Correct alignment of the walls in the house with your own hands - Step-by-step instructions + Video

Why do you need to level the walls? This is an important and indispensable step in preparing the wall before applying any type of coating to it, be it wallpaper, tiles or paint.

The working wall must be carefully leveled with plaster or putty.

How well this part of the work is carried out will directly depend on the appearance of the finished surface and its performance.

If we neglect the preliminary treatment, then the uneven base over time can begin to deform and crack, which will violate the aesthetics of the top, topcoat.

Alignment of walls - what is it?

Any type of cosmetic repair, wallpapering or painting, tiling, involves an indispensable preparatory procedure.

It can be done by hired finishing specialists, but you can do it yourself.

What is the best way to align the walls, how to do it quickly and easily?

Usually cracks, defects and irregularities are clearly visible on the surface: they are covered with specially prepared solutions.

A water or laser level can be used to accurately assess vertical imperfections.

So the degree of curvature of the existing defects will be seen more clearly.

When the assessment activities are completed, the actual leveling of the wall surfaces begins.

How to level the wall yourself. Preparation

Depending on the type and size of flaws, the number of defects and irregularities, different methods of wall leveling are distinguished.

• Dry .

  Assumes the installation of various types of auxiliary structures. For example, it can be drywall. The method of leveling the walls with drywall is more laborious, because it will require the manufacture of a frame, on which sheets of material will then be attached.

• Raw . This method involves the use of special building compounds: putty and plaster, including machine plaster.

  This method works well if there are irregularities of three to five centimeters in size. All holes are carefully sealed with mortar, the resulting irregularities are carefully smoothed out.

Required materials and tools

For every type of finishing construction work, materials are needed, without which it is impossible to do.To level the walls, you will have to stock up on:

• building mixtures for finishing: primer, plaster, putty, etc.;
• metal, fiberglass or plastic painting net;
• metal plaster beacon, used as a support guide in the plastering process;
• finishing panels made of metal or wood, drywall sheets;
• brush, rollers;
• suitable dishes in which the finishing mixtures will be diluted:
• special electric stirrer (if available) for mixtures;
• apparatus for mechanized plastering (if possible);
• spatulas of different sizes;
• plastering rule and a trowel for applying and removing excess layers;
• materials for sanding and cleaning surfaces.

Types of mixtures

Numerous manufacturers of finishing materials offer various types of solutions with different properties and compositions. According to their main characteristics, they can be divided into the following groups.

Cement

Cement mixtures are mixtures containing medium and fine particles of cement and sand.

To enhance the plasticity of the plaster, lime is added to some types of mixture. All cement mixtures are divided into cement-lime and cement-sand.

The latter are more economical, they are distinguished by sand of various fractions: small for finishing, large for rough and fine work.

They have some disadvantages: drying time, not very good adhesion to concrete, slight cracking ... The first type of mixtures can be considered more versatile.

Gypsum

Gypsum-based compositions are especially popular for painting work.

Smoothing the surface with gypsum allows you to apply a fairly wide layer, which dries quickly, has excellent plasticity, high heat and sound insulation properties.

There are special gypsum compositions of rothips and rotbands: special additives in them significantly increase the adhesive properties.

Heat-saving

The composition of dry heat-saving mixtures contains a special cement-lime base: it can be modified with various polystyrene and other substances that act as additives.

They provide the plaster layer with a sufficiently low thermal conductivity, which contributes to better heat retention inside the house.

Some inconvenience of using gypsum lies in its increased water absorption properties.

It is more convenient to prepare the solution in very small portions.

Clay

On a clay base. This method has been known for a long time: before applying chalky whitewash or products with lime, the surface was leveled with special clay plasters.

Modern designs occasionally resort to this method, which appeals to them with its affordability and safety.

Straw, sawdust and other natural materials are used as a filler, thanks to which it is possible to maintain the room has an optimal microclimate.

The process of leveling the walls

Leveling the walls with plaster

It should not delaminate or crumble. Often, already in the process of working on the old layer, after the freshly applied one has dried, defects that were not visible earlier become noticeable. In order for the result of the work carried out to please you, observe the following conditions:

• the wall must be prepared properly;
• the building mixture must be chosen correctly;
• beacons must be available.

For brickwork it is best to use one of the types of cement mixes, the cost of which is very low. The material can be applied in a sufficiently thick layer, which is especially important when processing masonry walls. But it is important to remember that if the applied layer is thicker than two centimeters, a plaster mesh is certainly used to reinforce the composition.

For smooth concrete surfaces , gypsum-based leveling compounds are suitable. They contain microparticles of quartz, which give the surface some roughness.

Before that, the wall must be primed. For reinforcement, a polymer mesh of five by five millimeters is used.

For foam concrete surfaces , mixtures on a gypsum basis are also used with obligatory preliminary primer.

Installation of beacons

What is called beacons in construction?

These are a kind of guides, with the help of which the surface leveling is controlled when using liquid products. In this capacity, a special perforated profile is usually used under the plaster, whose width is determined by the thickness of the applied composition.

It is very convenient to use purchased factory products that do not have to be cleaned after the events, and accordingly , mask the resulting irregularities.

Such beacons are placed vertically, on strips of quick-hardening mixture intended for plastering. The distance between individual beacons is calculated according to the size of the rule, so that it does not slide off them, relying on a pair of adjacent ones.

Plastering technique

For this you need a tool with a handle, which is called a "falcon": it looks like a familiar trowel, but has a much larger base. With such a "falcon" and a trowel, an excess amount of solution is thrown into the gap between the individual beacons.

From the "falcon" the mixture is taken with a trowel, then thrown onto the wall. The use of such a device improves labor productivity, since there is no need to constantly approach the working container for the mixture. This reduces the time required for the event.

Next, the solution is carefully distributed from the bottom to the top. To apply a more voluminous and massive layer of plaster, make a rough outline without leveling.

When this preliminary layer is dry, a final batten is carried out, which must be leveled.

Leveling the wall with putty

Before starting work, the surface is primed. The process of filling with your own hands is not difficult.

What will be needed for the job?

You will need:

1. narrow and wide spatulas,
2. not high cuvette.

The mixture should have a sufficiently thick consistency so that the mixture formed during stirring does not change its shape.

Over time, the composition begins to thicken, so periodically a little primer or water is added to it.

If the mixture has the required thickness, then it does not slip off the spatula and adheres perfectly to the vertical surface.

The diluted putty is transferred to a cuvette and, so that it does not dry out, cover it.

With a spatula, a little of the compound is applied to the surface, which is then leveled with even vertical and horizontal movements.

Holding the trowel at a certain angle, the mixture is spread to a thickness of 1-2 millimeters: the thickness of the mixture will be the smaller, the greater the angle formed by the trowel and the surface. It is convenient to fix the spatula blade with the second hand.

When the composition has set slightly, it is washed with a primer. This removes various irregularities and sagging. When the first layer is completely dry, for which after washing it will take at least a day, it is treated with fine sandpaper, getting rid of roughness.

If you plan to apply a second layer, then the previously putty surface is primed again.

If you skip this procedure, moisture can be absorbed into the already applied putty. After about a day, the surface is again treated with sandpaper. For convenience, it is wound on a small block or small board.

Drywall

Often there are walls that are very uneven and have large recesses and potholes.

These are almost impossible to fix by plastering.

It is best to use drywall for this purpose.

Getting rid of irregularities with its help can be considered one of the most effective, and at the same time low-budget options.

It can be implemented with or without a framework.

Align walls with a wireframe

If you prefer the wireframe method, then it is first necessary to make the frame itself - sheets of material will be mounted on it.

It can be made from:

• metal profile (post and guide)
• or a wooden bar.

The latter is less durable, since wood is afraid of exposure to moisture, microorganisms, and may deform. And it's a little more difficult to mount it. It is for this reason that a metal profile often acts as a base.

For the construction of the frame, we screw a pair of parallel profiles to the ceiling (in relation to each other).

After 40-60 cm, taking into account the width of the sheet, we place the guides. At this stage, it is most rational to carry out insulation with foam or mineral wool, if there are intentions to do this.

When the frame is ready, begin to attach plasterboard sheets to it. To do this, you will need special self-tapping screws made of oxidized metal.

The distance between the individual fasteners must be between 40 and 60 centimeters.

The hats "sink" a little into the material.

Align walls without a frame

The frameless method has significant differences. The sheets of material are glued directly to the surface to be finished with glue. The obvious disadvantage of this method is that walls with large-scale defects cannot be corrected with its help.

This is a simple and fairly economical method that is popular. Among other things, it allows you to mask all communications. They are actively used when decorating bathrooms, country houses and garages.