Gypsum floor mixes
Dry building mixes for floor construction occupy the third place in terms of production volume among all SSS.
The key difference between floors and ceilings and walls is that floors are much more often and to a greater extent exposed to mechanical loads, their operation takes place in constant interaction with external mechanical factors. Therefore, not only aesthetic, but also many technological requirements are imposed on dry floor mixes: they must be strong, wear-resistant, and able to reliably eliminate surface irregularities.
To date, the range of materials for floor construction extends from ordinary inexpensive screed to high-strength industrial polymer floors. The choice of floor mix depends on many factors: the operational purpose of the room, humidity, the approximate time of installation work, the relief of the base, the need to install a "underfloor heating" system, etc.
All floor materials can be divided into two large groups: screeds/levellers and self-levelling floors.
The first group is used for the initial leveling of the surface, it also creates the main volume of the coating, the layer between the base and the finished floor covering. Screed is used to eliminate differences in floor levels, when laying a "warm floor" it pipes or cables and evenly distributes heat over the surface, contributes to the heat and sound insulation of the room. Floor leveling screeds have a large aggregate fraction, which allows them to be applied in a thick layer, but creates difficulties with leveling the surface of the layer to a perfectly smooth state. If the screed is poorly executed, uneven shrinkage, cracking and other types of coating deformation are possible. Therefore, the process of laying the floor requires careful preparation of the substrate, the correct dosage of water and the mixture, the exact fulfillment of the conditions for curing the solution and its application. An important point in laying the floor is a reasonable choice of screed thickness.
The second large group of floor materials is self-leveling floors, which serve for the final leveling of surfaces (concrete and cement), the production of perfectly smooth and even surfaces for further decorative coating (parquet, tile, laminate, etc.) Self — leveling floors differ in operating conditions-for residential or industrial and commercial premises. As a binder, they use cement, gypsum or a mixture of both. Self-levelling floors based on gypsum binder differ in plasticity and ease of application, but are suitable for use only in dry rooms. Floors based on a mixture of cement and gypsum also have high plasticity and spreadability, easy and convenient application, as well as high strength and low consumption. In general, self-leveling floors have many advantages: reduction of labor costs, obtaining a perfectly flat surface, resistance to loads, long service life.