Currently, in the process of construction and repair work, self-leveling floors are very widely used.. They talk and write a lot about this. But not every homeowner can confidently say what kind of materials they are. Therefore, it is necessary to consider this issue in more detail..
First of all, it should be noted that self-leveling floors are produced in the form of leveling screeds and finishing polymer floors. And they are very often confused, despite the fact that these mixtures are fundamentally different both in their composition and in purpose. This point must be taken into account when telling myself to buy a self-leveling floor, because, without understanding, then you have to regret the considerable money spent uselessly.
The first type of self-leveling floors is dry sand-cement mixtures. In their composition, they contain special polymer additives. Their main area of application is the arrangement of leveling screeds or the repair of concrete floors. Self-leveling floors of this type cannot be called “final”, since they need to be covered with additional covering in the form of carpet, laminate, parquet, etc. Such mixtures can be used in residential and industrial premises, in offices, etc..
The next type is self-leveling polymer floors. Such materials are made on the basis of polymer binders (polyurethane, epoxy, etc.) applied to the surface by pouring. Such self-leveling floors are used to make the top «finishing» layer. As an advantage of this kind of materials, it is necessary to note their high wear resistance, durability. Polymer self-leveling floors can be colored. To give them additional decorative properties, chips or glitter (sparkles) are used.
The composition of polymer self-leveling floors can include various polymers, but the most popular at the moment are epoxy and polyurethane. Self-leveling floors with polyurethane additives are more practical because they have better elasticity and wear resistance. Self-leveling polymer floors are usually installed in rooms where floor coverings must be resistant to abrasion (offices, public places, commercial establishments, etc.). It should be borne in mind that such floors have a rather high cost..
