Leveling Compounds

[DHTiling]

Brief description on the use of leveling compounds......dave....

Leveling compounds are ideal for smoothing out a subfloor prior to installing floor tiles.
Leveling compounds are cement based and are easy to apply. They will adhere well to both concrete and wood surfaces.

To ensure that the floor surface is level and rigid, a leveling compound may be needed, The leveling compound can be added to the floor to adjust for any dips in the subfloor.
The subfloor should be clean and dust free, prior to applying a leveling compound to your subfloor. If it is not, you may get a poor bond between the leveling compound and the subfloor.

Use the straight edge, to check how much leveling compound you will need, by running it over the surface of the subfloor to see how flat it is.
Note that leveling compounds set quickly. it is best to mix up small batches at a time.Start with your lowest points first and infill to get a nice level floor..

 

[Wylie]

once the leveling compound has set can the tiles be layed or will you weight
till its dry?
Stephen

 

[Gazzer]

You have to wait until its dry. This can be different times depending on manufacturer

 

[DHTiling]

once the leveling compound has set can the tiles be layed or will you weight
till its dry?
Stephen

Most are usually the next day.........i do anyway.....

 

[sWe]

once the leveling compound has set can the tiles be layed or will you weight
till its dry?
Stephen

It varies between manufacturers... Many products are ok to tile onto after 24-48h, depending on layer thickness, but some require a full week or more to cure and dry out properly. You can compensate for that by chosing products which suit your time frames.

Bear in mind, that if you use a leveling compound which is tileable after 24h, it'll still need to dry out fully before you can waterproof it, unless you use a waterproofing compund which allows for vapor diffusion (the type you use on surfaces with rising damp).

Always read the specs and guidelines the manufacturer prints on the bags.

For additional pointers on SLC, check out my guides thread (link in my signature).

 

[mike111]

Need advice, stripped back some laminate flooring before laying tiles only to find that where the patio doors are there is about a six inch strip the length of the doors that is damp and also needs to be self levelled to a depth of 10mm.
Is there a slc that has waterproofing in it , any advice please,Mike.

 

[White Room]

I'd want to find where the damp is coming from just in case when the tiles are laid it returns

 

[mike111]

The area was a window, then was replaced with patiodoors, so i think the dampcourse on the bricks has gone, need to find a solution,thanks mike.

 

[chrisroe]

chemical dpm perhaps

 

[mike111]

could i use before slc or after,mike

 

[davy_G]

how much are you chaps paying for slc?

I can get a bag of ardex low amonia latex for about 50 quid
I can get a bag of Technik (stinking) latex for a tenner plus vat.

The technik stuff is not as good as the Ardex but then at 40 quid cheeper i make do.

What you chaps paying?

I have used the gear you mix with water at about 25 quid a bag but in my opinion its not as good as the gear mixed with latex.

 

[graham31]

Am i right in thinking that with SLC you pour onto the floor and it will find it's own level or is their some spreading involved?

Never used the stuff before surprisingly

 

[pt44]

CTD - do dunlop slc for around £12 per bag. Mixed with water. (I thought that it still contained latex - but maybe I'm wrong in that thought). Works well enough, though will only do 20mm max according to the packet.

Also takes a couple of days to dry if its at least 1cm thick.


Paul

 

[tripstation]

Is it OK to pour self leveling compound over wire uhf on insulation boards?

 

[faithhealer]

Sure is, Not only protects the wires whilst tiling, but because you can trowel properly (ie apply pressure) there is more chance of your floor being flat. (A continuity check on your UFH wires every now and again gives peace of mind knowing that the wires haven't been damaged)
good luck with your project.

 

[pjtiler]

only latex 2 part

 

[wayne]

mapei fiberplan can be used on ufh. its water based as well

 

[Spud]

Am i right in thinking that with SLC you pour onto the floor and it will find it's own level or is their some spreading involved?

Never used the stuff before surprisingly

it doesnt find its own level unless you stop up any where it can run away this normally means damming areas with sand and mixing up enough self leveller to rise above the high spots it is a very expensive way of levelling floors only works really well if there are hollows in the floors as opposed to bumps which must be ground out to achieve a really good finish imo

 

[cjp1]

Stopgap 300 waterbased is about as good as you will get for a self smoothing screed in my opinion,at about £18 to £20 a bag. A 25kg bag will do approx 4 - 5 m2. I prime the sub floor with a suitable primer (stopgap 121), let the primer fully dry, mix the powder with 5.5 to 5.75 litres of cold water pour the mix onto the subfloor direct the compound with a trowel and roll it with a spiked roller if you wish.
It will normally be dry enough to walk on in 4 - 6 hours and is usually ready to lay on the following day (providing conditions are good).
I have been using this for some time for fitting karndean, Amtico and various hard floorcoverings and have used it on quite a few tiled floors now with good results.

Cheers Chris.

 

[quackfly]

if a poor floor has to be leveled either with boards or self leveling, thus raising the finish level of the tiled floor, how can a 'trip' be avoided when entering the room?:dizzy2:

 

[poynton phil]

Stopgap 300 waterbased is about as good as you will get for a self smoothing screed in my opinion,at about £18 to £20 a bag. A 25kg bag will do approx 4 - 5 m2. I prime the sub floor with a suitable primer (stopgap 121), let the primer fully dry, mix the powder with 5.5 to 5.75 litres of cold water pour the mix onto the subfloor direct the compound with a trowel and roll it with a spiked roller if you wish.
It will normally be dry enough to walk on in 4 - 6 hours and is usually ready to lay on the following day (providing conditions are good).
I have been using this for some time for fitting karndean, Amtico and various hard floorcoverings and have used it on quite a few tiled floors now with good results.

Cheers Chris.

does the spiked roller give you a good finish, as when i trowel it out, i never seem to get a really smooth finish.

 

[cjp1]

The spiked roller should give a perfectly smooth finish to water based smoothing compounds when applied to a sub floor that has been primed,
providing you have mixed the powder with the correct amount of water and you have applied enough to the floor.
After you spread the compound with a trowel or a gauging rake use the spiked roller to remove trowel marks and even out the finish.
Cheers Chris.

 

[atlantistiling]

Biggest thing to remember with levelling compounds, make sure they are mixed well and use a SPIKE ROLLER!

Tiler Tiling Exeter Devon Tilers Amtico and Karndean fitter

 

[jay]

hi guys and gals be sure leveling is done prior to w/p in wet areas because most dont like water and do crazy stuff if wet unless you can find a leveling comp suitable for outdoors normally twice the price:smilewinkgrin:

 

[masonchat]

k think i made a big boob , first time using leveling compound,
followed the instructions on the bag mixed to a creamy paste and throweled it on.

now see i was thinkin throweling it on was ment the same as how you trowel on addy .

so i know ive most lively had it too dry, especially as it really made no attempt to self level.

im not worried about the level as i just wanted to bring the floor up a bit to save on addy.

but my real concern is will it stick to the floor and stay stuck, if it has been put on a bit to dry.

i did dampen the floor as i was going , but i did notice some little hair line cracks when i was leaving as if drying out too fast , any advise much appreciated

 

[DHTiling]

mmmm...how thick did you put it...and how thick does it say to go on the bag...?

 

[cjp1]

When I use stopgap 300 I mix it with 5.75 litres of water exactly, I always prime the subfloor with either stopgap 121 or uzin primer.
You can put on between 3 and 20mm stopgap 300 at a time using either a good trowel or a gauging rake then finish with a spiked roller if you wish.
I nearly always put the screed on with a big floating trowel and dont bother with the spiked roller and always get a good finish.I fit a lot of karndean and amtico so the finish screed needs to be near perfect to get a good end result.

Cheers Chris

 

[masonchat]

not very thick 3mm there abouts

 

[masonchat]

and bags says 1-3 mm

 

[DHTiling]

3mm is within what you can cope with by using a deep bed trowel...

If it has cracked then it needs to come up....

 

[masonchat]

oh lovely this job is turning into nightmare on elm st , the instructions on the bag were as clear as the muck it produced , thanks anyway dave