Advice on levelling a concrete kitchen floor...

[Nige]

My (concrete) kitchen floor is both uneven and requires levelling due to subsidence many years ago. It drops by as much as 5-6cm at its worst - though it is still very solid and neither powdery or cracked.

As I'm just about to install a new fitted kitchen, this seems like the best time to do something about it - trouble is, all the screeds and floor levelling compounds I've looked at only seem to suitable for use at depths of a few millmetres. Can anybody recommend anything that could be laid up to several centimetres thick?

Previously when I've encountered this kind of problem, I've opted to have floors asphalted as this is self-levelling, completely damp proof and (once the smell has gone!) provides a very durable surface, ideal for most types of floor covering.

However, this doesn't seem to be popular any more - a flick through my local Yellow Pages didn't reveal a single company who carried out internal asphalting work in my area (Dorset).

Can anyone offer any advice on the best solution to the problem?

TIA...

Nige

[Weatherlawyer]

60 mm is a little bit expensive for self leveling compound but you can use it with sand and cement or buy a brand that is designed to be used with that. This is what I'd do:

Make a three to one coarse sand and cement mix, add some PVA -not much, paint the floor with PVA, then patch the lowest areas and follow it up with a layer of the self leveler.

You can lay a patch of ply down then cover that with the leveler. You don't even need to taper the board. I saw that method used in a pub once and was quite impressed, though I wouldn't do it myself.

[John Rumm]

Big differences like that are probably best taken up with a sand and cement screed first, then use the self leveller to finish it once that has gone off. Smaller differences (especially holes etc up to 1 - 2cm) can be patched with a latex self leveller mixed with some sharp sand. Again allowing that to go off before covering the lot with the final coat.