Leveling the floor with plywood has gained immense popularity due to the simplicity of the work performed and the availability of materials. Alignment is especially popular wooden floor plywood 4 mm thick, since quite a lot is used to complete the work large sheets, installation of which is carried out quickly, efficiently and with virtually no waste.

This is not only durable and reliable, but also a moisture-resistant material that has undergone special treatment and is therefore used for installing floors in rooms with high humidity.

Before leveling the floor with plywood, you need to take care making the right choice the most suitable sheets. There are several ways to do the work yourself, and for each method choose plywood that meets certain requirements. For example, 4 mm sheets are in demand when laying several layers of the selected material while preparing the floor surface for installation of the finishing coating.

The thickness of the plywood sheets used to level the surface must match the thickness of the floor covering itself.

When thinking about how to level a wooden floor with plywood without the participation of specialists, you should pay attention to the choice of sheets, refusing to use chipboard. This is due to the fact that the chipboard will eventually repeat all the changes, and the prepared floor surface will not meet the requirements.

It is advisable to use materials without formaldehyde resins

One more important feature– brand of material. FC is plywood made without the use of phenol-formaldehyde resins. It does not pose a danger to the consumer and does not emit fumes harmful to the health of others.

It is successfully used as a material used to level the floor with plywood with your own hands. Such sheets are easy to cut, easy to install and process.

The rooms can be covered with a covering 10 cm thick

When choosing sheets for laying over a wooden floor in a residential area, you should pay attention to the markings that display all the features of plywood. For example, for work in rooms, you can use sheets whose thickness is at least 10 mm.

To assemble high-quality flooring, you can purchase second-grade sheets, characterized in that dents, cracks, and small knots or scratches can be found on their surface. The total percentage of damage does not exceed 5% of the entire surface of the canvas.

Another icon indicating the quality of plywood processing is NSh or Sh1, Sh2. It indicates the quality of the grinding performed:

• NSh – unsanded sheets;
• Ш1 – one-sided grinding;
• Ш2 – double-sided grinding.

The E1 or E2 icon indicates the emission class of free formaldehyde. According to experienced craftsmen, in order to level the floor with plywood, you need to purchase sheets of FK, Sh1, 2nd grade, class E1, choosing sheets whose thickness is from 10 to 12 mm.

Work order

When installing plywood on old joists, check their condition

There are several options for installing plywood sheets to get absolutely flat surface floor on which the finishing will be laid flooring. Dry leveling with plywood is necessary if 1 square meter differences in the height of the base exceeding 4 mm were detected.

Laminate, linoleum, parquet and even tiles can be used as such a covering. The order in which the work is performed depends only on the base on which the sheets need to be laid. To work on wooden floor Two methods are popular.

Leveling the floor with plywood along the joists is carried out not only during the construction of a new house, but also during repair work in an old building. To work, you will need not only a screwdriver and self-tapping screws, but also a level and a laser level.

After the old floor is dismantled, you will need to check the logs and, if necessary, replace them with new ones, setting them strictly to the level.

It is important to ensure that during installation only dry wood is used, so that there is a clearance under the joists for ventilation of at least 4 mm to the base of the floor. You need to take care of high-quality sound and heat insulation.

Features of the work

Fixation to the base is carried out using anchor bolts, having previously checked the horizon. If the old logs had to be completely removed, then new ones are installed at a new horizontal level. How to level the floor finishing coat, watch in this video:

Dry bars are used as new logs coniferous species tree. Another point that is of great importance is that the plywood sheets are laid and fixed in such a way that the edge of the sheet does not hang freely, but lies firmly on the joists.

It is important that the 4 sheets do not converge at one point

Laying is done so that the 4 corners of the four sheets do not meet at one point. This means that plywood is laid in a staggered manner. There is a gap of at least 2-3 mm between the panels; only self-tapping screws are used for fixation.

Starting installation from the middle of the room, we must not forget that the distance from the edge of the sheet to the wall should not be less than 2 cm. First, lay one strip from one wall of the room to the opposite one.

After this, taking into account everything said earlier, they begin laying the second strip. When purchasing self-tapping screws that will secure the leveling layer, you should choose their length correctly. To do this, you need to multiply the thickness of the plywood sheet by 4.

Leveling the floor with plywood without joists is possible in cases where differences in the base do not exceed 5 mm. The distance from the walls is at least 3 cm, the gap between the plates is at least 5 mm. This method allows you to tidy up your floor without installing a support beam.

Small differences are evened out by fine adjustments when fixing the plywood sheets to the floorboards.

Plywood will become an additional soundproofing layer

If necessary, the sheets are laid in several layers, and during this work it is worth taking care of the correct laying of the sheets. The intersection of 4 joining seams in one place is unacceptable.

Leveling a concrete floor with plywood received widespread thanks to the ability to equip additional thermal and noise insulation. All work is carried out after the construction of the logs, between which insulation will be laid. Before starting work, it is necessary to check the condition of the subfloor and eliminate any detected screed defects in the form of cracks, depressions, and bumps.

The cleaned surface is treated with a primer mixture and after it has dried, installation of waterproofing begins, on top of which the lathing is assembled and fastened.

After the entire structure is leveled, you can begin laying plywood sheets. We must not forget about the need to create deformation gaps from 5 to 10 mm. To learn how to level crooked floors with plywood, watch this video:

Their absence will lead to the fact that the new floor will soon go in waves. The distance between the screws is from 20 to 25 cm, the distance from the walls is 2-3 cm.

It is better to drill all holes in plywood sheets in advance. This will make installation easier and faster. It is equally important to take care of creating ventilation in the underground. To do this, even before fixing the baseboards, you need to drill holes in certain places that are covered with ventilation grilles. The main distinguishing feature of this leveling is the raising of the floor by only 3-5 cm, which has a slight effect on the height of the ceiling in the living room.

One of the repair operations quite often is leveling the floor, for which they use various materials, including: self-leveling and cement-sand screeds, concrete, plywood and other materials that make the coating even and smooth, providing not only beauty, but also convenience, strength, and durability.

One of the options for leveling the floor was the use of well-known plywood for this operation. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages, therefore, if you decide to level the floor with its help, you should familiarize yourself with the main characteristics of the product and its use.

Before leveling the floor with plywood, familiarize yourself with its features

The main advantages of this operation are considered to be:

• little time spent on installation;
• a fairly clean method that leaves a minimal amount of dust and debris;
• Particularly effective when installed on a wooden floor, since plywood is relatively light in weight and does not place a large load on the base;
• ease of installation, which does not require special skills or professional training.

As for the disadvantages of this material as a leveler, the following are noted among them:

• impossibility of using a “warm floor” system when installing;
• a negative reaction to high humidity, which leads to a decrease in the quality of the material itself and the work performed;
• the work requires material with a thickness of at least twenty-two centimeters, which leads to a significant increase in its cost;
• For wet rooms you will need a moisture-resistant product, which is not cheap.

The quality of waterproofing work will be of great importance, especially in rooms with high humidity.

Plywood is relatively inexpensive and in a simple way floor leveling

How to buy the right plywood for leveling the floor

Today's market building materials is replete with various offers, and their wide selection is not always a good thing, as it poses home handyman, especially if he has no experience or little practical skills, he is at a dead end: which plywood to choose, which material and manufacturer to give preference to?

• per variety;
• compound;
• sheet thickness;
• water resistance.

The choice of material must be approached carefully

Moreover, the last position may be decisive for many.

Available for sale large selection plywood, and you need to choose it correctly, and for this you need to familiarize yourself with the basic characteristics and properties of the material.

	Advantages	Flaws
	Eco-friendly Convenient for decorating residential premises	Susceptible to excess moisture
	Preferable when carrying out repairs and construction work in homes	Direct contact with water is not recommended
	High level of moisture resistance
	High level of resistance to chemically aggressive environments	In the system heated floors It is not advisable to use: when heated, harmful substances are released
	Used in the construction of light marine and river boats, due to special waterproof treatment	Not suitable for leveling floors
	Identical to BS	Water resistance is reduced compared to BS

Advice. When choosing plywood, you should pay attention to the direction of the fibers: length or width. This moment is taken into account when leveling the floor so that they lie against the main movement.

When laying, pay attention to the grain directions.

How to level a floor with plywood along joists with your own hands

You can level the floor with or without joists. To carry it out, you will need material with a thickness of at least ten millimeters, and the number of layers in it does not matter. In total, the thickness of the laid sheets should be from fifteen to eighteen millimeters.

Experts believe that laying the leveler over the joists is not difficult, so you can do it yourself.

Wood is used for joists and metal profile, it is clear that the metal is much stronger, but it is necessary to take into account at what temperature it will be used: temperature indicators are of direct importance.

In order for the installation to be carried out efficiently and effectively, it is necessary that they be identical on the joists and the leveler. Therefore, when using plywood the best material The lag will be wood, preferably coniferous. The highest quality is larch, but it is very expensive.

You can level the floor with or without joists

Before installation begins, it is necessary to carry out preparatory work.

1. Prepare required material for lag. These can be dry boards or timber at least two meters long. You need to buy them in advance and let them “rest” in the room where the logs will be installed.
2. Treat the wood with an antiseptic to avoid damage by insects and rodents, and with fire and bioprotection preparations.

The next step is to lay the black flooring along the joists. Moreover, they are not installed using screeds, but rather by fastening them on “backings” made from scraps of timber and boards, under which linoleum or roofing felt is laid. After this, a frame is formed into which the insulation and vapor barrier are laid, after which the direct laying of sheets of plywood, previously measured and cut to size, is carried out. the right sizes.

Plywood is an excellent option for leveling the floor

How to level a floor with plywood without joists

The advantages of leveling the floor with plywood along the joists are: there is no need to install a concrete screed, which saves money and time, as well as the simplicity and environmental friendliness of the method. It is possible to level the floor with plywood without joists, and experts say that this operation is not at all difficult. Sheets are secured in one of the following ways:

• gluing;
• regulation.

In the first case, you will need a special adhesive composition, which can be used if the floor has slight differences in height and there is a concrete screed, which must be completely dry by the time of leveling. This method is simple and does not require much time.

Regulation is considered a more complex method and is therefore used much less frequently. The plywood sheets, which are laid in two layers, are attached to wooden blocks, which requires time and care. But its use allows the structure to withstand significant loads, and the craftsman can later dismantle and replace the old floor covering without much hassle.

You can level the floor without lags either with glue or by adjustment

Do-it-yourself leveling of a wooden floor with plywood

If the room has a wooden floor, then the best way Leveling will be using plywood. The technology for installing such a coating is not very difficult, so you can do it yourself. The procedure for carrying it out is as follows:

• padding;
• production of screeds;
• priming;
• insulation;
• leveling a wooden floor with plywood.

Priming is a necessary procedure that allows you to get rid of cracks, chips, and level out the formed potholes. Otherwise, the coating will not last long and will begin to creak.

The screed, which is designed as a base for plywood, is made of concrete. After it has completely dried, priming is carried out, i.e. base primer. With this procedure:

• the surface of the base is cleaned, including from dust;
• the base is impregnated with a primer made from the same material with which the plywood will be attached to the screed.

Then the insulation is laid, and on it - sheets of plywood marked for installation.

Plywood is perfect for leveling wooden floors

About the preliminary preparation of plywood

In order for a leveled floor to last a long time, you need to properly prepare the leveler.

When purchasing, you need to make sure that the plywood is dry and not warped: it will be difficult to work with deformed sheets. It should not be stored under open air, and indoors at a temperature characteristic of the given place.

Before laying, the sheets must be marked and cut (sawed) accordingly, taking into account not only the size of the room, but also the laying features: corners, columns, pipes, etc.

Then they are laid out on the floor so that the master can make sure that all measurements and cuts were made correctly. At the same time, we must not forget about the necessary gaps between the sheets, and especially near the walls: the sheet should not be butted against the wall.

After cutting and fitting, they are numbered, which greatly facilitates installation and does not lead to confusion, and are removed. Installation is carried out in small sections, slowly and efficiently.

Before starting work, sheets need to be measured and cut

Plywood fastening methods

During leveling, the plywood may become fixed in various ways, determined by the requirements for the operation:

• sticking to concrete floor;
• stiletto heel adjustment;
• installation on a frame;
• wood floor covering;
• screwing sheets;
• gender regulation.

Plywood can be laid in different ways

Fastening plywood to adjustable studs

This method using anchor pins allows you to get rid of significant unevenness in the floor by adjusting the position of its surface. This happens as follows:

• using a drill, grooves are prepared, the depth of which is half the thickness of the sheet;
• a hole is drilled inside for a pin of smaller diameter;
• washers are inserted into the recesses;
• Marks are made for drilling holes in the floors, after which the sheet must be removed.

Anchor studs are fixed to the floor surface, with a screwed-in nut and washer, on which a prepared plywood sheet is laid and attached to the studs using nuts. The excess length of the anchors is removed with a grinder.

In this way you can get rid of significant unevenness in the floor.

Leveling a wooden floor with plywood over the sheathing

One of the methods for leveling a wooden floor with plywood is to install it over lathing. It is advisable to use it when preparing flooring for laminate; for this purpose the following is carried out:

• dismantling the old wooden covering on the joists;
• their inspection, replacement of those unsuitable for use;
• strengthening longitudinal beams with perimeter strapping and control of horizontal laying;
• installation of insulation and vapor barrier;
• plywood flooring with joints on the support.

Laying on the sheathing is done in strips. They are fastened in increments of twenty centimeters, taking into account the architectural features of the room, after which all irregularities are treated with putty.

Installing plywood on laths is a popular method of leveling the floor.

Leveling concrete screed with plywood

This type of alignment is not complicated, but it requires careful attention to the nuances of the operation, which can significantly affect the final result of the work.

To avoid problems with the flooring after completion of work, please note that before laying plywood on concrete base it is necessary to ensure that the base is completely dry or meets the humidity standards at which work can be carried out.

Experts have found a simple and effective way determining the humidity level on concrete covering: part of it is covered plastic film and after some time, usually after two or three days, if the humidity of the base is high, drops of moisture will appear on the film coating. This means that the temperature in the room will have to be raised, while avoiding increasing humidity.

Before leveling a concrete floor with plywood, make sure that the humidity in the room is low.

To protect plywood from moisture and exposure low temperatures, before installation it is usually treated with an antiseptic.

Attention! To secure the nuts after adjustment, they must be treated with a thread locker, which will increase the strength of the floor fastening.

Video: Leveling the floor with your own hands using plywood

Video: Leveling a crooked floor with plywood

Plywood is a rather demanding and capricious material. If you store it not quite correctly, then later it may simply bend. Craftsmen often think about how to straighten plywood so that it eventually acquires its original appearance.

Due to the fact that plywood is a very capricious material, it must be stored in a dry place, otherwise it may bend.

In order to level a plywood sheet, you will need to be patient and study the technology by which all the work should be done. If you decide to eliminate all the defects that have appeared, then you must act with extreme caution and vigilance.

Straightening technique

In fact, in order to end up with a straight plywood sheet, you need to resort to the same methods that are used to bend wood. To do this, the plywood sheet must be exposed to thermal effects at sufficiently high humidity. The thing is that wet wood becomes flexible, and thus it becomes possible to return the product to its original shape.

Initially prepare the sheet for further straightening. Mark the areas on the plywood that you would like to straighten. If you need to straighten a sheet that is quite large in size, you do not need to wet it entirely. Simply apply wet rags to the deformed areas and wait until the wood gets wet. This procedure must be repeated with reverse side products.

After the plywood is wet, it must be ironed using a regular iron. Once you have done this, you need to place the sheet on a flat and smooth surface, and place a weight on top of the plywood. As oppression, you need to use fairly heavy and massive objects. The plywood should remain in this state exactly until it dries.

If you expose plywood for a long time heat treatment, it will swell and begin to peel off.

If you need to straighten a small plywood piece, you must first steam it. Separately, it should be said that plywood should not be subjected to prolonged heat treatment. Otherwise, it will swell and begin to peel off. After the part has been steam-treated, it must be laid on a flat surface and a weight placed on the plywood. Here you need to understand that the thicker the plywood, the greater the weight of the load.

It happens that several sheets of plywood become deformed at once. In such a situation, the wood itself can act as oppression. To do this, you need to carry out all the procedures described above and lay the sheets in such a way that the places of deformation do not intersect with each other. Place a weight on the last sheet.

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Laying on the floor

This activity takes a lot of time and effort. But, of course, the coating must initially be laid correctly so that the service life of the plywood is not reduced, and also so that the floor has an attractive appearance.

In order for the plywood sheets to lie flat, they must be laid over a concrete screed or on a subfloor. Do not lay plywood on joists or bars that form the frame. Wood boards under can simply break.

To ensure that the plywood on the floor does not bend during installation and subsequently, it is better to lay it on concrete screed.

If the rough floor has a fairly flat surface and there are no differences of more than 2 cm, you can use a leveling mixture designed for self-leveling floors. It is quite easy to apply, it dries quickly and ultimately allows you to get a flat and smooth surface.

If there are differences of more than 2 cm on the floor surface, then it is worth using a concrete screed. To begin, place the beacons from the profile and fill them. After about a month, finally level the floor using a specialized mixture. After two days, you can begin leveling the floor using plywood sheets.

Plywood is attached using glue, which is suitable for installing veneer. If you plan to lay a floor covering on a wood-laminated board or install additional finishing from a different material, then you should use self-tapping screws for fastening.

Remember that the gap between the sheets must be at least 2 cm. This is necessary so that in the future the sheets do not come into contact with each other. Indeed, in such a situation, you will hear an unpleasant squeak, and, therefore, you will have to carry out all the installation work again.

To prevent mold from forming on the plywood, it must be treated with an antiseptic before laying.

It must be said that when the plywood gets wet, mold may appear. In order to prevent such unpleasant consequences, after you complete all the work, the plywood must be primed and treated with an antiseptic.

Only you can decide what the flooring will be like. You may prefer, for example, laminate or parquet board. Plywood can be used without additional floor covering.

If you decide not to cover anything plywood sheets, then it is necessary to treat them with drying oil in a double layer, and then paint them with paint intended for the floor. There are no special differences between plywood and wooden boards. The only one distinctive feature is the cost - plywood is many times cheaper than wood covering.

Many home craftsmen who decided to build a home with their own hands or simply started major renovation, on at a certain stage workers are faced with the problem of uneven floors. In fact, leveling a concrete base turns out to be much easier than it might seem at first glance. And the most obvious option is to use plywood for this.

From this article you will learn how to level a laminate floor with plywood.

The photo shows a floor with laid plywood sheets.

About leveling floors

An uneven base means, first of all, creaking, deformation and destruction of the integrity of the floor covering, and therefore a significant reduction in its service life. Therefore, floor repairs must begin with leveling it.

Any, even the most durable floor covering, needs a quality base. The most expensive parquet or the most quality laminate will not meet the stated characteristics if it is laid on an unprepared base. Therefore, many home craftsmen are interested in the question: “How to level floors with plywood?”

Today, this method of leveling the floor surface is the most accessible and popular, allowing short terms create quality foundation for final coating. An alternative this method is a concrete screed, but this process is longer, and the price of such work will be slightly higher.

Types of floor leveling

You should use one of two main methods for carrying out such work.

And if you know how to line walls with plywood, you won’t find anything new here:

1. If we are talking about relatively flat wooden covering, then you just need to screw the plywood sheets to it using screws. Do not forget to make sure that the plank floor is strong enough before doing this. Plywood must be at least 10 mm thick.
2. Another option is a floor on joists. It is more labor-intensive to work with, but also more thorough, and unlike the previous method, it allows you to achieve a perfectly even floor, preparing the base for laying any type of covering.
   On such a base the following can be laid:
   
   • carpet,
   • parquet,
   • linoleum, (see also)
   • laminate,
   • tile,
   • as well as any other material.

Preparing for work

1. Before starting work, it is necessary to thoroughly prepare the base. Concrete is a material that is characterized by high humidity, so before starting work, be sure to make sure that the humidity level in the room does not exceed acceptable standards. In addition, be sure to clean the surface from dust and dirt.

Advice!
To test the concrete base for dryness, you can cover a small area with plastic wrap, pressing it down around the edges with something heavy.
After three days you need to check inner side polyethylene - if condensation appears on its surface, this indicates high humidity grounds.

1. In order to avoid damage to plywood sheets under the influence of low temperatures and moisture, you should coat them with an antiseptic, which will help prevent the appearance of fungus and mold.

Material selection

If you don’t know which plywood to use to level the floor, then you should pay attention to plywood sheets of the 4th category. They are more affordable in terms of cost, and they are processed special compounds, protecting against moisture and pests.

There is also a material that differs more high quality. It has no chips, defects or knots, so it can be successfully used for final coatings (for example, final wooden floors).

If you have old plywood sheets, then you can also use them, since leveling the plywood is not difficult - just put it under the press.

We carry out installation

In practice, leveling a floor is as easy as leveling plywood walls.

To do this you will need the following tools:

• Screwdriver.
• Hammer.
• Hammer.
• Roulette (from 3 meters).
• Jigsaw.
• Liquid or laser level.

The installation instructions include the following steps:

1. Prepare the base as described above. Clean the concrete screed from dust and dirt, drying thoroughly.
2. Using a level, you need to mark the boundary of the floor. Do this throughout the room.
3. Prepare the logs. Joists can be purchased at any building supply store. Optimal parameters The logs are 40 by 100 mm in cross section.

Advice!
When choosing logs, make sure that they are well dried.

1. Prepare gaskets for joists. This wooden planks about 15 cm wide, 20 cm long and 2.5 cm thick.
2. We lay the lags across sunlight in increments of 40-50 cm.

Advice!
You can lay slabs between the joists thermal insulation material.
This way you will not only insulate, but also soundproof your floor.

1. Do not lay joists close to walls. It is necessary to leave 2-3 cm of clearance in order to avoid deformation of the material due to seasonal changes.
2. During the installation process, make sure that the joists correspond to the pre-marked floor height. In uneven places, adjust their height by placing wooden wedges.

1. After the logs have been laid, you can begin laying the cross beams.
2. The sheathing is ready. Now you can start attaching the plywood to the floor. The sheets should be dried in advance if they were brought from the street, and then cut into 75 by 75 cm squares using a jigsaw (see also article) Screw such squares to the joists so that there is a small gap between them (2-4 cm). Otherwise, the floor may begin to creak over time.

Conclusion

This method floor leveling is very effective and economically beneficial. (see also) In addition, it is easy to perform, and any master will not have difficulty following all the steps of the simple instructions.

In the video presented in this article you will find additional information on this topic.

Similar materials

While making a product that contains plywood, I was faced with the fact that from long and improper storage she was “led.” Yes, it was so thorough that a sheet of plywood can be used instead propeller. The photo shows a blank cut from the straightest part of the sheet, and then, I think, everything becomes clear to everyone.

After wandering around the vastness of the network, it was decided to try to level the plywood blank.

So, we will need:

• Water;
• Rag;
• Iron;
• Oppression.

First, we need to find a flat surface sufficient to accommodate our workpiece size. Take a wet rag and wet the bends with it.

The water will be readily absorbed, so you need to be careful not to overdo it. Otherwise, the plywood may delaminate. Let the rag sit for a while and repeat this procedure on the reverse side. When the plywood is a little saturated, we take a heated iron in our hands and boldly begin to warm up the soaked areas. In theory, heat and water make the plywood pliable.

Having steamed the sheet in this way, place it on a flat surface under pressure. I used buckets of water and a homemade weight as pressure. We leave our patient in this state until he dries. In my case - at night.

In the morning my sheet looks like this:

In principle, this result should be enough for me. If it is necessary to obtain an even more even surface, then these operations can be repeated by increasing their intensity (I was cautious due to inexperience). And then everything should work out for you.