In detail: do-it-yourself repair in an apartment, alignment of walls from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.
Modern requirements for the renovation of premises have become much more stringent. Now, flat walls are an inapplicable attribute of an apartment or house. But the walls, even in new buildings, cannot be called that even approximately, and even more so in old houses. Therefore, for any, practically, repair, leveling the walls is an inevitable stage. How best to do it, about the methods and technologies, the possibilities to do it all with your own hands, and let's talk further.
Although technologies in construction are developing rapidly, wall alignment is still done in two ways: with plaster and plasterboard cladding. Another thing is that there are different compositions of plaster - based on gypsum and cement, and you can also mount the gypsum board in two ways: on the frame and on glue. But that's all.
Smooth walls - a requirement of our time
For some time, gypsum plasterboard sheets began to be replaced with gypsum fiber boards GVL). They consisted of a mixture of gypsum and plant fibers, but they turned out to withstand shock loads poorly and break even with minor impacts. Therefore, GVL alignment of walls with their use is now a rarity (sometimes they are put on the floor).
In Soviet times, the walls were leveled with plywood. But this is definitely the last century. Far from the best replacement for gypsum board, which in 100% of cases gives cracks at the joints, and even swells from moisture. So it turns out that there is nothing to use instead of drywall. So the choice is really not very wide.
Actually, there is one more way - putty. But it is used only on relatively flat walls with a difference of no more than 5 mm. Therefore, already leveled walls are usually putty, bringing the plane to the ideal.
Video (click to play).
If we talk about how easier it is to level the walls with your own hands, then many agree that it is easier to work with drywall. But it is not difficult to cope with plaster on the lighthouses. The main thing is to know the technology and not deviate from it.
The plaster is based on two binders: one based on cement and one based on gypsum. Gypsum dries faster, but the maximum layer to which they can be applied less is about 50 mm. Cement-based plasters can be applied in layers up to 10 cm, but they take longer to dry.
Lighthouse plaster is a reliable way to level walls
In addition to the thickness of the layer, when choosing the type of plaster mixture, it is necessary to take into account which of the finishes will come later, as well as the conditions of the premises in which you are going to level the walls. Gypsum is hygroscopic, therefore it is not used in wet rooms: the bathroom and kitchen must be plastered with a cement-based composition. The rooms and the hallway remain for the plaster. This is basically what they do.
In our description, we will use gypsum plaster - Rotband - a popular brand that has good reviews from both amateurs and professionals.
Removing everything that does not hold well on the wall: we beat it off, pick it out, clean it with a spatula. If there are cracks, we embroider them. Then we estimate the degree of curvature. If there are very large projections that stand out too much, it is advisable to remove them (with a hammer and chisel or a hammer drill).
First, we clean off everything that falls off
Often starting the alignment of walls in an old house, they decide whether to knock down the old plaster if it does not fall. In principle, the master should evaluate, but you can try it yourself. Tap the wall. If there are places that differ in sound - they sound more muffled - then the layer here has moved away from the main wall.If you "hang" another layer of plaster on it, there is a high probability that all this will collapse together. It will be much worse. So, it is better to whip up previously plastered walls down to the main material.
If during preparation there are separate too large potholes, it is better to seal them up separately. Putties have a minimum and maximum layer limitation. Too much layer may fall off. Therefore, it is better to pre-seal the pits or holes.
If the surface of the wall is too smooth, notches are made on it.
When leveling a concrete wall or a surface painted with a film-forming composition, another problem arises: it is too flat, which may cause poor adhesion to the plaster. This business can be helped by processing a primer such as "Betonokontakt", which leaves a rough film on the surface, improving adhesion.
Another way out is to make notches. Once they were made with an ax, now they use a hammer drill and a grinder more often. With their help, a notch is applied. According to the rate of notches per square meter, there should be about 100 pieces.
Depending on the type of plaster chosen (gypsum or cement), a primer is selected. Its main task is to improve the adhesion of the wall and plaster. Read the instructions for use of the primer carefully. Some require moistening the base before application, some require dusting, etc.
Priming the walls before plastering
There are two favorites in this group: Cerezit 117 and Betonokontakt. There are others, but these are used more often: good reviews. The composition may be ready-to-use or require dilution (concentrate). It is applied with a roller or brush, spray, or even a garden spray - to speed up the process.
Until this moment, there were no difficulties for self-aligning the walls. Everything is elementary. Further - a little more difficult, but also - not to build rockets.
If you want to achieve a flat surface, you can level the wall only along the lighthouses. These are such supporting elements that are exposed in the same plane. A layer of plaster is then leveled along them. As beacons, you can use special galvanized "T" -shaped beacons or flat wooden strips.
It is more convenient to use metal beacons - install faster. But the minimum layer of plaster is about 8-10 mm (6 mm of the lighthouse + mortar on which it is placed). The downside is their cost: although not very big money, but still additional costs. One more point: galvanized plaster does not “contact” well, therefore, after the initial drying, the beacons are removed from the wall, the holes are closed.
Using wooden planks is a cheaper option, but finding a sufficient number of perfectly flat bars in cheap material is problematic (you won't be using high-quality timber). Even if this succeeds, the probability remains that the tree will lead from the moisture. As a result, the wall will no longer be flat.
Some make lighthouses out of mortar. Stripes of plaster are pre-applied, leveling them into a level. After they have solidified, they are used as beacons. The cheapest way, but the most labor-consuming and much more time-consuming.
The alignment of the walls depends on how correctly the lighthouses are exposed. We set it up for sure - we got an excellent result. Wrong - you will suffer, correcting irregularities that you made with your own hands.
For details on how to install beacons to level the walls, read under the screed here.
The selected plaster is diluted as indicated on the package. Then they throw it on the wall. Use a wide trowel or paint bucket. They start from the bottom, cover with a solution a piece of the wall from one lighthouse to another.
Beginning of plastering the wall along the lighthouses
Then they take the rule, set it down below.Leaning on the lighthouses, pull up, slightly swaying from side to side. Several such passes are made until the solution is leveled. The composition that has adhered to the rule is removed with a spatula, again throwing it onto the wall.
Alignment of the putty on the lobes
Again - a portion of the mortar on the wall, leveled with a rule. So to the very top. Having tightened one strip, proceed to the other. So gradually align the entire wall.
The first stage of plastering is finished. But this is only the first. The surface is not ideal: if you look closely, there are small irregularities. They are leveled with a more liquid solution, achieving a smoother surface.
When the first layer has dried a little, but has not yet hardened (no later than 2-4 hours after application), leveling begins with a putty. The existing drawbacks are rubbed with the same solution, which was diluted a little thinner than required according to the instructions. Since it is more fluid, it is applied with a wide spatula, after stretching it along the wall with the rule, relying on not the same beacons.
Leveling walls for putty
So again they go through the entire wall, leveling it to a perfectly flat plane. This is necessary in order to reduce the consumption of expensive putty mixture.
When the solution has dried to a state of thick plasticine (press hard with your fingers, it bends), you can take out the beacons. They are pried at the bottom with a screwdriver and pulled out.
We take out the beacons from the plastered wall
They are removed very easily. Actually, because of the fact that they are taken out, that they form a heterogeneity in the plaster, which means that they reduce its strength.
Now we take the rule, clean it of the adhered solution and, stretching it in different directions, finally level the surface. This should be done at the initial stage of thickening, when gypsum plaster looks like plasticine: it is easy to cut it off with the rule.
Carrying out the rule in different planes, we finally align the wall
When the surface was leveled, diluted by Rotband. They are closed immediately, without waiting for something: until the plaster has finally hardened, new layers stick to it well.
The solution is applied and removed with a spatula. At the same time, make sure that the surface remains flat. At this, the alignment of the wall under the putty can be considered complete.
