What is a bulk floor? How many types of bulk floors are there? Can I put ceramic tiles on it ? What is the technology for creating a bulk floor? How to cook the mixture? What should be the thickness of the poured floor under the tile? You will get answers to all these and other questions in this article. Moreover, step-by-step instructions for creating a bulk floor will be considered, and specialists will reveal some very important secrets of the process.
Is it possible to lay tiles on such a coating?
Self-leveling floor is a polymer coating without seams, which is applied in bulk and is used to level the floor. It is also sometimes called liquid linoleum. Many beginning builders have a question about whether it is possible to use a self-leveling floor for tiles. If the base is prepared by pouring, it is ideal for laying ceramic tiles.
Advantages of bulk coating:
- Universality. The mixture is poured onto almost all types of floors: whether it is concrete, old tiles or wooden boards.
- Drying time. You can start the process of laying tiles three days after pouring.
- Layer thickness. Only 3-4 millimeters of the layer will be needed in order to align the base to ideal proportions.
Based on this, we can conclude that the self-leveling floor for tiles in the bathroom is the perfect solution. On such a coating is not just what you can, but you also need to lay the tile. Bulk floors are used not only in residential, but also in industrial premises.
Kinds
Bulk floors according to the characteristics of the basis of the mixture are actually divided into 2 types - this is a polymer mixture and mineral.
The first mixture is prepared from various polymers - epoxy resin, methyl methacrylate or polyurethane compounds. Such a self-leveling floor for tiles is not particularly suitable, because this option is in itself the final finish of the base. After filling the floor, a surface is ready for use with a very beautiful appearance. And the cost of polymer mixtures is much higher than mineral.
Mineral mixture - this is exactly the option that is suitable for further ceramic tile finishes. Its composition includes cement, in which various plasticizers are added, which allow the finished solution to evenly coat the base, while hiding all irregularities, bringing the horizontal to ideal values.
Mineral mixtures are available on the market in three versions:
- Basic - a mixture for aligning large differences (up to 80 millimeters) in height.
- Medium - levels floors with a difference of up to 30 millimeters.
- Final, or finishing. It is such a bulk floor that is needed for tiles.
Creation technology
As a rule, the technology of filling the floor consists of two stages. The first stage is the preparation of the first base layer. For this, a bulk coating based on cement is used. Thanks to the addition of modifying components to it, the first layer is quite thin - up to 5 millimeters. Dry powder must be poured into a container, add water and mix. The mixture should be homogeneous. Then the solution is poured onto the floor (to the farthest corner) and stretched with a spatula around the entire perimeter.
For the second layer (it will be the basis for laying tiles), a two-component finish mixture is used. The components are mixed before pouring, and polyurethane or epoxy resins act as binders. They allow you to create a solid bulk floor for tiles. Dry powders are poured into a container, water is added, and everything is mixed. The liquid mixture is poured in the extreme corner and distributed around the perimeter. To remove air bubbles use a needle roller with a long handle. After a day, the pouring will completely harden, and the coating will look like a homogeneous semi-gloss film.
Preparation of a mixture of bulk floor for laying tiles
On how correctly the mixture will be prepared for pouring, what kind of self-leveling floor for the tile will turn out. The solution is prepared as follows:
- Water is poured into a clean container.
- The dry mixture is poured into water and nothing else.
- Proportions: 5 kilograms of dry mix per 1 liter of water.
- For mixing, the mixer is set at low speed.
- In order to use the mixture, you must wait about five minutes, this time is enough to start the chemical reactions of the ingredients.
- After this, stir the mixture a little more and pour within half an hour.
Step-by-step instruction
In order to avoid errors when preparing the bulk floor, it is necessary to perform work in the following order:
- Prepare the floor on which the mixture will be poured. Cracks are sealed with a mortar of cement with sand. The floor is primed with a polyurethane or epoxy primer.
- Wait for the primer to dry completely.
- A damper tape is placed between the floor and the walls, at the base of the door frames.
- Preparation of the solution. There should be a clear adherence to the instructions described above.
- Filling is done from the farthest corner of the room. In this case, portions of the solution should not exceed a volume of 2 square meters.
- The mixture is leveled with a rubber spatula, air bubbles are disposed of with a needle roller.
- The period between filling portions of the solution should not exceed 8-10 minutes.
- The manufacturer indicates the drying time of the mixture on the packaging. On average, it takes three days to completely solidify and dry.
Expert Advice
In order for the bulk floor under the tile to turn out to be of high quality, it is necessary to listen to the advice of experienced specialists in this field:
- The most important task is to clean the base for pouring the mixture. The floor must be ideally cleaned of dust and dirt, cracks and other holes and holes should be repaired with mortar.
- It is necessary to fill the floors quickly enough, because the "life" of the mixture does not exceed 40 minutes. The floor in the room is poured in one step, so you need to immediately mix the required amount of the mixture.
Conclusion
The most economical self-leveling floor is the one whose main component is cement. This solution is unique in its characteristics, which is ideal for further laying ceramic tiles on it.