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Took me 3 tries to finally believe in self-leveling compound
I was fixing up a small bathroom in my house near Nashville last spring and the floor had a dip of about a quarter inch across six feet. My buddy kept telling me to just use self-leveling compound instead of shimming the whole subfloor. I figured it was just fancy thin-set and would crack like crazy. Finally gave in after watching a video of a guy pour a whole basement slab smooth. Mixed up a bag from Home Depot for like $30 and spread it out. That stuff actually leveled itself out perfectly with barely any work from me. Now I'm wondering if there's any trick to getting it even flatter or if I just got lucky with the mix consistency.
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patricia_rodriguez1d ago
Did you let it sit a full 24 hours before the next pour?
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green.jessica1d ago
Ha, @patricia_rodriguez you're asking if I let it sit 24 hours? I was way too impatient for that, I barely gave it 6 before I started walking on it like an idiot lol. But honestly, the mix consistency is the real trick, I think I got lucky because I followed the directions way too literally and it turned out like a milkshake instead of pancake batter. If you want it flatter, don't mess with the water ratio, just make sure it's spread fast before it starts setting up like concrete. I learned that the hard way on my second batch when it turned into a lumpy mess halfway across the floor. Also, prime the floor first or it'll soak into the wood and leave weird patches, trust me on that one.
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