Ecology of consumption. Estate: For intense loads, the floor must not only have a stable load-bearing system, but also have high surface strength. Of course, we must not forget about automotive chemicals, the contact of which with the floor in the garage is highly likely. We will tell you how to arrange the floor correctly and without extra costs.
For intense loads, the floor must not only have a stable load-bearing system, but also have high surface strength. Of course, we must not forget about automotive chemicals, the contact of which with the floor in the garage is highly likely. We will tell you how to arrange the floor correctly and without extra costs.
Requirements for the floor and acceptable types of its installation
According to the current operational load, the garage floor occupies an intermediate link between ordinary household and road surfaces. There are three main risk factors affecting garage floors:
- Load from vehicles and garage equipment.
- Impacts, for example from falling tools and spare parts.
- Chemical exposure from automotive process fluids.
As you can see, in comparison with road surface The garage floor is not subject to atmospheric and weather influences. For this reason, the use of materials such as asphalt concrete is not only impractical, but sometimes even undesirable. Three of the most suitable device systems can be named:
- Concrete screed.
- Wooden flooring.
- Gravel mound or paving stones.
Before you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each system, as well as determine the most profitable one for your garage, focus on the economic aspect. It is foolish to hope that for pennies it will be possible to create a floor of unprecedented reliability, at the same time, today we will not consider such options as polished mosaic or self-leveling polymer floors. Some costs for the purchase of materials cannot be avoided, but ultimately everything depends on the foresight of the master and the correct execution of the work on installing the selected type of floor.
Screed and its processing
Pouring a floor with concrete in most cases can be called the best option. Mainly for the reason that most often there is no need to pour any screed: in many garages the floor is made concrete by default and only needs to be eliminated such shortcomings as curvature and dustiness.
If a garage is under design or construction, a concrete floor is in most cases the cheapest solution. Its pouring is usually carried out simultaneously with the foundation or flashing inspection hole. It is enough just to pre-mount the formwork and use the simplest reinforcement. Since the entire floor slab is located indoors, and therefore does not experience heating from the sun and is not subject to significant temperature deformations, the installation expansion joints not required. On the other hand, since in the garage it is possible (and sometimes necessary) to backfill to the optimal level, the thickness of the screed itself can be very small - about 5 cm, that is, in fact, only the upper and lower protective layer of concrete. With an average garage area of 30 m2, concrete work will require only 1.5–2 m3 of mixture, that is, you can prepare the entire volume of concrete yourself using a rented concrete mixer.
Concrete floor in garage - classic version devices. Even if the existing screed has already been in use for more than 15–20 years, it most likely fully complies technical requirements. Investments are needed in two cases:
1. To correct the deviation. To level out large holes in which water can accumulate, it is enough to fill the floor with the cheapest self-leveling screed. This will also further strengthen the surface, but only if the layer thickness is not less than permissible according to the instructions.
2. To eliminate dust. Almost any concrete floor wears off little by little, forming a lot of fine dust, which even wet cleaning cannot save from. This phenomenon can be prevented by grinding the top layer (8–10 mm), or ironing, or priming followed by painting. Please note that if the floor was filled with a leveling screed, there is no need to use epoxy primers and polyurethane paint; impregnation with a universal acrylic emulsion and coating will be sufficient alkyd enamel in several layers.
Is it permissible to install a wooden floor?
Now let's look at more exotic options for installing floors in the garage and start with plank flooring. This system is often preferred due to its heat-saving properties. Car enthusiasts who spend a long time under the bottom of their iron horse know well the difference in what floor they have to work on - concrete or wood.
At its core, the idea of installing a wooden floor seems to be a winning one in many ways. There is no need for dirty concrete works, the process can be divided into several stages to work at a convenient time. But since wood has less durability compared to mineral materials, for such a floor there is an additional number of harmful effects:
- Organic damage to wood.
- Shrinkage and loosening of the flooring over time.
- Load from transport and equipment.
It is noteworthy that some factors overlap. However, with minor modifications, the standard floor construction on joists can be made quite suitable for garage conditions. The first is high-quality stabilization of wood: mineral impregnation with fire-bioprotection or boiling in waste oil. The logs and the back side of the boards going on the flooring are subjected to this treatment.
The second change is filling the voids under the floor with dry compacted mixture. To do this, it is necessary to waterproof the garage pit, for example, spread two layers of polyethylene film on a compacted sand embankment, carefully gluing the overlapping joints. After this, a system of logs is installed, they are directed across the entry line, resting on the protrusions of the foundation and the edges of the inspection pit lining. Before laying the boardwalk, the entire space between the joists is densely filled with a mixture of dry sand and fluff in a ratio of 10:1, the filler is compacted in layers of 30–35 mm. It is not necessary to use a tongue and groove board, but the joining must be very careful. To prevent dust from blowing out from under the flooring due to vibrations of the floor, the logs and filler are covered with one layer of film on top.
Bulk floor
Obviously, the cost of installing a floor should be comparable to the intensity of its use. So, if the garage is used solely as a place to store vehicles and nothing more, then neither a concrete nor a wooden floor is worth the money and time spent. But an ordinary gravel embankment still justifies it.
There is nothing tricky about such a system, but you need to protect the floor from being replenished with moisture from the soil. For this purpose, soil is excavated throughout the entire area of the garage and a clay castle with a thickness of at least 25 cm is installed. That is, dry crushed clay is poured onto the bottom, which is mixed with water and pounded with feet. Usually the whole process is divided into 2-3 stages: first, it is kneaded and allowed to swell for 1-2 days, then water or dry clay is added to bring the consistency back to normal. At the final stage, the surface is washed out several times with the addition of new portions of more liquid clay, which fills the cracks formed during the drying process.
A carefully compacted embankment of sand and gravel is placed on top of the castle. To prevent pressure between the layers, they are separated with geotextiles. It is important that the embankment is compacted really well, and the upper 8–10 cm are filled with mixed fraction gravel. Otherwise, the floor will have to be frequently repaired, leveling the resulting rut.
Tiled and paved floor
Finally, let's consider enough budget option floor installation, which provides a more or less acceptable appearance and maintains the ability to work in the garage comfortably. We will talk about laying paving slabs and other materials suitable for paving.
In this flooring system, the greatest attention is paid to the bedding. It should be carried out by sifting out granite chips or blast furnace slag, preferably sifted and of a uniform fraction. Such stringent requirements as for street installation are not imposed, because the structure is not subject to intense leaching. A layer of 10–12 cm, poured in 3 passes with alternating manual tamping, will be sufficient. Each layer must also be leveled according to the rule, simultaneously setting a slope to remove water flowing from the car.
As a finishing coating, you can use anything, from unmarketable bricks to ordinary paving slabs. It is better to give preference to large-format materials, for example, concrete tiles dimensions 30x30 cm. This way the work will go faster, and relaying will be easier in the future. And don’t forget about tagging: after laying the floor, you need to pour a mixture of fine sand and grade 300 cement in equal proportions, and then carefully place it, ensuring that all cracks and joints are filled.published
If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project.
Landscaping your garage begins with choosing the right flooring. The problem has many solutions; boardwalk is one of the common options. It can spread on the ground or concrete screed. Having studied the features of the process of how to make a wooden floor in a garage, you will be able to complete the job on our own.
Features of a wooden floor
There is no consensus on the practicality and comfortable use of boardwalks. Studying the features of the wooden floor in the garage will help you finally make sure that the chosen solution is correct. Among the advantages, the following aspects are noted:
- Long service life. Pre-treatment of wood coating protective compounds significantly extends the life of the floor. The wear time depends largely on the intensity of use of the garage.
- If a particular section of a wooden floor is damaged, it can be easily replaced with new material.
- It is much more pleasant to inspect or repair a car on wooden surface than on a cold concrete screed.
- Properly selected material can rival the strength of a concrete base.
- Simple installation allows you to design your own wooden floor in the garage.
Comment! The use of wood impregnations helps reduce moisture in the garage, which slows down the process of body corrosion.
Any garage floor covering has disadvantages; regarding wooden flooring, it is worth noting the following negative points:
- Wood actively absorbs foreign odors. A stain from accidentally spilled oil or gasoline is almost impossible to remove, and specific aroma will remind you of the incident for a long time, especially when the engine is running.
- The cost of the material ranges from different regions, therefore, from an economic point of view, it is sometimes more profitable to decorate the garage with floor tiles.
- Wood floors are not moisture resistant, so there is a risk of rotting. It can be damaged by rodents and insects.
Treatment can prevent the problem wooden covering protective compounds, which will be discussed below.
Wood protection
Before installing a garage floor, wooden boards, care should be taken to protect the material. The use of various compositions in the form of impregnations, varnishes and paints improves the performance characteristics of wood.
The whole variety of protective equipment is conventionally divided into three groups:
- Antiseptics and flame retardants. They protect the wooden floor in the garage from damage by rodents, rotting as a result of high humidity, and provide fire resistance.
- Wood varnishes. Protective film slows down the process of floor abrasion and reduces negative influence mechanical loads.
- The functions of paints are similar to those of wood varnishes and additionally play a decorative role.
Advice! Before starting to process the wooden floor, the material is thoroughly dried and treated with antiseptic substances. The combination of compounds depends on the purpose of the garage and the likely risks.
Installation of wooden covering on concrete screed
The installation process is preceded by studying the floor structure, drawing up detailed plan actions, purchase of materials. There are several technologies for how to decorate a wooden floor in a garage with your own hands. The following option is considered optimal:
- Formation of a cement screed reinforced with reinforcement.
- Installation of the waterproofing layer.
- Insulating it will help improve the quality characteristics of a floor made of boards, although this stage is not mandatory for a garage.
- Strengthening the lag.
- Installation of floor boards.
- Treating wooden floors with protective compounds.
Materials
List of materials for installing a concrete screed on the garage floor followed by covering with wooden flooring:
- crushed stone of large or medium fraction to form a cushion;
- purified sand for cushioning and preparing concrete;
- Cement grade M400 and higher will allow you to obtain a strong screed;
- the waterproofing function will be performed by polyethylene or roofing felt;
- on cross beams there is a beam with a cross section of 200x200 mm;
- insulation is created using expanded clay or mineral wool;
- Installation of the flooring is carried out with a board whose thickness exceeds 3 cm.
The dimensions of the board are largely determined by the weight of the car and the intensity of use of the garage. The use of tongue and groove boards makes it much easier installation process due to the presence of grooves, and the tight connection contributes to the formation of sealed joints.
Preparatory work
Work on arranging a concrete screed in the garage as a subfloor under wood flooring consist of the following steps:
After the concrete base has dried, they proceed to installing waterproofing. Installation of the material is carried out with an overlap on the walls; sealing of all joints with tape helps to achieve tightness.
Installation of beams
Logs for wooden floors are made from 200x200 mm timber. If material with a cross section of 150x200 mm is used, installation is carried out on the edge to increase rigidity. There is a specific installation order:
- The beams are placed across the garage at intervals of 0.3-0.5 m. The optimal interval depends on the thickness of the wooden floor and the weight of the car.
- Laying the boards should be done perpendicular to the beams.
The main stages of the process of installing joists for a wooden garage floor:
- Wood has the ability to deform when the level of humidity or temperature changes, so a gap of 2-3 cm is left between the end of the beam and the wall.
- Using a level during installation will ensure stability of the joists. Wooden spacers will help correct the tilt.
- Air circulation is necessary between the beams and the concrete screed subfloor. For this purpose, create a gap of 2-3 cm using the same wooden spacers.
- The edges of the logs rest on a grillage, column or plinth about 10 cm high.
Installation of beams is carried out directly or with strapping around the perimeter of the garage.
Insulation
Installation of wooden floors in a garage involves thermal insulation.
Comment! The process is not necessary, but if there is no heating source, it will help retain heat during the cold period.
Expanded clay and mineral wool have suitable properties. The material is distributed into free areas between the beams.
When decorating the thermal insulation layer with mineral wool, it is necessary to lay the mats with maximum density; the presence of free space is not allowed. Impregnation with fire retardants and antiseptics will help preserve the performance characteristics of the material. This measure will prevent the risk of fire of mineral wool and its damage by bugs. If expanded clay performs the insulation function, it is poured between the joists and carefully compacted. To achieve the maximum heat preservation effect, additional use of a transparent film on top of the existing insulator will help. This is especially important if the wooden floor of the garage will be laid with non-groove boards.
Finished floor design
The final stage of installing a wooden floor in the garage will be the installation of boards. The process does not contain complex actions, key point is to maintain the tightness of the seams. Will help strengthen the tightness of a wooden floor pre-processing joints with silicone.
Installation begins from the far corner of the garage. The boards are laid in such an order that the end connection of the first row is not located next to the joint of the next one, that is, the checkerboard method is used.
When the installation of the plank flooring in the garage is completed, they move on to processing the wood flooring. Before applying varnish or paint, the wooden floor is cleaned of dirt and dust, antiseptic substances and other protective agents are applied. After drying, begin decorating the garage floor. Paint and varnish materials selected taking into account their purpose for wooden surfaces.
Advice! Areas where the car's wheels are planned to come into contact with a wooden floor can be covered with a rubberized coating. This helps extend the life of the boardwalk.
Installation of a wooden floor on the ground
It’s faster, easier and cheaper to install a wooden floor in your garage without first laying out a concrete base. The technological process consists of the following stages:
The areas where the car wheels are planned to be located are reinforced with additional supports. It is also advisable to equip this place with stronger joists.
Instead of brick supports, you can install a wooden floor in the garage using columnar foundation done independently. To do this, holes are prepared with a drill into which a pipe made of roofing material is inserted. A reinforcing frame is installed inside and filled with cement mortar.
The remaining stages of arranging a wooden floor in a garage are carried out similarly to the described process of laying it on a concrete base.
Conclusion
Despite some disadvantages, a wooden floor can become a reliable covering for a garage, provided that technological process laying and processing for protection purposes.
It’s only at first that it seems that it doesn’t matter what kind of floor the garage has. Once you start to figure it out, a sea of nuances immediately arises. In the article we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages possible options and how to make a garage floor with your own hands.
You can make a concrete floor in your garage with your own hands. It's important to know how
Which garage floors are better?
As you can see, there aren't many options. Let's look at their advantages and disadvantages in more detail.
Advantages and disadvantages
Earthen floors in a garage are very simple to install, require virtually no material investment, and you can replace a damaged section of the earthen floor at any time. These are, perhaps, all the advantages. The downsides are more serious:
- in dry weather they get dusty, in rainy weather they get wet;
- spills can only be removed by replacing part of the coating;
- cold, no possibility of insulation;
A dirt floor in a garage can be used as a temporary option or as a base for wood. Such floors can be found in garages at dachas, where the car is located for a very short period of time. In major garages, they still make a more solid foundation.
A garage floor made of paving slabs can be considered as one of the earthen floor options. It's just more practical. There are more layers when constructing it, as well as more money is required for its installation - more crushed stone and sand are poured onto the ground, into which the tiles are laid. But the functionality of this option is much higher. Disadvantages - possible increased humidity, and if the sand and gravel cushion is insufficiently compacted, the floor may “sag” in places of greatest stress, and if the quality of the tiles is low, it can be destroyed under the influence of aggressive substances, of which there is more than enough in the garage. Another minus is that dirt gets stuck in the seams, it’s not easy to clean, and the problem of absorption remains: paving slabs are hygroscopic.
Not everyone is happy with a wooden garage floor because it is a fire hazard and prone to rot. Although, if the groundwater is low and the floor is made correctly, it will not rot. Fire hazards can be combated by impregnating the boards with fire retardants - agents that reduce the flammability of wood. But these are not all shortcomings. It’s also not very pleasing that the boards absorb dirt and spilled liquids, which do not have the most pleasant smell. The wooden garage floor looks very untidy, and removing it all from wood fibers no possibility.
The advantages of wooden floors include the fact that they are warmer than the other two options. In addition, when installing a plank floor in a garage on joists, the gap between them can be filled/filled with thermal insulation materials, which will make it even warmer. It’s difficult to talk about the price: in some regions, boards, even thick ones, are inexpensive, in others they cost a lot of money.
Concrete garage floors are the most common and popular. It is durable and can be insulated. And it's simple concrete covering left not so often in recent years - many materials have appeared for finishing the floor in the garage, which make its operation much more comfortable.
The disadvantages of a concrete floor in a garage have already been mentioned: it is a large amount of work, the long period of time required to install it is quite high price, even if you make a concrete floor in the garage with your own hands. If the final coating is the same as concrete, then it also adds absorption of liquids and odors, which are also impossible to remove. The unpleasant thing is that concrete absorbs moisture from both the soil and the air. This is not good for concrete - it only becomes stronger, but for a car it is not good. So when high level groundwater must be done good waterproofing, and, possibly, a topcoat that does not allow moisture to pass through. An excellent option is polymer or rubber coating for the garage.
How to make an earthen floor
First, all construction debris that may accumulate there during construction is removed from the garage. Next, the entire fertile layer is removed. Completely all the way down to “clean” soil without vegetation and roots. The thickness of the layer can be different - somewhere 10-15 cm, and somewhere 50-60 cm. Regardless of this, the entire fertile layer must be removed. It contains a lot of organic matter, microorganisms, and insects. Organic matter will rot, spreading the corresponding odors, and microorganisms will contribute to the appearance of mold and fungi; insects are also not the best neighbors.
Having reached clean soil, it is leveled, the same clean soil is poured in layers of about 5 cm (you can dig a hole somewhere nearby or bring it in). Each layer is well compacted. It’s good if there is a vibrating platform, a roller or some other similar device. If you don’t have one, you can make a manual tamper yourself. There are two options:
- thick steel plate, with a T-shaped handle welded in the center:
- a piece of log of considerable diameter with a crossbar-handle nailed at the top.
This tamper compacts each layer. So, tamping in layers, fill the pit to the ground level, maybe even a little higher. The upper layers are molded, creating a slight slope towards the door so that water that gets into the garage drains.
To create a more serviceable floor, the top layers are replaced with clay, but it is very difficult to compact it, and high density must be achieved. Another option is to pour some gravel onto the compacted earthen floor and ram it into the ground with a tamper. Here, most likely, you will need a vibration platform. But you get a solid base in which even wheels don’t leave marks. The advantages of this option also include the fact that there will be much less dirt in the garage.
Paving slabs in the garage
The beginning of the work is exactly the same: remove the fertile layer, level and compact the soil. Next, add gravel. The minimum layer is 10 cm, and what you get depends on the depth of the resulting pit. Just keep in mind that there will still be a 7-10 cm layer of sand on top, and paving slabs, the thickness of which should be more than 6 cm. This is so that you can correctly calculate the height of all layers and bring the floor level to the required level.
Sand, crushed stone and all other materials are poured in layers no more than 5 cm thick, leveled, then compacted to a high density. A layer is considered compacted if no footprints remain on it.
To eliminate or reduce the suction of moisture from the soil, a layer or, better yet, two, of waterproofing must be added to this sequence. It could be roofing felt, another roll waterproofing material, dense polyethylene film(density of at least 250-300 microns), hydro-vapor barrier membrane. The material is spread out so that one sheet overlaps the other. The strips are glued together. If it is film, you can use double sided tape, if roofing felt or other similar material, the edges can be coated with bitumen mastic. Where to place the waterproofing? It’s probably better between soil and sand, and also between sand and a dry mixture for laying paving slabs.
In general, for a garage, you can use a layer. This non-woven material, which is used in Europe in road construction. It perfectly redistributes the load, and the floor in your garage will never sag under the wheels if there are geotextiles in the cake. In this embodiment, it is better to lay it between the second layer of sand and the dry mixture.
They put paving slabs both on concrete screed and asphalt, which is also sometimes laid in the garage. Then pour a layer of dry backfill or sand 5 cm thick, level it, lightly compact it, and lay the tiles in it.
To make it easier to navigate the thickness of the existing layer when installing floor layers in the garage, their dimensions can be marked on the walls of the garage. If the distance from wall to wall is small, these marks will be enough. If the area is large, in some places you can drive in pegs, on which you can also mark the thickness of each layer. This makes the process much easier. After all the layers are filled, the pegs are pulled out, the holes are filled with sand and compacted with at least the same peg.
Another trick: so that less dirt gets into the seams between the tiles, mix sand with cement, fill the spaces between the tiles with this mixture, and carefully sweep away the remains. Then you need to take a spray bottle and wet the surface well, leave for a day or two. If you see that there is cement somewhere on the surface of the tile, it is better to immediately wipe it off with a rag. If he catches you, you will suffer for a long time. Why not water the floor with a hose? Because the drops are too large and will leave potholes. The spray bottle produces water dust rather than droplets.
Making a wooden floor in the garage with your own hands
And in the case of a wooden floor in a garage, there will be no differences at the first stage: you need to remove the fertile soil, level and compact the bottom of the resulting pit. Then it is fashionable to lay a layer of waterproofing (roofing felt, waterproofing, film, membrane) on the bottom, and a layer of sand or gravel on it. Sand and gravel need to be compacted, but the density is not so critical, but bringing the bedding “to the horizon” is important - check how evenly the “cushion” lies using a level, but not small, but no less than a meter.
With insulation
Logs are installed on this bedding - large cross-section timber. The step is no more than a meter. It is advisable to arrange it so that the car wheels are above the joist or not far from it, and the rest can be distributed as it turns out.
Before laying, the logs are impregnated with a protective impregnation against rotting (for wood in direct contact with the ground), and then treated with fire retardants (reducing flammability). To prevent rotting, logs can be impregnated with mining, but their flammability will only increase. So this is not a very good option, although it is cheap. You can also use sleepers. They are already impregnated, but have a persistent characteristic odor.
Next, the space between the joists can be filled with insulation. Best option- expanded polystyrene. If your budget allows, take extruded with a density of 35 kg/m3. It does not rot, fungi and microorganisms do not multiply on it, and mice do not eat it. In addition, it does not allow or absorb water. Insulation and waterproofing in one fell swoop. Layer thickness is at least 5 cm, but preferably 10 or more. If there is still room, you can fall asleep broken brick, expanded clay. These materials are not the best solution, as they are hygroscopic (absorb moisture). You can use them instead new material — granulated foam glass. It is many times “warmer” than expanded clay, does not absorb water, and is not so expensive. In principle, you can only fill foam glass (in granules or broken glass) between the joists. It will be good too. But in any case, you don’t need to fill the entire space, right under the boards. Required ventilation gap at least 5 cm. Then the boards will not rot.
Boards are laid across the installed joists. This is a regular edged board with a thickness of 40-50 mm. When laying, do not try to pack them very tightly. It is better if there is a gap of 3-5 mm between the boards. That's all, the insulated wooden floor in the garage with your own hands is finished.
Logs on posts
There is an option for a “cold” wooden floor in the garage - on posts. A layer of gravel is poured onto the leveled soil and compacted. They are placed on gravel with the expectation that logs can be laid on them later. The distance between the posts is about 1 m. That is, if the width of the garage is 4 m, then there are two posts at the edges and two in the middle. Since the distance between the logs is also 1 m, such rows of columns are located every meter. After two weeks, the solution will set and logs can be laid on the posts.
Ruberoid is laid on each column in two layers. It can be replaced by coating with bitumen mastic (twice). If the height of the posts is not the same, pieces of wood, plywood and other similar materials can be laid between the joists and posts. It is important that they are held tightly and that the logs are level. Next is laying the floor boards.
Concrete floor in garage
The most versatile floor is concrete. And we are talking not only about its finishing, but also about how it can be made. If we talk specifically about how to make a concrete floor in a garage with your own hands, you must first of all start from what kind of foundation you have. If it is a monolithic slab, there is very little work. If the surface is not level enough, all that remains is to fill in the leveling screed and then begin laying the finishing coating. If the differences do not exceed 1 cm per square meter, you can immediately lay any of the suitable finishing materials.
Layer order
With any other foundation, the beginning of the work coincides with all those described above: we remove the fertile layer, level it, and tamp it. Further, no news either: pour crushed stone in layers, tamp it, the total thickness of crushed stone is from 10 cm. The next layer is sand.
But then there may be options. If you want an insulated floor in the garage, install thermal insulation material. Better - extruded polystyrene foam with a density of 35 kg/m3. It will support both the weight of the screed and the machine. This cannot be said about all the others. Can be used bulk heat insulator like expanded clay, but it is ineffective and also absorbs moisture. Then you need to lay a layer of waterproofing underneath it. Better - granulated foam glass. It has low thermal conductivity and does not absorb water. It is problematic to use ordinary polystyrene foam (foam) and mineral wool - they can wrinkle under the weight, which will lead to a loss of thermal insulation effectiveness.
A film is spread over the thermal insulation layer, and a reinforcing belt is placed on it. Here again there are two options: tie it from reinforcement (8-10 mm in diameter in increments of 20 cm) or lay a ready-made metal mesh (wire from 6 mm with a cage size of 10 cm). If you choose a mesh, lay it overlapping, overlapping at least one cell, and tie it together (with knitting wire or plastic clamps). Fill everything with concrete (more than enough), level it well.
To make leveling concrete in the garage easier, beacons are placed at the required level. These are even planks - special metal, metal pipes, or, in extreme cases, wooden planks (they are not always even, and they can even lead to moisture). They are placed so that their top edge is aligned to the same level. The distance between the slats is 40-60 cm less than the length of the rule. The solution is poured in portions. Supporting the rule on the beacons, it is stretched, leveling the surface. The entire perimeter is gradually filled. Please note that for concrete to set normally, it needs a temperature of about +20°C and sufficient humidity. That is, pouring concrete on the garage floor better in summer. But if it is too dry during this period, you will have to water the screed - a sufficient amount of moisture is also important. To make it evaporate less, the screed is covered with film or burlap. If the film is used, each time you water the screed, it must be removed and spread. If burlap is laid, you can water from above. Under such conditions, the screed will gain its design strength in approximately 28 days. Afterwards, you can move on - laying the finishing coating.
Another option in the video.
After the construction of the garage, it, like any other room, needs finishing. Yes, it may not be expensive and designer finishing, then the presence of even minimal facing works will make your stay in such a room very comfortable. You can insulate the wall ceilings, paint or cover them with panels.
In addition, you can install wooden floors in the garage. Thanks to this material, the room will be much more comfortable and warmer than with a conventional concrete screed. Therefore, we propose to dwell in more detail on the creation of wooden floors, having considered all the nuances of the implementation of this idea.
How to install joists and boards correctly?
Having decided to carry out the interior finishing work of your garage on your own, we recommend that you give preference only to the most simple materials, when working with which there will be no difficulties.
One of these consumables is wood, since even a person who has nothing to do with the construction industry and does not have the appropriate skills can cope with its processing and installation.
A wooden floor surface has a number of advantages, the main ones of which are low cost compared to other materials, high levels of heat retention indoors and ease of use.
A wooden floor is a fairly warm covering, which will be much more comfortable to move around than with a regular concrete screed. Yes and in winter period, if the building is not equipped with a heating system, a wooden floor allows you to better retain heat inside the garage.
Advantages and disadvantages
Wood flooring in a garage has its pros and cons. Knowing these characteristics, you can do right choice towards the chosen solution of the organization interior decoration"home" for the car.
The main advantages of this finish include the following characteristics:
- Long service life.
Carefully prepared wood before installation and careful operation are the key long term services facing material. The wood will not rot and any living creatures will not grow in it for decades if it is treated with special means. - Easy to maintain.
In the event of a breakdown, a wooden floor can be very easily repaired by replacing the broken or rotten board with a new one. There is no need to call a carpenter - you can do it yourself. In addition, if it is necessary to completely dismantle the floor covering, there will also be no difficulties. Such work is carried out quickly and simply, unlike removing a concrete screed. - No difficulties in the process of laying consumables.
Installation is much simpler than in the case of a labor-intensive installation process cement base. And besides, if errors are detected, getting rid of them will not be difficult. - High strength indicators.
Yes, to say that such a material has high strength in comparison with concrete screed would be a deception. But, nevertheless, the thicker the timber, the higher the strength of the flooring. In any case, such a floor can withstand the load from a car. So, 1 can withstand up to 175 kg of weight, but only if during the installation of the beam all the rules were followed and the level was maintained. - Wood is an excellent natural “sponge” that absorbs excess moisture, which, in turn, negatively affects the conservation performance characteristics vehicle.
- A wooden beam does not produce a spark.
Unlike a concrete base, if any object rubs against the beam, no spark will occur, and accordingly, the risk of a sudden fire for this reason is minimal. - There is not much dust from the tree.
The same cannot be said about a concrete screed, which constantly produces dust, polluting the room and getting into the respiratory tract of the motorist.
Among the main disadvantages are the following characteristics:
When installing wooden flooring in a garage, it is the choice of wood as the main finishing consumable that plays a decisive role. The purchase of material should be approached with full responsibility.
The wood should not be damaged, there should be no chips, cracks, or knots on it, which after some period of use of the floor will simply fall off, thereby compromising the integrity of the coating. Fresh material has a pleasant yellowish tint and a rich woody aroma.
The size of the timber is also important: its thickness should range from 25 to 30 mm, and its length should be at least 200 cm. It is also worth considering the pressure from the vehicle: the heavier the car stored in a garage with such a coating, the thicker it will be required timber
During the installation of flooring, in most cases they use wooden joists. They must be strong enough and of high quality. Typically this is thick timber, about 10x10 cm thick. Often during installation wooden base Concrete pillars are used. It is also possible to install the decking directly on a concrete base.
Advice! Before you start purchasing all necessary materials To refurbish your garage, you need to make calculations and calculate the amount of material required to implement your idea.
This will allow you to avoid unplanned purchases and material shortages at the most inopportune moment, which will require additional expenses for another transportation of consumables to the site construction work. Calculations are based on the area of the room. In addition, it is necessary to calculate the amount of fasteners - nails, metal corner, etc.
Installation of wooden flooring
In the vast majority of cases, the wooden flooring in the garage is laid on joists, due to which it is possible to evenly distribute the load throughout the entire structure. Due to the flooring on the joists, it is possible to hide defects in the floor covering itself, and communications are often hidden under such a base.
But at the same time it is worth considering that this design“raises” the floor by about 60-100 mm. Therefore, this solution is not suitable for garage structures with low ceilings.
How to make wood floors in a garage? The technology for installing such a coating largely depends on the existing base. Therefore, we invite you to consider the most common options for installing wooden flooring: on a concrete and soil base.
Installation on concrete floor
To make a wooden floor in a garage on a concrete base with your own hands, there is no need to engage in a number of preparatory work. If you have such a base, you can immediately proceed to installing a wooden flooring.
In order to organize a more efficient workflow, it is advisable to adhere to several recommendations:
- Only wood whose moisture content does not exceed 10% is suitable for installation.
- The logs are laid with a certain step. In most cases it is 40-50 cm.
- First of all, the lighthouse logs are installed, laying them in increments of 2 meters.
- The logs are fixed with dowels, and the fastening step is 50 cm.
- Intermediate type logs are mounted according to an identical scheme as lighthouse logs. And only after they have been laid do they begin to install the wooden flooring itself.
- The timber of the future floor covering is located perpendicular to the logs. Its fixation is carried out using self-tapping screws and nails.
In fact, if the garage already has a concrete base, then it is not at all necessary to give preference to a joist structure. If the screed does not have serious differences in plane, there are no large-scale defects on it, then the wooden flooring can be made from thick timber, laying it directly on the concrete and fastening it together with self-tapping screws.
Wooden floor assembly diagram.
In this case, before installation work the blocks are treated with drying oil and painted, and only after this the timber is laid on a clean concrete base. Installation is carried out along the entire length of the room.
Even a person who does not have any construction skills can cope with the installation of wooden flooring on a concrete base. The main thing is to strictly follow the recommendations of the socialists and observe the technology for working with such material.
Installation on a ground floor
If the garage does not have a concrete screed and is just ordinary soil, then installing a wooden floor is a more difficult task. To implement the conceived idea, you will need much more patience, skill and time than in the case of organizing work on concrete base. IN in this case there is a need to prepare the floor surface.
The installation itself is carried out in several stages:
- First of all, it is necessary to level the ground surface.
Here you will need a rake and a garden hoe. - Afterwards, you should begin constructing a sand-gravel cushion: first, a layer of sand, 30-40 mm, is poured, and gravel or expanded clay stone is placed on top of it.
The thickness of the last layer is the same as the sand. In fact, the second layer can be made thicker, because the material’s fraction sizes are several times larger than grains of sand and shrinks more. - Next, you need to spill the sand and gravel cushion with water and compact it thoroughly.
This part is better done manually, although it will be more efficient to use special equipment– electric rammer, vibrating plate, hand roller, etc. - The next stage is installation of the logs.
Here a wooden beam is used, on which the entire floor structure will be supported. Due to the fact that the base does not have high strength characteristics and is subject to deformation, the logs are mounted on pre-laid, even, thick boards in order to avoid their deflection during the operation of the flooring.
All wood used during the work is pre-impregnated with a special composition, which gives it better moisture resistance and prevents the development of rotting processes. And it is advisable not to neglect this recommendation if you want the wooden floor in your garage to last as long as possible.
It is not at all necessary to use exclusively wooden beams as a support for the future flooring; it can easily be replaced with brick or concrete pillars - such supports will do an excellent job of holding the structure. And if this option is chosen, then the supports in this case are placed in rows in increments of 30 cm with a width of 80 cm.
Chipboard and plywood floor
There is another option for installing wooden flooring in the garage, which involves the use of plywood sheets or chipboard. Such consumables act as the basis for the leveling layer; the thicker it is, the larger the increments the logs will need to be installed.
Having completed the installation of the beacons, we move on to installing the logs, fixing them to the base with glue or self-tapping screws.
Treated materials are placed at the fastening points adhesive composition sheets of plywood. Sheets of consumables are mounted on top of the resulting mesh to level the floor surface. They are attached to the joists with self-tapping screws - there are about 9 pieces per sheet.
A moisture-proof film and a heat insulator are placed on top of the leveling layer. And only after this the installation of floor boards takes place.
This option allows you to get a perfectly flat floor surface with high strength characteristics.
Specifics of installing wooden flooring in an inspection hole
The installation of a wooden floor in a garage, or rather, in an inspection pit, has its own characteristics.
This idea is organized as follows:
- First of all, you will need to dig a pit.
We lay a brick flat on the bottom of the pit, placing it perpendicular to the surface of the walls. - It is advisable to line the wall surfaces of the inspection pit with durable material.
Ideally, it will be a brick located on an edge. - We fill the gaps between the brickwork and the ground with concrete mortar.
- The brick is placed up to the level of the joist structure.
As a result, the blocks will be partially located on the masonry. In the remaining gaps we mount a frame that acts as a mount for wooden beam, covering the inspection hole.
Setting up a viewing hole in a garage with wooden flooring is not that difficult. You just need to put in a little effort and follow the recommendations above.
Conclusion
Wooden flooring in a garage is a great idea to make the floor surface in such a room more comfortable and cozy. You already know how to make a wooden floor in a garage. If you adhere to the above recommendations, you will be able to completely do without the help of qualified builders, while saving money.
Good luck to you!
The safety of a car in a garage depends on many factors. Having strong walls, a strong roof and secure gates are just some of them. The last one is a durable and reliable garage floor. Its durability and reliability will depend on what type of floor will be installed, its insulation, materials and design used. You can create a high-quality garage floor with your own hands.
The floor in the garage must be very durable to withstand uneven loads from the car.
Garage floor requirements
When creating a floor in a garage with your own hands, you need to know the features of a particular type of floor, as well as focus on certain requirements put forward by the specifics of the place where they are used. The criteria for choosing one type of floor or another are:
- high resistance to chemical products (gasoline, oils, solvents, etc.);
- high resistance to mechanical loads;
- high surface strength;
- fire safety and high moisture resistance;
- simplicity of design and its arrangement;
- durability.
Types of floors
The following types of floors most closely meet the criteria listed above:
- Ceramic tiles or porcelain stoneware;
- Filled polymer floors.
To be fair, it should be noted that there are also wooden floors. But their compliance with the requirements for reliability, durability, fire hazard and strength as a garage floor is approaching zero. Therefore, we will not consider them in this article.
Garage floor installation - layer cake
Most often, a garage is built on the ground, which is reflected in the structure and design of the floor. When creating a floor on the ground, it is necessary to take into account the groundwater level, the depth of which should be at least 4 - 5 m, and the soil should not be mobile.
All work on creating a floor in the garage should be carried out after the walls have been erected and the roof has been installed. This is the only way to ensure the quality of work performed. The volume of work performed is quite large and consists of several stages:
- Arrangement of an inspection pit;
- marking the level of the future floor;
- clearing and compacting soil;
- laying a cushion of sand, crushed stone and “skinny” concrete;
- arrangement of an insulating layer;
- reinforcement and installation of guide beacons;
- pouring the screed and creating the finishing coating.
It should be immediately noted that when designing a garage and its construction, it is necessary to think through two important points, on which not only the design of the garage, but also the floor itself will depend. The first is the presence of an inspection hole. The second is the presence of a basement. It is possible to arrange both.
Inspection hole
Before making a floor in the garage, you should take care of the inspection hole. Of course, it is not at all necessary to do it, but those who prefer to repair and maintain their car themselves cannot do without an inspection hole.
Important! If the garage is built in a place where the groundwater depth is about 2.5 m, then you will have to do drainage or abandon the pit altogether.
We dig a pit in the middle of the garage to create an inspection hole
First, we dig a foundation pit. We set the dimensions of the pit based on the size of the future inspection hole: width 75 - 80 cm, calculate the depth based on the owner’s height, and add another 30 cm to it, take the length of the hole 1 - 1.5 m longer than the length of the car. To these dimensions we add another 50 cm for convenience. brickwork and its waterproofing.
The floor of the inspection pit can be made of concrete, and the walls can be made of bricks
Having dug required sizes pit, we begin to compact the soil in it. To do this, pour a small layer of clay and compact it with an ordinary log with nailed handles. Since there will be practically no load on the floor in the pit, compaction can be done not very tightly. After this, we lay roofing material on the bottom and pour concrete on top with a layer of 7–10 cm. The result will be the simplest one with minimal waterproofing.
After the concrete has dried and you can stand on it, we begin laying brick walls. We use any brick or aerated concrete blocks. We carry out the laying and make sure that its upper edge is 5 - 7 cm below the level of the threshold in the garage. This is important, since a 5x5 corner will lie on top of the brick, into which the boards covering the hole will be laid.
Having completed the brickwork and given it a couple of days to dry, we proceed to its external waterproofing. This is where the large size of the pit comes in handy. We treat the surface of the masonry with a primer deep penetration, let it dry and apply waterproofing by simply coating it with bitumen mastic outside brick walls. This can be done by heating the mastic over a fire and spreading it with a roller or brush. This simple insulation will help avoid the accumulation of excess moisture in the pit. Having completed all the work, let the mastic dry, after which we fill the remaining voids behind the walls of the pit with soil and compact it tightly.
Marking the level of the future floor
First of all, it should be noted zero level floor. For these purposes, you can use a laser level or a water level. If there is laser level, then we simply install it in the middle of the room and draw a line using the laser beam.
But in the case of a merman, you will have to work hard. First, measure the height 150 cm from the threshold level and set a mark. After this, take the water level and transfer the mark to the adjacent wall. To do this, apply one end of the level to the mark, and the other to the adjacent wall. By moving the second end of the level up or down, we ensure that the water level on the other side coincides with the mark. Once this happens, put a mark on the second end. We perform this operation for all walls, making 2 marks on each. From these marks we measure down 152 cm and put new marks. Having connected the two lower marks on each wall with a colored painter's cord, pull it back and release it. The result will be a straight line on all walls - this will be the zero floor level.
Clearing and compacting soil
Having completed the markings, you can begin to remove excess soil. We remove all construction debris and remove about 30 - 40 cm of the top layer of soil. Then we pick up a familiar log with handles and begin to compact the soil. If the soil in the pit could not be compacted very tightly, then the soil under the floor in the garage itself will have to be compacted more tightly. Pour a small layer of clay and sand, moisten it with water and begin to tamp. Of course, a log with handles is not the most best tool for compacting soil. Therefore, if possible, it is better to rent a special vibrating plate. In any case, the result of all compaction efforts should be a surface on which only slightly noticeable traces remain when walking.
Laying a cushion of sand, crushed stone and “skinny” concrete
We carefully compact each layer of bedding (pillow)
Any ground floor that is not wood is a multi-layer cake, and a garage floor is no exception. Therefore, after compacting the soil, add a layer of gravel. Its thickness will be about 10 cm and, to make it easier to navigate, we drive in several rows of pegs, leaving them sticking out above the ground surface at the height we need. As soon as we fell asleep required quantity gravel, we begin to compact it. We try to achieve maximum density. When we finish compacting, we remove the pegs and fill the voids with gravel.
After gravel, the next layer will be sand. The thickness of the sand layer is the same as that of gravel - 10 cm. To easily control the thickness of the layer, we drive in the pegs again. To achieve a more dense compaction of the sand, water it with water and compact it. It should be noted that when choosing sand for a cushion under the floor, you can choose ravine sand. It contains small admixtures of clay, which is only to our advantage. Having compacted the sand, we remove the pegs and fill the voids.
Important! To ensure that the floor in the garage is level, at the stage of creating a multi-layer cake and compacting all its layers, it is necessary to control the horizontal plane using a two-meter spirit level.
The next layer after sand will be crushed stone of a fraction of 40 - 50 mm. Fill a layer of 5 cm and compact it as tightly as possible. We pour on top of the compacted crushed stone thin layer sand, moisten it with water and lightly tamp it. It is important that the resulting surface does not have sharp protruding edges.
The next one will be a 2–3 cm layer of “lean” concrete. It will serve as an underlying base for the finishing screed.
Insulation layer
The safety of a car in a garage directly depends on the level of humidity in it. And if ventilation helps fight moisture indoors, then waterproofing is required to reduce the penetration of moisture through the floor.
Important! Some car enthusiasts insulate the floor in the garage, trying to ensure maximum safety of the car. Floors with an insulating layer are called floating. Of course, they fulfill their role, but at the same time their strength suffers somewhat. In this article, we are considering the most reliable and durable ground floor with a waterproofing layer.
A layer of waterproofing is installed on top of a layer of “lean” concrete treated with a deep penetration primer. The following materials are used as waterproofing: bitumen-polymer and bitumen mastics, liquid rubber, roofing felt, roofing felt, polyethylene film, as well as waterproofing membranes.
To waterproof the floor in the garage, you can use welded or coating materials
To make waterproofing from bitumen mastics or liquid rubber, simply apply the material in several layers using a roller or brush.
If waterproofing is installed from roofing felt, roofing felt or membranes, then they can simply be spread over the entire area. The main thing is to lay the canvases overlapping each other and overlapping the walls. On top of everything else, these roll materials, can be glued to the surface on hot mastic or by fusing.
Polyethylene film is the cheapest and simplest material for waterproofing. It is laid over the surface and pressed on top with a concrete screed.
Reinforcement and installation of guide beacons
To reinforce the concrete floor in the garage, we use a mesh welded from reinforcing rods so that the floor can withstand heavy loads
Having completed the waterproofing, we proceed to reinforcing the floor, this will give it additional strength. For these purposes, we weld a metal mesh from 5 mm thick reinforcing bars with cells of 20x20 or 10x10 cm. We lay it out over the entire surface on small supports 1.5 - 2 cm high. The mesh should be inside the screed. Fiber fiber can also be used for reinforcement; this building component is added directly to the concrete mixture.
To receive flat surface We install guide beacons on the garage floor
Now let's install. We use metal pipes with a diameter of 25 mm as guides. We also install them on small supports and make sure that the top edge is level with the zero mark, and the guides themselves are strictly horizontal and at a distance of 1.5 m or less from each other. Lubricate the beacon pipes with machine oil. This is done so that after pouring the screeds they can be easily removed. We fix the guides themselves with a thick cement-sand mortar.
After installing the guides, we make a frame from metal corners for the pit. We simply cut two short and two long 5x5 corners to the required length and weld them together. To prevent the frame from moving while pouring concrete, we insert wooden spacers.
Filling the screed and creating the finishing coating
For the screed, mix a solution with the consistency of thick sour cream and carefully level it over the surface using the rule
All that remains is to make a concrete screed. Knead cement-sand mortar until the consistency of thick sour cream. We lay it out between the guides. We throw a lot on a small area, and then take metal rule and begin to pull off the excess along the guides. We fill the entire surface with concrete. After this we leave it to dry for several days. As concrete gradually dries and shrinks, cracks may appear. To prevent this from happening, after 3-4 days we scatter sawdust on its surface and moisten it with water. Let the floor dry for another 10 days, after which we remove the sawdust and leave the floor open until completely dry. This may take up to 20 days.
After the screed has dried, the floor in the garage is virtually ready. Many also make floor tiles or paint them with special paint. Here is someone who likes what they like best. The main thing is that the surface is resistant to various auto chemicals.
