How to level very uneven walls with your own hands and which mixtures are better to use - gypsum or cement?
In Khrushchev and Stalinist houses, the builders usually did not make sure that the walls were even. Because of this, when repairing, it is necessary to pre-align the walls.
When to level walls
When repairing, you can not stick wallpaper on walls that have defects.
And if you want to glue the tiles, then the walls need to be leveled so that they are very even, otherwise there will be voids under the tiles.
Do-it-yourself alignment
Before performing work, you should select and prepare a mixture for plastering walls. There are two binders in dry plaster mixtures - gypsum and cement. Calculate the amount of material, taking into account the area to be leveled and the number of layers applied.
If you work in residential areas (living rooms, halls, bedrooms), a gypsum-based mixture that is more environmentally friendly and maintains a favorable microclimate in the room is recommended. For kitchens, bathrooms, pantries and other utility rooms, cement mixtures are quite suitable.
Instruments
Get the tools:
- primer;
- screwdriver
- beacon profiles;
- angle grinder;
- a hammer:
- self-tapping screws and dowels;
- a drill with a set of drills and a mixer attachment;
- plumb;
- roulette;
- bucket or other container;
- building level;
- thread, marker or pencil;
- wide and narrow spatulas, brush or roller, usually stroked.
In addition, you should buy work clothes, a headband, gloves.
Surface preparation
- First you need to clean off the old coating.
- Next, they tap the wall with a hammer, if cracks are found or appear, they are covered with putty or a solution of cement and sand.
- Remove old nails and other metal materials from the wall. The reinforcement is cut with an angle grinder, then coated with an anti-corrosion agent.
- Cover the furniture in the room with a film.
- Apply markup.
Apply a building level to the wall horizontally and vertically to see all the irregularities.
Then they look for defects, for this they put the rule against the wall. So, where there are defects, put a mark.
Then they retreat from the corners of the room by 0.3 m, and then draw straight lines vertically in the direction from ceiling to floor. Then they retreat 1.6 m from each drawn line and make another line vertically. They are determined with the length of the beacons, for this at the corners they retreat from the ceiling down by 150 mm, and from the floor up by 150 mm and drill holes, insert dowels with self-tapping screws.
Then the cords are pulled horizontally from one corner to another, one at a little below the ceiling, the other cord 15 cm below the floor. In places where the cord will intersect with the lines drawn vertically, holes are drilled and dowels are inserted without self-tapping screws. As a result, 2 rows of dowels are formed, with an indent of 150 mm from the ceiling and floor.
primed the wall
If the wall is brickwork or it is made of cellular concrete, then it is primed with a deeply penetrating compound, if the wall is smooth, then you can choose "Betonkontakt".
Install beacons
- They screw self-tapping screws into the upper dowels, attach a rule to any self-tapping screw and see how it is necessary to screw the self-tapping screws into the lower dowels so that there is a straight vertical line between them.
- Next, two diagonal threads are pulled between the caps of the screws, then a beacon profile is placed under them and moved under the threads in order to see if it will then protrude. If the beacon profile hooks the thread, then the deepening of the self-tapping screws is checked again. After pulling the thread between the screws near the ceiling and near the floor. In the same way, they are checked with a beacon profile.
- Then the indent between the upper and lower dowels is calculated and the beacon is cut so that it recedes 5 cm on each side.
- And then do a small amount of plaster. It is smeared on the wall along the vertical line, then the cut off beacon is pressed into the plaster so that it is flush with the self-tapping screws. As a result, you need to check whether you installed the beacons correctly. Remove self-tapping screws from the wall, and also wait until the applied plaster dries.
Carrying out work: master class
The unevenness of the wall up to 3 cm is eliminated with just one layer of plaster, but sometimes plasters are used that can apply a layer up to 5 cm.
To knead the mixture, you will need a bucket or other suitable container, a mixer or a drill with an appropriate nozzle. The mixture is placed in a container, diluted with water and stirred vigorously. After that, make a short pause and re-mix until completely homogeneous. The proportions of mixing the mixture with water are usually indicated on the packaging. To avoid misunderstandings, they should be followed. Otherwise, the mixture will either be too thin and will not be able to stay on the wall, or it will be too thick and will not adhere well to the wall.
After appropriate preparation of the wall, installation of beacons, the mixture is thrown onto the wall with a large spatula, leveled by the rule. It is convenient to apply plaster on a large trowel with a small narrow trowel.
If broaches, pits and depressions remain on the surface, then you should not get carried away with beauty at this stage, because all this is corrected by grouting and puttying. If you do not want the formation of broaches, then more often remove the solution from the rule with a spatula and clean it with a brush, which will not be superfluous to moisten in water. When working in the corners, certain difficulties will certainly arise, so the best option for resolving them would be to sequentially plaster first one, and then, after it dries, the second wall.
It is clear that all beacons must be on time, even before the plaster hardens, they are removed, and the potholes are carefully covered with mortar. But the lighthouse rails do not need to be removed from the plaster!
How best to level very crooked walls: how to level with plaster
If the maximum unevenness of the wall is more than 3 cm, then two or even three layers of gypsum plaster will be required.
The second layer, as a rule, must be applied in a day, after pre-priming the first layer with water. At the same time, the rule is led from the bottom up along the lighthouses. The solution remaining on the rule is cleaned off and placed in those places with which the rule did not come into contact. By repeating such movements, the final filling of the space between adjacent beacons is carried out. In the event of the formation of bumps, it is recommended to draw the rule from top to bottom, and they will disappear.
Leveling a plaster wall with your own hands: how to do the work correctly
When applying two or more layers, do not forget to moisten the previous layers with water after they dry. The first two layers, if three-layer plastering is supposed, are usually not leveled, leaving them rough. And the third layer is brought to perfection.
Is it possible to level plastered walls on plaster
Yes, if the walls are uneven. A gypsum wall is best leveled with gypsum-based plaster.
What to do
If the irregularities are more than 3 cm, then you can cut the bumps with an angle grinder. And the depressions are advised to cover with putty.
What materials are best for leveling
Plaster with gypsum can be applied in a fairly thick layer, but it will still be strong. Because of this, using a similar composition, it is possible to make walls that have large defects smooth.
Grouting and grinding after leveling the walls with plaster
If, after applying the plaster, it is supposed to be tiled, then it remains as it is. In the case of gluing wallpaper, it must be rubbed with a special grater; for painting, puttying is carried out with preliminary rubbing of all defects. Sometimes putty is also performed before wallpapering, in order to achieve ideal quality - this is at the customer's choice.
The grout removes all minor defects (shells, bumps, traces of tools) that remain on the plaster. It begins only after the complete drying of the top layer of plaster. If the plaster is dry before grouting, it is slightly moistened with water. It is necessary to overwrite, alternating in circular motions and in a run, with a special grater. Sometimes this smoothing is done again, also slightly wetting the applied plaster with water, achieving a glossy, optimally aligned wall. After that, putty is applied in accordance with the recommendations placed on the package or documents attached to the mixture.
Plastering will level even walls that have strong defects, bumps and depressions. Therefore, after the operation, it will be easy to stick tiles, wallpaper and other materials on the walls.