Just go for it: DIY levelling work with health-friendly products

In the con­struc­tion of new builds but above all in build­ing renov­a­tion, hardly any trade can do without filling or lev­el­ling products. The smooth com­pounds can also be used for dec­or­at­ive pur­poses. They are avail­able either ready to use in tubes or as a powder for mix­ing. To pro­tect the health of both product users and res­id­ents, it is import­ant to use products that fea­ture the low­est pos­sible emis­sions.

Lev­el­ling com­pounds are used all around the house – inside and out­side. Pro­fes­sion­al crafts­men appre­ci­ate their ver­sat­ile use, for example when fix­ing thermal insu­la­tion com­pos­ite sys­tems (ETICS) to exter­i­or walls, or for interi­or fin­ish­ing work when installing plas­ter­boards or gypsum fiber­boards. For do-it-your­­selfers, fillers or lev­el­lers are an indis­pens­able help­er, espe­cially when car­ry­ing out minor touch-up work or even major repairs. Wheth­er for filling drill holes or stress cracks in the floor, for patch­ing up plaster dam­age on walls and ceil­ings, or for repair­ing defect­ive joints and uneven floor areas: there is always some­thing that needs filling or smooth­ing in the house.

Import­ant to know for DIY enthu­si­asts, a mat­ter of course for pro­fes­sion­al crafts­men: Do not for­get the neces­sary pre­par­at­ory work before apply­ing a filler or lev­el­ler. Drill holes should always be cleaned, for example by blow­ing or scrap­ing them out. It is also advis­able to moisten and/or prime the sub­strate before apply­ing the filler/leveller. After that, the com­pound can be applied and smoothed down. If the com­pound shrinks dur­ing the dry­ing pro­cess, it is best to apply anoth­er lay­er. If neces­sary, it may be advis­able to fin­ish the sur­face with sand­pa­per to achieve a par­tic­u­larly fine tex­ture.

Lev­el­ling com­pounds can also be used to pro­duce dec­or­at­ively designed walls. This spe­cial applic­a­tion is usu­ally known as Vene­tian plaster fin­ish. Spec­tac­u­lar effects can be achieved with the help of lev­el­lers and col­ors, sup­ple­men­ted by accessor­ies such as dif­fer­ent types of spat­u­las and trow­els to pro­duce the desired effect. Marbled wall sur­faces in bold col­ors are quite pop­u­lar these days. Oth­er fancy designs that can be cre­ated with the help of lev­el­ling com­pounds imit­ate the look of con­crete or wood. For less exper­i­enced DIY­ers, some man­u­fac­tur­ers offer tri­al sets that allow you to test your skills in a side room.