Hi All Been following the site for about a month now and there have been some absolute gems of information being passed around. Brilliant Now my call for help..... I am about to lay a leveling compound to take up inconsistencies in an existing concrete slab of between 25mm to 2mm. I've brought a 25kg bag of Cempolatax a Cementone product but the instructions leave a lot to be desired. I've contacted Cementone and got the necessary info sheet but its very light on how to actually go about it. Their web site has been down for two weeks so no luck there either. I'm a DIYer who is pretty competent so I do most things myself. Has anyone used this product or something similar. I need a blow by blow account of what to expect? Typically, I'm using 5kg cempolatex + 25kg sharp sand to fill the deeper patches (most of it). Will I need to build a dam to retain the liquid, will it be liquid? It can also be used on timber floors so what hold the liquid back ? Arrrggg all these questions are going around and around in my head....... Any help will be appreciated
Hello Buzzzz Are you a woman? It makes no difference - You need a laser level a witness pole and a hammer drill plus rawl plugs and screws. Stand the witness pole in front of the laser level and mark the pole with a pencil. Position the laser level at the obvious highest point of the floor set the beam and then drill the floor at regular intervals inserting a plug and a screw. Stand your witness pole on the screw head and screw it down until the lines meet. When you have finished the floor will have lots of screws sticking up that will or should be totally level and this is the level to which you must aspire to. Dont think you can do it in one if it is greater than 20mm because it will never dry - Do it in thinner layers and let each layer dry and your floor will be solid and above all level. Good Luck Charlie
Thanks for the reply Charlie No, are you? The instructions do allow you to fill down to a depth of 25mm by using a combination a sharp sand and cempolatex. I don't have a problem with getting the correct level, this is set by the floor levels on either side. One side new the other side existing, both timber floors with a strip of concrete separating them. I need to level the concrete bit. What I want to know is if the compound will be runny ie when I mix and pour it will it run all over the place, do I need to build some sort of reservoir to dam the liquid until it sets? The instructions refer to troweling the surface so I assume it'll be more solid than liquid, sort of runny egg white. and now for some light relief (needs a sound card) http://www.mytravelcircle.com/store/HorseRace.mp3
I must admit I've never heard of anyone adding sand to a self levelling product, since the whole point of the stuf is that it flows. However, if it says so on the pack then carry on. You would be very well advised to follow Charlies tip re the screws, since ideally if your floor needs that kind of building up, you should do, for example 22mm or so working to the bottom of the screw heads, then mix up a runny mix, (which is the way self levelling should be) and pour this, starting in a corner, up to the top of the screw heads and trowelling gently to remove any slight undulations. Self levelling compound is terrific stuff, but one minor point. It's not a flooring grade material, i.e. something else has to go on top (but I'm sure you knew that anyway). cheers, pete
The first message mentioned that this could be used on wooden floors, obviously any holes would need to be filled first. but thought that this stuff was ok in compression but could not take any tension so how will it flex without breaking up and crumbling on top of a wooden floor. my problem is an out of level wooden floor that want to level up before putting in a 3/4" strip wooden floor. is this correct
yep...cant use levelling compound on a wooden floor cuz it will crack...only meant for concrete floors/screeds if you need to level a timber floor then you will have to consider packing (firring) strips on the joists...very tricky to do successfully as each joist will need to have different thicknesses and gradient of firring strip
There is a floor leveler called Feather edge it is used for timber floors. There are fibers in it that stop it from cracking. First deck it in mm ply then apply feather edge i don't think you should apply it any thicker than approx mm. But you can build it up in layers. You will only be able to buy it from flooring suppliers i think approx £30 bag 10 kg i think
OK laid the floor but the Fact Sheet I got from Cementone was incorrect. Ratios where 25kg Cempolatex + 5l water + 25kg Cempolatex not 5 + 5 + 25. Had to lift the whole lot and relay it. I'm pretty ****** off and am busy writing a very long rude letter. With the correct ratios (using the sharp sand to make a filling compound) there was still quite a bit of flow, I finished off with a standard mix for leveling which consisted of only cempolatex and water. You can actually fill up to 100mm using gravel. It will also work on ply or t+g flooring Thanks for all the advise
I think cempolay is not flexible when you increase depth and add sand. I was levelling old wooden floorboards by packing out the dips then put plywood on top. But I was thinking it would be so much easier to just put some sort of screed on. But I don't think such a product exists? If you want it to be flexible and accept tiles...
to level a wooden floor use a flexible floor tile adhesive , it aint self levelling but can be screeded to the level between fixed level points and wont crack
Think any extra advice has come a few years too late for buzzz as he posted this in 2003.almost 5 yrs ago.
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