self levelling compound

[in2minds]

need to level off a couple of dips in the floor before I lay a floating floor can anyone recommend a self levelling compound or would B&Q's (£6 for

25kg) be as good as any other ?

thanks LJ

[Lobster]

How deep are your dips, and what's the floor made of?

I've found that for 'problem' surfaces, the more expensive latex-based SLCs are well worth the money

David

[in2minds]

it's concrete and the worst is up to 15mm but mostly around 5mm

LJ

[Rob]

"in2minds" wrote in message news: [e-mail]...

I recently levelled a concrete floor before laying wood laminate and had problems with several cheap levelling compounds. Wickes was the worst, B&Q and Plycolay were slightly better. The worst ones seem to have more sand, which separates out and makes spreading a thin layer difficult. With 15mm dips I'd have thought levelling compound was pushing it a bit. My worst areas were less than 10mm, but according to Evode/Bostik Findlay's Technical dept., the usual max. thickness for levelling compound is 5mm, and it's not usual to build up greater thicknesses in layers. They suggested adding sharp sand (2 parts compound to 1 sand) to the mix to lay a thick layer, but this makes it hard to achieve a smooth surface and feather edges. In effect it reduces its self-levelling properties and makes it into more of a screed, which is what is usually used on very uneven areas. They recommended something called Evostik Fast and Easy for up to 10mm thickness. Apparently it comes in 20kg bags at about £30 from Focus or Homebase, but I didn't try it. I had a problem with cracking after drying, which is a sign of poor adhesion, apparently. The worst areas also loosened and had to be done again, but I eventually put up with some cracking if it didn't sound hollow when tapped. It all ended up being a bit of a nightmare job, and although I did say never again, if I were to do another room I'd consider the latex type of levelling compound. Good luck!

Rob

[tony sayer]

In article , Rob writes

Ardit works very well, but so it should at the price it is!...