Semi-dry floor screed: minuses and pluses. Quick semi-dry floor screed with your own hands: technology, pros and cons

Carrying out repairs involves the implementation of the procedure for finishing the floor. For this, linoleum, tile or carpet is most often used. But without the preparation of the surface under the flooring, the laying of the finishing materials will be a useless occupation. As the first stage of the preparation of the rough foundations is the arrangement of the screed. You can choose one of several of its types. However, the most common today is a semi-dry technology, which can not be called groundless. With this technique, you can achieve a perfectly flat surface.

general description

Semi-dry floor screed, the minuses and advantages of which will be discussed below, is an alternative to wet technique. Its use is conditioned by the desire to speed up the formation of the base for laying the floor covering. The technology is designed to use special equipment, but you can successfully create a surface yourself. The installation of a semi-dry screed involves the use of a conventional mortar made of cement and sand, but with a low water content. The mixture must be kneaded until the mass allows it to form a lump. Such compositions should be poured, but not filled.

In order to impart strength to the coating, it needs to be reinforced with fiber, which is polypropylene fibers. If you are interested in a semi-dry floor screed, it is recommended to consider the advantages and disadvantages of this coating in advance. Today, there are different technologies for the arrangement of this surface, everything will depend on the desired result. If the floor is planned to lay various communications, then the thickness of the screed should be increased. In particular, this recommendation refers to a situation where there is an uneven roughing surface.

The main advantages of laying the screed on a semi-dry technology

The main advantage of this method is the use of water in a small amount when the solution is closed. When installing a semi-dry screed, it is not necessary to use rubber gloves, and also to interact with a dirty solution. From this it is possible to single out a second advantage, which is expressed in reducing the risk of flooding the neighbors with water from below. When pouring a liquid solution, it is likely that it will fall into the floor. Among other things, you can reduce the drying time of the material, which is why you need to proceed faster to further work.

If you will be equipped with a semi-dry floor screed, the minuses and pluses of which should be taken into account, it must be remembered that with this technology you can achieve a practically flawless surface. The smooth base will be completely ready for laying of linoleum, parquet or any other floor covering. If during the work you use the trowel, then on the surface of the screed there will be no cracks and voids. When manipulating this material, there is no need to use waterproofing layers, since the solution eliminates the possibility of leakage. Due to the fact that the water in the screed is 1/3 part, just as much is needed to hydrate the cement, the solution will dry very quickly. At the end of the fourth day, it will be completely ready for laying the finish coat.

If you will be equipped with a semi-dry floor screed, the disadvantages and advantages of which should be known to you before starting the work, it should be borne in mind that the thickness of the floor will be negligible. Despite this, it is possible to achieve high impact resistance and excellent resistance to mechanical stress. These characteristics are due to the presence of reinforced fibers. If you compare with the usual cement-sand screed, it exerts significant load on the load-bearing structures in comparison with the screed of the floor, in which the fiber is contained.

Why choose a semi-dry screed

Laying works you can easily carry out both outside and inside the premises, and the conditions can be completely arbitrary. Manipulation can be made at a temperature range from -5 to +40 degrees, humidity can vary from 60 to 95%.

Quite often, home masters are faced with a problem that is expressed in the need to level the inclined surfaces, as well as the bases that have irregularities. In this case, you can not do without a semi-dry screed, which will cope with these tasks perfectly. It can even be formed around pipes and openings that are on the floor surface. Among the main advantages of this technique can be identified low cost of work.

Main disadvantages

If you are interested in a semi-dry floor screed, the minuses and pluses of the technology should be studied before the moment of purchasing materials and tools for the work. You should note that this technique assumes that there are some drawbacks. They are associated with a number of inconveniences. Due to the fact that the mass is not fluid, it will be difficult to knead it without using special equipment. Before starting manipulation, you should remember that shutting the solution yourself will be problematic enough. The technology is relatively new, so on many issues, experts may disagree. High grades of solution, designed for semi-dry technology, can be spoiled by traditional methods, which involve topping up water for leveling.

A quick semi-dry floor screed, the pros and cons of which are described in the article, should not be exposed to water after laying. If the liquid has been added too little, and the process of hydration of the cement has not yet ended, then the liquid crystals will, upon reaching the solution, grow, which will cause the appearance of cracks and deformation. Users highlight another drawback of such a technique, which is expressed in a small compaction, so the floor surface can crumble and creak under the finish coat.

Preparatory work before laying the screed

We looked at the advantages and disadvantages of a semi-dry floor screed. It is necessary to lay it by its own hands only after a detailed study of this process. This is the only way you can do all the work, eliminating errors. An important stage is preparatory, it involves cleaning the floor, getting rid of chips and cracks on the surface. If the base has some delaminations, then they need to be scraped off, and after plastering, only so the surface will be able to withstand the loads during the future operation.

In order for the base to be qualitative and reliable, it is necessary to set the zero level at an arbitrary height. If you neglect this stage, you will not be able to get a fairly flat surface of the finished coating. To improve the quality and accuracy of creating a semi-dry screed, you need to use special tools, namely the laser level. In its absence, the traditional, watery one will do.

Shutting off the solution

The minuses of the semi-dry floor screed today stop a small part of the masters. They are attracted by positive features, which are expressed in the ease of coverage and its universality. For laying, you can find a ready-made mortar mix for sale, but you can independently shut the mortar yourself, using Portland cement, fiber, sand and plasticizer. It is best to make the mixture using a mixer or any other suitable container.

The solution must be made with the addition of a polymer material called propylene fiber. In order to determine the right amount of water, you should use a simple method: the mixture must be taken into the hand and squeezed. Moisture must come through, but the mass will remain a whole lump. This indicates the most optimal level of moisture.

Insulation laying

Semi-dry floor screed, the advantages of which have been described above, must necessarily contain insulation. For this, polypropylene tape is used, which is necessary to protect partitions and walls. The upper edge of the tape should be located slightly above the level of filling the solution. This will prevent a negative impact on the screed, which can be observed during the compression of the mass and its expansion. Among other things, you exclude the interaction of the wall with the solution.

Mounting Beacons

Advantages and features of a semi-dry floor screed will become known after reading this article. The next step is to set up the beacons, which will be based on the leveling rail. These elements will play the role of guides, due to this the plane will be leveled. Beacons should be placed in parallel, the distance between them should be such that it would be convenient to use the rule.

Concreting

Semi-dry floor screed, pluses, the technology of which should be studied by you before acquiring materials, involves concreting at the final stage. Leveling the surface involves filling the entire area, including the one where the lighthouses were located. After pouring, they should remain in the thickness of the screed. The surface in the course of performing these jobs must be aligned with the rule.

Conclusion

In order to achieve efficiency during grouting, it is better to use a trowelling machine. Thanks to it you can level the surface and harden the base. It is important to finish these works even before the mixture begins to grasp.