The article describes the types of adjustable floors, their advantages and various installation methods. The adjustable floor is a structure with threaded supports that allow the height of the floor to be varied above the base level. Its use eliminates the need for a leveling cement screed and all associated "wet" processes. We will tell you how to install an adjustable floor today.
Adjustable floor construction
Adjustable floors are available in two types - structures on adjusting beams and decking. The difference lies in their capabilities. If in the first case the height under the surface is not less than 50 mm, then in the second it cannot be more than 30 mm. The presence of such a space makes it possible to place various communications in it and helps to improve floor ventilation.
The floor, lying on the joists, consists of 3 parts: a rough flooring, a bar and adjustable supports. The latter is an anchor threaded retainer capable of adjusting the height of the coating in any area during rotation. In addition, the anchor clamps distribute the load from the floor to the base and ensure the strength of the connection between them.
The threaded fasteners are attached to the wooden base with screws, to the concrete slab - with needle polypropylene dowels, and to the concrete screed - with metal dowels. With the help of movable supports, the logs are aligned horizontally at the desired height.
The floors on the alignment deck are different. They are not provided with lags, and instead of retainers there are bushings mounted in pre-drilled holes in the coating and having an internal thread. Installation of this type of floor is carried out using screws, by rotating which the flooring is leveled in a single horizontal plane.
The differences between both designs are also due to the number of supports. In the option of adjustable floor logs, less of them are required, and for adjustable flooring - 3 times more.
Advantages and disadvantages of adjustable floors
Such floors have recently become quite popular in the construction and renovation of houses. This is due to their undoubted advantages:
- Due to its low weight, the adjustable structure can be used on slabs with low load-bearing capacity. Its installation allows you to change the level of the floor covering to the required height without installing a heavy concrete screed.
- The flawlessly flat surface of the adjustable floor is suitable for any external coating: tiles, linoleum, parquet, laminated boards and others.
- You can mount the structure yourself. During the day, one person is able to lay an adjustable floor with an area of 20-25 m22.
- The absence of "wet" processes during its device significantly reduces the repair time and does not lead to the appearance of dirt and dust. There is no need to wait for the base to dry before proceeding to the next stage of work.
- In the interior of the adjustable floor system, the following are possible: laying pipes and cables, installing warm electric or water floor systems, installing insulation, installing hydro and sound insulation.
- Due to the fact that wooden logs are placed above the concrete base, without touching it, the lumber better resists decay from decay. However, this is not a reason for refusing to treat it with antiseptics.
- The service life of the floor, if installed correctly, is 50 years.
When installing an adjustable floor, due to the point contact of its supports with the base, they often do not pay attention to the preparation of the screed. If over time it begins to crack, the lags weaken, and when moving on such a surface, knocks and a kind of hum appear, this is especially pronounced when the sole is hard or the heel of the shoe is high. This is a significant disadvantage of an adjustable floor.
Floor installation on adjustable joists
Installation of such a floor is divided into 2 stages: installation of a lag with movable supports and a flooring device. Sheets for it must be selected depending on the type of planned front cover. For parquet or laminated panels, moisture-resistant plywood is suitable, for linoleum or tiles, the best option would be to use moisture-resistant plasterboard sheets. For wooden floors, a grooved and smooth board is suitable. As for the supports, there are two options here, which differ from each other only in the way of adjusting the height of the flooring - the floor on hairpins and corners.
Floor with studs
Before starting work, it is necessary to buy accessory parts for the adjustable floor: regulation mechanisms, including in one set an anchor, a stud No. 6, two washers and nuts, as well as a dry planed timber 50x50 mm, which does not have knots.
In addition, you should stock up on such tools: a building level, a hacksaw, a hammer, a hammer drill, an electric drill, and drills for concrete and wood.
You need to start the installation of the floor with the layout of the bars on its base. For tile coverings, the pitch between them should be 300 mm, for laminate or parquet - 500 mm. The distance of the extreme products from the walls should be no more than 3 cm.
Then, in the bars, it is necessary to make drills for threaded rods with a pitch of 50 cm and a diameter slightly larger than their cross section. For an 8 mm anchor, drill with the appropriate diameter.
After that, in each hole of the log, it is necessary to make a cavity with a feather drill to a depth corresponding to the thickness of the washer and nut. The diameter of such a sample is taken 1-2 mm larger than the washer, so that it is possible to deepen the washer and nut into the wood flush with the upper surface of the adjustable floor beam.
Next, using a punch, you need to make holes in the overlap for the anchor parts. It is more convenient to do this through the holes in the logs, in which case the discrepancy between the finished hole and the hairpin will be minimized.
It is recommended to drive anchors into the floor tightly, but carefully. After that, you should screw the studs into them, set the nuts at the same level and put on washers that will support the bars.
After installing all the studs in the concrete, you need to put on the logs through the corresponding holes. On top of the timber, the rest of the fasteners should be screwed onto the thread of the studs. It is not necessary to tighten the nuts to the stop.
At the next stage, the logs are set to the required height using a level. This adjustment must be done with a pair of lower nuts located at the edges of the timber. After that, the rest of the lower nuts are tightened, and then the upper nuts. All logs are set so that their top is in the same plane at the same level.
After installation and checking all the lags, the excess studs must be cut off with a hacksaw or an angle machine.
Further, the underground space of the structure must be filled with insulation, sound and waterproofing. If necessary, you can carry out engineering communications.
The installation of the adjustable floor should be completed by installing a rough flooring. Its attachment to wooden joists is done with screws. Then you can start the installation of the selected decorative coating.
Attention! All communications under the floor must be carried out in plastic pipes. This will avoid accidental leaks and short circuits.
Floor with corners
There is no significant difference between the installation of the lags on the corners from the previous method, except for the moment that in this version the pins are not used as a floor regulating mechanism. The method involves attaching the lag to the corners, rigidly fixed on the rough base. This method is used in the case when the studs cannot be installed due to the loose structure of the floor, in which the anchors cannot be held.
To install a similar structure of an adjustable floor, it is necessary to spread the bars on the floor and mark their location. According to the lines obtained, the corners should be fixed every 50 cm. Their height should be selected based on the required level of flooring.
Then it is necessary to install the logs, attaching them to the corners and controlling the installation with a building level. After that, as in the previous method, you need to lay the flooring, taking into account the type of further floor finishing.
When using the corners, it is recommended to immediately accurately set all the logs according to the level, since after the installation is completed, their adjustment will be impossible, and the unevenness of the floor will have to be eliminated only with the use of underlays for the floor covering.
Only galvanized bolts and screws should be used for fastening lags, since high air humidity can deteriorate their quality, and this will affect the flooring.
Particular attention should be paid to those places where screws for corners or anchors are located in the logs. If the fastening element is near a knot, this creates a high risk of local damage to the log when the floor is loaded.
Floor installation on an adjustable deck
The peculiarity of this installation option is that the installation of the bolts here takes place in the holes made in the flooring made of plywood, gypsum sheet or DSP board. Due to the fact that there are no logs in this case, the height of the adjustable floor on the deck is limited by the length of the threaded posts. Such structures are made only for soft coatings and laminate.
The sequence of work is as follows:
- On the inner side of the flooring sheets, bushings with a threaded inner surface must be inserted into the holes made. The distances between them depend on the planned floor load.
- After that, support bolts made of durable plastic must be screwed into the installed bushings.
- Then the assembled structure must be installed on the base of the floor and fastened with the bolts.
- Rotating the support bolts around its axis, the flooring should be leveled in a horizontal plane, and the excess bolts that will protrude above its surface should be cut off.
- After that, the second layer of flooring must be overlapped. The sheets must be mounted in such a way that the seams between them in the layers do not coincide.
- Flooring can now be laid on top of the finished sub-floor.
How to make an adjustable floor - watch the video:
That's all science. We hope that our article will help you make an adjustable floor in your home or office with your own hands. Good luck!
