Levelling a concrete floor for the kitchen

Alan_M_2

The wickes levelling stuff is awful, it's no good for anythning other then smoothing (3mm) after that it breaks up no matter what it says on the packaging.

Another one worth looking at if you can't get hold of Ardex is BAL Multibase, any of these products will be available from good tile distributors (not you local high street tile shop) find a local distributor.

nelly_2

A top tip for using self leveling is mix it roughly the same consistency as tomatoe soup and pour it on the floor and just push it about with a sweeping brush sod !!!!!! about with a trowel.

Also if you pva it first this stops the concrete absorbing the moistuer in the SL compound so it moves about for longer.

Mr_Vee

nelly wrote:

A top tip for using self leveling is mix it roughly the same consistency as tomatoe soup and pour it on the floor and just push it about with a sweeping brush sod !!!!!! about with a trowel.

Also if you pva it first this stops the concrete absorbing the moistuer in the SL compound so it moves about for longer.

cheers.... so are we talking heinz canned tomato soup or batchelors cuppa soup? :rotfl:

woodbutcher_2

Sand and cement screeds shouldn't be less than 75mm?I have laid countless at 50mm with no problems whatsoever on top of concrete.In fact,this is the standard thickness for screed so i don't know what you are saying there.

Alan_M_2

Due to the nature of our installations , many of which are commercial, we're obliged to comply with British Standards as well as Building Regulations.

Stated minimum = 75mm according to British Standards.

Of course with domestic installations, people generally turn a blind eye to certain parts of Building regs and BS, we don't have that luxury.

HugoSP

I too have laid screeds @50mm deep. Having said that 75mm is preferable on the whole.

I'm not disputing you Alan, but a structual engineer actually specified a 50mm screed on my basement extention. This seems to have worked fine. Some people have suggested using a mesh with thinner screeds.

It all depends how far you dig down. I had trouble on the above job digging further down and needed 5 inches for the concrete base. When I subtracted 70mm for the insulation I barely had 50mm left.

The piece of floor I've just laid yesterday has a screed of over 75mm on it.

H

woodbutcher_2

I too have been told by countless inspectors:-100mm concrete then 50mm screed.I don't however do that sort of work anymore so maybe the regs have changed since i last did them.

Mr_Vee

UPDATE: Hi everyone... I've ordered 16 bags of ardex k15-B for under £250 incl VAT (not too pricey after all really...for what it is!) The ardex arrives on thursday so stay tuned for updates!! including pics with a bita luck!

Mr_Vee

p.s. before the ardex arrives: does anyone have any tips on how to mix the ardex screed please? paddle mixer in a wheelbarrow/ bucket?? cement mixer? etc. much appreciated. thanks.

Alan_M_2

You need to use a mechanical mixer, not as aggessive or large as the ones used for plaster, the paint mixers are better. Use this in a slow speed drill, measure the water into a large bucket (one of the tall white buckets are best for screed) and add the powder to the water whilst mixing (much easier with an assistant).

Stick to the correct ratio as noted on the bag.

I might be wrong - but just check, the K-15B is a bulk leveller, you'll need at least one bag of the regular k-15 to put a final screed over everything as a top coat.