But how do you make sure that a single, large, contiguous area of concrete floor is completely flat and completely level? The answer is a Laser Screed Flooring.
What is Laser Screed Concrete Floor
In a small area of concrete all you need to make it flat and level are two pegs, a spirit level and some string but this is not possible over distances in excess of 10m.
A Laser Screed Flooring is a concrete floor that has been levelled by a machine that uses lasers to precisely scree the floor at the exact same height across the whole floor.
The laser acts as a very accurate and very long piece of string.
You can see in the diagram below that the system comprises two components, a laser transmitter and a levelling machine.
The laser transmitter is very similar to the laser system you see regularly being used on construction projects and public works. It transmits a laser beam across the area of the floor with exact precision.
The machine transmits the laser beam at a height of around 2m above the required surface of the floor.
The levelling system consists of a laser sensor, a vibration unit and a scraper plate.
The scraper plate is set at a fixed distance from the height of the laser sensor. The scraper is drawn across the freshly poured concrete levelling the surface with complete accuracy. The vibration unit follows behind making the concrete surface completely smooth.
There are two basic types of laser levelling machine; a two wheeled walk behind system like Hiking EV850-2S Mini laser screed, or a four wheeled, ride-on machine like the Somero S-485 laser screed.
Before the concrete is completely set it is normally to finish the surface with a dry shake finish.
Some of the advanced laser screed systems, for example the Somero SXP-D laser screed, incorporate a dry shake facility.
The advantages of a laser screed floor
- The completed floor is guaranteed to be completely flat and totally level.
- Very large areas of jointless concrete can be created much faster than with traditional methods. At Becosan we believe that areas in excess of 300m² can be laid per hour.
- Fewer people are involved in the laying of the floor.
- The possibility of errors in construction are much reduced.
- Because it is faster and requires fewer people the cost of laying the floor is much reduced.
- Because it is laid quickly the concrete has a greater structural integrity and the likelihood of cracks in the surface is much reduced.
How to make a laser screed floor perfect
Once installed a jointless laser screed concrete floor will be more attractive and harder wearing than a traditional jointed concrete floor.
However, it is still just concrete and particles of concrete can disaggregate and become dust. Also, the screed surface can absorb liquid and can stain.
Both of these problems can be eliminated through the use of the BECOSAN® Industrial floor system.
The BECOSAN System begins by polishing the floor to give a gloss finish. Then the BECOSAN® Concrete Densifier is applied to the floor. This binds the chemicals in the concrete to leave a harder surface which is resistant to wear and, hence, creates no dust.
After further polishing the BECOSAN® Concrete Sealer is applied. This makes the screed floor resistant to liquid spillage which is not absorbed and can be easily mopped up.
A screed concrete floor treated with the BECOSAN® System will last for very many years and will give a surface comparable to any marble floor and at a fraction of the cost.
