SLC (floor leveling compound) application hints


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Old 12-05-17, 07:09 AM
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SLC (floor leveling compound) application hints

I need to put down SLC on a 6x12 plywood subfloor. I know that expansion room is needed by the walls and that all holes/cracks i.e. drain/toilet holes need to be covered. Is there any thing else I need to know about SLC application to make this go correctly & smoothly? Will cardboard and duct tape be sufficient to cover the holes? what about stopping it at the entryway -- more cardboard and duct tape? can/should I do the whole area at once? Is the TEC brand from Lowes ok to use?

Some SLC instructions say to install mesh over subfloor prior to SLC. My floor is not out of level by much. I'm using slc mainly to have a level surface for the shower base. Is mesh still needed in this case?
 

Last edited by tsnider; 12-05-17 at 07:40 AM.
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Old 12-05-17, 10:15 AM
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Mesh is needed over plywood all the time, as far as I know. Also, keep in mind the stuff needs more work to become level than one would intuit from a product called 'self-leveling.'
 
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Old 12-05-17, 12:06 PM
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Help

My space is ~48 sq. ft.
do I need to get a large screed or anything to spread it around? Would a small cement/mortar trowel be enough?
Is cardboard or 1/4" plywood enough to fill in holes for the toilet & shower drain?
 
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Old 12-05-17, 06:03 PM
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If you plan on tile for the balance of the bathroom, you can put down cement backerboard set in a bed of mortar first. You can then use your self leveling compound directly on the cement board without wire lath. You will have to prime the cement board with a SLC primer first.

What type of shower base do you have? Does it require a mortar bed underneath it? You may be able to use that mortar to help set the base level.
 
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Old 12-06-17, 06:31 AM
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Shower base is Onyx (cultured marble like product) it wasn't sitting level after the contractor tried to quickly level & stabilize it with a bit of mortar. I didn't specify that they should to floor prep as part of the work. The remainder of the floor is fine (I previously tiled it), so I was planning to put SLC only where the shower base sits (not completely correct but I think that will work).
 
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Old 12-06-17, 01:00 PM
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If you were able to tile the balance of the bathroom without issue, I would pull the shower base and remove the mortar that the contractors installed and work from an original subfloor and not an uneven mortar base. Should be fairly easy to remove the mortar.
 
 

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