, appears before craftsmen who plan to equip their possessions with small architectural forms. During construction, you can use ready-made mixtures from the manufacturer or knead concrete at home on one's own. In order for the finished structure to be strong, smooth and durable, all proportions and technology for preparing the solution must be correctly maintained.
For various conditions operation concrete structures it is required to purchase ingredients with certain characteristics. The service life of cast products will be influenced by material characteristics such as frost resistance, filtration coefficient and abrasion resistance. Indicators such as waterproof, strength and uniformity, are determined by the type of fillers that are added to the mixture when mixing it. Knowing how to make concrete with your own hands, you can make structures of any size and level of complexity from it. Modern technologies allow even a novice builder make your own concrete with any technical characteristics. Let's consider how to make strong concrete With flat surface and high aesthetic indicators.
How to prepare concrete mortar yourself
The purposes for using concrete are very different. The most durable concrete is used for foundations and load-bearing structures under heavy load. Coarse-cell concrete has low density and weight. The concrete grade 200 used for its production is not very durable. Filtration in such material is much higher, which makes it not resistant to moisture. However, this type of concrete is winter-friendly, since if it gets wet, the water has room to expand when freezing without destroying the structure of the material. The main question that builders have to solve is: how to make concrete waterproof. This is especially true when buildings with basements in wet soil or monolithic ones are erected. Here, filtration of the material should be completely absent.
To obtain desired result, it is necessary to study the reasons for the appearance of pores in concrete through which moisture enters the structure.
The following factors influence the decrease in the density of hardened concrete:
- insufficient reinforcement of the form, which caused the appearance of cracks;
- poor mixing of the mixture, as a result of which the hydration reaction did not complete;
- use of low quality cement;
- adding excess water to the solution;
- poor-quality sealing, which leaves a lot of air bubbles in the material.
In order for the solution to be of high quality, it is necessary to maintain proportions when mixing the solution. If you choose the optimal ratio of sand, crushed stone and cement, this will allow you to produce structures with high performance characteristics. Even when using grade 300 cement, high water resistance of finished products can be achieved.
The solution is prepared using a concrete mixer in the following sequence:
1. Sand and cement are poured into its neck. Depending on the construction goal, their proportions can vary between 2.5-4:1. The mixture is mixed well.
2. Water is added. The best option is the correspondence of its quantity to the volume of cement. The solution is mixed until homogeneous. If colored concrete is being prepared, then dye is added to it.
3. Crushed stone is poured. It is first cleaned of soil and clay. This is necessary to achieve purity of the solution. After prolonged mixing, the solution is poured into the mold.
To prevent concrete from cracking due to frost in winter, special waterproofing additives are added to it. After the concrete is poured into the formwork, measures must be taken to ensure its uniform shrinkage. To do this, its surface is regularly moistened and covered with cloth or cellophane.
How to achieve a perfectly flat surface
A smooth surface of concrete is necessary in cases where it will not be covered with a finishing finish. This process begins immediately after the solution is poured into the formwork and compacted. Removing air bubbles avoids the formation of marks on the surface from their release and makes the concrete more durable.
As a rule, initial alignment is carried out manually using beacons and hand tools. Beacons serve to maintain a given level and as guides for rules. The solution is applied between the beacons and distributed throughout the entire volume of the mold using wide movements with slight vibration. Excess material is pulled together using the rule. You can buy the rule or make it yourself, using available materials. Your tool will be useful for future work.
Ironing equipment is a good help for smoothing the solution. They have a perfectly smooth glossy surface. When the trowel moves through the solution, the crushed stone is lowered from its surface. This allows you to achieve an almost perfectly flat surface without depressions or protrusions. The smoothers are available equipped with a motor or driven by muscle force.
After the concrete is leveled with a trowel, it is left alone for a day. During this time, the solution thickens, but retains some pliability. At this stage, it is adjusted using special devices. They cut off all the protrusions to a given level, filling the potholes and depressions with the removed substance. Such equipment is quite expensive and is purchased only by large industrial companies.
You can level concrete manually if you know how to properly work with a spatula and other finishing tools. A smooth surface is created by applying materials to concrete that cover all unevenness and roughness. The simplest and cheapest way is to use bulk cement. It is poured onto the concrete a few hours after pouring. By absorbing moisture from the solution, the cement becomes liquid. It is rubbed evenly over the surface with a wide spatula or rule.
How to improve the quality of concrete
Today there are many ways to make durable waterproof concrete without spending extra money on expensive brands of cement and granite crushed stone. For this purpose, various plasticizers are used, both factory-made and in-house produced.
Made with my own hands a solution with plasticizers allows you to solve the following problems:
- facilitate the process of laying concrete in forms;
- prevent the solution from disintegrating into its constituent fractions;
- increase the temperature range of use of the material;
- give concrete hydrophobic properties;
- improve the plasticity of finished products;
- reduce the time for adhesion of the solution to the embedded parts;
- speed up or increase the drying time;
- do lightweight concrete and porous.
If you know how to make a plasticizer for concrete with your own hands, then you can avoid additional expenses for the purchase of branded drugs. As additives to the solution, you can use substances such as washing powder for automatic machines, office glue, liquid soap or slaked lime. When choosing detergents It should be taken into account that they form abundant foam when mixed.
Plasticizers must be added after mixing sand and cement. If this is done at the end of mixing, then most of the additives will be used to envelop the filler, which will not allow achieving the desired effect. The proportions for each filler should vary within 0.2-3% of the total volume of the mixture.
Another way to improve the quality of concrete is to apply polymer impregnations to its surface. Work must be carried out on completely hardened concrete. Polyurethane impregnation is applied to the surface in accordance with the instructions. After complete hardening polymer coating it is leveled and polished. The applied layer is plastic and completely sealed.
How to color concrete
There are two ways to make colored concrete. The first is to add dye to the mixture at the stage of its preparation. Ready solution will have the same color and shade throughout its entire volume. Abrasion will not affect the quality of its surface in any way. This method is used for the manufacture of structures with high traffic loads. As a rule, colored concrete is used to create platforms, paths and manufacture paving slabs. When selecting a dye, it should be taken into account that it should not impair the strength of the finished product and be resistant to the hydration process. The second method involves applying pigment to the finished surface. Dyes are dissolved in polymer impregnations and applied to concrete. This ensures a strong and tight adhesion of the dye to the base.
Ways to align internal and external corners. Application of material and tools. Calculation of an even angle, methods for determining a 90 degree angle.
How to level a wall corner
A smooth surface is a sign of high-quality work by plasterers and putters.
You can glue it on it various wallpapers, coat with paint, veneer with panels or ceramics. If there are no workers, how to level the corner of the wall, make the surface even and smooth?
To make angles at 90 degrees, materials, tools and certain skills are required.
Why is it necessary to level the corner of the wall?
Smooth wall joints in the room – a neat appearance. If crooked walls can be hidden behind wallpaper and paintings, then the corners will make the room untidy.
Craftsmen consider another disadvantage of curvature to be the difficulty of installing tiles, gluing wallpaper, and other finishing coatings. To align the joints of the walls you need to work hard, however, in the future this will affect appearance and neatness.
How to align the internal corners of the walls in a room with your own hands
For alignment internal joints preparatory work needs to be done.
- The cleaned surface of tiles or wallpaper is checked for the presence of voids under the plaster. It is necessary to tap the adjacent walls from the ceiling to the bottom. If the sound changes (empty), it is better to roll off the plaster. Otherwise, it may fall off on its own along with the topcoat. Another sign of emptiness is small cracks running horizontally on the floor.
- After the coating has been collapsed, all debris is removed. This is dusty work, but it will not interfere with subsequent work.
- Clean everything from dust and small pebbles with a dry brush. To reduce dust, you can spray the area with water from a sprayer.
- Next, the surface is coated with a primer, preferably 2 times.
- A plumb line is lowered from the ceiling to the floor to determine the curvature. If large deviations are detected the best option is drywall. Otherwise, the plaster layer will have to be applied several times, each dried layer being primed.
The internal corner can be aligned using several methods. In addition to drywall, ordinary gypsum or cement plaster, beacons, corner spatulas.
How to level previously plastered walls in an apartment
If the wall is crooked, then leveling the joint will be a waste of work. Curved plastered walls must be identified by the percentage of curvature. This can be done by a level, a plumb line, a rule. The walls are aligned in a circle.
Materials used for leveling walls:
- Drywall. For large differences, a metal frame base is used. If the walls have a slight curvature, then gypsum boards are glued to the surface.
- Chipboard. Plates are suitable for leveling not very curved surfaces.
- Panels. When leveling walls, use frame base.
Depending on the room, humidity and temperature changes, the desired material is selected.
How to display a 90 degree angle on walls
When plastering walls yourself and leveling joints, use a plaster corner profile. It can be metal or plastic. On the sides of the corner there is a reinforced mesh. The profile is applied to the wet plaster and leveled using a level. Reinforced mesh covered with plaster mixture.
The joining surface can also be made smooth using an angle spatula. It has a perfectly even shape. Without any effort, it can be used to create a 90-degree joint between walls.
It’s difficult to get 90 degrees on your own. This is only possible with small differences, where putty is applicable.
What materials are used to level wood?
The wooden surface also needs pre-treatment followed by leveling. Align wooden surface possible using materials:
- Drywall. For installation, you must first measure the degree of curvature, then take measurements and calculate the materials. The frame base is made from wooden slats or metal profiles. For a strong frame, transverse stiffeners are made. Fixing gypsum boards in the corners is done using several technologies. The joints of the walls are smooth at 90 degrees.
- Chipboard. They are also mounted on a frame base made of wood. All elements are treated with drying oil or antiseptic agents.
- Plywood 6-9 mm. It needs to be processed. The material is mainly used for leveling surfaces in the garage, pantry, country house. A wooden frame is also created for fastening.
Afterwards, the created surface with even corners is puttied, primed and covered with finishing material - wallpaper, paint, tiles.
As well as walls and their joints wooden house leveled with materials:
- putty – layer of applied mixture 2 mm. Before applying putty, you need to treat the walls;
- cement mortars - applied to a rough surface or pre-filled with shingles or large mesh;
- use of corners. If the walls are smooth or have slight differences, metal or plastic corners. In this case, after a second layer of putty, the angle is 90 degrees.
Cement mortar shrinks. When applying a thick layer, care should be taken to ensure that the created plane does not flow down.
How to make the outer corners of walls smooth
Crooked external corners are the result of hasty work by builders. To align them, you must first determine the degree of curvature. Another reason for leveling is frequent impacts from sharp and heavy objects.
Materials and tools will be used for leveling. A level is also required.
What you need
To work you will need a perforated corner, putty or plaster mixture gypsum based, primer, regular and corner spatulas.
The work is not difficult to carry out if you have everything you need “at hand”. Even the most curved joining surface can be created at 90 degrees without much effort or time.
How to align wall corners at 90 degrees using a corner
An outer corner is easier to align than an inner one. For this, a perforated metal corner is used.
- First, the surface is cleaned and coated with a primer.
- Afterwards the degree of curvature is determined.
- Plaster or putty gypsum mortar is applied to the corner on both sides.
- The corner is pressed into it and leveled using a level.
- Allow time for the solution to harden. All excess mass is removed. Level the sides with a spatula.
- After drying, remove the excess with sandpaper and apply the solution again in a thin layer. At the same time, the work is done carefully so that there are no tubercles.
The final step is sanding and applying primer for a finishing touch.
A perforated corner will not only level the angle at 90 degrees, but also protect the surface from impacts.
How to set a 90 degree angle when plastering walls
If the angle has a large percentage of curvature, then a different method is used. A beacon is placed on the wall from the joint in the opposite direction. Alignment goes away from him. Thus, the adjacent wall is leveled. Smooth walls form an angle of 90 degrees. The final leveling is done with an angled spatula.
Ways to check the 90 degree angle between the walls inside and outside
There are several ways to check how straight the angle is. So:
- A square is the easiest way.
- The second method is to create a corner from a profile. Measure 30.60.90 cm from the corner along one wall. The length of one side of the profile will be equal to 90. In the other direction on adjacent wall set aside 30,60,90,120 cm. The length of the second side of the profile corner will be 120 cm. From one point where 90 is set aside to another point 120 there should be a distance of 150 cm. The sides of the profile are connected with screws at 90 degrees. The edges are connected with another piece of profile equal to 150 cm. This corner is used to measure internal corner in the room in several places.
- The outer corner is measured according to the same scheme, only all marks are marked on the floor. That is. From external corner on the floor you need to set aside a length that is a multiple of 4. Let’s say 1.6 meters. It is laid along one wall. Next, along the other wall you need to set aside 1.2 meters. There should be a distance of 2 meters between the end points. If so, then the angle is 90 degrees. If not, then alignment should be applied.
Before you start aligning the joints of the walls, you need to find out how much deviation or curvature they have. For leveling, both drywall, plywood, and regular putty, And perforated corners. To derive an accurate nice angle you need to stock up on materials, tools and a little mathematical knowledge - the Pythagorean theorem.
Useful video
Papier-mâché is used in art and crafts as a material for making sculptures, puppets, fruit bowls, dolls and other items. You can make a variety of crafts for the interior. The papier-mâché surface is easily painted desired color, it can also be decorated.
How to make papier-mâché products
To prepare a lot of papier-mâché, you will need unnecessary newspapers or other paper, glue, and water. Mix glue with water in a ratio of 2/1. Newspapers should be cut into strips two centimeters wide or torn into small pieces. Combine newspapers and glue solution, stir until the mixture is homogeneous with a spoon or bristle brush.
If you use office glue to make the material, keep in mind that you may encounter difficulties when painting the molded product. The paint may refuse to adhere to the surface. It is best to prime the product with artist’s white or acrylic primer, and then cover it with paint.
Some products look better with a smooth surface. When covering a mold with strips of paper, it is not always possible to achieve perfect smoothness. But the procedure for leveling the surface is not as complicated as it might seem - you just need to be patient with it.
How to get a smooth surface of a papier-mâché product
First, you need to level out the most noticeable holes by gluing small pieces of paper there. Do this until the surface looks more or less smooth. The product must be dried, after which the surface is treated with fine-grained sandpaper. Perform the treatment in a circular, light motion, pressing as lightly as possible. Remove paper fibers periodically with a cloth. Coat the treated surface thickly with glue and dry well so that upper layer became stronger. This procedure can be repeated several times to increase the strength of the top layer. After this, you can begin painting, inlaying or decorating the surface in another way.
For minor roughness, cover the surface with several layers of PVA glue or use aerosol car varnish.
If you want to paint the product, after the painting procedure is completed, it is better to coat the surface with varnish - in two or three layers. The varnish is suitable for both nitro and furniture, just make sure that the paint does not “float”. The product processed in this way will be smooth and shiny.
Apartments on the secondary market and in new buildings have something in common: for example, uneven walls with many visible defects. Of course, you can hang thick wallpaper with a pattern and forget about the problem, but more delicate materials will require careful leveling of the surface. Today we will tell you what materials to choose and in what sequence to carry out the work.
1. Preparing the base surface
The first step is to prepare the base surface and remove substances that weaken the adhesion of materials - grease, dust and dirt. To remove dust, use a vacuum cleaner or a regular brush.
When working on smooth concrete, monolithic bases Treat the cleaned surface with weber.prim contact adhesive primer to create a rough surface. This will allow the thick layer of plaster to adhere better to the smooth base.
2. Installation of alignment beacons
Before plastering, it is necessary to set the final leveling plane - here a regular or laser level. Use metal, plastic or rubbed beacons for this purpose: keep in mind that metal and plastic beacons will need to be removed from the wall after the plaster mixture has dried.
The main advantage of rubbed beacons is that they do not need to be removed after the plaster layer has dried - this greatly simplifies the work. You can create such beacons using a 28x80 mm profile and gypsum plaster. Make sure that the distance between the beacons is slightly less than the length of the rule used.
3. Basic alignment
To hide significant surface irregularities, use plastic gypsum plaster weber.vetonit profi gyps: it is capable of leveling differences of up to 50 mm in one layer (locally - up to 100 mm).
To prepare the solution, pour into a bucket required amount water, pour the plaster out of the bag, mix the dry mixture with water using a drill with special attachments for 3 minutes. The resulting solution is suitable for use within 40 minutes.
The plaster is easily applied to the wall and adheres firmly to various types mineral surfaces. After application, smooth it out using a regular two-handed spatula. If you are processing a large area, it is more profitable to apply the plaster mechanized - using a mixing pump.
4. Final alignment
After the plaster layer has completely dried, all you have to do is remove small irregularities in the wall using finishing putty weber.vetonit LR+. When preparing the mortar, follow the instructions on the back of the plaster package. The result should be a plastic, homogeneous mass that can be used within 24 hours, and when stored in a closed bucket - for 48 hours.
Apply the putty to the wall by hand using a metal spatula or mechanized way thin layer from 1 to 5 mm. Apply each subsequent layer on the completely dry previous one: drying time is about 24 hours.
After the last layer has dried, remove the remaining small irregularities using fine-grained sandpaper, almost zero sandpaper with a grain of 50-63 microns or less. After this, you can safely start wallpapering the wall.
5. Superfinish leveling
If you decide to paint the walls, then super-finish leveling will not be superfluous. A ready-made superfinish will help you create the perfect base without the slightest graininess. polymer putty weber.vetonit LR pasta. It is already on sale in finished form, so it’s doubly convenient to work with it. Thanks to its homogeneous consistency, the paste is easily applied by the most thin layers– from 0.2 mm.
After drying, sand the surface of the putty with sanding paper and do not forget to remove dust. Be sure to prime the walls before painting: this will reduce the absorbency of the wall, strengthen the surface and ensure the necessary paint adhesion.
Anyone who begins to make repairs will have to face such a problem that the walls even modern buildings They don’t shine at all with a perfectly smooth surface. Rather, on the contrary, they are replete with various roughness, grooves and flaws. The waviness and unevenness of the walls is clearly visible even on walls consisting of concrete slabs. If the unevenness is no more than a few centimeters, they can be corrected with putty, but if they are significant, then you will have to take on plastering work. Such a need may arise, and it cannot be avoided.
However, plastering work now, for example, when working, is not a cheap pleasure, therefore it is best to reduce the cost of all processes as much as possible. To do this, you can simply skip those parts of the walls that are hidden from view, plastering only the most noticeable places or the front walls of the rooms.
What places need to be brought to the ideal state, if possible? The answer to this question is quite simple:
Walls that are at right angles to the window, or those on which the light falls obliquely.
This will be simply necessary, provided that there is no furniture there that will hide the unevenness of the walls.
Places for fixing skirting boards.
You should especially pay attention to those places that will be right in front of your eyes. In addition, attaching the plinth to an uneven surface will be extremely difficult. In order to check how uneven the walls are, you don’t need any special equipment, just take a long straight line wooden block and attach it to the wall in the place where the baseboard will be attached. In those places where unevenness is observed, you can put a layer of plaster, 15 centimeters high, and then gradually smooth out the unevenness with putty. Of course, care should be taken to ensure that subsequently, e.g. cosmetic repairs, simply did not fall off the wall. To do this, the wall needs to be cleaned of old plaster and thoroughly primed with a special primer, or simple PVA glue diluted with water.
Other wall defects can simply be smoothed out with putty, this will be quite enough for visual effect. One more point must be taken into account - gypsum plaster is attached to the surface only mechanically, that is, does not enter into any chemical reactions with her. Therefore, it should not be used in places where walls can vibrate, for example, when opening or closing doors.
The most common defects that are constantly observed are peeling and cracking. finished plaster. According to building codes, when working with brick walls, in conditions where the temperature is above 23 degrees Celsius, the surface must be moistened with water. If this is not done, the plaster may peel off.
High-quality plaster should be produced using beacons not exceeding the thickness of the plaster layer. If the coating is assumed to be single-layer, then the applied plaster must be leveled immediately, and when using trowels, after the mortar has set. These, as well as other “little things,” will largely determine how long the work you’ve done will “last.”
The secret of putty is that it can only be used to level out small irregularities, no more than 5 cm. Therefore, large differences will have to be masked decorative designs or drywall. Moreover, at the very beginning they may seem insignificant, and only at the end you will discover that the wallpaper does not match, the baseboards do not stick to the walls, or the furniture is crooked. Therefore, you need to try to make all the necessary measurements in advance, taking into account the future design of the apartment. In addition, please contact Special attention to comply with technical standards when preparing the necessary solutions, since non-compliance can subsequently spoil the entire result.
You should also take into account the fact that drafts in the room, temperature changes, as well as other natural (and not so natural) factors can cause cracks, and when applying plaster or putty to damp surfaces, peeling and peeling will appear. The same thing can happen from excessive drying of the surface. Accordingly, you need to either dry or moisten the walls.
There is another point that also needs to be taken into account. Heavier coatings should not be allowed to be applied to lighter ones. For example, cement mortar Under no circumstances should it be applied to plaster or the like. Non-uniform surfaces, such as wooden structures in the walls, it is necessary to cover it with a special mesh.
After the plaster has completely dried, be sure to tap the entire surface. As a result, you can detect places where the plaster is not firmly attached. It will have to be knocked off and plastered again. In general, to summarize, we can say that by following some rules and adhering to building codes, available excellent result, at a minimum cost.
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Comments
Elena 08/19/13
We live in the ordinary multi-storey building and during the renovation we encountered the problem of uneven walls and ceilings. The differences in some places reached 5 centimeters. In some places where the differences are not noticeable, we reduced the surface to nothing with putty. And in the corners of the rooms, near the cabinets, the walls had to be leveled. It took a lot of plastering, and the process was tedious. Sometimes, after drying, the plaster came away from the wall and had to be redone. But now we have smooth walls and no problems with wallpapering.
The process Elena is really tedious, considering that you have furniture in all the rooms and this makes your work very difficult.
Yuri 07/21/14
An important point in plastering walls is the ratio of sand and cement and water. If you mix the solution incorrectly, the plaster will not stick to the wall and will come off easily. It will be complete torture. To do this, I usually use a trowel, an ordinary Soviet tool, and make a sketch, after which I level everything with a spatula. Naturally, you need to use a level at every step. By the way, a small level will not work; you need a long one. After the plaster has dried, putty can be applied. Well, this is easier - I apply it with a spatula and spread it evenly over the wall. We rub the dried putty with sandpaper and get mirror-even and smooth walls.
Maxim 07.23.14
I had never thought about how to level the walls before. But we bought a new home and everything here was so crooked that we had to master the technique of leveling the walls.
I started by reading articles on the Internet and learned some rules.
Be sure to do the initial alignment of the walls. it is done with starting putty and this layer will be the thickest in comparison with the rest. Next comes the alignment itself, and only then finishing work. For all stages you need to buy a special mixture.
After completing the last stage, you should clean the walls with sandpaper.
Fox 07.25.14
You write that “the walls of even modern buildings do not shine with a perfectly flat surface.” Then imagine the surface of my house, which was built by self-taught Armenians in the 90s, and where their hands come from is a big question. The walls just “lie”, when I glue the wallpaper, I just lay it on the wall, and when I get to the corners and radiators, I just silently remember all the obscene language that I know. Last year, only one room was plastered by a master, it’s lovely). It’s nice to look at a flat, smooth wall with an even coating. With such walls it is pleasant to glue wallpaper and lay tiles.
Vladimir 07/30/14
My brother bought an apartment in a nomadic building, so the walls were all filled up. Even the horizontal slabs were not laid level. The plaster was thrown on at random. IN general builders did their best). I had to put corners on each corner. It’s good that they have now come up with very convenient corners, with a mesh, which made it possible to align these corners and everything fell into place. After puttying everything became smooth. But we spent a lot of money on this, the putty now costs a lot, we had to apply a large layer, and more than one. It took a lot of time and effort, but in the end the apartment now looks perfectly level. It was easier with the ceilings; plasterboard leveled everything out.
Andrey 06.08.14
We built our house with our own hands, not without builders, of course, but we did a lot ourselves, including plastering the walls. The main thing is to calculate the thickness of the outline correctly and level it well. There are corners and a grid for this. It will also be necessary to use levels, preferably long ones, for the walls. When applying plaster, you need to have a container of water nearby for the tool. If you constantly wet it, the tool will glide perfectly on the cement, which will make the work easier. Not the least important thing is the correct ratio of sand and cement; without this, the plaster simply will not hold up. It is better to calculate together with the builders.
Anna 06.10.14
My husband and I moved to old apartment his parents. Naturally, we decided to make repairs; when the wallpaper was torn off, we were shocked; in front of us was a shabby uneven wall. The store recommended gypsum plaster with heat-insulating properties. As it is written on the packaging, thanks to it you can level the walls without using additional finishing materials. We applied the plaster with a regular trowel, we had to apply three layers to completely level the walls, we were of course very tired, it was especially difficult with the corners. But gluing wallpaper was a pleasure, on even walls.
