Self levelling over wet ufh system

[goz]

Hi guys, the job, 140m2 of Mapei renovation screed over profix 15mm ufh system. It was to big for me to lay by hand so got a firm in to pump it. They have done a top job getting spot on flat but after inspecting it 2 and half days after it was laid I found pretty much every where it had the milky soft residue on top, looks like too much water in the mix. What can I do from here to make it tileable?
Cheers

 

[One Day]

Sand it, vac it, prime it.
(in a nutshell!)

 

[LM]

As above!

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Too much water above 4.5l/25kg will reduce the strength of the screed and no doubt bring the fibres to the surface.
It may be as simple as above and without knowing the thickness covered it may be useless - it should have been left 'without needing any further attention' so a call to Mapei technical should provide the answer.

 

[hmtiling]

looked into getting a big area pumped myself but the guys i spoke couldn't regulate the water accurately enough with the equipment they had. big areas are much more doable,by hand, than you'd think.

 

[One Day]

It takes a considerable amount of excess water to really weaken the end result.
More often it's salts and fibre rising to the top.
Not ideal, but no panic (usually).
Call mapei to put your mind at ease though.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

It takes a considerable amount of excess water to really weaken the end result.
More often it's salts and fibre rising to the top.
Not ideal, but no panic (usually).
Call mapei to put your mind at ease though.

But that's the issue - it may not be just sand it ...... etc. The Op will not know how much water was used, so the strength of the screed could be compromised. From the picture it looks like a fairly thick layer of soft surface material to receive attention. The firm who pumped it should be responsible for the correct mix and to provide a finished surface in line with Mapei product specifications.

 

[goz]

Thanks for all replies guys. @timeless john os right , the layer that is milky and soft looks to be at least a few mm thick. The leveller was laid at 20mm thick on top of the profix , like an interlocking plastic base that the pipes sit in. Mainly the reason I didn't do by hand was because of this. I thought about sanding it but I'm worried it's just gonna be soft quite the way down, prob only got a few mm before we get to the pipe?
Will ring Mapei to make sure .

 

[One Day]

Aah - I didn't look at the pic too closely!
If it's more than say half a mm I'd want it checking.

 

[LM]

In a safe corner where there's deffo no pipes can you press a small screwdriver into the screed and if so by how far?

 

[goz]

I'm there on Monday so will look, just out of interest, if it's soft down into the body of the leveller, what is a remedy to tile this? Can you tile this?

 

[One Day]

I'm there on Monday so will look, just out of interest, if it's soft down into the body of the leveller, what is a remedy to tile this? Can you tile this?

I'd think the remedy would be legal recourse with the morons who pumped it in?

 

[widler]

Id get the heating on goz , let them pipes expand and contract a bit and see what the leveler does .
This is no way aimed at you goz, but a lad and a tradesman would of done it essy really . Its not as hard (as in capability rather than graft) as you think

 

[goz]

Id get the heating on goz , let them pipes expand and contract a bit and see what the leveler does .
This is no way aimed at you goz, but a lad and a tradesman would of done it essy really . Its not as hard (as in capability rather than graft) as you think

I have laid 100m in a few hours on a old screed before using pin leveller and spike roller and spike shoes, really enjoy it. A combination of this ufh system and lack of time and inclination on my part meant I passed it over to another flooring contractor. Plumber is there on Monday, will see if we can fire it up

 

[LM]

I'm there on Monday so will look, just out of interest, if it's soft down into the body of the leveller, what is a remedy to tile this? Can you tile this?

If you can press a small screwdriver in more than about 1 or 2 mill by Monday, get Mapei on board and they'll tear the screeding company a new one

 

[Dan]

What happened with this? I'm curious.

 

[goz]

Hi Dan, the company that laid the slc are going in today to take a look, the builder has said it's dried out in places but gone all chalky, still lots of places where the fibres have risen and are sat there all milky and slightly damp

 

[goz]

Update, flooring contractor contacted Mapei and had a good chat with their head guy. They ran through the whole procedure, established the correct amount of water was in the mix, 4.2 litres , in fact that's less than I do! It was confirmed a slump test was carried out on the first batch mixed which confirmed it was not too watery or too dry. Ran through everything and it was said the contractor is very thorough in what he does. The Mapei guy asked if there were any kinks in the hoses at any point, a job up in Bradford had the same problem. Turns out there may have been kinks at points , causing the fibres to gather at the kink then spit out intermittently causing the fibrous finish in parts of the floor. It was said that a light brush to remove the top should release any moisture left in the slc which the contractor has done. It was also said the strength of the leveller has not been compromised.
Thank god for that!

 

[Time's Ran Out]

So your covered then - soon ready to tile?

 

[goz]

Really hope so, contractor was really apologetic, said never happened before and that it had stressed him out as he likes things done right and proper. Will need a good prime, usually primer G everything, may use Tilemaster primer, really feel like that really seals everything well in case the floor is a little dustier than normal?

 

[Dan]

Always best to cover your back mate.