How to putty a wooden floor with your own hands

There are many mortars for leveling concrete and wood surfaces in apartments and private houses. Compositions for screeds and plaster can serve as a finishing layer, applied under flooring (eg parquet) or paint. Wood floor putty is intended for filling small cracks, crevices, and elimination of surface defects. Use it before creating the final coverage.

Varieties and features of wood floor putty

To choose a wood putty for your floor, you need to have an idea of ​​the types of mixes and their compatibility with different paints and coatings. What matters is the characteristics of the foundation you have to work with.

Acrylic

Such a putty for wood flooring is usually white, but you can find options for a pine or oak. After the composition has dried, the floor can be coated with a water-dispersible paint and varnish composition. The consistency of the mixture is similar to a thick paste, which makes it easier to spread and also allows you to monitor the thickness of the coating. The putty is also convenient in that you do not need to purchase a solvent for it. But in a cold environment, it becomes less plastic, therefore, in unheated rooms, work with it can only be carried out in the warm season. The mixture adheres well to the surface.

Solvent based

This is one of the fastest floor putty options. The composition includes cellulose ethers, resinous compounds, solvents and plasticizing additives. The putty is very strong, but has a strong odor and can be toxic. Sometimes wood dust is added to the composition. It is desirable that it be combined with the breed that served as the basis for the floor. It is also possible to add dyes to the mass. This is done immediately before using it. The solvent mixture is excellent for varnished floors. It dries quickly and does not shrink.

Oil

This floor putty contains fatty compounds, water and chalk. It serves for a long time, is distinguished by its water-repellent qualities. But it also has a drawback - it dries for a long time. The rich range of shades makes it possible to choose a product that matches the color of the floor. The mixtures are suitable for use in damp rooms, as well as for work on non-glazed terraces. They are sold in cans of different sizes (up to 15 kg). This is beneficial when you need to cover a large area of ​​uneven surface.

Polymer

This version of the composition for floor putty contains water and polymer compounds. The elastic mixture is almost not prone to shrinkage and evens out even the smallest cracks, while it does not tend to fall into the crevices. It is well suited for preparing the base for parquet flooring or solid board cladding.

There are materials with which polymer putty should not be used. This includes oak and cedar products, cork, and chestnut. On building materials made of these rocks, such a putty can stain over time.

Primary requirements

Plaster for leveling the floor from boards is used to prepare the surface for decorative coating and as part of surface cosmetic repairs. It is well suited for grouting joints and filling small cracks.

Regardless of the purpose for which the product is purchased, it must have a number of important qualities:

1. Good adhesion to wood, so that the coating will not swell or flake off;
2. Elasticity to ensure uniform distribution and filling of voids;
3. No foreign matter, especially abrasive particles that tend to scratch the floor.

If the mixture is used to work in a gazebo or other building that is not protected from external environmental factors, additional requirements are imposed on it. First of all, the composition must maintain its performance at subzero temperatures. It must also protect the surface from moisture impregnation, leading to putrefactive processes in the wood. The faster the composition dries, the better.

For the mixture used in a residential building, slightly different parameters are important. It must be environmentally friendly, not emitting compounds harmful to health during drying. It is also important to have antiseptic qualities that protect wood from microbes and parasites. The putty must be fire resistant. Different types of mixtures, designed for operation in certain conditions, contain different modifying additives responsible for obtaining the required properties.

Do-it-yourself putty on a wooden floor

First of all, you need to dismantle the rotten and rotten boards and install new ones in their place. Vacuum the surface, remove dirt. You can use a laser level to assess the floor. It is placed on the highest point, in places where the rays appear, pencil marks are made. They recognize the roughness indicator.

To work with putty, you will need to purchase an electric drill with a nozzle for preparing a mixture, a container for it, spatulas and brushes. The array should not have excess (more than 12%) moisture. Otherwise, the result of the work will be short-lived and the procedures will have to be repeated.

The application of the mixture can serve different purposes. This includes leveling the plane, preparing the surface for decorative coating, sealing small cracks and cracks. The algorithm of the work carried out is determined by the goals that need to be achieved.

Alignment

Before leveling the wood floor, it must be cleaned. Dust, wood dust, dirt, planted stains are removed. Also, the surface must be degreased. After that, you need to prepare the composition and apply it using a spatula. When the layer dries, it may shrink somewhat. When applying the mixture, it is important to keep this effect in mind and to ensure that the mass is above the plane. Then you can move on to sanding. For this, fine-grained sandpaper or a special machine can be used. If shells appear on the plane after all the procedures (which happens often), they are filled with the same mass. If there is a need, another layer is applied to the dried putty so that the plane becomes as even as possible.

If the homeowner wants to give the floor a particular shade, he can add color additives to the mixture. Often I do this when they plan to varnish the putty plane.

Under linoleum

To prepare the floor for linoleum, it is advisable to purchase a composition containing PVA. It's easy to make yourself. The cleaned floor plane must first be repaired. If there is a need, bending boards are attached to the logs. Then they act according to the following algorithm:

1. Wooden slats are nailed to the floorboards. They serve as alignment beacons.
2. The sawdust is moistened with water, squeezed and then mixed with glue. The mass should have the consistency of sour cream.
3. The mixture is filled in the gaps between the slats using a spatula. It is necessary to lay the composition in layers, since there is a possibility of shrinkage. The thickness of one portion is no more than a centimeter. The next one is laid out only after the previous one has dried.
4. When the final layer is laid out, alignment is carried out with the rule according to the slats.

Leave the floor to harden for at least two days. Then plywood sheets are fixed to the slats. After that, you can carry out the installation of linoleum.

Under the laminate

To level the wooden floor under the laminate with your own hands, you can nail the plywood sheets onto the battens. Usually the material is laid in two layers. You can fix it with self-tapping screws or simple nails. Another option is the installation of a log, between which a loose insulation is placed, and from above everything is covered with plywood. Putty of a wooden floor under a laminate is more often used to seal cracks, pits, small depressions in the plane.

A method with sawdust and PVA glue is also used, which is practiced when preparing a floor for linoleum.

Regardless of the leveling method, a roll-up underlay must be installed under the laminate.