I have done quite a bit of work with self levelling compound and have on occasions done 30 X 25kg bags settings on my own with a glass flat finish . It definitely takes the know how to do a floor of this size though the key to the success is most definitely preparation preparation preparation! Here's the method I have used and has never let me down , I have seen the mistakes that can be made and how badly it can go and these are the steps I use for a big floor , I choose to work by myself on all of these steps to prevent any dirt/Dust moving around or being walked in and out of the space and the only time someone else helps is if needed to help pour the bags in the mix , make sure they are clean and have clean shoes and stay out of the room if possible . If any dirt gets walked onto the PVA it will result in the levelling compound bubbling and leave a poor finish . - sweep and hoover the floor - hoover the floor again 3 times - once you think the floor is spotless and dustfree , hoover it again 2X more times . This is your best friend for a good finish. - if self levelling onto concrete use a PVA at a strength of 4 parts water 1 part PVA 24hours Prior to pour. - if self levelling onto a smooth surface like old quarry tiles etc I use a plasterers pregrit followed by a PVA coat as above to give it a better key Before pouring - I mix up the levelling compound in a new 100liter black round dustbin 5 bags per mix . The bin at this point weighs about 120kg so this is hard graft manoeuvring it around and care must be taken . - prepare your water and bags for ALL mixes before mixing anything. If I know I have 25 bags to mix I will set them around the room in lines of 5. All bags are to be sat up straight, rip the tops off all the bags and line them up along with a bucket of your required water amount per 5 bags. So at this point you have 5 sets of 5 bags at different points of the room with 5 buckets of water. All the bags are open completely at the top so as you are moving around the room mixing you only have to lift the bag and pour into the bin, saves a lot of time and stops any rushing when mixing as that is when you will make a mistake for sure . The floor must be freshly PVA'd for the second time and start mixing as it goes tacky. By this time you should have your lowest points of the room worked out which is where you will pour 1st and also your exit trail out of the room needs to be thought about. - when mixing be careful not too over mix and to mix correctly ( easier said than done , but this is what works for me ) When pouring the levelling compound in, I have just the head of the mixer on full blast in the water and pour the powder directly onto the mixer head, throw at least 3 bags in this way before plunging down into the bin. The last 2 bags again keep the mixer head towards the top of the mix before plunging down to the bottom. This whole mixing process should only take 2-3minutes max until you get a thick creamy consistency as opposed to a watery mix. If your mix takes 5min+ you've failed and overmixed and it will go off quicker resulting in lines in your pour, or a full bin of solid leveller which can happen very quickly. -Pour as much out of the bin tipping it forward and moving left and right , - I trowel the self levelling compound into the corners with care and run the 16" plasterers trowel back and forth as if I were flattening a freshly plastered skim coat . I repeat this process moving back out of the room so not too stand on any of the floor. When troweling it you shouldn't be scraping the concrete you are just trying to level the compound ontop so long smooth gentle sweeps across does a better job. Half way through I go over it back and forward with a spiked roller . Continue untill you get out of the room and you should have a perfectly level floor that is as smooth as glass. A couple of points to be ware of, This size levelling will need at least 2-3 men if doing in temps above 16° c But can be done by 1 person during the colder months . When using 3 people, 1 mixing 1 trowelling and 1 pouring/spike rolling. I wouldn't risk doing more than 5mixes in one floor pour so you will have to either seperate sections and infill once dry or multiply the number of bins/people used.

(A) rent a mixer (B) use an industrial floor squeegee to spread the product uniformly (C) some areas will require more than 1 layer (D) use spikes on your footwear! (E) invest in a porcupine roller to break surface tension as product is curing Pouring one bucket at a time and relying on gravity alone is a user error. Tools make everything go easier.

THANK YOU for pointing out the downside of leveling larger areas DYI. I’ve placed concrete floors in a few dozen residences and this clearly describes the specific technical limitations. Small batch mixing of concrete gives wildly INCONSISTENT RESULTS. An electric concrete mixer is the only way to mix enough volume to get a level floor. A Bull Trowel on a pole and a Float Trowel are needed as well. You are very kind to have made the effort to make and post this truthful information.

We need more people like you just keeping it real

remember he said you need 3 of your "Best" friends. I used 3 of my normal friends and they didn't mix well.. now i got a floor with 3 large lumps in the middle.

I love the honesty with this video! I’m so tired of “DIY” put on everything, and then it turns out bad because it wasn’t as easy as they made it seem.

Squeegee ONLY the very top level. Do NOT attempt to dredge up anything from below the surface because self-leveller dries faster under the surface and has already partially solidified. If you attempt to squeegee below the surface you'll bring up solidifying chunks that you can't address until after it dries.

Complicated? get a garden hose or a bucket of water, make puddles on slab(LOW SPOTS). wait 5 minutes. take crayon draw around edges of puddles or low spots. break open a bag of floor leveler. I like Feather-lite: make a mix, with a flat trowel, inside each crayon area or low spot add water with a sponge little at a time, like a milk shake not like water!!!! feather to edge. of mark. if you have deep spots you want to fill: Drywall screws or nails are great leveling points. pour to desired height of nail or screws. 😎

I've been concrete resurfacing for 20 years and self levelers take a certain know how/skill all of their own...you need to be fast fast...fast! You need someone mixing, another pouring and spreading..if you just pour out of bucket and don't gauge rake and spread it, back roll with spike roller,, it will look just like this. It has to be spread evenly with gauge rake then quickly smoothed..all within roughly 5 min of pouring from bucket. (When the bag says you have 20 min working time, that is a joke) Pour lines will happen if mix sits on floor for more than 5 min or so before next pour is placed...gotta be fast

I really appreciate your honesty. I was beating myself up about how I did it since I was doing it by myself. It was very hard work. You guys did great. Thanks for posting.🥰

Thank you, I'm soon to begin remodeling my garage and this is the part I'm most incertain about. This definitely helps me ask the right question and have the right concerns.

Very good video! Thank you for taking time to post the ‘true-real life’ experience.

I’ve seen lads on site making the barrel out of a dustbin with a tap fixed to the bottom and sat on a caster dolly to move it around, worked well and better than the ones you buy because you control the flow of the liquid. Cost about £60 and a couple of hours knocking it up.

Thanks for your honest experience - it helps with all my planning. This will help me to do a better job. Thanks.

Thank you so much for this video. It helps to hear someone give their REAL experience.

Interesting video. Now I can understand why I had difficulty getting a tiler for my 5 X 4 metre room. There is a raised piece in the floor between the living room and hall. Around 18 inches square. I'm going to try and level it out with the angle grinder before the tiler does his job.

great post... I was about to do this myself.. and am now re-thinking my approach room size is 5m x 4m need a 5-8mm level pour to perfectly level the floor for a drop in polypipe underfloor heating system. Great share.

From my experience laying floors there are no self leveling screeds only self smothing screeds. You have to work the material on the ground. If you identify your low points beforehand you can pour the material into the low areas first. Different depths will result in different surface textures as the fillers drop leaving a more liquid surface.

I totally agree, and it is even more challenging if you pour over plywood subfloor that pulls moisture from the mix. A tip is to use the coldest water you can, as that gives more time and better flowing.

He poured then sat and looked at it 😂

Thanks for this video - the tips were super in warning me of the pitfalls. I completely agree with several comments that you made - 1) You need an assistant to mix the product speedily, preferably two assistants for large quantities. 2) Indeed, self levelling concrete/cement is generally not a 'finished surface' because the individual buckets poured have variations in colour and cloudiness, so it will generally always require some kind of finish to make it look pretty and also 3) There will likely be small air bubbles that have to be filled afterwards with a suitable product. NOW HAVING AGREED WITH YOU... I also have to add that this is a very simple DIY process in my opinion. I used DINGO SELF LEVELLING CEMENT and it was absolutely fantastic and easy to use. The polymers in any self levelling cement also make it stick to a surface very very well compared to unenhanced cement/concrete.

Thanks so much for pointing out the difficult parts. We're getting ready to level the bathroom floor and those are issues we didn't consider. We even have a huge barrel we can use to mix the compound but we didn't think of it.

I worked for a day last week helping a friend pour self-levelling compound in a basement suite. Boy was it hard work. A lot of preparation. We had 2 large barrels of water plus multiple buckets filled and ready, then 3 bags together at multiple locations and we used a bin to mix in. 3 bags per bucket of water. We just needed to keep working fast once we started and my friend was super-stressed until it was all finished. (the bags cost CAD$50 each so you don't want to waste them) Kinda stressful but we got it done in a little over 30mins once we started mixing. If I was doing a lot of this type of work, i'd definitely consider buying a machine or at least one of those bins on wheels. If you're doing it DIY you better have some help. Those bags of compound are 50lbs each and you use a lot of them

I totally agree with you. Try using spike roller to spread the mixture after it’s poured

You dont just pour and go... you still have to spread it manually

I did it by my self and it came out perfect. first time i did it. 33 five gallon buckets.

Me and my son have done 24 sqm and no issues. the key thing we learned was - two persons do separate dedicated tasks - one is mixing and second one is pouring and working the mixture - right tools - big tall plasterers bucket to mix, good mixer and spiked roller. roller wad esential so we don't have diffrences between the buckets

I am a commercial vinyl layer and I can tell you. You need to use a quality selflevelling compound to get an even pour. Also I've been in the industry for 15years and have only used 3 buckets of mix at a time getting some1 to mix buckets firstly mixing up all 3 buckets and then start pouring. While 1 bucket is poured and empty that bucket is quickly mixed while the person pouring is trowelling the first pour to smooth it and then pouring the next blending the next pour to the first pour with a trowel minimise edges of pours, and creates a more better flow of the lvls in the floors. There is definitely a nack or skill involved its not a matter of mix pour and leave. Otherwise you will definitely get high spots and low spots.

We use a team of four, using 55 galon barel as mixing bucket than pump it with small sewage pump with speed controller to a 1" reinforced hose than spill it to floor. 1 person job to spill, 1 to rake it so fast to prevent bubble , 1 to dump SL concrete to mixer and 1 to mix to good consistency. Prep is the most excruating job, and time consuming one. For primer as good bonding agent using PVA 1:4-5 depend on ambient temp and humidity. Average daily we can cover 1000-1200 sqm. Replacing hose every 8000-10k sqm.

Great video. I’m doing a project about half that size. I think I’m ok with the cm variation from one end of the room to the other because I’m putting down LVP. I must say though, this is very useful information. Just knowing what I’m in for to get the floor level enough for the flirting I’m putting down. I’m not a perfectionist so it’s all good, but you’re right, no other codes let you of this type of mistake. Thanks!

Good stuff bro! Very detailed video! A lot of ”DIY” KZfaq videos just SHOW how to DIY stuff and only explain the PROS but not the CONS.

You should have masked off sections that 1-2 bags would cover. Before doing any job like this one involving heavy items and mixing, watch many videos. This is a valuable video in that it shows why masking off is important. Thank you.

Just done the same thing, same results Buggered now really as i was planning on floor titles

Absolutely right. I messed up my 3 buckets because I couldn't pour them early enough and they set in and became completely wasted. I tried mixing them again with a lot of push and pull of my mixer and got back pain. I pour one bucket which wasnt mixed well and wasn't able to self level. If I kept pouring, it would be a greated mess so I decided to pickup the compound and put back in the bucket while other 2 buckets were already set and wasted. I am happy that I saved myself from a greater loss and finally decided to install titles for leveling my garage floor. Tiling is a lot easier and gives more control while time is on your side unlike self leveling compound. I like this video as it's explaining the absolute reality to save people from damaging their time, money and health.

Brother, THANK YOU FOR KEEPING IT REAL!!

You can do a second layer, even a third layer. That will get rid of most of these problems.

Tocmai am avut un semi eşec ieri cu self leveler 😅 Învățăm din greseli si reparam. Salutari din celalalt capat al statului Nevada. Multumiri pt video 👊🏻

Thank you for sharing your experience... Sadly I saw the video after having the same experience with ours.

Thanks for the important information before I start our showroom Project. Thank you

i asked 3 of my best friends they said we arn't friends anymore

Thank you. I’m going to be very careful while I’m doing this myself. Seems like I need some friends to help.

Your video is accurate from my experience. Honesty on social media is refreshing. Professionals do this type of work regularly building knowledge and experience which is required to make a level and smooth floor. After self-leveling nearly 1000 sq ft myself (not a pro), I'm going back by hand to grind out bumps and fill gaps in between buckets before installing a finished floor. Should have hired a pro. Yes, I'm doing the flooring myself, but LVP looks pretty straight forward.

Ty Ty Ty. Proved my point to spouse with this video!

The guy standing there watching you pour the concrete should have been mixing another bucket or two or three buckets. Then you blame the manufacturer? It's just not being applied properly...IJS

Appreciate this. I was about to try to tackle a room about the size of the one you showed. Definately need to give this some more thought.

You area great guy. I thank you very much for sharing your real life experience.

I'm a flooring guy been doing it for 20 years, let me tell you getting it "level" over a big area is rather pointless, as long as everything if FLAT with no dips anywhere you're pretty much good to go.

i agree it is a lot harder than it looks. I used 2 bags from menards one day and then 2 bags from home depot the next day. working by myself. i followed mixing instructions to the letter. Neither mix was as liquid as i expected. I now have some humps i have to file, san or grind down. Maybe i should have use a four foot squeegee to move it.

nice to have an honest review for a chnge

Your advise help me a lot, that make me rethinking not to do it by myself. Thak you so much, save my time and money

Lol 😂 never in my life seen it done this way !! There is specific instructions on each bag . With the water ratio and dry time . Luckily it was not for a client !! . You are supposed to use a brute 44 gallon drum to mix to bags at a time . The floor fully primed and your squeegee at the right high. As you spread it . Someone should be mixing the other batch . A roller is used to erase the lines . This products are sold at amazon (underlayment tools )

Very informative, thank you for posting.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

My kitchen floor is all sloped everywhere ~250Sq ft, I was able to get it down to where it's "ok" after like 2 weeks of work, even had to grind out 2 high spots I created by mistake(10hours of work) , also needing to raise joists, and Install new loaded walls. But perfection is basically impossible sometimes, I still have some 1/4inch slopes in maybe 4 small areas. I'll be installing concrete subfloor on top, so everything should workout with all the thinset etc. The biggest problem sometimes is where the new tile needs to meet an existing floor to make sure both are level without needing to rip out all thefloors from your house, literally.

I just watch the video right before this one where a guy had a 55 gal plastic trash can that was on Wheels and he added a piece of wood to raise it up and he cut a hole out to put a PVC pipe in it with a spicket and he mixed everything in the 55 gallon drum and he just trickled it all over the floor genius

Awesome man. I love it

Thanks for the heads up man. 👍

Great points and honest issues 👏👍👊

thanks for your thorough explanation.

Soooo...you just poured it and left it? 😭 It has nothing to do with the size of the bucket. Many mistakes were made here. Good video though.

Thanks good honest video. Hard to find on any topic.

Thanks a lot man!

Yeah with a 10 minute work time, there is no room for error. Especially for someone who has never done it before. You mess up then you will have whole new headache of a problem trying to remove it.

Thanks for bringing the reality to my life! For keeping it real!

You need a squeegee or trowel to spread it out its self leveling but it dries too fast to just let it sit. You need a better mixer and buy better material best around is the mapei. A bit of bonding adhesive rolled on before and into the mix helps too

lol man. So imagine my surprise when I am getting ready to lay in some vinyl plank floors and I see the title of this video, and it is not until after I watch it that I realize why the guy in the video is so familiar. So you do more than just dirt bikes lol.

If the floor is really uneven and with humps and bumps u need to use a lazer and tripod or glue down packers to the lazer line

I have a wood floor business, and I have been leveling floors for years with 5 gallon buck. You will never level any floor without using some sort of reference point.

Thanks! This is very helpful!

Thanks alot for sharing the video. I think you have been leaving some silt residue in the bucket that accumulated, if not then that brand should exit the market.

Couple things that stand out from watching video. No need to rent mixer..., big mixer with paddle and buckets are enough. Levels should be shot in b4 pour and spike shoes and roller a must. Simple movement with trowel of material will allow for it to travel. Think of liquid as little rolling balls..., that need to be pushed back and fourth by a trowel to set itself. Start from deepest point on floor that has been shot in. Alot of that discoloration is from the bubbles of different mix of water and material not escaping.

Thank you for giving me this insight!

thank you great advice.

Nice video to help understand the risks and uncertainties.

Very, very good advise Sir. I did this with one other person bag at the time and did not get good results. After laying LVP when finished I still had low spots where floor planks would not locked in securely. Now I'm faced with a second application after removing 3/4 on the floor.

But in all the videos you saw you didn't notice they spread it out evenly over the entire floor. They don't just pour and leave it.

I love thee honesty all these other guys in these videos say ohhh it’s so easy or they just make it look easy

You are absolutelty right dude.

Some things are better left to the pros. Coming from a concrete professional, this is one of them. As you can see there are a lot of variables to think of. Not to mention that is a lot of square footage for even two professionals with the proper tools. Home Depot and KZfaq can cost you a lot of money by making it look easy.

We did the mixing work perfectly - everything laid out before, all bags cut and ready to pour, all water measured out. Mixing 330kg in 12 mins: happy with that. But then when I poured it and pulled the screed around the room, something went wrong. I knew where all the low point were. Used a spiked roller as well. I didn’t find out until afterwards but the centre of the room was low and there are whole sections that are higher. The tolerance is 5mm and I’m really upset. I used a float on a pole, but wish I’d used the long 72 inch float to get it bang flat. We used screed tripods and I hoped they would help but actually they just prevented me from using the extra long float. So gutted. Not sure how to resolve it now.

Such a Great honest video ,

Shame bout the inconsistent bag mixes that you got. I watched lots of videos before doing my kitchen/dining room. Fortunately it came out great. I used an acrylic primer with a latex SLC/smoothing compund mix. A trowel and a spiked roller helped alot with spreading it out and blending the next mix in. Definitely glad I had a friend mixing as I would never have been able to do it alone as the stuff dries fast!

Mix each one in a 5 gallon bucket, then pour it into large trash can with bottom drain, to pour it on the floors.

Thanks I tried to do myself was a disaster...I mixed way too long and it came out like a slurpee and didn't move lol

I appreciate it man

And always check cover holes and put wood or something to hold leveler where u want to stop

thanks very much for speaking the truth.

Thanks man !

Thanks man, appreciate the heads up. I wonder if the technique of filling the lowest point first would have given you better results.

your right , i tried it hard work

Hi great video, what ratio to water did you use in liters per bag, Cheers

THIS GUY IS 100 % CORRECT!!!

Guy is correct (i did it alone first time ever no expierence) i mixed everything in hudge tub at the same time and poured with big bucket alone. It settles fast. I used spiked roler to even out poors and before i was done spiked roler started leaving drying spikes that did not disappear. i did 2 rooms. First room with recipe provided by manufacturer it felt too thick and had hard time leveling it end up with 5mm difrence and it had a crack in a middle. Second room i added 10% more watter it was alot easier to work better of like 3milimeter difference but it micro cracked everywhere(i assume because of watter?) my advice. DONT DO IT ALONE. buy expesive leveler that was kept in dry and WARM condition and had no cold. Use spiked rolers. Place markers in multiple places in a middle of room to know how much to poor (just woden toothpicks glued to the floor it helps alot.) Why first room cracked i still dont know i assume its because its cheapest product.

thank you! I wondered if it was too good to be true.

Thanks ! Good to know

Can you mix 3 buckets at once and poor them one after another? I have an area 120sf to do in a room that is about 360sf. I'm laying some very large tile down and its important that the floor is level beneath it. I ask because I'm doing this by myself.

Thanks for the video. The leveler looks a little bit too wet. Also the flooring outside the pour area is getting leveler on it. We know it’s not the easiest thing to do. But consistency is key in your mixes. I’m not commenting to be a jerk. Just speaking on what I viewed.

well i think you missed video from good youtubers because all the videos i have watch they all clearly said that self leveling compound is not self you need to help it spread it thru the whole room . in your case it looks like you threw the leveling compound and just wait it for it to do its job on its own

Operator error. It's easy if you spread the material around a little bit. Every video I reviewed other than yours showed some form of screeding. You need to move the product around to combine pours. While "self leveling" might be a bit of a misnomer because it needs some help, someone who has never done this before with an average IQ can get a decent outcome. It's great that you give a different perspective, but you may scare some people off from giving it a shot. Finally, it takes some effort, but I would not say it's back breaking work. I did 22 50lb bags with my wife mixing - hardly broke a sweat. Common sense and the right tools are all you need.

Self leveling is for first coating. Please add top coating on top of it. to look better