The floors on the loggia are usually not a model of a flat surface and are usually simply covered with linoleum, and in very rare cases a cement screed is simply poured there.
Since the size of this room allows you to place certain furniture there, then, of course, I would like to have flat floors for this furniture.
Necessary conditions for equipping the floor on the loggia or preparation
- To equip the floor on the loggia, it is necessary to prepare the basis.
In any case, whether you fill it with a cement screed or lay a wooden floor, you need to remove the old linoleum floor and destroy the pockets of dampness, if any. - Be sure to apply a layer of primer to the cleaned rough base, since in the case of a wooden floor, it will not allow the top layer of the concrete slab to decompose, and in the case of pouring a screed, it will provide conditions for adhesion of the subfloor and the screed.
- Let the primer dry before you start pouring screed or wood flooring..
Floor options
The device of the floor on the loggia can differ not only in the structure of materials, but also in temperature parameters, so the floor can be cold, insulated, or maybe warm. It all depends on your desire and possibilities.
The options are listed below.
- Leveling the floor with a conventional cement screed without insulation.
- Leveling the floor with a cement screed with insulation (expanded clay, extruded polystyrene foam).
- Leveling the floor with a semi-dry cement screed without insulation.
- Leveling the floor with a semi-dry cement screed with insulation (expanded clay, extruded polystyrene foam).
- Leveling the floor with a dry cement screed with insulation (expanded clay, extruded polystyrene foam).
- Laying a wooden floor on logs with and without insulation.
- Laying a wooden floor with and without insulation, followed by laying OSB, linoleum, laminate.
- Laying OSB on extruded polystyrene foam without the use of lag.
- Laying ceramic tiles, linoleum, laminate on the screed.
- Arrangement of the "warm floor" system, and different heaters are used for this device, and the system itself can be both water and electric.
It makes no sense to consider each of the above options separately. We will consider the main positions, for example, if we consider pouring the screed, we will immediately consider installation, and laying ceramic tiles, and so on.
Cement screed device
Before deciding how to level the floor on the loggia with a screed, find out for yourself which floor screed will be easier for you to make - dry, semi-dry or regular.
We will not dwell on the description of each process in detail, since this is a separate topic, but we will consider only general provisions. Be that as it may, you will have to prime the floor and install beacons.
Beacon profiles are installed on a thick cement mortar using a level, and the quality of any of the three screeds will depend on the leveling of the beacons. An important point - if you will insulate the floor, then before installing the beacons, fill in expanded clay or install extruded polystyrene foam - it will be easier to install beacon profiles.
Let the beacons dry.
A conventional screed is made from a cement-sand mortar in a composition that depends on the brand of cement, that is, if cement is grade 400, then 4 parts of sand will be required for one part of cement (if you doubt the quality of cement, then make a solution of 1/3).
A semi-dry screed is prepared in the same way, only half as much water is added to it, but before adding water, the mixture must be very thoroughly mixed, and readiness can be determined by squeezing the mixture in a fist, like a snowball - if it holds, the mixture is ready.
The semi-dry mixture can be unloaded with a shovel and rammed, after which the excess is pulled together by the rule along the beacons - just like when tightening a conventional screed.
Both in a semi-dry and in a regular screed, irregularities and corrosion remain, which must be filled with a mixture and leveled with a grater or half a trowel. The screed will not crack if the next day after pouring or backfilling it is carefully rubbed with the same half-rubber.
Advice. Avoid too thin a mortar, as it will definitely crack when it dries.
The normal consistency of an ordinary screed will look like a rare mashed potato.
In addition, if you pour too rare a screed on an expanded clay pillow, the expanded clay will float up and interfere with work.
The installation of a dry screed looks completely different, as it is the installation of gypsum fiber or fiber cement boards. The slabs are laid on a leveled surface of expanded clay or extruded polystyrene foam and their joints are glued. The docking points must be fixed with self-tapping screws after 15-20 cm.
Advice. Expanded clay bedding must be at least 3 cm thick, otherwise the screed on the loggia will turn out to be cold.
Wooden floor installation
To install a wooden floor, you need to set the logs, and the thickness of the beam will depend on the height you need, since you can raise the floor on the loggia with the help of the log.
Of course, you can raise the floor with a screed, but imagine how much mortar is required for this!
Logs are placed directly on concrete, or on foil polyethylene foam, which you can lay as a heater.
In some cases, waterproofing is necessary for the floor - an ordinary dense cellophane film is suitable for this. Logs are set according to the level, usually along the loggia, since it is much more convenient to keep the shape of the floor by cutting the boards into short pieces.
It is necessary to lay or fill up the insulation after installing the log.
Advice. If the logs lie flat, then it is not necessary to screw them to the plate, but if they need to be screwed, and they are too thick, then screw pieces of a 50 × 50 mm beam to the floor near the log, and screw the log to it.
If you want to lay on top of the OSB, then the boards can be laid loosely, even leaving small gaps between them, but if you want to leave a plank floor, then you need to dress up to nail or screw one board along the edges of the loggia, and then lay all the boards without nailing them to the lags.
The last two boards must be squeezed in, setting them up with a house.
The step of the pipe under the screed will depend on the height of the screed or vice versa, since you can only make the floor on the loggia correctly according to preliminary calculations. So, the thermal radiation from the pipe rises, diverging at an angle of 45⁰, which means that the heat flows will intersect at a certain height, and it is at this height that the second screed should be poured.
Conclusion
We didn't cover floor finishing as that's a completely different topic, but now you know how to bring out a smooth and warm base for finishing later. That is, you already practically know how to make a floor on a loggia, although these instructions apply to any floor in a living room.
