Can we talk about those self-leveling underlayments for concrete slabs?

I was totally convinced they were a gimmick until I had to prep a 1,200 sq ft basement floor in Cincinnati with a 3/4 inch dip, and it saved me two full days of grinding and patching. What's your go-to method for a slab that's way out of plane?

3 comments

3 Comments

haydenp952mo ago

My buddy in Cleveland swears by the Ardex liquid backer board for slopes over half an inch... says it feathers out better than most.

leohart1mo ago

My old neighbor Mike tried that Ardex stuff on a basement floor that had a good inch and a half drop across the room... he figured he'd be out there all weekend with a bag mix. Dude had it poured and level in like two hours, said the feathering part was easier than spreading peanut butter. He kept texting me pictures of his laser level readings just to show off, haha. Never seen a guy so excited about a floor he was gonna cover with carpet anyway.

anna_hill2mo ago

Oh man, calling that stuff a gimmick is a rookie move, lol. I was the same way until I had a slab that looked like a skatepark half-pipe. Spent a whole afternoon with a laser level just muttering swear words. That self-leveler felt like cheating, but my back was very okay with it.