Use of levellers: tips for producing smooth walls, floors and ceilings

In the con­struc­tion of new builds but even more so in build­ing renov­a­tion, lev­el­ling com­pounds are used for a large vari­ety of works on walls, floors and ceil­ings. Our expert gives tips on how to pro­ceed cor­rectly, select the right products and achieve per­fect res­ults. Spe­cial fillers or lev­el­lers can also be used to redefine the room design

Tip 1: Proper preparation is the key to success

Before start­ing any lev­el­ling work, it is essen­tial for both do-it-your­­selfers and pro­fes­sion­al crafts­men to prop­erly pre­pare the sub­strate in order to achieve a good bond between sub­strate and lev­el­ler and pro­duce a per­man­ently even sur­face. Drill holes must always be cleaned, for example by blow­ing or scrap­ing them out. In addi­tion, it is advis­able to moisten and/or prime the sub­strate before apply­ing the filler or lev­el­ler.

Tip 2: Carefully apply the levelling compound

Lev­el­ling com­pounds are avail­able either ready for use in tubes or as a powder for mix­ing. Powder lev­el­lers are mixed with a pre­defined amount of water before use. After that, they are applied and smoothed down with suit­able tools. If the com­pound shrinks dur­ing the dry­ing pro­cess, it is best to apply a second lay­er. If neces­sary, the sur­face can be fin­ished with sand­pa­per to achieve a par­tic­u­larly fine tex­ture.

Tip 3: Only use low-emission products

Regard­less of wheth­er a crafts­man or a DIY enthu­si­ast car­ries out the filling and lev­el­ling work on walls, floors and ceil­ings: all users should take care to choose the right products. For the bene­fit of health and safety at work and at home, we recom­mend using lev­el­ling com­pounds that do not con­tain solvents or plas­ti­cizers. This reduces product emis­sions to a min­im­um. Products car­ry­ing the EMICODE^® label of the GEV, the Ger­man Asso­ci­ation for the Con­trol of Emis­sions in Products for Floor­ing Install­a­tion, Adhes­ives and Build­ing Mater­i­als, under­go strict qual­ity tests that guar­an­tee product users and con­sumers the low­est pos­sible emis­sions. This also includes volat­ile organ­ic com­pounds (VOCs), which are harm­ful to human health. Man­u­fac­tur­ers must sub­ject their products to reg­u­lar, unan­nounced spot checks which are car­ried out by inde­pend­ent test­ing insti­tutes. They are not allowed to advert­ise their products with an EMICODE^® EC1 label that they acquired years ago.