Floor Levelling Gone Wrong

Discussion in 'Getting Started FAQ' started by dankzy, Aug 1, 2021.

  1. dankzy

    dankzy New Member

    Help required!
    I Had a “Builder” remove and reinstate my living room floor due to historical subsidence

    The job was plagued with underestimation of materials including a shortage of concrete
    They tried to make this up with Self Levelling Compound - They called this latex and used BondIt LEVELMASTER STANDARD SELF-LEVELLING COMPOUND the manufactures guidelines as follows:

    "Pour the mix onto the subfloor within 20 minutes of mixing to a maximum thickness of 6mm. Use a flooring trowel or float to promote a smooth surface, feathering the edge as required. This product can be built up to 10 - 12mm in thin layers, ensuring that the previous layer has fully hardened / cured. Allow adequate ventilation during curing.”

    This clearly is the wrong product to use as some of the areas where concrete was missing were up to 40mm deep over about 11/2 sq m

    There were areas of the concrete that had not quite dried but was assured this would be ok. They used 10 bags of latex and again was clearly not enough to fill the voids left by the missing concrete and achieve a flat and level surface

    The first 10 bags of latex were mixed very wet leaving a large pool of water on the surface which took over a week to dry out and leaving a soft residue on the surface and a number of “blow holes” there was still a dip of 25mm in the middle of the floor.

    They agreed to add another layer of latex some 10 days later.
    Some of the soft residue was scrapped off before and a further 20 bags was applied.
    We were then away for a few days so the floor had plenty of time to dry out.
    As soon as I stepped onto the floor it began to crack and now there are hairline cracks across most of the floor and you can sometimes hear a crackling sound, there are also a number of large “blow holes across the floor at the bottom of the hole is a film which I assume is the primer.
    Using a laser level and staff it is clear that the floor is not level and in some places still up to 20mm shallow.
    I have emailed my concerns to the proprietor of the business (It is registered at companies house) and invited him to visit and inspect for himself.
    He has reluctantly agreed to this.
    My view is that the Latex should be removed back to the concrete level and made good with the correct product. Am I being pedantic and is there an alternative.
    I am concerned the initial layer is soft and will crumble.
    Any advice welcome.
     
  2. jonathanc

    jonathanc Guest

    Basically. You’ve done the right thing. Using a product like that outside of manufacturers instruction is bound to fail. 40mm short was enough to float another layer of concrete in I think
     
  3. Carola

    Carola New Member

    Hi may I ask if you floor was sloping and by how much. I may gave the same issue to sort.
     
  4. Sounds like they used the wrong product. Shame as you can get self levelling compounds that can be built upto those sort of depths. I only know this as I have four bags of it and four tubs of the liquid that goes with it as I am having a small area done soon
     
  5. dankzy

    dankzy New Member

    Hi Carola - It was sloping 40mm over 4 meters across the whole room - said to be historical subsidence (1960's house) also found the damp proof membrane was shredded and allowing damp to rise - so it needed doing.
    I've now spoken with the manufactures technical department who said this was absolutely the wrong product to use and it needs to be removed back to the concrete also would recommend at least 4 weeks for the concrete to cure sufficiently. Still waiting for the guy who owns the business to show up.
    Thanks for all replies
     
  6. jonathanc

    jonathanc Guest

    Let’s hope a polite chat with the builder will get them to realise the error they have made abs to agree to put it right

    given what you have said you can stand your ground.
     
  7. dankzy

    dankzy New Member

    Hi All
    Thanks for your replies finally got the business owner to visit and he agreed to remove existing "Latex" and reinstate with a product suitable for deeper fills. Just waiting for a start date
     

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