DIY Customised Flooring - does it worth it? (Part 2)

As  you may remember, in part 1 of this post we are going to talk about concrete floors and floor finishing. Let's get moving!

Pouring of concrete floor

The construction of the concrete floor in a private house begins with preparatory work. First, on the site of the future floor you should complete marking and gravel dumping. Primer is previously cleaned from plants and the top layer, and then compacted. Further a layer of gravel is poured in, which must also be well compacted. In the construction of a concrete floor in a private house, gravel will act as a thermal insulation. Sand is poured over the gravel. After it is compacted, a thick polyethylene film is spread on the surface, acting as a waterproofing material.

All of this is only when you are starting to made floor on the ground, without any previously prepared flooring/surface. In such cases you may have to skip most of preparatory work.

So how to make a concrete floor in a private house? After installing the waterproofing layer, you can start pouring the screed. Cement screed in the country house is poured the same way as the screed in the apartment: levels are set and a screed mortar is poured, which is leveled from the wall to the door.

When pouring concrete screeds, several features should be considered. The solution for pouring must be fresh, for its preparation it is recommended to use high-quality cement, sifting of sand and water. To increase the strength of the concrete layer, special plasticizers can be added to the screed mortar, which will give additional strength to the future coating.

When pouring screed height is 5 cm or more, you can use reinforcing elements or reinforcing mesh, which is laid on the waterproofing layer before pouring. In the case of the arrangement of warm water floors in a private home, the use of a reinforcing mesh and the addition of plasticizers to the cement slurry are mandatory procedures.

When the concrete after pouring hardens a little, you can remove the beacons. The voids left after their removal are filled with the same screed mortar. After filling and leveling all the slots, the floor is covered with polyethylene and left to dry. Drying the concrete floor is a long and responsible process. Concrete should dry itself within a month, if there is a system of a warm floor heating - it is prohibited to use it until the complete  screed drying. By turning on the heating elements, you will make the concrete to crack before the room will operational. While drying the concrete screed it is recommended to periodically wet it from the water and again cover with polyethylene: if this requirement is met, the coating will gain maximum strength and does not crack.

TO CORRECTLY MAKE THE CEMENT FILL, REMOVE LIGHTHOUTS AND LEISURE CONCRETE, RECOMMEND THAT THE PHOTO IS REVIEWED WITH THE WORKS OF BUILDERS SPECIALIZING ON THE EQUIPMENT OF FLOORS IN PRIVATE HOUSES.

Finishing floor

To make only a finishing floor in a private house from scratch is easy enough, but sometimes additional laying of decorative coating is required. You can also cope with this problem yourself. How can you cover the floor in a private house?

The most optimal option for a private house can be considered a double floor of the wooden boards. A pure coating of such a structure may not be covered by anything. This option is practical and beautiful, and also has a long service life (with proper care). Before starting the operation, the boards should be treated with protective compounds and covered with varnish, which will protect them from sand, dirt, water and chemicals. For the coating can be chosen as a transparent varnish, leaving the natural color of wood, and colored, giving the floor a different shade.

Concrete floor in a private house assumes the presence of an upper layer of decorative coating. As a finish the floor will look elegant parquet or parquet board. This coating is quite expensive, but it is distinguished by high environmental friendliness, good antistatic and thermal insulation characteristics. Doing parquet flooring in the private house used only for summer time does not make sense (it may not survive low temperatures), but in a house where you plan to live permanently, such coverage will look appropriate.

As analogues of parquet can be considered more affordable laminate, linoleum, carpet and ceramic tiles. Laminate is suitable for living room and bedrooms, ceramic tiles will be appropriate to look at the kitchen, in the bathroom and the hallway. Linoleum is also best placed only in the kitchen or in the hallway. The carpet use is more limited: the material is suitable for finishing the floor in the bedrooms.

The assortment of modern colors and textures of the listed materials allows to pick up a covering for all tastes. In a private house, it will be appropriate to have the floors with natural patterns that repeat the texture of wood or natural stone.

So if you like to do everything with your own hands, hope this post will come in handy. But if you want to get maximum results with your home renovation and isn't certain about ability to make everything properly - professionals will be happy to help you with anything you want and need!

Good luck!