Floor repair in an apartment: cost, options, prices

The surface of the floor is constantly exposed to significant loads and wears out over time. This is manifested in the form of external defects, squeaking and increased deflection of elements. If you decide that the time has come to tidy up the flooring, we suggest that you learn how to do it do-it-yourself floor repair in the apartment in stages, and get acquainted with the important nuances that you need to remember in the process work.

Gender assessment

Thinking about how to repair the floor in an apartment inexpensively, you need to keep in mind that you can’t just put a new floor covering without checking the condition of the base. If it leaves much to be desired, then the new linoleum or laminate will not last long.

• Elements of the wooden floor can creak, fall through, bend, cracks may appear between them, and old boards may “swell” over time. Problems with a wooden floor can be associated with the flooring itself, with lags or with the base on which they are fixed. This is exactly what needs to be clarified when assessing the upcoming scope of work.
• The topcoat can be laid on a screed, which can begin to crumble, crack, or slip.

The scope and technology of repair work will depend on the extent of floor defects in your home.

Repair wood floor

Options for floor repair in an apartment may be different. In some cases, when repairing a wooden floor it will be enough to replace only the most worn floorboards, fix the loose elements, close the cracks and loop. It may be necessary to replace rotten logs, repair a concrete base.

Redecorating

This type of repair involves the following sequence of actions:

1. The floorboards are cleaned of the old coating. The modern way is scrapping or grinding using a machine. In this case, the nail heads are pre-deepened by 5 mm.
2. Withered and rotten boards are replaced with new ones. During the replacement process, it does not hurt to look into the underground and check the status of the lag.
3. Poorly fixed floorboards are additionally attached to the logs with self-tapping screws.
4. Narrow gaps are sealed with putty on wood, and large ones are closed with tapered glazing beads on glue or putty. The protrusions are removed with a planer, and the putty areas are treated with a grinder.
5. Garbage and dust are removed, and on the renewed floor you can apply a coating (paint, varnish) or lay linoleum, laminate, etc.

Cosmetic repair of the floor with a base in the form of a screed is a simple replacement of the finish coating.

The repair process can be seen in the video, and the types of flooring - in numerous photos.

Complete floor replacement

Overhaul of the floor in a high-rise building includes the following steps:

• dismantling of the old coating and lag or screeds;
• elimination of base defects;
• installation of new logs, insulation and sound insulation or installation of a new screed;
• laying flooring and finishing flooring.

Dismantling

For lag construction:

• Skirting boards are removed, access to the boardwalk is freed.
• Boards may still come in handy, so they should be removed carefully. Each floorboard rises gently, starting from the wall, after which the nails are pulled out by a nail clipper. It is especially difficult to disassemble the grooved boards, as there is a risk of breaking the joint.
• The panel house has reinforced concrete floors, to which logs are attached. It is necessary to dismantle them carefully so that then you do not have to do the extra work of sealing holes.

If it turns out that the lag condition allows you to use them further, you just need to change the flooring. For it, you can use boards, sheets of plywood or OSB.

For coating on the screed:

• The floor covering is removed.
• The condition of the screed is checked. If the defects are insignificant, it can be repaired with fresh cement or a mixture to restore concrete coatings (depends on the composition of the screed).
• If the screed is very cracked, loose, peeling from the base, it should be removed using a punch.

When removing the screed, proceed carefully so as not to damage the concrete floor.

Repair subfloor

Cement mortar or a special thixotropic repair composition for concrete are used to close up defects in the concrete floor. The entire surface is treated with a deep penetration primer.

Now you need to decide on the design of the floor. You can choose one of the following options:

• “Wet” screed using cement-sand mixture. An inexpensive way to prepare the base, its disadvantage is prolonged drying for 1-1.5 months.
• Bulk floor using special mixes for leveling. It allows you to get the perfect surface, dries just a few days. The cost of self-leveling mixtures is quite high, so it is advisable to use this method for the base with small differences.
• “Dry” screed using expanded clay backfill and GVL.
• Lag system The method is good in that between the lags you can put heat and noise insulation. At the same time, the lags give the floor additional strength, and the presence of an air gap provides insulation and ventilation.

The device of a floor on logs

If you decide to mount your new floor in the apartment on the logs, the order of work will be as follows.

1. Logs are laid on the base on the width of the insulation roll. They are attached to the base or mounted on screw metal studs, aligning with a level exactly horizontally. They should stand at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other.
2. Insulation is laid. It should be placed between the lags around the perimeter of the room. The vapor barrier is laid on top of the insulation.
3. It is important to lay the boards or sheets of plywood correctly so that they fit snugly against each other, and a gap of 5 mm remains between them and the walls. The sheets should lie on at least three supports, and the joints should be in the middle of the lag. They are staggered, which makes the floor more rigid.
4. Small gaps between the boards are sealed with putty, after which the surface needs to be recycled.
5. The floor covering is laid on the repaired floor, skirting boards are attached.

Repair Cost

Many prefer to trust the repair of floors in the apartment to specialists. The cost of work is calculated individually, taking into account the type of repair, the condition of the floor, the selected flooring. If we talk about the prices for flooring, the prices will be as follows:

• Linoleum is the cheapest option, its installation will cost in the amount of 100 rubles / m2. This floor material can be laid on any base and in any room, with the exception of the bathroom, where tiles will be more appropriate.

• Laminate - from 200 rubles / m2 in Moscow, from 120 rubles / m2 in St. Petersburg. It is used as an affordable simulation of parquet or natural wood. The surface of the base should be perfectly smooth, the material is laid on a substrate of foamed polyethylene or technical cork.
• Carpet - laying price is the same as for linoleum. A beautiful and comfortable coating, but it needs a powerful vacuum cleaner, because the material collects a lot of dust.
• Ceramic tile - from 600 rubles / m2. Great choice for the bathroom and the kitchenstacked on the screed.
• Wood coating. It can be an array (laying from 750 rubles / m2 in Moscow, from 460 rubles / m2 in St. Petersburg), parquet (from 690 rubles / m2 in Moscow, from 500 rubles / m2 in St. Petersburg) or parquet board (from 270 rubles / m2 in Moscow, from 170 rubles / m2 in SPb).