Floor screed beacons

The main requirement for a perfect installation of modern flooring is an ideally even base. However, floor slabs do not always comply with established standards: cracks and potholes, height differences and the pits not only violate the general harmony, but can also cause damage to the floor or abrasion of linoleum. To prevent this situation, the floor is leveled with a solution. As control points, beacons are used for screeding, which help to make the base strictly horizontal, without bevels and offsets in one of the sides. Features of their installation are determined by the type of structural elements and alignment methods.

Types of screeds and determination of zero level

Depending on the composition and laying technology, the screed can be:

Dry

It is the best option for leveling concrete slabs in the apartment, since it does not require the addition of water. Using lighthouses under

dry type screed, you can smooth the differences of the base to 12-15 cm, but it is difficult to achieve perfect accuracy. Usually, special mixtures are used for this floor, ready to eat. When hardeners and plasticizers are added to it, a composition for semi-dry screed is obtained. Ideally, the surface is obtained due to gypsum fiber sheetsthat are customized to the right level.

Cement-sand

It is made of cement and sand in a ratio of 1: 3 and water by mixing, resulting in a thick solution. Having correctly installed the beacons for screed made of cement-sand composition, it can easily be used to hide large cracks and pits, smooth out defects in the base. However, due to the presence of a microrelief, such a floor is not even enough and is not suitable for laying parquet or laminate.

Wet

It is used to level the bases, the height differences of which are no more than 1-2 cm. Special mixtures hide all recesses of the surface microrelief, the main thing is to set the beacons correctly. The result is an even and solid base on which to lay parquet and laminate.

Advice! Picking up screed and calculating its thickness, you need to calculate in advance the estimated load on the ceiling, taking into account furniture, interior items and people in the room. The maximum permissible weight must not exceed 500 kg / m2.

Zero Level Definition

Before proceeding with the installation of beacons and laying the screed, it is necessary to determine the zero level. To do this, you need:

• find the highest point;
• mark its location on all walls;
• connect the received labels along the perimeter using the horizontal level.

Not always the highest point of the base is in the corner: it may be in the middle of the room. The correct determination of the level is checked with a cord, and then it is raised above the highest point by 10 100 mm (depending on the type of screed). This is necessary to obtain the minimum thickness of the leveling layer. The placement of the beacons is performed relative to the raised zero level.

Advice! When marking, the location of the doors should be taken into account. If they are not already installed, then the zero level is marked so that it does not overlap the estimated threshold level.

Types and methods of installing beacons

For the installation of concrete screeds, several different types of beacons are used.

From bars

This is an outdated way to level the floor. In it, for the use of lighthouses for screed from a cement-sand mixture, wooden blocks are used, the thickness of which should be at least 30 mm. To prevent deformation of the material, they are pre-soaked in water. The height of the planks is regulated with the help of self-tapping screws or wooden wedges, which are laid under the bars. After pouring, the beacons are removed, and the resulting voids are filled with concrete mixture.

From plaster profiles

Used for laying screeds in rooms of limited area. First, screws are screwed into the base according to the intended location of the guides, be sure to check the location of the fasteners relative to the horizon. Then the slides of the solution are laid out, and a plaster profile is installed on them, pushing it to the desired level. Such beacons should be handled carefully, as they are easily damaged even without significant load. It is advisable to use plaster profiles for screeds with layer thickness 2-3 cm

From guides for gypsum plasterboard

Such profiles are in the shape of the letter "P" and are located base up. Previously, screws are screwed into the floor at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other, guided by a zero level. Then, between the fasteners at opposite walls, a wire or thread is pulled along which the beacons are exposed. Drywall Profiles placed on the screws, tightening so that they coincide with the zero level.

After alignment in places of fasteners lay concrete mortar. As soon as it dries, they again check the location of the lighthouses relative to the horizontal, and then they are also covered with a cement-sand mixture. The screed is poured after the solution has dried.

From the pipes

They are indispensable for the construction of screeds in large areas, and you can use rolled sections of various shapes: circle, rectangle, and square. Pipes are characterized by high strength and retain their linear dimensions even at significant loads.

To install beacons, you must first decompose the solution with "tubercles", focusing on the zero level. Then they place pipes on them, which need to be slightly pressed into the sand-cement mixture. Correct location is checked using the level and rule. Height adjustment is carried out by pressing into a solution or adding an additional portion.

After re-checking the location of the pipe, completely cover the mixture and wait for it to dry. After pouring the screed, the guides are pulled out, and the voids are filled with a fresh solution.

From solution

It is used as follows: at a distance that corresponds to the length of the lighthouse, screws are screwed in, and a wire (fishing line) is wound between them. Then it is covered with a solution of concrete, forming a stylized wall, and the top is leveled using the rule. The advantage of using such beacons is that they do not need to be installed.

As beacons when installing a dry floor screed, a U-shaped profile is used, the height of which must correspond to the thickness of the bulk floor. Usually it is at least 3 cm. The profile should be chosen strong so that it does not bend and does not deform during installation.

Floors from self-leveling mixtures flooded by lighthouses, which are professional constructions ─ rappers or self-tapping screws.