Self levelling compound - practical questions on laying

[duotwr]

Hi

I was on here last week, and over on Matt's flooring forum, and got some good advice on what to do about my kitchen floor. On Saturday I'll be laying the first layer of Arditex NA - first time I've used SLC.

A couple of practical questions though. The room is about 7m2, and I plan to put down about 3-4mm. Given that the Arditex will go off fairly quickly (especially if it's as warm as last weekend) I plan to do it in three batches - half a 25kg bag per batch.

Do I need to go as far as battening the room in thirds, or will the second batch just bond to where the first batch is feathered out. First batch will be fairly set by the time the second one goes down?

And - a daft question. Is a normal builders bucket big enough for half a 25kg bag mix?

Hopefully last of the questions!

Keith

 

[dazlight]

Hi Keith,
best to mix the bag and bottle in full mate for best results. Will flow better and no risk of making the mix too weak.
Try to store the screed somewhere cool. It wont go off to quick that way. You dont want any sunlight on the floor while your doing it.
2 Units will be enough.

 

[duotwr]

Ok cheers Dazlight. I'll just give it a go and see how I get on.

Keith

 

[duotwr]

Hi

I just thought I'd post a quick update. I was working on the kitchen last week, and this involved laying the floor.

Generally it went well. I removed the old laminate, and then lifted the old thermoplastic tiles. In some cases these came up intact, although more often they broke. I took what I think were reasonable precautions due to the asbestos risk, although not quite HSE standards.

The floor was swept and mopped several times prior to laying the first layer of SLC. Following advice I used two lots of Arditex NA to cover about 7.5mm. This amount was necessary due to some uneveness where some of the old concrete had come away.

The Arditex was great stuff. Easy to mix. Easy to trowel around. I mixed it in two batches, in a large plastic tub - although nearly knackered my back lifting it!

I gave this about 6 hours or so to dry, and it seemed sound. So I then used Ardex DPM 1CR. I paid a premium for the rapid curing stuff - although as it turns out I could probably have got away with the DPM 1C. This was harder to apply, and I started to get quite edgy about how much time I had left. I ended up applying the whole batch, which means it is deeper than the minimum depth recommended. I don't know if this will be a problem or not. I then left this overnight to cure.

At about 8am the next morning I then did the second layer of Arditex NA. Again it went on easily, but I didn't end up using the whole of the 2 batches I mixed - but this was about right for a 3mm application.

All in all it went well - assuming that it has been done properly. Time will tell I'm sure. It wasn't cheap. I went to a flooring supplier nearby, who were very helpful. I think the Arditex was about £22 a batch or so. The DPM was much more - I think around £120. So all in about £200 plus some equipment. Can't guarantee the accuracy of these values though.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice - especially Matt.

Keith