max388•6d ago

Spent 5 hours trying to level a floor that was off by 1.5 inches

I took a job refinishing a living room in an old house near downtown Nashville. The floor had this massive dip near the front window that looked like the whole house settled wrong. I figured I could just grab some self-leveling compound and be done in 2 hours tops. Nope. The first pour cracked overnight because I didn't prime the subfloor right. Then I had to chip it all out with a hammer and chisel, which took another 3 hours. After that I used a different brand of primer and did two thin pours instead of one thick one. It ended up taking me a full day and a half just to get that one spot flat. Has anyone else had self-leveling compound fail on them like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_mitchell6d ago

Man, priming the subfloor is TOTALLY the key. It's crazy how many people skip that step or use the wrong primer for their compound. That first crack sounds like a nightmare to chip out though, I've been there.

the_jason6d ago

Heard a guy say you gotta treat subfloor prep like you're painting a car or something.

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