A floor that isn’t level is a floor that doesn’t work as it should. It’s a floor that needs to be torn up and re-installed. That’s a headache you want to avoid because it can lead to greater damage and wear, not to mention discomfort walking on it. There are a number of ways to ensure floors are laid level and stay that way. One of the most effective is a self-leveling underlayment.
It’s so consistent, it will have you asking, “Where can I find a floor leveling contractor near me?”
What Stops Floors From Being Level?
You can assume the easiest answer for why floors are hard to level is that some flooring contractors aren’t as skilled or meticulous as others. And certainly, that might be the case here or there, but the vast majority have enough experience to know how to lay a level floor.
Sometimes it’s not a question of hiring the wrong company. It’s more a question of hiring the company with the right tools and expertise in filling the exact need you have. So what else complicates this task?
Contractors often work in separate schedules, so when it comes to laying a number of floors, concrete contractors often have to work inside requirements that relate to other builders. We’ve all seen one contractor take longer than anticipated and set other steps in the schedule back as a result. Other contractors have to re-arrange – it has a ripple effect.
In this particular instance, concrete contractors often must measure flooring while shores are in place. Now, when flooring contractors arrive to do their work, the shores are removed, there may be curling at the joints, and the floor may have deflected.
Each is also measuring according to sensible requirements of their industries. There are areas and conditions where those requirements match up incredibly well between different contractors. And then there are places where those requirements diverge. In these moments, there’s something lost in translation between the two.
On top of this, you also have to deal with moisture in concrete slabs. If you’re laying impermeable flooring on top of it, you have to allow time for the slab to dry out. Don’t do this, and it’s a massive headache as the floor shifts in small but significant ways. Do this, and you can be waiting months for the concrete slabs to properly dry. This forces a choice: risk the floors not being level, or risk that ripple effect as you delay longer.
How Does Self-Leveling Underlayment Solve This?
Self-leveling underlayment is a simple and elegant solution. A concrete contractor leaves the floor with 3/4 of an inch room below the finish elevation. They then screed it off. Screed is a material that’s a blend of cement and sharp sand. It can be poured in-site over the structural concrete, acting as an even layer over which finished flooring can be installed.
The best underlayment for most circumstances is low alkali. This helps prevent any wear or interference with floor adhesives, making the finishing material more stable and durable.
There’s an additional step in this called moisture mitigation. It can further improve this process. It involves applying an epoxy-based coating that prevents moisture movement through the concrete.
Of course, concrete dried to 95% or better internal relative humidity doesn’t necessarily need this. As mentioned, that can take a long time. Moisture mitigation serves to effectively speed up the process
That’s a Lot Simpler Than I Thought!
Right? Now, there are a number of variations on the technique that fit different needs and circumstances.
The underlayment may be installed right over a broadcast epoxy. For others, you may need a primer to help penetrate the substrate and improve the underlayment’s bond.
There are other considerations. Self-leveling underlayment as a process is flexible in how you use it. It can be installed very thin – just 1/8 of an inch. Or it can be installed several inches thick.
What Else Is Involved?
Approaches vary as to the best self-leveling underlayment implementation. One good approach is to use level pegs every few feet. These can be positioned with the use of a water level and give distinct visual markers for how to spread the underlayment evenly and accurately. This underlayment can be applied by pumping it out in needed measurements and then using rollers to spread and smooth it.
Underlayment can be applied in small amounts. This is the way that it was normally done for many years. This was obviously not terribly efficient. Others have come along since then to improve the process. Today, truck & trailer systems allow underlayment to be mixed and delivered in huge amounts. Not only does this improve the efficiency of delivering, it also greatly reduces the mess of transporting underlayment. Fewer workers are needed to conduct the process, which can also help save money.
How Fast Does This Allow Flooring Installation?
Self-leveling underlayment can harden in the space of a few hours. This ensures that flooring can be installed in particularly speedy jobs in just 24 hours. This approach works miracles for commercial and residential spaces that need many floors installed with perfect precision quickly.
Flooring doesn’t have to take a great deal of time, even when installing many floors with speed. With material, technique, and technology advances, you can go from, “Find a floor leveling contractor near me,” to getting the job done in days where it used to take months. That can shave weeks off the construction schedule and assist other contractors in getting to their step of the job faster. That all adds up to saving time, money, risk, and stress.
