Levelling floor

danrv

Hi
Just in the process of redecorating my hallway including fitting new flooring and skirting. 
An area near the back door is slightly raised and the tiles have broken.
Didn't want to put flooring over this so looking to get it level again.
I dampened down and used diluted PVA on the tiles before lifting and was wondering if a 3:1 mix of sand and cement would be ok to fill the area.
There's also a thin plastic membrane which is a bit damaged.
Any help appreciated.

mexican_dave

From what I can see here your floor finish is fine until it reaches the external wall of your property. The external wall and foundation runs under the door opening, the width being about 30cm. That's why the tiles are breaking-up where the concrete floor slab has settled slightly, while the external wall has stayed put. Suggest remove all loose material, take care not to damage the plastic membrane (dpc). Might need more than cement and sand if the cavity in the external wall needs topping up. Run a bit of dpc over the top of any bare concrete. See how you get on as you remove the loose stuff. In the same situation I took up the tiles, used levelling compound and fitted laminate flooring, as this is more likely (in my opinion) to accommodate a bit of settlement and make future repairs in the area easier - as you don't know if the slab has finish settling. Good luck!

danrv

mexican_dave said:
The external wall and foundation runs under the door opening, the width being about 30cm. That's why the tiles are breaking-up where the concrete floor slab has settled slightly, while the external wall has stayed put. 

Thanks. That may tally up with a slight ridge across the centre of the hallway. It's in line with the centre wall and the tiles here have 
also broken.
I don't think I'll repair those as it's just a slight deformation and more difficult to level.

MikeJXE

If your floor isn't perfectly even and using any flooring other than carpet it will be wrecked in no time

danrv

MikeJXE said:

If your floor isn't perfectly even and using any flooring other than carpet it will be wrecked in no time

Was thinking of using stick down LVT.
It was carpet originally.

MikeJXE

Then any unevenness will show through it

mexican_dave

Does this bring us back to levelling compound?

MikeJXE

You have a lot of light shining on that floor and every mark under vinyl will show sooner or later, be it a wide joint or a step between tiles.

A bit like wallpaper, if you don't fill and sand first you are left with bumps and hollows

I suggest you have a word with the vinyl floor layer 

danrv

mexican_dave said:

Does this bring us back to levelling compound?

Not sure how this works with a floor drop like this. All I can do is maybe lift a few tiles either side of the ridge and try and lower it to make it more gradual.

danrv

MikeJXE said:

I suggest you have a word with the vinyl floor layer 

Was hoping to fit it myself. If carpet, I'd get the supplier to fit it as the lounge one also needs replacing.

stuart45

You often get settlement of the slab near the external walls on houses in that age group, as the hard-core fill is much deeper there. Nowadays with trench fill it's not such a problem.
Are you taking all the tiles up?