Why is leveling concrete floors necessary? Leveling concrete floors becomes important when you are installing any type of flooring. When leveling concrete floors, you can be assured that all types of flooring will look aesthetically pleasing. Leveling concrete floors assures you receive a full manufacture’s warranty on labor and material. Leveling concrete floors means you have eliminated any possible tripping hazards.
- Low or sunken concrete
- Wavy or un-even concrete
- Different elevations of concrete slabs
- Concrete adjoining the main house with an arizona room
It’s unfortunate that more time is not spent by the concrete finishers when the initial slab was poured. A good share of surface preparation costs could be eliminated by better quality workmanship. Once the concrete has been poured and finished there is simply no other way to change un-levelness, except by either concrete grinding or by leveling concrete floors. Many times it takes a combination of both to achieve a flat floor.
People often think that you simply dump the leveler on the floor, walk away, and let it seek it’s own level. This is usually 95% incorrect! If you were pouring a very small confined area, that might work. Usually though the heighth differences are spread over large areas. Without controlling the pour, you can easily get too much material in an area, resulting in humps. Since the leveler is expensive to purchase and install, proper placement is necessary to keep from wasting money. If an over pour does happen, you have only a very short amount of time to fix the problem, or you face a very difficult time grinding it away. In fact, dried leveler is 4 times harder to grind than concrete!
It is always important to prepare the old concrete floor before applying the leveler. We “scarify” the floor in those areas that will receive the leveler, by removing about 1/32″ of the top of the concrete. This removes all sealers, curing agents, paint, stain, waxes, drywall, etc. from the concrete. Primers don’t work well on old concrete floors with paint, drywall, old coatings, and adhesives still covering them. The leveler is only as strong as the bond between the concrete and the leveler. Novices are not aware of the importance and the degree with wihich this preparation needs to be done. Failure of leveler is common with these steps are missed, and whole sections of leveler can lift off the floor. Careful thought and skill needs to be implemented to make sure your money is not wasted.
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