How to Self Level Concrete Floors Like Pros - Self Leveler

[@jeffostroff]

✅Tools used in the this how to level floor for tile video: ✅ SIKA 187782 Concrete Bonding Adhesive and Acrylic Fortifier amzn.to/34nZgdF ✅ Bosch 5" Angle grinder with vacuum attachment kit: amzn.to/2ErfiJH ✅ Gauge Rake with Sleds and Wood Handle to rake the self leveler compound across the floor: amzn.to/2Cuivap ✅ Wooster spiked shoes for applying self leveler: amzn.to/2Bz97QX See our other Channel for CarBuyingTips.com also: 🚘🚗 WATCH ➜ How Car Dealers Scam You with Fake New Car Window Stickers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oprQhWOhmrmCprs 🚘🚗 WATCH ➜ CarBuyingTips.com KZbin Channel: kzbin.infovideos 🚘🚗 VISIT ➜ CarBuyingTips.com: www.carbuyingtips.com

[@ebarrin625]

jeffostroff thanks for the info

[@worker8454]

What leveler did they use?

[@millerstainable]

I think it's safe to say all yt-ers know how subscribing works. I was considering subscribing until I heard the push to do so near the end of the video. If the content is good, people will subscribe not because they were encouraged thru self promotion

[@matsm-xd2dw]

So should the professional you're paying to install your floors prep the floor like this for you?

[@spydirty2530]

I guess you are somehow unaware of how Amazon treats their employees. But sure, give Bezos more promotion. Maybe we can send him to Mars next

[@michaelbodell111]

This type of quality of work is unheard of these days excellent job

[@jeffostroff]

These guys are commercial installers, normally doing hospitals, large retail spaces, etc. They were the only company of 3 that I called, that would come and do a job this "small", 350 SQ feet living room and dining room. They were done by noon.

[@spydirty2530]

They spent a fortune in floor leveler, let alone the floor itself and labor. Most ppl couldn’t afford what was done here. Furthermore, you’d be really hard pressed to find a DIYer who could pull this off

[@davidpenland6991]

I am an unfortunate 'Army of One' that doesn't have anyone to mix for me... I have 520sqft to spread today or tomorrow in my own home. I screwed screws into the floor on a 2' grid and at corners of the walls/cabinets across my kitchen, dining room, pantry, coffee bar area, mud room, a closet, and a bathroom with a closet as a floor height reference based off of a FatMax self-leveling laser and a marked-for-reference white 1X2 board. In several locations I have 3/4" sag between all of the exterior walls being level, and three other heights across the floor that match those exterior walls. The rest is low with no way to bring it up except to fill it in. I believe I can do it alone by adding the self leveler up to the tops of all of the screws as a reference. This video was good reference for what I am about to do and it is well put together. Thank you for taking the time to put it together for us. :)

[@jeffostroff]

Wow, that's a huge project, and a lot to pour with some of these 3/4" differences. Make sure you have enough bags. Let us know how this goes for you, and what challenges you had to overcome.

[@TheDangerBuck]

How did it go

[@enzprintco.8625]

Yea…how’d it go?

[@joelc9329]

How did it go bro? 💀

[@andrehshawel1739]

@@jeffostroff how did it go man??? I’m trying to work on my basement which is 1700 sq feet

[@joshuapatterson8910]

Over 15 years in concrete experience here and they miss the most important step. Repairing the cracks. Hair line cracks can be sealed with a structure epoxy but if bigger or deeper than 1/8 your suppose to cut a valley and place backer rod then seal it with structure epoxy, then grind floor after it has cured, then self level the floor. Also i would have lifted and pin the carpet up on the stairs. For you guys wondering why house slabs crack like this. There are 2 main reasons. 1. Is settling over time. 2. New construction companies add too much water to the concrete past the specs of the mix design. Why so they can finish the slab faster. That looks like a 3000 post-tension slab and thats usually a 5 in max slump. If it cracked like that and the house is about 3 to 5 years old i bet they poured it on a 7 to 8 in slump which is too wet and it reduces the strenght of the concrete. Ive seen this done too many time to count.

[@jeffostroff]

I don't think any of the cracks were over 1/8".

[@michaelgarcia8419]

I've been laying wood floor for years and I have to say that bamboo flooring looks amazing great job

[@jeffostroff]

Yes, we loved working with it, 5/8" thick solid strand natural bamboo. They manufacture it by crushing the bamboo and compressing it under high heat and pressure, Janka rating 2500.

[@oopalonga]

thx jeff this was awesome, wasn't really sure how to do this and feel more confident about it now

[@jeffostroff]

Glad to help!

[@ds-1111]

This is the "money is no object" way. Floating the entire floor is not always necessary. Normally you just use a long straight edge at various points along the floor and mark the high spots and the low spots (a step missed in this video). Then you grind the high spots down. Then you use the self leveling mix to fill only the low spots, not the entire floor. This will save you so much money using less bags of self leveler, and still get a level floor.

[@jeffostroff]

this floor had way too many problems for screeding.

[@morganblu]

Now when I get this done I'll have an idea what to expect, thanks!

[@jeffostroff]

A nice flat floor!

[@duffgen62]

I'm about to renovate an old outbuilding. The existing concrete floor is uneven so many thanks for showing me the technique and materials required for the job.

[@jeffostroff]

Glad to help. Sounds like itwill be a lot of bags.

[@jllatin0]

You are a 100% right. I tried to self lvl my floor by myself and with the help of my 13 year old. I didnt have the proper tools, yet we finished the floor but it ended up being terrible job. You def need 3-4 people helping you out. Now i beed to fix my floor and thinking of putting another layer of self leveling. Any input on that?

[@jeffostroff]

Check to see what the bag says about multiple layers, usually adding the next one sooner the better.

[@jiangliu7062]

this is amazing. I was googling for videos on how to do this myself thanks for making me give up.

[@jeffostroff]

Glad I could help!

[@kevincolbert2472]

Nice job and good info. I liked the way they used the grinder with a vac to take down the highest edges. If you didn't grind the floor, you would have had to have much thicker leveler over the entire surface to cover the high spots!

[@jeffostroff]

Yes, and one spot had a vertical section of rebar rod sticking about 1/4" up out of the foundation. Also roughing up the foundation with the grinder helps the primer and leveler stick better.

[@_.iivvee._]

Amazing video!!! My condo concrete looks just like this. I was shocked to see a downward slope in the middle of my living room along with a ton of cracks🥴 Thanks for the tips, praying I can temporarily fix this until I get professional repair 👍🏼

[@TheKnobCalledTone.]

I love how the DIY advice in this video is "pay someone else to do the job" lol

[@jeffostroff]

Yes we are showing you how to do it and on a small scale most people can't but if it's a room area that covers two rooms and it's this large, I usually tell people to bring in the pros unless you have a couple of people working with you because this does require a perfectly timed choreography in order to pull this off smoothly because once you start mixing and pouring you cannot stop until you are done and it has to be done very quickly you mix for about a minute or so and then dump it on the floor and start the next batch

[@jaschwa1979]

Great video. By tile contractor friend in Jacksonville, FL uses a company that pumps in self-leveling compound for big jobs like this. His advice to me was: “Remember it has the consistency of chocolate milk when you first pour it, so caulk every since crack or crevice where you don’t want it to go.” That was after I learned the hard way. I leveled a sink tub area and had a form to keep it out of the drain area, but I didn’t caulk. Within seconds, that stuff was leaking in under my form.

[@jeffostroff]

Yes, we treat it like water and dam up everywhere.

[@MistAtsiM]

I give my prices to folks with Leveling, ALOT of them come back and say "my other bid didn't have that on their proposal" I say, good luck with that.

[@jeffostroff]

Interesting strategy.

[@lauralake7430]

The dust collection is not just for convenience. It is lung and life saving. DIYers beware that not only a vac but a respirator is required. This video is a great overview of a great professional job, thanks for sharing the knowledge

[@constancebowling5080]

this is exactly what I need done to my front room. house is old and all the layers of linoleum (about 5) my daughter scraped up, and the concrete floor is uneven . Where would I rent the machine with the vaccum ? Or how much should it cost for someone to do this for me? it is a 23'x9' room.

[@jeffostroff]

They will likely charge you a few hundred dollars, or you can rent the angle grinder at home depot, and a shop vac, but you'll likely spend almost as much on the rentals, they are expensive. And doing that work, and getting the respirators, that is grueling work, I would google floor removal companies, that's too hard to do it yourself. In 2015 I hired a floor removal company to come into a condo kitchen and front foyer and grind down all the thin set left over from me removing the old tile floor. Three guys, 2 hours, taped up film everywhere to avoid dust, hooked up a vacuum outside to suck all the dust out, jack hammered off all the thinset mortar from the previous tile floor, and when they were done we had a smooth flat concrete floor that was ground down smooth for $500. Sounds like yours is not that involved, so should be cheaper.

[@savann.sun1980]

Its always looks good and perfect when it’s on camera.

[@jeffostroff]

It measured perfect when it dried too! The 6 foot level just smacked down nicely

[@PetePuebla]

Love the video, very informative! Great descriptive generation with background noise that wasn't so high you can't hear the duration. Hope to see more videos like this in the future. Keep up the great work!

[@alir.9894]

Thank you SO MUCH for this video! This was perfect. I had to go through like 6 videos to find a quality video like this!

[@jeffostroff]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

[@moonrich3492]

I spread self-leveling compound for the base of my shower stall. When dry, I installed the base for the shower stall. It wobbled. I tried some more self-leveling compound. The base still wobbled. Finally, someone suggested the base itself may not be perfectly level. I scoffed, saying the base was made in a modern manufacturing facility and was surely level. I took it to my pool table and guess what? The base wobbled. I should've ripped the manufacturer a new one but instead I applied some non-self-leveling compound to slightly slope the floor to match the uneven base. Sheez!

[@jeffostroff]

Great way to overcome what we find all the time! Shims might have worked also.

[@lydia-may5988]

Top notch workmanship

[@rogaleas8891]

My friend, thaks a lot for teaching us. My question is: What kind of bonding agent did you use? Could you please tell me the name or the brand of it? Thank you very much.

[@jeffostroff]

Its Sika, You will see the link to it in the video description details above.

[@larrygeordan5747]

Its glorified latex and maybe try Vitrex spiked roller to work it around.

[@Odo-so8pj]

I'm loving the barrel they used. This could be the answer to my problem.

[@jeffostroff]

Yes you will often see pros come up with nice custom solutions hat work well for them like the buckets they used with holes to rapidly measure the exact amount of water they need to use for that leveler.

[@jimboslice8378]

What did you use for underlayment? Was the bamboo glued and nailed down? Also, what were your transition elevations to the existing tie in once you self leveled and laid down the flooring?

[@jeffostroff]

Bamboo floor was installed with a 1/8" underlayment, not glued down. Once we laid the floor planks, they were about the same height as the tile floor, so we used T-mold transition pieces. We did not have to use any height reducers.

[@oldfashionedinvesting4699]

jeffostroff I installed a floating bamboo floor as well but the planks appear to be rubbing against each other and squeak. Did your floating floor squeak at all?

[@jwonderfulsuccess]

Cool stuff- self leveling compound- who would've thought

[@jeffostroff]

IT does a great job making it flat

[@Kdub233]

Great video! Any thoughts on doing this in a detached garage so I can put in a home gym? I think I heard that there is a slope required out towards the front entrance. Thanks again.

[@jeffostroff]

Self leveling is hard to do on slope so you want it to pool up in lower end and level off to upper end. Remember this can only be used on foot traffic not garage car weight loads

[@peterallis2932]

Hi, great video, thanks. 1 question, Can you just leave the floor with the self leveling material as the final finish ???

[@peacelove600]

What I wish I had known about floor leveling compound after watching these videos; The videos on KZbin are obviously with experienced tradesmen, making the job look easy. Primer is extremely important, especially when laying layers upon concrete. Anyone in the business of floor leveling will tell you that the product isn’t self-leveling. It takes an experienced hand to have a finished product that is flat, much less smooth and level, 3/16th of an inch at ten feet is the max variance. Cold, cold water will give you some extra time to spread the mix before it clumps and hardens. Special tools are needed, unless of course you are a concrete man that knows how to use lumber as a tool. Spike shoes are important when doing large areas. A roller with spikes is necessary to remove bubbles, help spread the cement and pop bubbles. A slow stir is necessary to keep air bubbles out of the mixture (recommending a mixer and not a drill). Exact water measurement is extremely important. Stirring longer than two minutes is just wasting set-up time. Sanding often isn’t a problem, some easier than others, some dustier than others.

[@jeffostroff]

All excellent observations

[@Hundo_Mo]

You made this look so easy

[@jeffostroff]

Those guys do this all day every day, must be easy for them

[@La_abbess]

If you ever get bored, voice for ESPN- your commentary really put me in spectator mode🤣

[@jeffostroff]

just saw your comment today, thanks!

[@macrepman4098]

We had our concrete floor leveled, but they entirely skipped the grinding part, so it just resulted in the same slopes. Id like to do this myself, your method looks amazing and practical! My question as a newbie to this is, how will i know how deep to grind down to? What if my house was framed weird and i cant find a good depth from the right spot? Very new to foundational work, sorry.

[@patrickpaladin8698]

We always have to be careful of stating "perfectly level floor". Most SLU leaves the floor at about a 90 to 95 FF ( Floor Flatness). This project went form under FF15 to FF of about 95, which is great, just as the result is great.

[@jeffostroff]

That's some great info there, thanks Patrick! How do they measure the FF, are there nay tools the DIYer can use for this?

[@matthewlee8667]

Laying down our own floor very soon. Thanks a lot for this video. Very informative.

[@jeffostroff]

Awesome, glad to help out!

[@user-ty2uz4gb7v]

You didn't cover the clean up between the grinding and the priming. How clean does it need to be? It seems like that would take a considerable amount of time. Also, why didn't you seal the crack in the floor before priming and self leveling

[@jeffostroff]

I believe they used a regular roller attachment afterwards to just quickly go over the floor. We did not fill in the crack because it was not deep. The self leveler will fill in the crack when it runs over it.

[@jeffostroff]

@GoFuck Yourself Sorry, you are incorrect on this, I guess you missed the part where the bonding agent was put down first on the concrete before self leveling was applied, as required whenever you apply any mortar over old concrete, that is all you need. That is what MAPEI tells you to do, and in fact, they specifically tell you NOT to pour this over any underlayments: "All substrates must be primed with the appropriate MAPEI primer before applying self-levelers".... "Do not install over over sheet vinyl, self-stick vinyl tile, luxury vinyl tile/plank (LVT or LVP), glue-down wood flooring, particleboard, hardboard (Masonite), Lauan panels, waterproofing, crack-isolation or sound-control membranes, gypsum-based patching materials, or any other non-dimensionally stable materials."

[@Chris-mx4jb]

@@jeffostroff the proper way to do this is to seal ANY cracks before leveling compound. And to answer the original question it's standard to vacuum between grinding and primer

[@susanpeterson9558]

Beautifully done. Love the sweatshirt!

[@FrixnFactor]

Nice job man. Direct and to the point yet detailed at the same time. Thank you!

[@jeffostroff]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching Alexander!

[@FrixnFactor]

@@jeffostroff If you can show me how to set up a misting cooling fan system for my enclosed sunroom that would be great. Once I level the floors, I want to be able to chill in this Texas heat!

[@Lifeinbloomny]

hi, I live in Florida will you come over my house and do this on my whole first level?

[@allanpennington]

Surely with a pad that size there should be an expansion gap around the perimeter?

[@jeffostroff]

You don't need expansion gap with concrete. You would need it with wood or laminate flooring as it expands and contracts.

[@MichaelMerritt]

@@jeffostroff why would sidewalks have them then? Thanks for the video.

[@AcornFox]

@@MichaelMerritt im guessing its because sidewalks are subject to more extreme forces. expansion and contraction of the ground, especially important in the northeast with the freeze/thaw cycle

[@stefball]

Is there a way to prevent cracks from expansion/contraction/settling?

[@hotdawg9840]

I've never heard carpet make a noise unless i was ripping it out

[@jonothandoeser]

And you should ALWAYS be ripping it out!

[@lisapatterson3352]

Can you post a link to the self leveling cement that you used? And how long before I can use an epoxy paint on it? Thank you for the video this was the best/easiest explained one that I’ve found.

[@kornelpasztor7947]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the fantastic video. I'm total newbie but here to learn so one day I might be able to do it myself :) Just to ask what happens if you don't use the bonding agent ? Is the new cement will start to cracking and loosing up with time ? By the way this video sounds like how they kind of teaching in schools which is great. I know some people layed wooden floor on to the top of carpet or they used glue to stick it to the floor. Are those methods are not the right one right ? Just asking it so if someone recommends it to me and thet say "it will be fine" I wont listen to them haha :D Thanks again

[@jeffostroff]

Old concrete which has already cured years ago needs to have the bonding agent rolled on 1st to enable the new concrete to bond with it as it forms its crystals during the curing process. If you don't apply the bonding agent first you're poured self leveler could delaminate from the concrete and not give you a very good hold. As far as the other methods are concerned, my thought is that the weight of the new laminate flooring that gets put down will likely hold itself now whether it might slide back and forth individual planks as you walk on them I simply don't know. One time we put down laminate flooring on top of tile. But we used the floor glue to glue down the underlayment first, and then we glued the planks down on top of the underlayment and so far that floor has been nice and solid for two years now

[@logandavis6206]

Very smart, well crafted video!

[@abdulahahmadzai9461]

Great video! I wanted to ask if the the floor had a bump would you first have to lower that bump or would the self leveling cement do that?

[@jeffostroff]

Yes they will typically go around the floor with a grinder with a Cup wheel on it that will grind down the high spots sometimes you might even have to do a little chiseling but the idea is to get the floor as flat as possible before you even pour self-leveling compound otherwise you're going to end up mixing many many more bags than you originally intended in order to make it all rise up over the humps . So to prevent that the idea is to grind down the humps to the level of the rest of the floor

[@germanshepherdfan8901]

Hi Jeff, what an incredibly well done, informative video. Can you tell me exactly how many bags of Self-Leveling compound were used for this room? I have 1450 ft² of slab cement in an 18 year old home with definite settling issues. Any idea how many bags might be needed? Thx!

[@jeffostroff]

I don't know how many they actually mixed up but I think I saw about 40 bags on the truck and I don't know how many they used. If you look on the back of the bag that you are buying, it tells you how much square foot it covers for a quarters of an inch or More so read what it says on the back of the bags

[@germanshepherdfan8901]

@@jeffostroff; Thanks so much!

[@premkhan3969]

Love it. My floor is like this and I am looking for someone decent to fix it.

[@jeffostroff]

Glad you liked our video, and we hope you can get your floor leveled perfectly!

[@robertmoldovan6016]

The white 1/4 round by the stair.... just perfect

[@jeffostroff]

I hated that crap. That was the last time I used quarter round. After that, everything goes up to 1/4" from the stairs, and I use flexible molding that we paint white.

[@tonyromanus1491]

Hi Jeff! Thank you for the excellent video. It is greatly appreciated. We're putting down some vinyl plank over a concrete slab. We used this product to raise the floor 1/2" and correct some defects. For the most part it came out perfectly. We do have an issue. There's an area where we put down new leveler and the prior row had begun to set. As you might guess the seam didn't even out with the new pour a bit higher than the old. Nearby we complicated this problem by trying to rake out a minor imperfection in an area that had partially set. So we have a couple of high spots that need to be fixed. Would it be OK to grind them down carefully? And, if we end up with some small low spots how do you recommend we fill them? Thanks!

[@jeffostroff]

Yes we have done that before. I just used my angle grinder. If you have an orbital sander, try that first with some 60 to 80 grit paper, we used both.

[@tonyromanus1491]

@@jeffostroff Thanks Jeff! I ended up using my belt sander. I think we're ready for the flooring!

[@caseyg4157]

I have grinded and scraped and cleaned my basement floor and am ready to add the bonding agent, was looking at your list of tools used in this video and i dont see a link for the roller that was used for this step-is there a special roller?

[@jeffostroff]

The Times that I have used it I just used a regular paint roller 3/8" nap is just fine

[@joshuab2324]

What does a typical job like this cost? Is it by square foot. I have a basement that needs this before I remodel it. Was wondering what kind of quotes to expect? Great job on the video. Also, is there a slow set you could use to give you more time if you only had 2 people to do the job i.e. me and a friend?

[@jeffostroff]

We paid these guys $1200 for the job. You can probably do it with 2 guys, just have one guy mixing bags constantly, use multiple buckets so you can just go from one to the next. I don't think they have any slower setting self levelers.

[@cobusbrits2]

@@jeffostroff Was that including the materials or just labour?

[@ryansheard8092]

I have 900 sq ft that is mostly open space (kitchen, dining, living, entry) with a master, half bath, and laundry. Is that something that can be done at once or does it need to be done on sections?

[@jeffostroff]

I would try my best to pour everything at once. It might require one or 2 additional helpers to keep the flow going. I don't like to stop and restart again, trying to join a newly poured section to an already setup and firm section, it is hard to get them to line up level.

[@garnhamr]

i fit floors in the uk and we get big gaps at the patio doors and/or insulation poking up. They also have a guy come round and spunk in a load of mastic everywhere so they can get a good air pressure test result. It's not always the case but some companies/builders/site managers don't give enough care for the floor prep. You can use wide masking tape if there are skirting boards on but personally i prefer to use a hand trowel and i do the whole lot 100m2+ on my own, otherwise the money isn't good enough

[@freyalove3831]

My husband and I am thinking to self leveling concrete over saltillo mexican floor. We bought already laminate wood flooring to put over the self level concrete.. questions. -Do i still need a bonding agent? -How difficult it is the task for non professionals like us?. We are planning to do 981 sq ft.

[@jeffostroff]

You do need to put the primer down first

[@linkstale]

30-40 bags damn. im about to do my whole basement and i only bought 6 bags. theyre $31.97 each geez

[@jeffostroff]

We don't know how many they used. Supposedly a typical bag will cover 1/4" about 20 sq feet.

[@mr.president9100]

This company is legit. 5 guys for one job. My old boss would of send me alone.

[@jeffostroff]

IT is a commercial company, so they wanted to get this small job done and back to the big jobs

[@trueyskye]

ahh man this looks like something I shouldn't attempt. I have a 12x10 ft room and a 6 inch incline from corner to corner. Can get someone to help me but not professional help.. What should I do?

[@jeffostroff]

If it is 6" off and you have never done this before, I would leave it to the pros. Depending on the manufacturer of the self leveling compound, once you go past an inch or 2, they require aggregate to be put down with the product for reinforcement, as his is not meant to be used that thick on its own, or maybe grind down the part that is 6" higher, but a professional contractor should be able to accomplish this for you.

[@richardgilpin9262]

@@jeffostroff 6 in is a shit ton of material, might consider pressure-treated sleepers with a plywood subfloor over top

[@torbensonderskov91]

@@richardgilpin9262 Maybe dry pack instead?

[@richardgilpin9262]

@@torbensonderskov91 not sure what you mean, like a fat mud?

[@Candlerman2199]

Having only used the tool for other purposes, what do you do with the "wheel guard" on the angle grinder to be able to use the whole disc surface on the concrete? Thanks.

[@porschadominguez8262]

Good Job. I tried to tell someone that was installing pergo flooring over concrete/cement, that the floor must be leveled. And I stressed that a level must be used to determine. Well I guess because I am a girl I don't know crap. But it does not take a Architect to figure that common sense stuff out. But needless to say this gentleman continued on with his installation, and yes it looked like crap and felt like walking on grass. So fat he has re done the floor 3 times, trying to lay pergo uneven concrete. I am going to casually play your awesome video, so he can hear it from a man. Maybe then he will get thee old level out and get on my level....ha ha great video !! And workmanship on the floor job.!

[@jeffostroff]

Well the other alternative is to put shims under planks that are going to sag. I just did that at a friend's condo, they did not want to spend the money to level the concrete floor, so a few areas I had to put shims underneath the boards on maybe dozen board throughout the floor, otherwise when you step on them they mush down into the dip of the concrete floor.

[@Orangedome]

Your right.! And that was a funny joke Have a good Knight.

[@c.m.2747]

Ha.. it happens to most of all of us girls. I was told I didnt know what I was talking about when trying to correct the guy installing marble tiles for my bathroom. Needless to say I fired him the same day.

[@mikekelly571]

Nice work, looks great. Is that bamboo waterproof?

[@jeffostroff]

It is pretty water resistant, but not likely waterproof

[@xXxZGixXx]

Someone needs to share this with Louis rossman

[@jeffostroff]

I was wondering why Lewis even needed that whole flooring substructure to be built anyways.

[@miguimau]

Get out of my head, mate! :D

[@miguimau]

​@@jeffostroff He blamed… gravity. Apparently the floor has a huge slope from the bottom to the front of the store and it´s a long space.

[@miguimau]

@@someguy3717 He literally did it. "Gravity" (Understand it in context) check his live chat on the matter. I´m not telling he´s right or wrong but it´s his explanation.

[@miguimau]

@@someguy3717 I am saying that was his explanation everytime, and it was not a joke. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3Wtpp2ogLV-rJo

[@laertgjergji9099]

Hi nice job.i have a question.this product, self leveling,is it strong enough for winery. Industrial flor?

[@jeffostroff]

For that you'll have to consult the company directly, or check the bags, and calculate how much weight you will have on it. Some products might be for foot traffic only, and they might have you use another product from their lineup if you plan to have heavier loads.

[@alialrikabi5546]

$30 a pop for the levelling cement. That's $1,200 just for this step.

[@jeffostroff]

I'm quite sure these guys don't pay anywhere near that amount, since they are commercial property contractors, and probably buy this stuff by the truckload. They don't go to Home Depot to buy this, they would go broke. This puny little 40 bag job is nothing to them, and I had to pull teeth with them and other contractors just to get these guys to show up, as this is too small a job for the other guys.

[@djmattcorleone]

If you has a spot in a garage that was unlevel would you use the self leveling on whole garage or just the unlevel part?

[@jeffostroff]

In the garage it's usually a localized dip in the concrete or something like that. Sometimes it's a bump up and then you can just grind it down flat with the area around it. But I would only level the area that I need to level and and do a real good job with the trowel feathering it out into the flat part of the rest of the garage. According to the town council of America and most flooring manufacturers, they prefer no more than an eighth of an inch difference across 6 feet of floor for flatness.

[@mariomatejka]

I have tried to use MAPEI self-leveling compound without any tools. I thought self-leveling meant it would... well ... level by itself. What I found was that the different batches wouldn't perfectly blend/mix with each other. What I mean is that the edges where the different batches met weren't perfectly blended, you could tell where the different pours were. If I was to do it again, I would invest in one of those spike rollers, to make it look like it was single uniform pour.

[@jeffostroff]

Yup, once you rake it and roll it, then it self levels.

[@cosmicshadow305]

What does it matter if you're putting a floor over it?

[@jeffostroff]

@@cosmicshadow305 It would only matter if the 2 different pours are uneven with a lippage between the 2 of them. A lot of it depends on if you mixed it properly and if you dumped it right away you're supposed to mix it within 2 minutes and get it on oak floor right away and yes you are supposed to use some type of rake. I have done small bathrooms before and had to do a smaller area of the bathroom and I was just pushing the mixture around on the floor with a trowel to feather it out to the rest of the floor.

[@Chris-mx4jb]

that's because you either mixed them with different amounts of water, different water temperatures, or the bags we'rent the same weight throwing off the mix ratio

[@mikeo6525]

Chris or if they wait to long in between pours. They could be perfect mixes. Won’t matter.

[@AJCongdon]

What did you use for the self-leveling compound

[@terrymutant3581]

I think concrete companies or builders would be more careful if they were building a commercial building like Walmart or HomeDepot I've seen some nice concrete floors at those places.

[@jeffostroff]

The self leveler really does a good job on its own

[@architecture-gawangkalidad4543]

what brand of self leveling compound did you use?thank you

[@Rustyshackleford752]

Ha!, looks like a typical new construction slab where I’m from

[@jeffostroff]

Yes indeed we see these all the time here in Florida

[@JUANRAMONROBLES]

@@jeffostroff that means in california they do better job than Florida 😂😂😂

[@JUANRAMONROBLES]

@@jeffostroff that means in california they do better job than Florida 😂😂😂

[@MrMajikman1]

I would never get paid if my new concrete floors looked like that🤦‍♂️ However, it does look like a typical concrete slab finish in Mexico.....

[@brookedelizia8546]

Beautiful job 👏🏼👏🏼 any advice for basement floors? Anything that would be different?

[@jeffostroff]

Should work down there too

[@Knappconstruction]

Just a reminder with any grinding of silica/concrete OSHA requires a respirator. Nice video though

[@sahuff77]

Not with a HEPA Vacuum - Go retake your silica awareness training and rewrite your silica plan.

[@2AA11Day]

Do you have any idea what this cost to have done? I'm looking to do a 300sq ft room and I got one estimate that was outrageous. Just trying to get a ball park idea. Thanks.

[@jeffostroff]

We paid $1200 for this I believe, in 2012

[@2AA11Day]

@@jeffostroff Thanks for responding, you confirmed my suspicions. The estimate I got was for $4,000. Even 10 years later that's ridiculous.

[@d.vaughn8990]

The home construction quality, that’s occurring these days, is criminal! But don’t worry, the big builders will give you a warranty(that they won’t honor). The kitchen cabinets are cheap - lighting and plumbing fixtures - cheap! Profits over any kind of integrity and ethics. God Bless America!

[@jeffostroff]

I especially loath the builder with their particle board cabinets and vanities, that warp and crumble of the years from humidity in the air, and don't even run a coffee maker under your upper cabinets, the steam will destroy them.

[@OutThere5]

Great video. I like you you explain the important details

[@jeffostroff]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gharrett2092]

I just got done doing 1,400 square feet by myself.... it can be done my friend.

[@jeffostroff]

Once you start pouring just don't stop lol yes it can be done one person but I refuse to

[@gharrett2092]

I wish I had help. It’s so hard to find anyone, even simple basic labor.

[@La_abbess]

Hi boo....can we be friends? Yah know, you, me and my garage floors🥺🥰😉🤣

[@AF-ew9zd]

Is it possible that after pouring when the screed settles it pushes the insulation and damp proof membrane down to the subfloor and it makes a 40mm difference? Our builder is telling us this. We need to do another round of pouring to compensate for the 40mm.

[@jeffostroff]

you should have it all dammed up with silicone or something to prevent the self-leveler from flowing where it should not flow, then you won't have this problem. You should not have to do 2 rounds of pouring, you should only need to make one pour

[@giterdun1864]

50 bags? Geez , that's like $3200.00 in material alone.

[@jeffostroff]

No, the bags are $30 each, and it's doubtful they used all of them. Each bag gives you about 25 sq feet at 1/4" depth. Total sq footage was 225 sq ft.

[@giterdun1864]

@@jeffostroff

[@giterdun1864]

tax

[@jt2damax15]

Guy crazy

[@angryattheworld00000]

@@jeffostroff I thought is was 375? That's what you told me earlier.....and you talk truth 😂😂😂

[@JCM-tt1uo]

I guess it depends on your product because the self level I've used isn't as thick what they are doing. Plus did they mark to see how high that is?

[@Alpha-to9od]

Nice work.. but i would of just stained and polish the self leveling.. bamboo its for pandas..lol

[@caseyb1316]

Alpha1 typically the self leveling underlayment’s aren’t walkable surfaces.

[@MBA-pz6tu]

Is it possible to level a floor in a flat? Ous the concrete not too heavy for original period hardwood underneath? Thank you.

[@jeffostroff]

You can level that floor with no worries, unless the flat was built illegally against building codes, and is subject to collapse.

[@MBA-pz6tu]

Built in 1898, so not sure about the bulging codes back then😂, but thanks!

[@rpsloss]

What types of drugs allows the floor grinder dude to not wear knee pads? Nice vid and thanks

[@jeffostroff]

These guys make me cringe sometimes. I can do it without being on my knees, but it is harder that way.

[@s.olicia2667]

Do you have to use a primer after the bonding agent? Or does the bonding agent replace the primer?

[@jeffostroff]

Bonding agent does the same thing.

[@kalleklp7291]

Concrete will continue hardening up til a month after laying it out.

[@billschipper1718]

Its also called curing

[@feliksplotnikov6408]

Kalle Klæp Not necessarily a month. There is quick setting concrete. Many accelerating admixtures exist. Concrete may harden in a few hours. Normally 28 days is specified, but concrete gain 70% of its strength within a week.

[@rickyjuarez2891]

I assume if you need to add weatherproofing sealer it would be after pouring the level set compound?

[@jeffostroff]

No you should never add a weatherproofing sealer to this as this is never meant to be the final finished floor. The instructions on most self leveling concrete bags will tell you that is only meant to be the under floor and that a flooring should be placed on top of it.

[@psiclops521]

That guy grinding the floor with no ear, eye, or breathing protection is foolish. If you are going to try this, wear ear, eye, and breathing protection, and make sure the respirator protects against silica dust, which causes silicosis. You won't like silicosis. Don't be a fool; protect yourself. That dust collector is probably getting a lot of the dust, but what if it misses 1%? And say you're grinding a 20X22 garage floor. That's a lot of dust and even 1% is bad enough. How much silica dust is too much? The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has a lower non-regulatory Threshold Limit Value of 25 µg/m to the third power. That is 25 micrograms per million per cubic meter of air. That's a tiny amount of silica dust.

[@jeffostroff]

I know some of these guys I think will end up with iron lung one day. I also see a lot of roofers without harnesses. OSHA can't be everywhere at once to inspect every single job site. Lucky for this guy that vac he used caught about everything there was, but you're right, there's still 1% of what I could not even see him grinding up.

[@maysaraabdo5339]

What brand cement and Primer did you use?

[@jeffostroff]

Forget which one, they sell it at Home Depot, down the concrete aisle, looks like milk, comes in plastic bottle yellow label. The self leveler bag might also indicate the preferred primer to use.

[@NobleNobbler]

Man, settle down guys. I'm a perfectionist, but jumping down someones throat because a dude didn't hold a screed right or used a grinder or whatever because it's not in compliance of Ch. 1, Subsection 12, Verse 8, from the holy CODEx of OSHA is a bit much

[@jeffostroff]

Yes so true lol but it is always good to hear input from all sorts of expertise

[@WeekendGolf30]

I want to do this to my bedrooms, I have the stick tile original on the slab for flooring. What should I use to get the stick off the floor or can I poor over it?

[@MikeMoose67]

I am going to have to have this done. Could you give me a ballpark figure on what this would cost me for a 25 x 30 room.

[@christophersoileau3813]

Shoe molding looks like crap in any house...

[@jeffostroff]

Yup, that's why I don't use it anymore, stopped about 5 years ago. I'd rather have a little gap under the baseboard than see that tacky shoe rail. In fact there have been times when I caulked UNDER the baseboard due to excessive gaps left by sloppy builders leaving lippage on their uneven tiles, now you have to create an optical illusion by caulking under the baseboards, but it works great and fills in the gaps.

[@zeke112964]

@@jeffostroff Stopped 5 years ago but used it in this video from 3 months ago

[@jeffostroff]

@@zeke112964 I uploaded this video 3 months ago, but we actually shot it in 2012! It sat on my hard drive for years before we got around to processing the video and uploading it.

[@janellebellard1913]

You don’t have to put some kind of barrier around the walls to prevent it going through?

[@jeffostroff]

When I do it I usually prefer to either add Coke along those bottoms bottoms of the walls or you can also do the phone but the call has more control. Oh. In this case they probably didn't bother because you have a metal bottom plate at the bottom of the wall there so nothing is going to seep through

[@xxbaldycoupxx]

This is nonsense. I do self levelling on floors this size all the time on my own. You don't need to grind the floor first and it's not a "bonding agent" it's a primer to stop the leveller drying out too quickly from absorbtion. Their bucket is stupidly large and the way they splash it about is amateur hour!

[@jeffostroff]

Apparently you're not very good at your job. There were several high points that needed to be ground down, and one spot had a vertical rebar rod sticking up out of the foundation that had to be ground down. Huge chunks of sloppy concrete from the builder had to be ground down. These guys use a "stupid large bucket", because they mix multiple bags at once for larger faster production, as they normally do commercial projects. Sounds to me like YOU are the amateur if you don't understand these concepts. There was no splatters all over the walls, and yes, you dump the stuff out on the floor, that's how it works. You're just making up nonsense, really is that all you can come up with? "splashing about. It's always amusing when janitors assistants show up trolling here, blowing hot air about nothing. I would never hire you if you don't prepare the sub floor first. Grinding the floor removes any contaminants that could be there too. No one likes a troll who comes flying in off their high horse cutting down everyone in site. Grow up.

[@MarvmanandtheZ]

I am a professional flooring installer and can say that while I don't totally agree with Pablo I definitely don't agree with Jeff. Depending on what brand of leveler you use you don't need to grind the whole floor. Also Pablo is right its a primer that keeps the concrete from sucking in the moisture of the leveler

[@NateBFlooring]

Commerical flooring installer here for 20yrs, depending on what exists on the floor does require grinding, and why would you not want to grind high spots down? Less self leveling material. Your floor in only flat as the highest spot. Now being a commercial flooring outfit, their methods are a little out dated, there are better tools than the skimmer(rake) we use a spike roller and a gauge rake to move material around and our mixing barrels are in rolling carts. Does the end product look good? Absolutely. Just because someone doesn't do it your way doesn't mean it's wrong.

[@BigBand1942]

Jeremy....Thanks Also NO Primer Needed AT ALL (only in my case)...15x15 Basketball court Outdoor for the little little kids.....Cleaned and dumped spread and PAINT! that's it! Anyway a GREAT VID Jeff!

[@engsetters4633]

@@NateBFlooring us residential guys have seen your commercial work......

[@bennyhill3642]

Hello Jeff Robert here in SC. I couldn't help it when I watched your video We were hired to demo a living room floor, Home owner said something was wrong with his floor. It had cement slab and lament floor covering. We pulled it up and you wouldn't believe this one.. there was a 4'x4' hole clear down to the dirt under the house filled with what ever the trades men eat for lunch that day... mad me wonder where was the inspector, or the forman over the hole housing project??? We did laugh a little but really it was Very Sad!! Sents then almost ever house I've been into /200,000.00 + floors have cracks in them from one end of the house to the other!!! Craftsmanship has really went down hill here now for approx 15/20 years.. Anyways take care and GOD Bless😇

[@joannerichardson5035]

can the leveller be poured over wood flooring, or does it have to be taken up?

[@jeffostroff]

I think there would be too much flexion in the wood flooring unless it was glued down or nailed down then I might do it. T Yeah we had a that’s a really tough one to answer. if there's any underlayment below the flooring, then it can make it bounce too much and you can end up cracking the self-leveling compound. The best course of action is if you have a wood subfloor beneath your wooden planks, try to remove the wood planks and then just pour it on the subfloor but make sure that you're not like on an upstairs floor where the self leveler could drip down between the subfloor panels and go downstairs so if that's the case you might want to run caulk through any cracks you see and I usually like to cacaulk all call the way around the perimeter of the room as well so that it can’t escape and go into an adjoining room. Essentially you want to dam up the entire perimeter of the room and fill in any holes where it might drain through before it has a chance to dry period it will look like a leak of water for about an hour or so

[@joannerichardson5035]

@@jeffostroff Thanks for your response Jeff!...it would be the whole main floor, with the crawl space below, so don't care what drips down lol!

[@elyalbao1304]

where do you buy the vacuum attachment to your angle grinder?

[@jeffostroff]

That was the contractor's don't know where he got it. Home depot sells a universal dust shroud similar to that, about $50

[@joeyk2055]

Thanks for this! So how many bags did you mix at once? Only 1 at a time?

[@jeffostroff]

There were 3 guys from the flooring company, they mix one 50 pound bag at a time, then dump it on the floor. While the guy in boots is coaxing it into place, the mixing guy is mixing the next bag. I don't know how many of the bags they eventually used.

[@jllatin0]

Can you self leveling your floor on second floor? As I mentioned before i tried to do it my self but it ended up uneven. Now im thinking of putting a second layer. Any recommendations on that?

[@jeffostroff]

Yes, in fact this unit was self leveled by the builder, so the second floor already had a nice level 1" or so pour of self leveler. You should be able to pout more over the top of the other, just read instructions on bag if to see if you have to get this done quickly, as some manufacturers don't want you waiting too long between pours.

[@jllatin0]

jeffostroff also since its a second layer do you use a primer or a bonding agent?

[@mbarrera25able]

I'm looking to renovate my home and install concrete stained flooring throughout the house. The current flooring isn't level. What advise can you give regarding contractors? What are questions I should ask?

[@jeffostroff]

Make sure you use a contractor that specializes in leveling floors. They can tell you when they come to estimate how far out of level it is and how much they think they will need to use, as that will affect your final price.

[@zoochase]

Will this work in a garage? I have quite a few high and low spots and it would look worse if I sealed it like I want to do. I do park a couple vehicles in it. Thanks in advance.

[@jeffostroff]

No, you can't use this in a garage, the bag instructions say interior foot traffic only, no vehicle traffic loads. Always check the instructions first before buying, and check with the manufacturer what they recommend for a garage floor.