Hello there, I have the monstrous task of levelling out the entire downstairs area. The highest spot in the area is 2cm above the lowest. On the basis that the bed thickness will need to be 2cm and the bags are 25kg, I would need 1362.20kg of compound, which equates to approx. 55 bags. What I cannot equate is variations in the level, meaning that I may not need quite this much. Firstly, if the surface of the concrete is non-porous because originally tiles were laid down and stuck with bitumen or similar (which is still present), can I get away with not using a primer? Also, can I bulk it up with anything to reduce the number of bags required without ill-effect? How would you guys suggest taking into account variations in the height of the existing subfloor? How on earth do you mix and pour this quantity of material in the time you have before it goes off (30 minutes maximum?)? What kind of container would you need for this volume of material, I simply cannot compute 25 parts water per 100 parts weight of Unltraplan in real terms?
I had a client who enquired as to levelling his floor..., once he grasped the huge costs and the task involved., he was happy to have it smoothed instead... 7m X 7m (49m2)........, wouldn't smoothing be a better option?? (I'm in Evesham by the way)
Thank you for the reply. Not sure how you could get away with smoothing a floor which is 2cm out in places, particularly as it is for the whole of downstairs which includes the kitchen and we are putting down underfloor heating and laminate flooring? The laminate flooring will be continuous throughout downstairs without any threshold bars etc. Open to ideas but it needs to work in this scenario.
You shouldn't be putting that much laminate down without breaking the doorways, especially with ufh, asking for trouble that is
We are planning on using Howdens Professional fast fit v groove flooring which has a four sided v groove. The quick fit, push down laminate flooring system increases fit speed by up to 30%. The flooring can be laid one piece at a time rather than row by row. That combined with expansion gaps should be sufficient in case of problems in the future. At the end of the day, I have a multitool if worst comes to the worst.
You should check the maximum width and length you can lay that product. To level a floor like that will take constant flow of levelling compound with no way of it running away. One hole and it will all pour out from there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Can I suggest that he is hell bent on doing himself, his way and at the end of the day it's a D.I.Y. so he will be delighted with his result because it is HIS result. That or he will be calling one of you guys out to fix it!!
First of all, this has gone slightly off-topic as now you seem more concerned with the laminate flooring and putting in gaps between doorways. Secondly, I am open to suggestions but they do need to factor in the fact that we are laying underfloor heating mat and laminate flooring, and need a level floor for the kitchen units, so what choice do I have? I do have someone coming around tomorrow to check it out so I will hopefully have a better idea but I don't see a way around this. Am I missing something obvious considering the points I have raised?
I do appreciate this response, thank you. I had factored in that there must not be any holes for the material to run away but I don't really have a way of constant mixing/pouring so hopefully the chap coming around tomorrow does.
When we do that type of levelling we normally have 3 or 4 of us on the job to keep it going and plenty of buckets! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you bought one of these.. http://www.tradediscountshop.co.uk/shop/mixing-bucket-30l/ one of these.... http://www.tradediscountshop.co.uk/shop/vitrex-1400w-mixer-2-gears-variable-speed-240v-copy/ One of these... http://www.tradediscountshop.co.uk/shop/ragni-screed-trowel-14/ one of these... http://www.tradediscountshop.co.uk/shop/ragni-screed-trowel-14/ Liquid in bucket first then powder slowly as you mix it, tip it out then spread it with trowel then run over with spiked roller.... EASY...
49sqm isn't an overly large area, but mixing for that sort of area requires an assistant, a few tools, and a bit of preparation. You could hire a grinder to take down the high points, and possibly take off the bitumen, but trying to bulk out the low point will just get you into trouble. I don't think priming the bitumen will work, and you may need to put a layer of liquid dpm over it, and then throw on some kiln dried sand before it goes off; then you'd vacum off the excess sand before you start; but I'm sure you'll get some better advice from other guys. You'll need a mechanical mixer, and something like a wickes flexible mixing bucket, but if you try and do more than one bag at a time, you'll either break the bucket - or you back - trying to move it. You're assistant will mix, whilst you pour and spread, so 2 bucket on the go wouldn't be a bad idea. With Mapei Ultraplan, you'll use 4.5 litres per bag, so put a tide mark on a bucket, and that can be filling for the next mix. But as you're not using underfloor heating, you don't need a flexible/latex compound, or one that's so expensive. You can either start at the lowest point, and then add a second layer when you get to a point that's too high, or you start at the highest point, but risk running out of mix if you haven't got enough bags; then you'd need to feather in on the remix. Or just go for broke,and don't worry about anything. And you'll want spiked overlay shoes, and an 18" spiked roller as well.
