Contents
By leveling the walls with a layer of plaster, a good result can be achieved in the presence of support strips – beacons. The same strips are needed when you fill the screed. Then the floor is smooth, without drops. How to put beacons on the walls, under the screed and consider further.
Materials
- Screws or dowels (dowels – in a concrete and brick wall) of different lengths – from 40 mm to 80 mm. The set of screw lengths depends on the degree of curvature of the wall. Any metal color, but always with a flat hat.
- Phillips or regular screwdriver – depends on the set of screws.
Installing beacons on walls or under a screed does not require complex tools - Paint cord – for beating straight lines.
- Strong thin thread / cord / fishing line.
- Roulette.
- Level.
Everything will be easier if there is a plane builder, but if not, you can get by with the usual building level. Only its length is at least 1,5 meters, and preferably more. And it is desirable to check it so that there are no deviations in the testimony at all, or at least that they are minimal.
How to put beacons on the wall
It all starts with an assessment of wall drops. First you need to find the most protruding point. If you have a laser level or plane builder, you can use it. Set the beam parallel to the wall. And relative to this beam, look for the highest point on the wall.
If there is no laser device, we take a long rule or just a flat long bar (about 2 m long). We attach the building level to them with adhesive tape and with the help of such a device we determine where this most protruding part of the wall is located. This is how the verticality of the walls is evaluated.
But there are also humps and depressions in the longitudinal plane. They can be “revealed” with a fishing line stretched at some distance from the wall. It can be tied to nails or self-tapping screws driven into the wall. They are tied to them at the same level and they look where and how much the level deviates. Pass the entire plane, determining the most protruding point. At the same time, you evaluate the most “drowned” one.
What is it for? The most protruding point is found in order to use the minimum layer of plaster: here it will be minimal. Which layer will be next depends on the curvature of the walls. The “deepest” point is found in order to choose the right plaster. In the technical data of any composition, there are two important positions: the minimum layer and the maximum. You will need to choose so that your drop fits within these limits. For example, the well-known and popular Knauf Rotband plaster has a minimum layer of 5 mm, a maximum layer of 50 mm. If it suits you, you can use it (it is plaster).
Determining the number of beacon lines
The distance between the beacons depends on the tool with which you will “pull” the solution – the rule. The most convenient is 1,5 meters. This tool should rest on two beacons, but there should still be 15-20 cm left on each side to the edges. Therefore, when working with a rule of 1,5 m, beacons are placed at a distance of 110-120 cm.
The markup starts from one of the corners. 10-30 cm recede from it – whoever likes it, and whoever is comfortable. At this level, a mark is made with a pencil or marker. And then mark the lines with the selected step. The distance between the beacons does not have to be the same. On walls with door or window openings, it is mandatory to install plaster beacons on both sides, retreating all the same 10-30 cm. If the last gap remaining during division is larger than the size of the rule, it is divided in half.
According to the marked marks, we draw vertical lines – we will screw the screws along them. If there is a laser level, you can use it to set marks without drawing lines. If there is no level, the easiest way is to draw lines using a level – vertically up and down from the marked marks.
How to set beacons on self-tapping screws
The preparatory stage is over, the actual installation and placement of beacons for plaster walls begins. There are several ways, but the most popular is using screws or flathead screws.
Exhibiting self-tapping screws
Stepping back from the floor and ceiling 5-10 cm with a paint cord (lace in blue), we beat off two horizontal lines on the wall. At the intersection of the horizontals and extreme verticals (on which we will mount the beacons), we screw in the screws. It turns out there are only 4 of them: two at the top and two at the bottom. As long as their height is arbitrary.
Next, the height of the screwed screws must be set in the same plane. The consumption of material for plastering and how even the walls will be as a result depend on how accurately and correctly this will be done. That’s why we try to do everything as accurately as possible. The procedure is as follows:
- Based on your assessment of the curvature of the walls made earlier, unscrew or tighten one of the screws to the desired distance. Then, using a long level or a rule / bar with a level attached to them, set the second screw so that they are in the same plane. You can also use a laser level: it generates a plane parallel to the wall, take a screwdriver and mark the distance from the head of the already exposed first screw to the generated plane (it is visible on the screwdriver as a luminous dot). Set the other screw to the same distance relative to the mark.
The principle of setting screws under beacons - Similarly, we expose another pair of screws – top and bottom.
- At the intersections of horizontal and vertical lines on the wall (top and bottom), we also screw in self-tapping screws.
- Next, you need to set all the screwed intermediate screws in the same plane. If there is a plane builder, we do it with its help, if not, we will need a cord. We stretch the cord between the extreme exposed self-tapping screws, along it we expose the hats of the remaining stops. We carry out this operation at the top and bottom.
- Now, using the same method, we set the screws on each vertical line: we stretch the cord between the upper and lower ones, put the hats on the thread on one line, then repeat the same operation on the second. The distance between the screws on the vertical is 40-50 cm. Repeat with each vertical.
The field of how all the screws are set, for fidelity, check how correctly you did everything using the rule or a flat bar.
If the work was carried out without a plane builder, it may turn out that the stretched cord lies on a bulge on the wall. Then you have to reconfigure all the screws, starting with the first four. It’s very annoying, but it doesn’t take that long.
Installation of beacons
We dilute the composition that we will use for plastering, a little thicker than indicated on the package. Near the screws (it is also possible between them), slightly stepping aside, we apply small mortar cakes with a trowel. We take the beacon bar, press it into the solution to the right or left of the screws. The protrusion of the beacon should be flush with the head of the screws.
We take a rule / bar, with its help we set the lighthouse so that it is perfectly even. The metal on lighthouse slats is often not very thick and easily bent. That is why this verification is required.
Similarly, we expose all the beacons, after which we check that they are all in the same plane. Again we take an even bar, but this time we compare the installed lighthouse bars with each other. We correct if necessary. After everything is set evenly, leave everything until the solution dries out (the exact time depends on the solution). When it dries, you can begin to level the walls with plaster. Now you know how to put beacons under plaster on self-tapping screws.
There are special mounts for beacons that allow you to do the same job faster. In any case, the authors of the idea and the manufacturers of this fastener say so.
Beacons on self-tapping screws for screed
Basically, the process differs at the preparation stage – you need to determine the level of the screed and beat it off on the walls. When determining the thickness, it is worth remembering that the minimum layer of mortar on the floor must be at least 3 cm. Otherwise, it is likely that the concrete will begin to crack.
After you have decided on the level of the screed, put a mark on one of the walls. Then, using an electronic level (set to horizontal mode) or a water level, transfer the mark to all walls, connect them with lines. Next, self-tapping screws are installed at these marks, strings are tied to them and proceed to the installation and alignment of the screws on the floor.
The number of beacons for floor screed is determined in exactly the same way: based on the length of the rule: its length is minus 20-30 cm. Beacon strips are placed perpendicular to the wall in which the entrance doors are located.
After all the screws are installed and set in a single plane, piles of mortar are also placed near them. But not the one that will be used for the screed, but the one that sets faster – you can use the same plaster based on alabaster. Next, you need to set the beacons in the same way as for the walls: we press them to the caps, check the level.
A faster way to install screed beacons
To implement this method, it is necessary to have a level (electronic plane builder) and gypsum plaster (you can take Rotband or any other). Determining the thickness of the screed is similar. Only since there is a builder, there is no need to draw something on the walls. We put only one mark.
We lay out the lighthouse strips on the floor at a selected distance. Along the planks at a distance of about 20 cm from each other, we lay small cakes of gypsum mixture on the prepared floor. We put a beacon on top of them. Turn on the plane builder and expand the horizontal plane approximately at the level of your belt (it’s convenient to work). We take a flat bar, go to the place where there is a screed level mark, combine the lower end of the bar with this mark. Above we see a luminous trace from the plane created by the level, we make a mark on it. With this bar, it will be possible to set beacons at this level. We put the bar on the lighthouse, press it down until the level beam is aligned with the mark. Let’s move on. So we pass along the entire lighthouse bar. Using the same technology, we expose the rest of the beacons.
It turns out really faster, but there are two points. First, you need a level, and normal ones are pretty decent. The second is that there is no hard stop, which makes it easy to push the beacon lower than it should. You have to tear it off, align the piles, start again. While gaining experience, it will also take a lot of time. But the way is quite to itself, if you know how to work carefully.