Self leveling projects are about ten times harder than most you tube videos will make them out to be, this is a great video to have a real idea of what you're actually getting into, tons of variables and manpower needed, this is one of the best videos out there because of the honesty

Starting a project like this with no experience is just like paying dues to an apprenticeship class, it costs time and money but in the end you gain the experience same as a pro. This applies to all things in construction and you can achieve professional level results if you approach it like a learning tool and be willing to undo your mistakes and repeat the process over. Grinding down your first mistake was , in the long run, the right thing to do and is part of " paying dues " to gain a professional result. Job well done , you should be proud of the accomplishment.

it takes a big person to admit their errors. thanks for sharing! costly mistakes can be valuable lessons...

Thanks much for the video. You know, the BEST DIY VIDEOS are ones where mistakes or oversights have been made. These become "tips and cautionary tales" where the viewers can beware, and prevent making the same mistakes. All the "perfect" videos on KZfaq don't prepare you for what could go wrong, but seeing how you discovered the heat issue, and hot versus cold water use, has us now aware of what to do. And it kind of releases us from the fear of making mistakes because mistakes happen, and they can be fixed. Congrats on completing your project and thanks again for sharing! A very valuable 'how to' video.

14:18 - The dog drinking the floor leveler. 😂

Wow, the before process is probably EXACTLY the way I would have gone about doing this. I may have even gotten impatient and ended up with the same kind of concrete, especially if I was working against time and freaking out. Thank you so so much for this honest video.

You have make sure you at least watch from minute 4:50 ... super hilarious, I laughed like a hyena... I can appreciate the honesty, we've all been there and have had to learn some hard lessons, you took it graciously!

Thanks for your honesty! It really is good to have somebody showing that my fear of tackling this is NOT unfounded.

Way to recover, and the end result is top-flight! Everybody pays their dues, and I thank you for an honest video that shows you paying yours. Your honesty will hopefully save a lot of people a lot of time and money.

Dude, I feel for you. Respect for having a go 👏

Videos with mistakes after lots of prep but honest evaluation are so valuable. Thanks for posting it.

Dude, you have my admiration and respect! Thanks so much for sharing everything that you did! I am thinking about buying a property that needs to have this done and I appreciate the pitfalls that you shared as well as the successes! Yes, I am SURE you saved a ton of money because like you said, you'd need to pay two or three people to do this and after hiring a contractor a few years back, I'm also SURE they would be in no hurry to get it done. Again, Thank You Sir!

Good for you for sticking with it

These videos are actually what a DIY-er needs, so kuddos for this!

I feel your pain man, so much for the self levelling aspect. Thanks for sharing your experience so others can be more prepared.

I had the same thing happen to me and it nearly cost my sanity. I have been trying to build the courage to approach my floors again. I think your video is just what I needed to see. Thank you!

Appreciate the video, it’s not always fun or easy.

This is the video I needed. Learn from others mistakes, do it yourself, make the same mistake, repeat

This is what i always teach my kids, if you fail the first time, don't give up, instead find a better solution. great job. Now I will not start on self leveling :))

Thank you for your video. I, too, learned a lot from your efforts. In the long run, your job turned out quite well!

I’m glad you pushed through it and never gave up man thanks for the heads up brother

Finally a video that shows how it really works, had the same problem with my bathroom. Doing the kitchen in a few weeks. Brilliant ideas and so many good lessons , thanks.

Thank you for sharing your adventure! Really smart solution!

That's a much better job than I've see many so-called pros do. That's why I've done almost all my home concrete jobs myself. I had over 15 years as a concrete mason, but I can still make mistakes. Admitting to mistakes is the first step to self-improvement. The money-saving makes me happy, too! ;)

I learned alot about how to do it from your video. I just put in laminate flooring a few years back so I wasn't as worried about being perfectly level. Good job on sticking with it until you got it done.

Great video. Thank you for your time and effort to make it and share it with the world.Greetings from Croatia.

I have done self leveling many times. I found what worked for me was to dry screed first. I marked out with 'H" for high and "L" for low int he spots required. Poured the compound in smaller batches as it is easier to control in all the "L's" and it did what it was meant to do, self level. The high spots where just ground to level. I had a learning curve as well but way cheaper as dozens of bags can get expensive. Floor coloring not uniform but your laying over it anyhow. He stuck with it and it turned out nice..

Thanks for sharing. I'm about to start on a flooring project. Seeing the mistakes is almost better than seeing the 'success'. Appreciate your efforts. You're right, what else do we have to do during the COVID lock downs. lol.

Thank you btw for adding this valuable footage we can share when our customers say the other company didn't bid $800 for floor leveling. until now ive always just had to say yes because they hadn't planned on doing it which is even worst. BTW the indoor air temp likely wasn't hurting you 1/2 as bad as the hot water in your hose was and not using a mixing drill on low speed. the faster you whip it the faster the reaction begins. Great content though!!

Anyone who has done any amount of contracting knows this feeling, and it's sickening when it's happening to you at a time you can't adjust. I feel for you, but I admire you for sharing your experience.

When it comes to self leveling compound you have to add the proper amount of water. You also have to have a lot of help so there's a lot of buckets ready it needs to be as monolithic as possible. Good job is not giving up guy.

Thank you for posting your project it’s actually quite helpful to me for my floor leveling I’m ready to tackle.

I believe your biggest mistake is using the quick set leveler. It is on principal one of the easiest parts of the whole masonry to self level the floor. For such a big project you would need 2 guys but still it can be done with 1 guy. basically all you gotta do is mix down to the percentage ratio (it usually says 5 or 6L for a whole bag) so you take precisely that much water mix it in for precise amount of minutes it says on the bag and you just pour and that's it. Take a trowel to push it a bit and you pour another and another and another filling the room with liquid and letting the liquid thanks to the gravity level ITSELF. You should not level it yourself. It levels on its own but the problem is as I checked the bag it is a quick set leveler which means it is for small jobs or multiple people big project jobs as there should be about 5 or 6 of them 3 mixing the bags 2 pouring and spreading as those very quickly become unworkable while the general AND quality ones takes about 20-30 minutes before they slightly harden and become unworkable but on principle you should pour take 5 minutes to not even smear but just slightly nudge the liquid until it stops moving on its own which stops fairly quickly and you go in mix another pour in and repeat and by the time you're done whole room should be still very much in liquid form as the liquid is still moving around filling in the dips and setting in. I always steer clear of the quick sets on anything as I am not highly skilled because with the quick sets you need to know your shit down to the motion of your body as the rhythm is not set by you but by the mix and if you don't know what you are suppose to be doing that's it games over.

Thank you, thank you for being shamelessly honest. This is the reality of DIY projects and the reason it's going to cost me so much less in time, frustration, and supplies to hire a professional.

I'm doing a small basement bathroom soon. Loved your tips for sealing the perimeter. Thanks!

Thumbs up for sharing a real life experience, had a realatable one. Have year's of concrete experience but floor leveler is a different beast. Hired the wife to help with a master bath on the 3rd floor with a number of obstacles.. It was a humbling experience and a lesson learned. Don't use a float to feather, use a steal trowel, no matter how hard you think you can push yourself anything over a patch requires prep and help.

I watched you video. I do hardwood floors for a living. I level floors all the time. I use tapcons every 2 or 3 feet to give me a height to pour to. It works well. We charge $75 a bag to level. So you can compare your cost,to what we charge in South Florida. It is definitely a hard thing to do. There's a learning curve. I made some of the same mistakes you made early in my career.

Well, I loved it. Many of the DYI projects I watch, I've done, but for some reason I can't watch enough. I feel like "you never know". I found self leveling cement difficult as well. You can learn something new, re-remember something old or just enjoy seeing work done. Your humility and dead pan style helped a lot. Kudos

The main thing here is you did not quit! I do not know you, But if you were my son i would be so proud of you!

Love your honesty. I’ve been in the flooring game 7 years now and still make mistakes, not many but time and pressure can do that to ya. In saying that I’ve met carpet layers that have been at it 20 years plus but have no clue how to level a floor. Amazing but true here in Australia.

The first time I used this was for a marble floor in an upstairs bathroom. It went pretty smoothly if you read the instructions on the bag. 5 minutes seems like a long time to mix, but it's pretty important. Then wait and mix again. It helps if you have someone mixing while you're pouring. Two people mixing is better.

I had a similar experience using leveling compound in my kitchen. My kitchen floor is still not level but is now a half inch higher than the dining room floor. I put a floating laminate floor over it and just pretend that everything is fine. :'(

I like the look of the primed concrete by itself.

Great video. We all learn best by doing and making mistakes. Thanks for sharing something we all can relate too. Nice job!

In the same boat you are in. My SLU was proud in some areas, low spots in others. It just sets up too fast They need to make an SLU that sets up in an hour instead of 20 mins. Bought the same Dewalt grinder, shroud and wheel as you. Your method here works the best. Good work

Thanks for posting this. I admire anyone who insists on doing a job on their own and is not afraid to try something new. KZfaq sure does help with the "mysteries". Sometimes learning about anothers mistakes is better than learning the "proper way" to do something. I like both actually. I watched quite a few videos on self-leveling and this is the first one I came across that mentioned temperature. Also, there are not too many contractors that will openly admit to screwing one of their jobs. I'm sure most can appreciate that "pros" who do this for a living can't teach the one time do-it-yourselfer how to do it just like them. Experience goes a long way thats for sure. I would be prone to believe true self-leveling compound would have the vidcosity very close to water. Wouldn't it be nice if that were the case.

Awesome determination. A lot of people would have gave up. You learn more when things go wrong then when it’s easy. Good job

Great sharing,, en very helpful thanks!

Wow, thanks for the video. Good warning.

The biggest mistake being made here, pouring to thin and slow. DO NOT cover a large area when dumping the buckets. Empty the buckets quickly, followed by pin rolling, while a second person mixes as fast as possible. Also, get those buckets poured waaay faster. You should be mixing and pouring as fast as you can without splshing on the walls! No time to stand around. The spiked roller should continue to be moving until no visible movement is detected. If the roller is pushing a wave your rolling to fast. It is not for "moving" material, but to break surface tension, allowing the material to continue flowing to PERFECT level. If you are using a trowel or screed, your doing it wrong. This isn't patch or concrete. This floor would have taken me and one man mixing, less than 45 mins to pour and roll. (After preping) Ideally, have 2 people mixing to avoid extended wait time between pours. This keeps the material thick (deep) enough to flow quickly. Have ALL your water at hand. You can fill a large garbage can and have a measuring bucket ready to go. THE FASTER THE BETTER!!!!

Thank you so much for sharing your failures rather than just your successes! It's actually so much more useful for people trying to learn seeing what mistakes to avoid and how things can go wrong so that our projects can (hopefully) go smoother!

LOL! Your experience was very similar to mine when I tried to level a 600 sq ft room. First attempt I tried to do it without help in the summer and after the first couple buckets knew it wasn't working because it was setting faster than I could pour it out. Spent a bunch of money and time grinding down that mistake. Second attempt using ice water and a helper went better but still some high and low spots. Then decided to try a patch approach where I alternatvely ground and leveled specific spots but it's still not level enough. Every patch I fix reveals other spots that then need leveling. I figured I would have to just pay someone to do it right but your video is encouraging me to make one more try at it.

Respect for this video man!!! Liked it, laughed, respect for sharing a failed attempt!!

I always bring my dog too work he is the best inspector! great advice thanks :)

Great video. I've been doing construction for quite a while. I've used self leveler probably once a year or so, never as big a space as your were dealing with but... You appear to have learned everything I did in 14 years, in one project. Granted, KZfaq has come a long way but kudos brother, excellent work and way to shorten the curve. It has a lot to do with giving a shit, and you obviously do.

The best part of the video is the lessons you learned from the processing. Many of the similar videos only show their "perfections".

Great video and good for you to share. I have managed to mess up a few floors of my own. You sharing this will prepare others for what's ahead. Site and temp conditions and following the manufacturers directions to the letter make for success or failure. Overworking these products creates a nightmare. If you never try it again use an acrylic floor leveller which has a slower set up time and gives you a wet edge longer. The finished floor looked great we learn from our mistakes.

Thanks for sharing bro

That fade to black at 3:33. I felt that.

Very informative!

Nice job it looks great

production quality is a 10 outa 10 great job on the video

Education can be expensive. Good information.

At least you tried. I have made many mistakes but learnt a lot from them,

I think you did a brilliant job mate ! I did my kitchen years ago with SLC and I drilled and set screws in the concrete floor and levelled em then just poured flush to head of screws . Not easy on your own mixing etc

Thanks for posting man. Dust shroud is worth every penny if you are doing this inside. A grinder will fill your room with dust in no time

Thank you for the video! Just botched up a floor in my house yesterday afternoon for similar reasons. Outside temperature was a bit high and I burnt my drill after mixing the 4th bag. Hand mixing was painfully slow and not lump free. I should have used a little bit more water and working in pairs with one guy operating the mixer is definitely a great idea. It probably would've been better to stop when I saw it's going south and Google your video. Next I'll have to get a floor grinder and grind the high spots down. I'm planning to pour over without taking down too much material.

I did my first one last night, cool evening, and just pouring a little out a time and on hands and knees with a trowel to push it into the corners, just mixing 10kg at a time and it worked great but my room was a lot smaller than yours. Im really pleased with the outcome. I think if you never done it before, do small mixes at a time and get someone to mix while you pour and level. i didnt have a spike roller but wish i had one as it would have made it easier.

Ahhh, the magic of skreeding! Don't worry man, I learned the hard way too years ago

thanks for being honest about how self leveling can ve tricky. I converted a bedroom to an office and screwed up the self leveling and then put vinyl flooring... i did a crappy job that i will one day fix. i wish i would have seen your video earlier.

You have definitely inspired to build my home, thank you.

I haven’t even finished watching this video yet, but I’m already cracking up at less that 6 minutes in. Way to keep it real man!

Just made a mess of my kitchen floor last weekend. Wish I would have seen this video before I did it, unfortunately I only watched ones which showed how well this stuff worked. Now getting quotes for someone to come in and grind it flat.

You can use tabs, which you can get from a specialty flooring place so you dont have to use the laser level technique. They stick to the floor and they have a measuring stick on them. You place these around, set your laser near the floor, then mark the tabs individually and then you pour around the tabs. Voila, perfectly level, you keep pouring until all the tabs are buried to the right height on the marking stick and then you let it dry. The tabs then break off after. Saves the trouble, its easy to do and its very precise. Also not sure which brand you used but UZIN makes some really good self leveling compounds. Then you can fix/feather the edge with UZIN 886 or 888 if you have a small curb and your pour wasnt the entire area. GOod luck next time!

While the concerns in this video are legit (especially the temperature!), I am a flooring installer and I did this so many times but I never went to such extremes! The idea is to start on the low spots, mix it liquid, and work yourself to high areas. If you need to pour anything more than 1/2 inch thick at a time (or the max thickness marked on the bag!), you should do multiple pours! If you are using straight edges and forms to do this, why not use something else (defeats the purpose of using self leveling!)? It would be so much cheaper ($60/bag self leveling vs $5-$15/bag anything else)!

Getting ready to do mine. Hot tip to use a long pole with paint roller on it minus paint sleeve if you don't have a spiked roller...read directions so you buy correct drying times....Good Luck fellow warriors!

Omg! This is the best argument for an xtra 10% of water if i ever saw one!

That’s definitely a new way to put down self leveling.

About time for another video

"so vast" que sad music-ROFL! Seeing the mistakes is so much better than seeing it perfect the first time. Thank you!

Nice bonsai 🌳

Good job. I thought long and hard about using self leveling compound but in the end decided not to and to just patch the few low spots. We have an OSB subfloor and I put down a floating floor so I didn't have to go to the same tolerance that you did. Man, what a pain...

I love n experienced here self-levelling compounds is what it says on the bag self-levelling you don't have to work it you are over working it!

I’m doing my first levelling project, and I felt like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. I’m confident however that the glue process will hide quite a few blemishes. With the glue trowel being a foot long, that will help hide any low points between high point a foot apart.

When the dramatic music kicked in I about lost it 😆

My experience exactly. _"Self leveling"_ is one of the most brazen marketing lies I have ever seen. Self level my ass - if you are not a trained specialist, you have no chance of achieving even just the closest thing to "true level". After my own extremely disappointing attempts, I had a professional apply this stuff for me - and I _still_ had to patch up individual spots afterwards.

Hahaha I feel your pain . That bit when you said u had to take it all up again 🥺🙊 hahaha made me laugh 😂😂😂

I think you're making a mistake not pulling the base-cabinets and dishwasher out of the kitchen. Once you raise the floor-level with the soupy cement and the thickness of the hardwood flooring you'll never be able to remove the dishwasher out for repairs and the kick-space will become too short for your feet to comfortably fit in under the cabinets. You should have removed the cabinets and dishwasher, spread your leveling cement there and after it set up, installed a plywood base the same thickness as your wood flooring. (Speaking from sad experience 2 times.)

Yup, and yeah what everyone else has commented. You should fortunate to be able to literally pay for your mistakes. I know you just saved me hours of labor and frustration. Thank you very much!

I am not alone facing such problem after watching your video. The supplier tutorial video seems to easy. I fellow every step carefully and even get weight and measure every compound and water needed and yet it still fail.

With the extent of this project. I would have taken out the stove and dishwasher to have a uniform surface. I guess its just my OCD. Awesome job!

New approach - ring a trades person

I feel you bro. That music @5:22 was hilarious. Thanks for sharing. You’re a poet.

Wow, that was tough to watch. Not because of you, but because it brought back memories of all too many DIY struggles I have gone through with home improvement. Us men can be a stubborn breed. I am totally impressed with how you went to the effort to grind it down, then build all of the rail systems. I don't know if I would have been that patient. Good on ya!

i love the center island and the window trim how it matches did you do the diy

Nice video

Ouch, did the same thing in our bathroom, a much smaller space though. Had to pour a new batch on top. Your final result looks great btw :) Subscribed!

Sad violin song had me laughing so hard

Great video, well done!... just curious about not using a moisture barrier over concrete, any issues with cupping?

What a mess, thanks for sharing.