Got talked into trying self-leveling underlayment on a sloped floor in Columbus and I'm sold now

I always thought self-leveling stuff was a gimmick for guys who couldn't handle a straight edge and some shims. Been doing commercial tile work for about 12 years and always just mudded out the low spots by hand. Last month I had a 2,400 square foot lobby in Columbus with a pretty bad slope near the elevator bank. My helper kept pushing me to try this brand of self-leveler he used on a side job. I finally caved just to shut him up. Poured it on Friday afternoon and came back Saturday morning and it was dead flat. No grinding, no patch work, just ready to tile. Saved me probably 6 hours of hand patching. Has anyone else had good luck with self-leveler on bigger commercial slabs or did I just get lucky with this batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinw4527d ago

Hang on. You poured it on a sloped floor and it actually leveled itself out that flat? I've heard guys swear by self-leveler but I always figured it was more for small residential bathroom floors where you need a quick fix. Not a 2,400 square foot lobby with a slope near an elevator bank. I'm trying to wrap my head around that, because I've had nothing but bad luck with any kind of pour-in-place compound on anything bigger than a closet. It always cracks or doesn't flow right. You saying you came back the next morning and it was just done, no trowel marks, no high spots to grind down? That's hard to believe. I might have to give it another shot if it can really handle that kind of square footage without issues.

alicesingh27d ago

You ever notice how the stuff that's supposed to be simple ends up being the hardest to trust? Like with self leveler, it's almost too good to be true when it works, but when it fails, it fails hard and leaves you with a mess. I think a lot of it comes down to the prep work and the product you pick, not just the size of the room. I've seen guys use the cheap stuff from the big box store and complain when it cracks, but the higher end blends designed for big commercial pours really do flow out like water if you mix it right and the subfloor is clean.

the_thomas13d ago

I've done three commercial jobs around that size with Mapei's Planipatch and the self-leveler they sell for large areas. The key is you gotta use the right primer first, not the cheap stuff, and actually let it dry fully before you pour. I mix it with a drill and paddle, not by hand, and I pour it in a continuous ribbon starting at the deepest part of the slope. It flows out smooth as glass if you do it right, and I didn't have to touch it with a trowel at all. What brand were you using when it cracked on you?