Floor joist leveling system. How to adjust floors. We make an adjustable floor on joists instead of a concrete screed
The installation of a wooden floor on joists is the same, long forgotten old technology, which was reborn like a Phoenix and took on the shape of a new, advanced one. Engineering achievements contributed to the return of the idea: concrete slabs and modern methods production of hardware.
Wooden floors: advantages and disadvantages
Traditional flooring was based on the following operations: in the house, logs were laid along the base every meter, to which the plank flooring was attached. The advantages of floors on joists over the concrete screeds that replaced them are undeniable:
- The natural wood flooring is warm. This is known to those residents of old buildings, whom household members often reproach for the unforgivable sin - the habit of walking around the apartment barefoot
- Its surface can withstand significant loads, impacts, repairs, and rebuilding. At the same time, it does not chip, does not crack, nothing falls off of it;
- In most cases, coatings laid decades ago still exist. They were refined, covered with parquet and carpet on top, but natural base preserved;
- The price of the material – wood – is relatively low: by the middle of the last century, this material completely replaced clay coatings.
The technology had a significant drawback. This is the complexity of installation and, accordingly, its cost. The difficulty was leveling the plane of the board. Finding adjustable supports (brackets) for the beams was not easy, and it was even more difficult, almost impossible, to secure them: the ground was an unreliable foundation, and there was nothing to break through the concrete (which already existed).
Preparing for work
You need to find a solution to the problem:
- The floor should be wooden, fixed to joists;
- The bases for installing plank flooring must be adjustable.
At the same time, the complexity of installing logs should be such that wood flooring in the house one master (at most two) could do it in a couple of days. There are such solutions. Their price corresponds to the average cost of installing floors. Installation is so simple that the work can be done by one person. At the same time, the reliability of fastening remains one hundred percent.
The principle of installing floors on adjustable joists
Modern concrete structures, in which slabs serve as a rough base, allowed us to return to environmentally friendly, reliable, warm wooden floor on the joists. Thanks to the widespread use of power tools, the development of technology, wide choice hardware, you can lay the flooring in the house on adjustable joists.
There are many options for how to install and how much to pay: beams, for example, are mounted on adjustable prefabricated anchors, the price of which is 3-6.5 USD. a piece. You can buy carpentry corners (which is cheaper) and install the floor in the apartment yourself. You can invite a specialized team: the estimated installation price will be 19-20 USD. for 1 m 2.
Innovative way
Patented technology using plastic threaded bushings and dowels. The sequence of work is as follows:
- Through holes are drilled in wooden beams;
- Threaded polymer sleeve fingers are screwed into them. In the future, these fingers will serve as support posts;
- The beams are installed in their proper places;
- The lower part of the sleeve is attached to the concrete base using a dowel. The fasteners must be located exactly in the center of the sleeves, allowing them to rotate around their axis;
- Now the bushing serves as a worm - its rotation leads to the movement of the beams in height;
- Using a spirit level, all the bars are brought to the same level;
- The remaining shank of the sleeve on top is cut off with a chisel;
- After leveling is completed, boards, plywood or other covering are laid.
A similar technology is used for laying plywood without boards. The base structure is carried out as follows:
- Select support bushings-brackets with internal thread. Through holes are drilled in the plywood with a feather in the places where the supports are installed;
- The bushings are inserted into the holes and secured to the sheets with self-tapping screws;
- Polymer sleeves are screwed into the formed sockets.
Further actions are similar to the previous technology. The manufacturer offers a video that can be viewed at the end of the article.
Costs are determined based on how many and what sets will be used. The price of one set of four logs with bolts, set by the manufacturer, depends on the length of the beam: 1000 mm costs 20 USD, 2000 mm – 33 USD, and 3000 mm – 45 USD.
Available option: brackets
In addition to polymer sleeves, adjustable joists in the house are mounted on U-shaped racks. Each stand-bracket on the side surface has pairs of holes located at different levels with a pitch of 5 mm. If you modify the brackets yourself, you can provide as many levels as the master deems necessary. The installation of a wooden floor is carried out as follows:
- Every meter, mark the axes along which the beams will be laid;
- U-shaped fasteners are installed on the lines and screwed to concrete slab;
- Measure the degree of deviation from the horizontal rough foundation, determine the points of minimum and maximum height;
- Calculate the height of the middle level fastening;
- The outer beams are installed and their horizon is brought to a given level;
- They install all the intermediate beams, checking their level along the outer joists.
Upon completion of the installation of beams, the extra “ears” of the racks are cut off and the flooring is installed - boards, other slabs.
Floors supported by furniture studs
Another way to lay joists on adjustable supports is to use a furniture pin, double-sided - with metric and single-start threads. They have long been used for attaching hanging elements to concrete, brick, wooden surfaces. To lay a wooden floor on joists, studs with a cross section of 8-10 mm are suitable.
The bars must be prepared in advance. To do this, every 30 cm they are drilled:
- Holes corresponding to the cross sections of the studs;
- Coaxial half-holes with a diameter of 20-25 mm and a depth of 20 mm are for screw-on nuts.
The installation of floors in the house is carried out as follows:
- The beams are laid in increments of 1 meter;
- Holes are drilled in the concrete base, coinciding with the holes in the beams;
- Install polymer dowels;
- Screw in the studs.
The next step is to prepare the support brackets: screw two nuts onto the studs and put on washers whose outer diameter exceeds 30 mm. Install the beams so that they rest on the washers; Place another nut on top. The heights are leveled: the level is set with one lower nut, and the second – the locking nut – is secured. The installation of the subfloor is completed by tightening the top nuts. Using a grinder, cut off the protruding ends of the studs and prepare the flooring - boards, plywood, OSB.
The cost of the work is minimal: you can do it yourself. The cost of hardware matters, but they are considered consumables. Compared to the costs of basic raw materials, this value can be neglected.
Adjustable flooring is a new technology that will give you the opportunity to reduce your flooring time.
Just like any other technology, it has its pros and cons.
But this is precisely what constitutes a certain professionalism of specialists (builders), in order to be able to large number variations of the flooring structure itself, choose exactly the one that will be truly ideal and optimal.
How does an adjustable floor work?
Mechanism
Completed flooring installed under wooden joists (if, of course, you use floorboards), or on a solid base made of OSB (if you are using soft coverings or laminate) or sheets of so-called plywood.
Important! During the construction of absolutely any floors, the so-called load-bearing surface must be located in a horizontal position, this is mandatory.
In general, achieving this result with the help of fixed lags is incredibly difficult; you often have to use various kinds linings and wedges for leveling the spatial position.
These wedges have the ability to creak or sag in case of incorrect and careless fixation, or simply fall out for other reasons. You cannot eliminate these problems without dismantling the coating area, and the dismantling itself is associated with huge losses of money and time.
These adjustable floors excel at leveling almost any uneven surface. In addition, the leveling mechanism itself will give you the opportunity to adjust the gap between the load-bearing base and the floor, and this will already make it possible to place various kinds of engineering networks in such areas.
Adjustable floors generally consist of metal studs, plywood sheets, plastic post bolts, or floor joists. A fairly large number of modifications of regulatory systems are being carried out, but such a fundamental difference between them is simply not detected.
With the help of threaded rotation, the connection itself is very smooth (raising or lowering structural elements), in this way you can set the very base of the floors in the required position as accurately as possible.
There are several types of flooring (adjustable) in the world, let's take a closer look at them.
Types of adjustable floors
Adjustable floor with plastic adjustment mechanism
Features (characteristics)): Most can be realized assembled with separate kits or lags. Floors are installed much faster from the factory because they have threads in the joists, so there is no need to drill and mark holes.
The dimensions of the logs themselves are as follows: thirty by fifty millimeters, and the distance between the bolts is exactly forty centimeters. We recommend installing logs in increments of thirty/forty centimeters, exact value must be selected taking into account the maximum expected load on the floor itself.
Adjustable floor with metal adjustment device
Features (characteristics)): For plastic connections, metal studs with washers and nuts are used. They can withstand heavy loads, but working with them is quite difficult.
Adjustable floor on metal corners
Features (characteristics)): The plus in these corners is the stability of the logs themselves, you can create very complex designs floors while taking into account the layout of your rooms. The only negative is that the installation time increases quite a bit.
Not only logs, but also slabs can be adjusted.
The second option is used only for laminate flooring and soft flooring. You can use the second option for almost all types of completed floor coverings.
With your own hands
You also have the opportunity to make adjustable floors yourself; this option has its advantages. The main ones are quite large savings Money(lower cost), as well as the ability to select parameters yourself, especially depending on the specific features of the application.
Also, if you wish, you can insulate the floor using adjustable floors, which is considered quite important in conditions of very high prices for energy resources themselves.
Installation technology
Adjustable logs with plastic bolts
For a load-bearing foundation, cement-sand or concrete screed, a special set of adjustable joists, manufactured directly from the factory, is used. We can tell you right away that this option is considered the most expensive for adjustable floors.
The first step will be measuring the room. This is necessary in order to determine how many joists are needed for a given room. If you are planning to make floors in a bathhouse, then know that they do not have a huge load; the distance between the logs should be up to forty-five centimeters.
The next step is to mark the distance between the lags on the screed. For at this moment A rope with blue is used, with the help of which the beating work will be done with great quality and, most importantly, quickly.
After this, the third step will be to cut off the lag along required length. Basically, the length of the logs from the factory is about four hundred centimeters. You should think very carefully about how to mark the logs in order to minimize the amount of waste as much as possible.
The distance from the cutting line to the closest adjustment bolt must be at least one hundred millimeters. If the end is much closer than the above mark, then there is a risk of various cracks forming under load.
After this comes the fourth step, namely the decomposition of the lags around the intended lines. To install you will need:
- A special key for screwing in bolts;
- Screwdriver;
- Hammer;
- Chisel;
- Doboynik for fixing dowels;
- Drill with hammer drill.
Then you need to install the first joist in a vertical position - just screw the threaded hole into simple plastic bolts. After this, you will need to place the ends of the bolts on a line and then drill a hole in the base for the dowel itself.
The depth of such holes (for the dowel itself) should be approximately two by three centimeters, and should exceed its length. This is connected with the hole, since a certain amount of concrete almost always remains in it, but if you do not make a reserve in length in advance, then it will be problematic for you to completely hammer in the dowel.
The next step is to install the dowels, but do not push them all the way. The dowel should not resist the rotation of the bolts. Using a sufficiently long level, establish the correct and at the same time neat position of the lag. If your joist is already installed, and quite firmly, then simply firmly fix the dowel. It is worth continuing to install the logs one by one in places with marks, while monitoring the position of the marks with a level.
This installation algorithm, one might say, is offered to people by the manufacturers themselves, while most builders listen and apply this technology, mainly such builders are those who receive their wages every hour, not by output.
Those builders who earn money from production do it a little differently. To your question “How?” we'll tell you. Builders take a simple hydraulic level and on opposite walls (two) beat off the so-called zero level lag
After this, dowels or nails are driven into those areas, everything will depend on the material from which the wall will be made, after which the ropes are pulled. If the logs need to be connected, then three walls should be taken. The rope will only be tensioned when all the logs have already been placed in their fixation areas.
After that everything goes very quickly and easily. Absolutely every lag is installed along that rope, the main thing is that it should not touch it, it is necessary to constantly check it so that the gap between the lag and the rope is as minimal as possible. That's all, with this method you can achieve a very high speed of installation of an adjustable floor, and you can also increase the quality of this floor.
In general, there is a direct relationship between the number of measured planes and accuracy. Now we will explain to you. There is a fairly high probability that the position of the first log will deviate from the lowest level by about one millimeter.
By real standards, this is quite normal. It was for this purpose that a template was produced - if you need to cut off a fairly large number of identical parts, and at the same time do not take measurements from each ready-made part in turn. In this case, the rope will act as a template.
The seventh step will be cutting, namely, with a wide sharp chisel it will be necessary to cut off the protruding area of the plastic bolt.
Installation of logs on metal plates
The main advantage of these floors is the increased stability of the fastening due to an increase in the area of the lower support. There is also a drawback, namely, the deadlines increase, that is, the inability to continue and generally do the work yourself.
The logs themselves must be fixed to the U-shaped plates using self-tapping screws, while the process of adjusting the height of the logs themselves must be carried out using a series of holes on both sides of the plate, made in a vertical position.
Installation of logs on iron studs
Adjustable floors of this type can be installed independently, and we will tell you specifically about this option. Select the dimensions of the logs taking into account the characteristics of the floor and the greatest loads. Iron studs with zinc coating, optimal caliber 6÷8 mm. To produce the system, studs, nuts and washers are useful.
Step 1. Beat off parallel strips on the supporting base at a distance of 30÷50 centimeters. The greater the distance, the stronger the logs you need to choose.
Step 2. Make calculations based on the number of joists, washers, nuts and studs. The recommended distance between the studs is 30÷40 cm. Prepare all the materials used, additional components and equipment for performing the work.
Step 3. Mark the holes in the joists for the studs; all of them must be located on strips of symmetry. In the designated places, first drill a through hole Ø6 mm for the stud (if the caliber of the stud is different, then the corresponding hole must be drilled). On the outside of the joist, use a feather drill to drill a hole for the caliber of the washer. The depth of the hole must exceed the required sum of the height of the nut and the thickness of the washer by a certain number of millimeters.
There is a second method for marking the holes in front of the anchor, but it takes more time, but, despite all of the above, it eliminates the possibility of errors.
Everything is done like this: first you need to mark only the last 2 holes in front of the anchor, screw them into the studs, and secure the joist on 2 nuts in a suitable location. Now during the upcoming marking the log will not move anywhere.
In this arrangement, it is possible to immediately drill holes in front of the anchor to the full depth. The work is completed - the joist is removed, all the studs are screwed into the space.
This function will need to be done with each joist, labor productivity is minimized by a factor of 2. You yourself must make the final conclusion on the marking method, taking into account the position of the concrete floor and the experiment of performing a similar family of tasks.
Step 5. Screw a nut onto any stud and place a washer. It is better to immediately make your choice and place their location according to the height. Screw the studs into the anchors tightly.
Step 6. Place the logs on the studs one by one, using a wrench of the required volume by turning the bottom nut left/right to straighten the state of the logs. Keep in mind that the thread pitch of iron nuts is much smaller than plastic ones.
Step 7 The logs are exposed - it is allowed to begin fixing them. Use a washer and nut and insert them into the top hole.
Important! Tighten the top nut with great force, even a slight decrease can be a prerequisite for the appearance of nasty squeaks while walking on the floor covering.
Step 8. Cut off the protruding ends of the studs with a grinder. Be careful with the lags, do not damage the unity of the lumber with the saw blade.
Installation of adjustable floors with a straightening board
Rough flooring is only suitable for laminate or soft flooring. For installation, you must purchase a set of commercially produced parts.
Step 1. Make a mark on a sheet of plywood where the bushings will be installed, and drill holes of this diameter. The bushings must be no more than 30 cm. Drill the holes vertically; if the boundaries are placed before the roll, it will be necessary to redo them, which will significantly waste time and increase the installation time of the adjustable floor.
Step 2. Insert threaded bushings into the holes on the bottom side, secure them with small self-tapping screws; when adjusting the height of the floor, they should not rotate in any way. Manufacturers provide 4 places for fixing the bushings, so many are not necessary at all, it is enough to fix it with 2 self-tapping screws.
Step 3. Make markings on the floor, take care so that the sheets do not have to be “cut” into small pieces. It is better to depict it on paper, think over a number of varieties, and only later will you be able to choose the best one.
Step 4. Screw in all the plastic bolts, turn the sheet of plywood over to the desired position. Screw the bolts in the same number of turns. After installing the main sheet of plywood, pay attention to what level the bolts are placed. Try to screw the bolts into the next sheet of plywood in the same location.
Step 5. When using a special wrench, screw in/unscrew the bolts until the sheet of plywood is in a horizontal position at the desired height. Continuously check its condition in several planes with a level.
It should be borne in mind that the fastening components to the concrete base are not strengthened in any way; the flooring comes out “floating”. This should be taken as an interest when deciding on the installation of flooring in any given room.
Step 6. After installing the latest plywood sheet Test the condition of the subfloor again. Do not forget that the regulation characteristics do not exceed 2÷3 cm. If the concrete base has very large bulges, it will be necessary to level it again.
Professional installation of adjustable floors in Moscow and the Moscow region!
We make an adjustable floor using anchors and polymer bolts!
Sale of components for adjustable floors in Moscow and Russian regions.
We produce chamber drying logs for adjustable floors of any size 45x45, 40x50, 50Х50, 50x70 up to 3m/p.
We will deliver to your site with fasteners (plastic bolt, anchor pin) or under your fasteners. Pickup from our warehouse is possible.
Adjustable floors video.
Adjustable floor with merral anchors
Adjustable floor with polymer bolts
At the end of the 90s, Russian construction appeared adjustable floor technology. This one is absolutely the new kind foundations competed with concrete screeds, previously widely used in residential premises, apartments, and any buildings.
Adjustable floors
have such an advantage over concrete ones as simple and quick installation. They are used under finished floors made of parquet, laminate or parquet boards in modern buildings. As a result of official tests, it was possible to prove the durability of such floors. Their service life reaches 50 years if used correctly.
This floor leveling technology has significant advantages over other preparation methods:
absence of dirt and water;
the ability to adjust the floor within 6 -15 cm and above;
efficiency and manufacturability of the installation process, relative cheapness;
high installation speed – 100 m2 in 2 days;
alignment accuracy;
relative lightness of structures compared to concrete, dry screeds, and, consequently, lower loads on floors.
There are two types of adjustable floor designs, depending on the height of its rise. If you need to arrange a floor with a height of 4 to 7 cm, then a floor structure will be used, adjustable plywood
on the stove. Adjustable plywood is most often used in new construction. If a higher floor is required or the differences are significant, then the design is used adjustable floors with joists
. It is also used for floors on floor beams. Most often, joist adjustment is used to replace old floors and dismantle them.
Adjustable floors help eliminate significant differences in height when dismantling an old floor when the required level is high. For example, during finishing works The old floor covering was removed, and the height between the required level and the resulting base does not allow resorting to other leveling technologies.
The design of an adjustable floor with joists is used for:
installation of floors in new buildings;
restoration of pilaf in old premises;
raising the floor to reduce the load on the floors;
installation of a multi-level floor;
hiding electrical equipment and utility networks under the floor.
Adjustable plywood ( ).
Installing floors using adjustable plywood.
Reluctance to raise the floor high or the lack of such an opportunity may lead the owner of houses or apartments to use new technology flooring installations - adjustable plywood.New buildings or apartments with low ceilings require a special approach. In such cases, it is inconvenient to use logs; instead, take threaded anchor rods, install them, and secure them at the base of the floor slab. Sheets of plywood are placed on the studs in advance drilled holes. For floors, special moisture resistant sheets plywood 10 mm thick and measuring 1.5 by 1.5 m. As a result, we get plywood on legs, because the sheets stand on anchor studs. These legs (pins) are attached to concrete floor. To adjust the height of the sheets, nuts with washer are screwed onto the studs, unscrewing or tightening which leads to lowering or raising the plywood to the desired height until a flat flooring surface is obtained. Finally, a second sheet is laid on top of the leveled layer of plywood and secured with a self-tapping screw. After which you can begin installing the flooring. Such a plywood base does not rise more than 7 cm from the level of the floor base.
Cost of adjustable floor installation depends on the volume of the room and additional work.
We make an adjustable floor on joists instead concrete screed
Concrete screed, due to its structure, does not allow the formation of a surface that would be sufficiently smooth, and now, more and more often, mixtures such as “Betonite” or technology are used instead. A good alternative to all these “wet”, and therefore labor-intensive and dirty technologies, is a floor with adjustable joists.
These structures have special adjustable supports for the logs in the form of plastic post bolts. Moreover, the adjustable logs can be raised or lowered along the threads of these post bolts and thus easily adjusted to the level, which guarantees a perfectly level base for the finishing floors, and therefore no creaking floors.
Advantages of an adjustable floor on joists
Compared to leveling with concrete screed, adjustable joists offer the following advantages:
- wet and dirty technical processes are excluded;
- a wide range of floor lift levels from 5 to 15 cm and higher is provided without any additional material and labor costs;
- obtaining cost savings when raising the floor over 7 cm;
- speed of the installation process (100 m2 in two days);
- guarantee of high alignment accuracy;
- increased heat and sound insulation;
- placement of all types of communications in underground space, which makes it easier to access them during repair or replacement;
- the lightness of the design, making it indispensable in houses where a large load on the floors is technologically unacceptable.
The following are possible design options adjustable lags.
Also read materials:
- Standard set of plastic post bolts and fastening elements for concrete + separately purchased wooden beam under the logs. This option involves the maximum amount of DIY work. It will be necessary to drill holes in the joists, and then cut threads into them with a tap for plastic post bolts.
- Standard set of plastic bushings, post bolts and fastening elements to concrete + separately purchased wooden beam for logs. Unlike the previous option, here, after drilling holes in the joists, ready-made plastic bushings with internal threads are inserted into them, which are attached to the joists with self-tapping screws.
- Standard set of adjustable joists, including wooden joists with ready-made threaded holes for stand-up bolts, as well as a set of stand-up bolts themselves and elements for fastening them to concrete. Plastic post-bolts have internal through cone-shaped holes for passing through them the fastening elements of the post-bolts to concrete (dowel-nails) or wood (screws). Moving down in such a hole, the dowel-nail self-centers along its axis. In the upper wide part of the hole, a hexagon wrench is formed for screwing the stand-up bolt either into a threaded bushing or directly into threaded hole in the log.
Installation of the floor on adjustable joists (video)
The main stages of installing an adjustable floor on joists
Preparatory work
- The room in which it is planned to install adjustable joists is measured. Based on the measurements, the amount of timber for the logs with a margin for cutting, bolts-posts for installation and dowel-nails for attaching them to concrete are calculated.
- The level of the floor slab is checked and the final floor level is set taking into account the height of the flooring (plywood, OSB) and the height of the finishing coating.
- In the logs with the required pitch, through holes are drilled with a feather drill, then, if you do not have threaded bushings, threads are cut into the holes with a tap. If you purchased ready-made plastic bushings, they are inserted into smooth holes and fastened to the joists with self-tapping screws.
- The stand-up bolts are screwed into the holes of the joists using a hex key - the outer screws in each joist are screwed in completely, and the middle ones - to a small depth.
Important! If the surface of the floor slab under the post bolt is very uneven, it should be leveled with a chisel. The post bolts must be securely fastened to the concrete. The minimum distance between the floor slab and the joists should be 10 mm.
Installation of logs
- First, logs are installed along the perimeter of the room with a distance of 10-70 mm from the walls, the distance between the wall and the ends of the logs is 10-30 mm. When choosing a pitch between lags, you should take into account the dimensions of the flooring sheets (slabs). The edges of the flooring slabs should rest on the joists and end near their central axes. The standard step size between the logs is 400-600 mm, however, to strengthen the structure, this step can be reduced to 300 mm. It is allowed to install cut-off joists supported by two stand-up bolts.
- The outermost bolts in each joist are installed first. They are screwed into the joist to the required depth, controlling the preliminary position of the joist by level, after which all other stand-up bolts are lowered to the level of the slab.
- After this, a thin drill is inserted into all the holes of the post-bolts and holes are marked in the concrete for the dowel-nails.
- The lag is removed and the planned holes are drilled in the concrete. The joist is reinstalled, a dowel-nail is inserted into each bolt-post, which is lowered down the cone-shaped hole and falls exactly into the hole drilled in the concrete.
- Next, lightly recess the dowel-nails in the 2 outer bolts-racks using a hammer. The log is set to the required height by rotating the two outer bolts with a hexagon, controlling the process by level.
- The outer dowel-nails are finally driven into the concrete. Then screw the remaining stud bolts into the joists until they rest on the slab, recess and hammer the dowel nails into each stud bolt.
Using a chisel and a hammer, cut off the protruding ends of the bolts from the upper plane of the log. Check the rigidity of the fastening of the post bolts to the floor slab by pressing on each joist and trying to tear it off (lateral loosening is prohibited).
If any post bolt is not sufficiently fastened to the floor slab, it is unscrewed. Remove the dowel-nail and increase the depth of the hole in the concrete. The holes are cleared of dust and the post bolt is reattached.
If the required rigidity of fastening to the base is not achieved, then use other fasteners. For example, in the form of RDK - a nylon expansion dowel with a screw. The screws in the RDK dowels are tightened using a long bit with a screwdriver or drill. The screw must not be loosened or turned in the dowel thread.
Installation of the floor on adjustable joists (video)
Adjustable logs on metal studs
Let's consider how you can arrange adjustable logs from materials that can be purchased at any building materials store.
Regular steel studs can be used as adjustable supports for joists. The design of such adjustable lags on heels is as follows.
- A standard dry planed timber with a cross section of 50x50 mm is used for the logs. Its adjustable support contains an M 6 pin, two nuts, two washers and an anchor sleeve.
- A hole is drilled in the concrete floor slab, an anchor sleeve is driven into it and a pin is screwed into it.
- The lower (under the joist) nut with a washer is screwed onto the stud. A hole is drilled in the joist with a hammer on top.
- The lag is put on the stud, so that the nut and washer are on its lower side. By rotating this nut you can adjust the position of the joist. The second nut (top) is necessary to fix the log at the set level.
As you can see, the modern construction industry is offering new alternatives to traditional construction technologies. Adjustable is a prime example of such an alternative, making it easier and cheaper to install and repair floors.
Are you planning to independently make repairs in your house, apartment, cottage, warehouse or office space? Then you will find our advice, recommendations and step by step instructions for assembling an adjustable floor.
There are several types of “adjustable flooring” depending on the purpose of the room, the quality of the base and the design height of the floor. To solve the problems of raising the floor level to the required height and placing various communications underneath it, a floor structure on adjustable DNT joists is used, which provides not only the required levelness of the floor for laying any types of coverings, including wood floor coverings requiring minimal differences in the base, such as parquet, parquet boards or laminate (no more than 2 mm per 2 linear meters), but also allows you to make a floor frame, if the quality interfloor covering wooden beams are used.
This design raises the floor to a height of 5 to 20 cm or more, depending on the height of the polymer bolts and the cross-section of the logs, and also allows it to be fixed to a concrete, wooden or any other base.
To solve the problems of leveling the floor base without loss of height, an adjustable floor design using adjustable DNT slabs is used. Its use allows you to prepare the base for parquet, laminate or parquet board with a difference level of no more than 2 mm per 2 linear meters. At the same time, the floor will rise to a height of 2 to 5 cm, which does not exceed the thickness of a conventional screed.
All these designs of adjustable DNT floors allow you to install in the shortest possible time (there are no wet and dusty processes associated with concrete) a smooth and reliable floor that has increased sound and heat insulation of the room, the cost of which is no more expensive traditional types leveling (concrete screed, semi-dry screed or Knauff floors), and with a floor lift height of more than 5 cm, it allows you to significantly save on preparing the base for the finishing coating.
Pros and cons of "adjustable floor"
The disadvantages of an adjustable floor may appear if the requirements for proper installation of the floor are not met, which also applies to other methods of leveling the subfloor.
At correct installation and compliance with all material quality requirements, the “DNT adjustable floor” is a reliable and durable base for any finishing coating on which you can not only walk, but also drive a car.
If you do not follow the DNT adjustable floor assembly technology, entrusting it to “woe to the specialists”, or use a regular plastic dowel and nail to attach polymer adjustable bolts to a concrete base, the adjustable floor will look like this:
DNT adjustable floor installation technology
Features of adjustable floors
- You can install an adjustable floor yourself without the help of a professional. To do this, it is enough to purchase necessary materials and stock up on simple tools.
- Installing the floor takes very little time: 1-2 days. For comparison, a concrete floor screed must dry for several weeks.
- An adjustable floor allows you to hide communications in the technological space, which means you can save space and remove all visual defects under the base of the floor.
- Using an adjustable floor, you can significantly increase the sound insulation of a room, which is why this type of flooring is often used in concert halls, studios and residential buildings.
- The adjustable floor is quite light in weight. Therefore, you can install it in rooms with weak ceilings - in private houses or on loggias.
- When installing an adjustable floor, virtually no dirty work is carried out. Accordingly, this coating option is ideal for rooms where it is important to maintain cleanliness.
- Adjustable floor can withstand loads of up to 2.5 tons per square meter. This means that this coating can be used for almost any type of premises (residential buildings, offices, shops, warehouses).
Using adjustable floors
Despite all the advantages of adjustable floors, many owners still think about the advisability of installing this type of covering. So, in what cases is it best to use an adjustable floor?
- If the floor surface is difficult or almost impossible to level (there are strong differences or unevenness).
- If to level the floor according technical specifications It is impossible to use heavy materials.
- If you need to make a floor with at different levels height.
- If there is a need to hide communications under the floor.
- If you want to create additional insulation from noise or cold.
Before we get to detailed description process of installing an adjustable floor, let's look into it key features. Today there are two types of adjustable floors on the market: floors on joists and adjustable floors on slabs. The main difference between these types of floors is the minimum lift height.
When installing a floor on joists, the rise is 5-20 centimeters or more. For an adjustable floor on slabs, the minimum lift height can be from 3 centimeters.
The process of installing adjustable floors on joists or on slabs is almost identical, but we will still describe the installation of each type in detail so that you can do it yourself at home.
Technology for installing adjustable floors on joists
Logs are planed timber. Its dimensions, as a rule, do not exceed 50x50 centimeters. So, before we begin installing the floor on the joists, we will decide on the materials and tools that we will need.
Video - Adjustable joists on homemade racks
Tools
For self-installation flooring you will need: logs, wear-resistant bolts, drill, laser or water level, hammer, dowel-nails.
Now we will look at step-by-step steps that will help you quickly and efficiently install an adjustable floor on joists.
Preparatory stage of work
Video - Adjustable joists preparatory process
Installation phase
- We lay the wooden joists evenly on the base of the floor. The distance between the joists depends on the choice of floor covering. If you plan to cover the floor with linoleum or lay tiles, the distance between the joists should be small. Experts recommend taking a step between lags of no more than 30 centimeters. It is advisable to leave a distance from the joist to the wall of at least 1 centimeter. This will create the necessary ventilation.
- After laying out the joists, we move on to rigidly attaching the bolts to the base. To do this, take a rigid drill and drill a hole in the concrete through the bolt. The depth of the hole should be about 40 millimeters. Next, we insert a dowel-nail into the prepared hole.
- We hammer in the dowel-nail with a hammer, securing the polymer bolt to the base of the floor. Try to drive the nails as firmly as possible so that the entire floor structure does not move in the future. Also good fastening will avoid squeaks and noises when using the floor.
Alignment
After the wooden logs are installed around the entire perimeter of the room and tightly bolted, we proceed to leveling. To do this we need a water (or laser) level and special tool(key) for height adjustment.
- We carefully measure the level data. The height difference can be no more than 1-2 millimeters.
- Using a special wrench, raise or lower the bolts, focusing on the level. We are trying to achieve perfect alignment, since the quality of installation of the final floor covering depends on this.
The final stage of work
- After leveling the joists, firmly secure the nails to the floor using a hammer.
- We cut off the unnecessary remains of the post bolts using a knife or any other cutting device.
- If necessary, we lay materials between the joists for soundproofing or thermal insulation of the room.
- We place the flooring on the upper base of the joists. The choice of decking materials depends on what type of flooring you plan to use. Most often, plywood is used as flooring. It is suitable for further installation of laminite or linoleum. GVL or DSP is also used as flooring.
- After installing the flooring, we lay tiles, linoleum, laminate, parquet or any other covering on the adjustable floor.
The second type of flooring is done on slabs. It is chosen if the height of the floor should not exceed 3 centimeters. It is difficult to hide communications in such a space between the base of the floor and the covering, but it is quite possible to place cables from the telephone or the Internet here.
The process of installing this type of floor is somewhat reminiscent of installing an adjustable floor on joists.
Materials and tools
Before installing an adjustable floor on slabs, you need to prepare the following tools and materials: sheets of plywood or other material, bushings, stand-up bolts, drill, self-tapping screws, hammer, water or laser level.
| Type of plywood | Description |
|---|---|
| Plywood FC | moisture-resistant appearance; urea resin is used for gluing veneer sheets. This plywood is intended for indoor use. |
| FKM plywood | has increased water resistance and is made on the basis of melamine resins. This type of plywood is unique, since environmentally friendly melamine resins are used for its production. At the expense of their environmental characteristics plywood is used in furniture production and for interior finishing work |
| Plywood FSF | Veneer sheets are glued together using phenolic resin. This type of plywood also has increased water resistance. It is not recommended for interior decoration premises, so phenolic resins are harmful to health. Typically used for exterior finishing work |
| Laminated plywood | contains at its core FSF plywood, which is covered on both sides with a special film. Laminated plywood is used for the manufacture of formwork. This type can be used repeatedly |
| Bakelized plywood | Bakelite resin is used to glue veneer sheets together. This type of plywood is used in aggressive climates, sea water, aggressive environments, and sometimes for monolithic work. |
| Marine plywood | similar to bakelized, but less durable. Made from foreign wood species |
| Plywood Flexible | foreign version. Distinctive feature is the ability to bend well in the transverse and longitudinal directions |
Video - Which plywood is better
Preparatory stage of work
- Just like when installing an adjustable floor on joists, installing a floor on slabs requires certain preparation work surface floor. Be sure to remove excess debris and correctly distribute communications that you plan to hide under the floor. Remember that the maximum lift height will be about 3 centimeters.
- Carefully place the sheets around the perimeter of the room. The distance between the sheets should be 2-3 centimeters on each side of the sheet.
- Mark the points for drilling holes. With a sheet size of 1.5 by 1.5 meters, 9 holes will be enough. One hole should be located in the middle (center of the sheet), four holes can be at the corners of the sheet and four more should be located in the central part of each side of the sheet. This arrangement of holes will provide reliable fastening leaf.
First and second layers of plywood flooring
Final stage
- If necessary, we place thermal insulation or sound insulation of the floor on top of the sheets.
- After installing the sheets, we also lay out laminite, tiles, parquet, linoleum or any other selected floor covering.
Secrets to successfully installing an adjustable floor
After finishing installation work Be sure to thoroughly clean the floor surface before installing the flooring. Excess debris, sawdust, and pieces of plastic can create squeaking and noise after laying the top layer of the floor.
Carefully hammer and tighten all floor fastenings. The reliability of the entire structure depends on this.
If you are making a high floor, it is advisable to place it between the joists soundproofing material. This will avoid unnecessary noise when using the floor.
Don't skimp on the quality of materials. It is more profitable to immediately choose more expensive materials to install the floor, instead of having to completely redo the whole job after a short time.
If, after installing the floor, you need to move communications, you can simply remove several strips of the adjustable floor in the right place. After execution necessary work you can easily put the floor back in its original place.
We hope that our tips, as well as step-by-step instructions, will help you install an adjustable floor in your home, cottage or office yourself, quickly and without any difficulty.
Video - Adjustable floors
