for alignment. It is most convenient to use relatively short rules, for a beginner it is necessary to limit the instrument to a length of 1 meter.
Libra. It is not necessary to use a huge trough, which can contain a whole plaster bag - you will hardly have time to work out the solution without the experience. Therefore, use a balance to maintain the exact proportions of the mixture and water.
Level or laser level for setting beacons.
Corner.
The materials will need the following:
Stucco beacons - on them the wall will be leveled by the rule.
Anchors or dowels for fixing lighthouses. You can fix the lighthouses and the solution of the plaster itself, but in this case it will be difficult to correct the error.
Thread to control the installed beacons (when viewed along the tensioned thread, bends are visible).
Stucco mesh if the thickness of the layer exceeds 4-5 centimeters.
When plastering the walls with their own hands, the first two actions are similar to smoothing with plasterboard. In the third stage, just as for the drywall, a wall is marked, but here you can take a bigger step for the lighthouses. For the rule of 1 meter long, the optimal pitch is 85 centimeters. The accuracy of the installation of beacons is controlled by a string.
After installing the lighthouses, the wall is primed and, if necessary, a grid is attached.
The fourth step is to apply the mortar to the wall. To begin it is necessary from above, from a ceiling - so it will be more convenient to remove surpluses of a mix. The plaster is applied with a spatula with a small hump, then on the lighthouses from the top down the hump is leveled. If there are voids, the action is repeated. Thus, the entire space between the beacons is filled.
After the entire room has been plastered, you must wait until the finish gets strength. The time of the initial hardening of the solution depends on the specific material and is indicated on the package. When the wall has already gained relative strength, beacons are removed from it.
On the Internet a lot of arguing about whether it is worth deleting them. I think it's worth it. First, most beacons are made of ordinary steel, which rusts, and in the future rust appears through the covering of the wall. Secondly, the left lighthouse in the wall is a potential crack.
Remote beacons, as a rule, leave far not even traces behind them, especially if the plaster has managed to gain some of the strength. In this case, remove the protruding parts and wait for the final hardening of the surface. After that, the plaster is applied to the recesses left by the lighthouses, in this case the beacons are already solid parts of the wall.
With rare exceptions, uneven surfaces are present on the plastered surface. To eliminate them, the walls are rubbed with a brush, and with significant unevenness - they shpaklyuyutsya. After the finishing shpatlevaniya wall is polished.
Alignment with plastering machine
In general, the technology of leveling walls with a plaster machine is identical to applying plaster by hand. The main difference is that you do not need to knead the mortar yourself and spread it on the wall. For you it will make a mechanism.
Align the walls with wallpaper
This method is suitable for those who have unevenness in their undulations, but there is no desire to start serious repairs. Leveling wallpaper - a dense fleece wallpaper, which almost do not bend when gluing. Thus, it is possible to hide minor surface imperfections or small dents on the walls.
In all other cases, you will have to resort to the first two methods.
Aligning the walls for wallpaper is an important preparatory operation, without which it is impossible to carry out quality repairs. It's easy to do it yourself. You just need to choose the right alignment technology.
1
Experts say that it is not easy to really appreciate the benefits of leveling procedures before completing all the work on decorating a living room. In this case, if you paste wallpaper on uneven walls, you will absolutely get a low-quality result. It will not be possible to fix it without additional financial costs. Therefore, the alignment of the walls under the wallpaper is always done, when major or even cosmetic repairs are done.
Aligning the walls for wallpaper
The procedure that interests us provides: an increase in the adhesion of the wall surface to the wallpaper; elegant appearance of the decorative material; increase the duration of the wallpaper; absence on the pasted surface of sprawling seams, spots of granularity, hillocks and dents. The smoothness of the walls in your home is easy to verify on your own. Take the usual building level and with it, check out the parameters of the room in which you plan to stick the wallpaper:
- equivalence of diagonals;
- horizontality of walls;
- vertical of each of the wall surfaces prepared for decoration.
With a diagonal difference of more than 1 cm, you have to do serious enough leveling measures. Prepare for a lengthy repair. If the deviations are less than 1 cm, all the work will take a minimum of time. And most importantly - you do it with your own hands. Aligning the walls is done with: putty; plastering compositions; gipsokartonnyh sheets. We will deal with the peculiarities and rules of using all these building materials.
2
If the surface has minor flaws, for leveling it is usually used putty compounds. They are starting and finishing, they are available in formulations ready for use, and in the form of dry mixtures, which should be properly prepared before applying to walls. Do not be scared. Under such a preparation is meant the addition of a certain amount of water to the dry one. The mixing ratio is always indicated on the package.
To align the surfaces under the wallpaper label, you will need two spatulas: width 40-50 cm and width about 8-10 cm, square capacity (usually take a special construction bucket). Note. The square shape of the bucket is not due to a whim, but to the real convenience and rationality of its application. From such a container you will take a mixture for puttying with the least over-expenditure. Given that the cost of building materials is now rather big, it is of great importance.
Putty on the surface under the wallpaper label
Algorithm for leveling the walls with putty is given below:
- Do it. Do this carefully, but as neatly as possible.
- Apply any antibacterial composition to the peeled walls.
- Prime the surface.
- Collect a small spatula from a square bucket portion of putty mixture (usually used starting compounds), throw it on a tool of greater width.
- Using a large spatula, apply a surface. Important nuance! Cover on the wall will be obtained the thinner, the more you tilt the spatula to the surface to be treated.
- Lay the paint net over the starting puttying layer.
- In a direction perpendicular to the first layer, apply a second layer of the mixture.
- Wait for the complete congealing of the composition.
- Apply 1-2 layers of finishing putty. They should be as thin as possible.
- After grasping the final mortar, make sure to wash the wall with any primer.
If there are small roughness on the surface, it does not matter. They are easily cleaned with a special brush. She will need to lead with a slight pressure on the wall surface in circular motions.
3
Now we'll figure out how to level the walls under the wallpaper using plasters. They have been used for a long time and are considered a universal way of eliminating flaws on various surfaces. We note at once that it is more difficult to perform leveling by plasters with their own hands than with putty. You will have a fairly time-consuming and long process. But the result will be flawless - perfectly flat walls under the wallpaper.
- lime and gypsum;
- sand and cement;
- gypsum, clay and lime;
- lime and cement;
- clay and lime.
For brick walls, plaster mixtures based on sand and cement are most often used, for foam concrete and concrete - gypsum compounds, for wood - gypsum and lime, cement and clay or gypsum with the addition of clay.
Stucco mixture based on sand and cement
Plaster alignment with your own hands is as follows:
- Remove dust and dirt from the walls.
- Apply the primer.
- Mount the grid on the wall (plaster) with the cells 50 to 50 mm.
- You expose at the edges with the help of a level two main metal beacons. Fix them with a gypsum fast-setting adhesive.
- In increments of 0.2 m, mount additional guides.
- Moisten the wall with water.
- Apply a continuous 4-5 mm layer of plaster and wait for it to dry.
The next step is to treat the wall with the main plaster layer. Its thickness is about 7 mm. Now you should wait until the plaster dries, and then apply a 3-4 mm finishing layer of the composition.
Final work - giving the wall surfaces absolute smoothness. You can do it with a special construction iron or a grater made of metal.
4
To the lazy house masters, who do not want to knead solutions and work with a spatula, you can advise making leveling of walls with gypsum boards. They make even very curved surfaces even. At the same time, the time costs for such events will be minimal.
How is the drywall installed? Believe me, it's easy. First, decide how you will fasten the products for alignment. If the unevenness of the walls exceeds the value of 70 mm, you will first have to make a skeleton of aluminum profiles. And then mount the plasterboard on it. In cases where surface irregularities are not more than 70 mm, sheets can be simply glued to the walls.
Installation of drywall on walls
The order of the following works is as follows:
- Mark on the walls of the place where the switches and sockets will be installed.
- Measure the drywall to the required size and cut the sheets.
- Attach gypsum board products. If glue is used, it is applied around the perimeter of the sheets every 0.3 m. And on the frame, the gypsum board is fastened with universal 2.5-centimeter long screws. The distance between them is taken to be the same - 0.3 m.
After the sheets are installed, the resulting surface must be filled. The work is finished!
Detailed step-by-step instructions on plastering walls and ceilings from a professional master
Plaster
walls great instruction
The main tool and equipment for plastering walls
- spatula wide and a spatula for aligning the outer and inner corners;
- h-shaped and trapezoidal for leveling walls;
- trowel , grater;
- professional mixer (with adjustable speed);
- nozzle mixer for stirring the solution;
- containers for cooking;
- a plumb and self-tapping screws;
- stairs-stepladder;
- not an elastic cord (lace);
- reinforcing plaster mesh (if necessary);
- hammer, chisel
Before applying plaster (gypsum, cement, decorative) you need to prepare a wall
Conditions for wall leveling. Finishing works on plastering walls and ceilings in an apartment and a private house are conducted at an ambient temperature of + 5 to + 30 ° C. The temperature of the substrate to be leveled must also have a temperature in this range. If interior finishing works are produced in the cold season, then they must be produced with a constantly operating system of heating and ventilation. If the room is not heated - pre-heat it heat gun and ensure a temperature of + 5 to + 30 ° C for 2 days before the start of work, as well as 12 days after finishing the finishing works. When working with gypsum solutions, the relative humidity in the room (especially in the bathroom) should not exceed 75%.
Proper cleaning of the wall surface. The substrate must be cleaned of dust, bitumen, paint and other impurities that interfere with the adhesion of the plaster to the wall. If the base melts ie, when you touch on the hand there are traces of coverage, then such grounds require special treatment. Initially, it is necessary to remove as much as possible qualitatively the weakened layers of the coating - the old paint , whitewash, old putty , as these coatings will significantly reduce the strength of adhesion of the plaster mixture to the wall. Remove these coatings is recommended when the surface is constantly moistened with a scraper and spatula, walls of bricks clean with steel brushes. In the presence of areas affected by the fungus, algae, using a steel scraper, the wall needs to be cleaned and treated with a disinfecting impregnation having an antifungal effect.
Repair and restoration work. If there are shells, cracks, chips, potholes and other defects on the surface of the walls, they must be filled in repair plasters . For this, deep cracks are cleared from fragile, weakened edges. Thin cracks expand (expand) to a depth of 10 mm, wide by the thickness of the plaster layer. Minor cracks are closed with repair mortar without barking. Further leveling of the walls should be started 1-2 days after setting and hardening of the repair mixture. All joints between reinforced concrete panels and other structural elements must be dust-free, primed, and then filled with cement mortar repair mortar. In addition, the joints should be reinforced with reinforcing mesh with the approach to the wall (ceiling) of not less than 10 cm. When closing the ceiling "rusts", the joints should be treated with a special paste-like soil with quartz filler and wait until it dries completely. If there are any metal elements (reinforcement, embedded element, etc.) on the aligned wall, treat it anticorrosive protective enamel.
The best cement-based repair composition is a mixture with the effect of expansion or tension. When this solution solidifies in the seam, the solution becomes as tight as possible and reliably fills all seams and joints.
If on the leveling surface there are found solutions of the solution, protruding elements of the masonry, etc., remove them with a hammer and a chisel.
Checking the bearing capacity of the base of the wall. The quality of the surface strength is determined by tapping it with a hammer or a spatula handle. A weak wall produces a muffled sound, under such areas of the surface are voids. In this case, using a hammer, a fragile layer is beaten up to qualitative, well-preserved places. In addition, the surface should be checked for strength, namely with a slight pressure to hold a sharp edge of the spatula on the surface. If there is a weakly visible trace, then the foundation is strong. If a clear groove is visible in the place of the trail and the edges of its edges are observed, this indicates that the base is additionally treated with a special "strengthening" primer.
To seal cracks and potholes in the base, the same solution is used, which is used for plastering.
Priming of walls. Priming to date is an integral part of any process of preparing walls for plaster coating. The lack of priming is one of the most important reasons for premature failure of plaster.
The choice of soil for leveling the walls. In order to correctly pick up priming and accordingly prepare the base for leveling the wall with plaster it is necessary to determine the type of the substrate and its properties. The main reasons that are equalized are: ordinary (structural) and monolithic concrete; reinforced concrete panel; masonry or facing (smooth) brick; stamping plate (GWP) ; hardened layer of old plaster ( gypsum or cement); lightweight blocks (gas silicate, foam concrete, expanded clay concrete etc).
The ordinary types of bases include structural concrete, reinforced concrete panel, apogee plate , masonry bricks, a strong layer of old plaster, which does not crumble or chalk. The listed types of bases are primed universal soils.
After priming and complete drying of the primed wall, it is necessary to check the surface preparation quality. For this it is enough to moisten brush in water and to spray a primed surface and observe the behavior of water droplets on it. If the drops of water on the surface quickly flow down or have a spherical shape, it is considered that the absorbency of the substrate is leveled. If, when the surface is wetted with water, the drops are absorbed intensively into the base, then an additional layer of the universal soil is required.
If we are talking about the preparation and priming of the porous base, then, as a rule, questions do not arise, since a large number of pores on the surface of the material are visually visible. The weakened base is also easy to determine, it is enough to forcefully pass a hand over the wall, with surely there are traces of material on the hand or traces of "shedding" of the material at the place of contact. It is necessary to strengthen the base, otherwise the layer of plaster under its own weight can exfoliate from such a fragile, weakened base. To strengthen weak, grinding and porous substrates, soils of deep penetration . The soil of deep penetration absorbs into the surface layer and protects against destruction of the outer base, eliminates melting. Such reasons include gas silicate, foam concrete, expanded clay aggregate, old grinding plaster coatings, which have a weak bearing capacity. After the primer has dried, it is also necessary to check the surface preparation quality, using a brush moistened with water. If drops of moisture on such a surface will be actively absorbed into the base - additionally ogruntuyte universal soil. The primer upon drying will form a film and prevent the outflow of water into the substrate. Very dense and smooth bases include - facing bricks and monolithic concrete. On such grounds, it is impossible to provide the necessary strength of the plaster to the wall, because when the walls are leveled the material is not able to "fix" for defects - pores, caverns, microcracks due to absence. To ensure proper adhesion of the plaster to the wall, a primer containing quartz sand is applied to such surfaces. The filler contained in the ground allows to form a dense, rough surface with the drying of the soil and at the same time ensure a reliable grip on dense and smooth surfaces. Quite often, a pigment is added to these types of soils to impart an intensive color to the soil, thanks to which it is possible to control non-colored areas when the wall is primed.
After the primer has dried, check the priming quality and determine the absorbency of the substrate.
Method and conditions of application of soil. As a rule, the soils are applied with a brush or roller on the surface of the material. Ordinary (milky white soils) are usually applied in several layers. Aging between application of the next layer 20-40 min. The application of soil in several layers eliminates the presence of unprimed areas, and also promotes the formation of a denser ground film. Pasty soil containing quartz sand is applied in one layer, already with one layer a thick, dense film is formed. Do not apply primers by spraying them from the sprayer, a similar leveling method prevents the soil from spreading over the entire surface and accordingly creates a uniform, dense film that provides adhesion and prevents the absorption of moisture from the fresh plaster to the substrate.
Primers on the surface are applied with a brush or roller, but not with a sprayer
Soils of any type are applied strictly on dry substrates, because on the wet wall the soil does not dry out and does not fully fulfill its functions. If the primer is applied to an incompletely dried surface, moisture from the base will slow or not allow the formation of the polymer film on the outside or in the structure and material. When applying any type of soil, it is necessary to wait for it to dry completely (12-24 hours) and only after that start leveling of walls with finishing materials.
When carrying out the finishing work, it is necessary to wait for the complete drying of the soil on the surface.
In Moscow, the cost of plastering services for lighthouses is 400-600 rubles per square meter, while making it easy on your own and much cheaper.
The technology of installing lighthouses in stages with their own hands
- With the help of a rule level or two plumb lines, determine the slope of the wall.
- Stepping away from the edge of the wall 10 - 15 cm at the top of the wall we fix the plumb on the screw, while leaving the lower part in a free state, thereby determining where the slope of the wall.
- A similar operation is done on the second edge of the wall, fixing the plumb line in its upper part.
- Then you will need a kapron inelastic cord (laces), screws or dowel nails.
- At the first level in the vertical direction we fix the self-tapping screws in the following order: the first screw is secured, having retreated from the floor 25-30 cm, the second in the middle along the level cord, the third, also deviating from the ceiling 25 -20 cm.
- repeat the operation on the second edge of the wall.
- Then you need to pull the cord horizontally, fixing it in the tightness on the dowels. The cord is pulled on the lower end screws so that it barely touches the thread of the plumb line.
- Similarly, horizontally pull the cord on the middle and upper screws.
Thus, regardless of the slope of the wall, we created a plane. Having finished the preparatory stage, we proceed to the preparation of the mixture and the installation of lighthouses. As a mixture for fixing lighthouses, it is better to use the same plaster composition, which we will carry out alignment of walls by beacon.
To attach beacons, only materials that are the same in nature are used.
It is not allowed to fix beacons on gypsum solution, but plastering of walls with cement mortar on beacons. This can lead to the destruction of the entire finish because of the "chemical" incompatibility of cement and gypsum mortar.
A solution for fixing beacons should be prepared according to the manufacturer's instructions on the dry construction mix.
The prepared mixture is poured in the form of small portions at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, in a form resembling a pyramid, a little more than the distance from the wall to the thread of the plumb.
Throwing portions should be placed strictly vertically along the plumb line at a distance of 10 cm from the tightened shoelace and the thread of the plumb lines. Without waiting for the grasping of the plaster, we make fastening of the beacon guides to the plaster.
Beacons must be rigid, straight, level, without mechanical damage and kinks.
Plumbs before installing beacons must be removed. Carefully, without touching the cord, we set up a beacon for it and fix it, slightly pressing into the applied portions of the mixture. Then align the beacon in such a way that its front part (on which the rule goes) is slightly in contact with the tensioned cords (upper, middle and lower parts). After the beacon is exposed on the cord, the lower part of the lighthouse should be carefully coated, filling completely the perforated areas in the spots of the "point" attachment of the lighthouse. Thus, we managed to point in several places to fix the lighthouse in an upright position. We check the installed beacon on the vertical plane, putting to it a neat rule level. The following beacons are installed in the same way.
The distance between vertically installed beacons should be 20-30 cm less than the length of the rule used, while trying to place the beacons at the same distance from each other. Do not follow the extreme lighthouses close to the corner, the extreme lighthouses must be mounted at a distance of 20 - 25 cm from the corner of the wall. After grasping the stucco under the beacons (after 30-40 minutes) to give more stability and rigidity to the beacons, it is necessary to completely fill the space under the beacons, otherwise with further cutting of the plaster by the rule - the beacon will bend and we will not get a high-quality, even wall. After full hardening of the plaster under the beacons, remove the tensioned cord, and also remove excess mixes from the front of the beacons. Thus, we create an unobstructed circulation of the rule on the lighthouses - the level to which we will derive our solution. It should be remembered that in 1-3 days after applying the plaster material, the beacons must be dismantled, and the resulting "grooves" should be leveled with plaster.
It is recommended to carefully prime the fixing solution under the beacons in order to avoid the appearance of cracks between the stucco and the hardening mortar, otherwise the solution will absorb moisture from fresh, not hardened plaster mortar.
Plastering and leveling the walls with your own hands
The entire process of working on leveling the wall with plaster can be divided into a number of elementary stages: preparation of the mortar, the process of plastering the walls along the beacons, primary pruning of the mixture and final processing.
How to prepare mortar for plastering walls. Before proceeding with the preparation of the plaster, carefully read the corresponding section of the instructions on the packaging. During the preparation of the plaster solution with your own hands, you must use only pure water. The water temperature should be within 15-20 ° C. Do not use spring water or river water as the water of mixing, because it has a very different salt composition and pH, and this in turn affects the dissolution rate modifying additives , which are part of the plaster mixture. Preparation of mortar for plastering walls must be carried out in strict sequence, the mixture is added to water. First, a necessary quantity of water is measured in a clean container, and then a necessary quantity of a dry plaster mix is padded portion by piece, and it is necessary to mix with a professional mixer.
Portional addition of the plaster mixture in water avoids the appearance of lumps when the material is stirred.
The mixing process is continued until a uniform mass is formed. During the initial mixing, small amounts of water or mixture may be added if necessary. During the mixing of the plaster, it is necessary to move the blades of the whisk of the mixer along the entire volume of the container, and especially along the edges, thereby eliminating the "impurities" and "clumping" of the plaster. After obtaining a homogeneous mass, stop stirring and allow the leveling mixture to settle for 3-5 minutes. Extract is necessary in order for the dry modifying additives that are part of the plaster mixture to dissolve and begin to act. With agitation without exposure, the finished plaster may not have the properties declared by the manufacturer. After aging, the mixture is re-mixed.
The process of preparation of the plaster solution is carried out with an exposure of 3-5 minutes.
A great influence on the quality of the resulting mixture is the speed of mixing. Plaster mixes, as a rule, are mixed at a medium speed of 2000-3000 rpm. professional mixer. At very high mixing speeds, a large amount of air is drawn into the plaster, which leads to an increased "porosity" of the solution and a decrease in the quality of the resulting surface, on which there will be many voids and cavities. That is why it is not recommended to use a drill in the preparation of leveling plasters, in which there is no possibility to adjust the number of revolutions.
Stucco solution is mixed with a professional mixer at medium revs.
The quality is also affected by the shape of the container in which the mixing is carried out. In a very narrow and deep container, the solution is very heterogeneous with a large number of non-impurities. When choosing a container, you should prefer a wide, round container, it is easy to control the quality of the plaster and eliminate impurities.
If the work is carried out by one master, and not by a team of plasterers, then it is not necessary to prepare too large a volume of plaster mortar. There is a high probability that the mixture will start to grasp and the master will not be able to fully develop it. The outline of thickening plaster does not allow to obtain a high-quality surface after its cutting. As a rule, vitality gypsum plasters of manual application be within 40-60 minutes, which determines the volume of a single batch solution of approximately 20-30 liters.
To prevent premature setting of the plaster, the mixing process is carried out only in a clean container at a temperature of + 5- + 30 ° C.
Manual application of plaster
Before you start plastering the walls with your own hands it is recommended to cover a part of the floor under the leveling surface with a polyethylene film, thereby you will rid yourself of the further cleaning of the hardened plaster with your hands.
How to apply plaster on the wall. The application of plaster in the interstitial space is carried out with a trowel or spatula. The mixture is applied horizontally, filling the space, moving from the ceiling to the floor. If you throw a ready solution, from the floor moving to the ceiling ("bottom-up"), the probability increases that when working on the upper sections you can damage the already prepared lower section of the withdrawn wall.
When moving from top to bottom, this problem does not arise. The application of the next portion of plaster should be carried out next to the previous one. In this case, when further cutting the solution with your own hands, a homogeneous surface without cavities and voids will be formed immediately. After sketching plaster on 1/3 of a site it is necessary to cut, removing thus surpluses of a plaster mix. The cutting of the solution is carried out by an h-shaped rule.
This type of rule very much maintains its rigidity even when leveling the solution on large sections of the wall (up to 2 m) in the kitchen and bathroom in the apartment. When cutting plaster, the h-shaped rule must be tightly pressed to the beacons strictly perpendicular to the leveling surface and making movements from side to side to remove the excess solution moving "from bottom to top." It is more convenient to hold the rule by a wide grip, keeping hands as close to the beacons as possible, keeping the rule on them. If, when removing excess plaster on the site, a cavity is formed, then it is necessary to add mixtures to this place and repeat the operation.
When the solution is first leveled, an h-shaped rule is used
When sketching mortar on the wall from ceiling to floor, there is another advantage, when removing the h-shaped rule, the excess plaster can immediately be applied to the lower part of the wall, which allows you to save significantly (by 20%) the time at the finish. The final removal of the surface of the wall is made after the beginning of setting the solution, for gypsum plasters after about 40-60 minutes.
The final pruning of the surface is carried out only after the beginning of setting the plaster composition
If you start flattening the plane before, then the risk of scratches, "scuffing" and other surface defects increases sharply. For the final "removal" of the surface using a trapezoidal rule or a wide metal spatula. The method of self-alignment is similar to working with an h-shaped rule.
When the surface is finally removed, use a trapezoidal rule or a metal spatula with a wide edge
Reinforcement of the plaster layer. When thick layer plastering with a layer of more than 20 mm, many masters to increase crack resistance and durability resort to reinforcement of the plaster layer with the help of a special plaster mesh. To reinforce the layer of plaster on the wall use fiberglass, metal and plastic mesh. Optimal is considered a glass fabric mesh with a cell size of 5 × 5 cm and a density in the range of 110-160 g / m2. The main advantage of fiberglass mesh should be considered resistance to temperature changes and high tensile strength.
When using glass-cloth mesh, the reinforcement is carried out on a "live" solution. Initially, 2/3 of the required plaster solution thickness is applied to the surface between the beacons, then the grid is "top-bottomed" and "drowned" into a layer of fresh, uncontaminated solution, after which the remaining layer of the leveling mixture is applied. In the process of spreading the grid, one should not allow warpage, sagging, or the displacement of the grid.
Reinforcement with a metal mesh is used, as a rule, when working with cement plasters. To increase the adhesion strength of the mortar to the mesh, the metal mesh must be degreased before installation, and the rusty areas should be treated with special protective enamel. The grid on the surface is fixed with screws that are screwed in at a distance of 25-30 cm, approximately 1 m2 requires about 16 screws. The mesh should be well stretched and fit snugly against the surface of the base, sagging and displacement are not allowed. The overlap between the adjacent layers of the grid should be at least 10 cm. After securely fixing the mesh, proceed to install the beacons.
The method of reinforcement of the plaster depends on the material of the reinforcing mesh.
How to level the corner of the wall 90 degrees (outer and outer)
Finishing of internal and external corners by own hands. After the final removal of the wall, the beacons begin to level the corners. This work requires a long h-shaped and short trapezoidal rule, as well as special corner spatulas for removing the inner and outer corners. Alignment of walls with plaster goes from the last beacon to the inner corner of the wall. Removal of surplus plaster solution is carried out h-shaped rule. The rule rests on the established beacons, and the edge of the rule contacts the adjacent wall if possible, when cutting the material, it is necessary to press the rule on the beacons tightly and to perform the cutting strictly perpendicular to the aligned surface.
Similarly, with your own hands, align the corner area on the adjacent wall. After starting the setting of the solution in both areas, it is possible to proceed with the final alignment of the angle using a short trapezoidal rule or a wide spatula.
At the final aligning the inner corner The end of the trapezoidal rule should slide easily over the grasped plaster layer.
To give the corner a finished look and the correct geometry use a special spatula for the inner corners. The outer corners are removed in a similar way, the plaster is applied alternately on each side of the outer corner and further careful removal of the excess solution on each side is carried out with an h-shaped rule that is supported by wall beacons. The final leveling of the surface is also carried out after the beginning of setting the solution with a trapezoidal rule, the outer corner of the wall is leveled by means of an outer trowel for corners.
When decorating the outer corners to increase the rigidity of the angle, a number of masters to the corner part fix the metal corner profile - the corner. However, when finishing new buildings, they are likely to have structural shrinkage, which contributes to the deformation of the profile and the delamination of the putty, the appearance of cracks on the painted surface. Therefore, the decision on the appropriateness of using a perforated angular profile at external corners is determined in each case individually. If it is necessary to install a similar angle profile, it is recommended to use plastic, deformable angular profiles.
Technology of leveling the ceiling with gypsum plaster
When the ceiling is leveled with plaster, there are a number of distinctive features compared to the leveling of the wall surface. If the ceiling difference is above 30 mm, then generally it should be from the leveling of the ceiling with your own hands, and use other technologies (stretch ceiling, drywall, etc.). This is due to several reasons. First, there will be a very large consumption of material and, correspondingly, a large financial cost. Secondly, the greater the thickness of the application, the higher the probability of peeling off the plaster layer from the ceiling under its own weight in the process of leveling and further operation of the apartment.
If You decided to plaster the ceiling alone, it should be remembered that the maximum thickness of a single layer should not exceed 15 mm. At large differences, it is necessary to apply the plaster in several layers, and the first applied layer must completely dry up, and then it must be primed.
Preparing the ceiling for plastering. Preparation of the surface of the ceiling is similar to the preparation of the surface of the walls. If there are rusts on the ceiling (joints of slabs), then reinforcing mesh should be used to increase crack resistance. Reinforcing mesh is also necessary if the plaster is applied over a layer of more than 20 mm. Installation of reinforcing mesh on the ceiling is carried out on the base before the installation of beacons with overlapping of the mesh net is not less than 10 cm. If it is necessary to apply the plaster in several layers, the first layer should be applied between the beacon trowels. For better adhesion of the first layer, it must be "pushed" through the cells and then leveled. The primary layer of the solution must completely dry out. Further the surface may be primed and after drying the soil, it is possible to apply the next layer.
Installation of beacons on the ceiling. When plastering the ceiling, it is initially necessary to mark a "horizon line" on the walls using a building level, for this, horizontal marks are placed on all walls in the room at a distance of about 30 cm from the ceiling, which are then combined into a single line. Further from the applied "horizon line" it is necessary to make vertical measurements from horizon to ceiling level on all walls and to determine the angle with the minimum distance. This will be the "zero mark". Levels with this mark are marked on the rest of the corners and walls, getting a future ceiling boundary. Further along the contour of this boundary and the corners a number of screws are fixed. Between the screws self-tighten, pull, and fix the nylon cord inelastic. The distance between the beacons is usually 130-180 cm from each other, you should not put beacons at too great a distance, as this will greatly complicate the trimming of the material and reduce your stability at altitude. Beacons should be installed in the direction of the fall of daylight.
When leveling the ceiling, defects are more noticeable if the beacons are exposed in the direction of the daylight
The subsequent leveling of the plaster and the installation of the beacon guides are carried out in a similar way, as in the case of wall leveling. When cutting plaster, the h-shaped rule must be tightly pressed to the beacons strictly perpendicular to the leveling surface and making moves from side to side to remove excess mix by moving the tool toward you. In difficult and hard-to-reach places, pruning is done with a wide spatula.
They can boast perfectly even walls - in most cases they have depressions and other defects, or even significant deviations in the vertical. On such walls is difficult, it is almost impossible to decorate or, and even will not look very aesthetic. On the uneven will quickly lose its original appearance, and will have to again. To save time and money, it is better to straighten the walls immediately. Which way to level the walls is better to choose and how to do all the work?
Evaluation of surface roughness
All methods of leveling the walls are divided into two fundamentally different groups:
One way or another choose, given the degree of unevenness of the walls, so this stage is especially important. The extent to which the walls are uneven can be measured laser level or the usual building level.
The most simple and very popular way - use of plumb lines. First thing in one of the upper corners of the wall, and so that. The plumb line can be made from a long thread and a nut or other load. The ready plumb line is tied to the hammered nail, the weight should almost reach to. When the thread with the load stops staggering (ie the plumb line forms a strictly vertical line), at the bottom of the wall you can drive in the second, so that the thread and the nail head are on the same level. The same procedure is done from the opposite side of the wall. The four nails are connected by a cord and form a strictly vertical plane, which allows one to understand the degree of deviation from the wall level.
We estimate the irregularities and choose the method of alignment:
- cavities and irregularities up to 0,5-1 cm can be leveled with putty;
- drops up to 3-5 cm better align;
- differences of more than 5 cm are easier to align with sheets of gypsum cardboard, mounted on a specially constructed frame.
№1. Alignment of walls with plaster
For leveling the walls use gypsum and cement plasters. Gypsum formulations make it possible to achieve an optimal microclimate in the room, but they are afraid of water, so they are suitable, and. Cement plasters can be safely used for leveling walls in rooms, k.
Sequence of work looks like this:
The main advantage of this method of leveling is the maximum preservation of the useful area of the room. Cons are the laboriousness of the process, the need to prepare the base and the presence of a large amount of dust.