Floor self levelling compound

[Casper]

Hi
My bathroom floor is not particularly level running out of true approximately 3mm. As most flooring covering manufacturers stress the importance of having a level floor I think that I need to use self levelling compound to achieve this. Can someone please recommend a brand to use as there are many out there but with wide ranging prices. I am not looking for a rapid set mix but one that gives a longish working time and ideally would like one that can be spread down to a feather edge as I do not want to increase the floor height anymore than necessary.
I have used BAL wall tile adhesive and see that they market level max but is 2-3 times more expensive than the cheaper brands. I only want to do it once so don't want to go cheap and regret it but also don't want to be ripped off. There are also some patches of vinyl tile adhesive left on the floor which is impossible to remove.

Thanks

 

[White Room]

How big in m2 is your floor ?

 

[Stef]

3mm?? Wish all floors were as flat as that.

 

[Casper]

Floor area is 6.5 sq m. Am I worrying unnecessarily about the flatness ?. It seems to have a high ridge down the middle and falls away to the walls.

 

[White Room]

On the high ridge part of the floor is there a rsj underneath ?

 

[Ajax123]

blimey.. 3mm is pretty flat. if it is out by 3mm over a 2m edge it meets SR1 which is the standard that most floor coverings require. My bathroom floor falls by nearly 20mm across the width of the door... its a bu**er going to the loo in the middle of the night...

 

[White Room]

blimey.. 3mm is pretty flat. if it is out by 3mm over a 2m edge it meets SR1 which is the standard that most floor coverings require. My bathroom floor falls by nearly 20mm across the width of the door... its a bu**er going to the loo in the middle of the night...

Especially if you've been on the liquid gold

 

[Casper]

No RSJ underneath the floor. If I put a straight edge across the floor it has ups and downs but no more than about 3mm. From your reactions it seems that maybe it is flat enough to lay vinyl or interlocking flooring without further preparation.

 

[White Room]

Ultra level2 goes down 2mm minimum , most adhesive will go up to 12mm some thicker.

 

[One Day]

No RSJ underneath the floor. If I put a straight edge across the floor it has ups and downs but no more than about 3mm. From your reactions it seems that maybe it is flat enough to lay vinyl or interlocking flooring without further preparation.

Definitely!

 

[Casper]

Many thanks for your replies, greatly appreciated.

 

[Casper]

Having checked my bathroom floor again I am still considering the self levelling compound option as the floor has some low spots of 5-6mm and not 3mm and have the following questions.
I am fitting a bath in one corner with side panels, do you use leveling compound all over the floor before fitting the bath or should the bath sit directly on the concrete floor.
The majority of self levelling compound manufacturers state that the final flooring must be fitted soon after it has dried, why is this ?
Cementone Cempolay Ultra Strong Self Levelling Floor Compound states that it can be used as the final wear surface, would this be a better bet for a bathroom as I still have to fit bath, sink and toilet.
I am probably going to fit cushioned vinyl type flooring, should this be fitted before or after the sink and toilet.

Thanks

 

[LM]

Any half decent levelling compound nowadays should have a cured strength of around 30Newtons which is basically like a road. You can set anything you like on top of them once they're cured, so don't worry about your sanitary ware, definitely level the floor first.
It does not matter how long you leave the leveller once cured before installing a floor covering, in fact the longer the better.
In regards to cushion floor vinyl, install your sanitary ware first. Do not set these on the cushion floor!
I take it you intend to have the cushion floor professionally fitted, as a DIYer won't have the skill level to cut this in around toilets and sink pedastils etc. It may also work out cheaper for you to have your floor layer to level the floor for you when you factor in the cost of a spiked roller etc. Hope this is of help

 

[Casper]

Thanks for your reply a great help and yes I shall have the flooring professionally fitted as there is no way that I could cut it straight

 

[Time's Ran Out]

30 Newtons - I know 2, both called Jack.

 

[One Day]

30 Newtons - I know 2, both called Jack.

I went to school with Kyle.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Does Olivia Newton John count as a half Newton - so only 26+ to go.

 

[WetSaw]

Isaac is the elephant in the room!

 

[gazmcd72]

But not as good as Wayne Newton

 

[WetSaw]

Newton Faulkner..

 

[Kyle Knowles]

Newton heath it's a lovely place

 

[Ajax123]

custard powder in water.... oh hang on... thats non newtonian.....

 

[Casper]

Have decided to use the Mapei Ultraplan renovation screed sold at Screwfix but cannot find any information on whether the cement floor screed has to be primed first. If so would BAL SBR primer be suitable as I have some left over after tiling.

 

[LM]

Yeah it'll be fine

 

[Casper]

Thanks Lee

 

[Casper]

One last silly question (hopefully). The levelling compound must be spread a minimum thickness of 2mm but how do you know the thickness you have put down. I thought of fixing something 2mm thick onto the highest part of the floor and ensure that this just gets covered with the mix.

 

[Spare Tool]

One last silly question (hopefully). The levelling compound must be spread a minimum thickness of 2mm but how do you know the thickness you have put down. I thought of fixing something 2mm thick onto the highest part of the floor and ensure that this just gets covered with the mix.

2mm spacer on your high point, come off that with a 400 level n stick however many 2 mil spacers together to give you your depths

 

[LM]

One last silly question (hopefully). The levelling compound must be spread a minimum thickness of 2mm but how do you know the thickness you have put down. I thought of fixing something 2mm thick onto the highest part of the floor and ensure that this just gets covered with the mix.

Casper another similar method is to insert screws at say 600mm intervals into the floor coming of the your desired finished substrate height using a level and simply fill the leveller up to the top of the screw heads which will all be level with each other, just avoid pipes!

 

[Spare Tool]

Casper another similar method is to insert screws at say 600mm intervals into the floor coming of the your desired finished substrate height using a level and simply fill the leveller up to the top of the screw heads which will all be level with each other, just avoid pipes!

SnC sub Lee

 

[peteablard]

if you were thinking of laying vinyl I'd personally go for a 2 part like Ardex NA. You get a much smoother finish than a water based fibre re enforced one