The laser is used primarily to determine how "bad" a substrate is so the proper amount of SLU can be purchased. It lets you get acquainted with the floor so you know what you're dealing with. The horizontal laser is set to any height, usually near eye level, just so it is convenient to read. You then measure from the floor up to the laser line in random locations around the room. It's helpful to write the measurement on the floor at the measured location. The different measurements will show you where the high and low points exist. You will have a base measurement at the tripod, or the closest point to your laser. If the measurements taken in random areas are less than the base measurement; those are high points. If the measurement is greater; that means that spot is low. The bigger the number, the deeper that area is. You will find an average deviation among all the measurements. If you want to level the substrate; you will set the gauge rake to the greatest deviation. If you want to flatten the floor like we have in this video; you would split the difference. Determining this can also be done with levels or a ten foot long straight edge.

You're another one that needs to read the description. This method works.

@@trendsettertilestone9602 No. You haven't a single clue about structural integrity. This 'will' fail, and unfortunately a bunch of doofus home owners are going to repeat this garbage and fuck their shower up. I read every comment. You're obviously very hard headed and don't listen to professionals.

Read the description captain obvious.

Thank you. Following this overlay, dry pack mortar can be installed on the shower floor. The dry pack mortar should be in contact with the cement board that was installed for the overlay. When the dry pack makes contact with the cement board on the curb it will also cover the lower area where the liner is exposed. Read the description which includes some details on different showers and how not all can have the board installed on or below a dry pack. Cement board is permitted at or below the dry pack surface.

Thank you, no this product is only appropriate when it is covered with tile. It does not have the durability, but Laticrete does make products that are applied similar, but are meant as a stand alone finish. This is one option; www.laticrete.com/en/products/nxt-level-dl

This is probably the product you're looking for; www.laticrete.com/en/products/nxt-level-dl

We are using the DeWalt in this video. The Kraft kit comes with the paddle.

Do you know what model I am looking to do a project and want to get a good one

This is the best type of paddle for mixing SLU www.contractorsdirect.com/ardex-mixing-paddle This is a link to the whole kit that comes with a mixing paddle. www.contractorsdirect.com/kraft-tool-self-leveling-kit

Sorry I’m wondering about the model of the dewalt drill being used to mix.

@@jacoblee3498 This is the one in the video www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-9-Amp-1-2-in-Spade-Handle-Drill-Concrete-Mud-Mixer-DW130V/100072312

Hi, whenever you install cement board, or any other type of board onto a plywood substrate, thin-set mortar needs to be used along with the screws. The thin-set mortar under the board is not used to increase adhesion, it is used to limit vertical movement that the board may experience if the the screws work themselves loose. 1/4 inch board can often leave the screw head resting too low within the board if the screw was originally over driven. It only takes minor traffic to free 1/4 inch board from the screw head, and at that point the board is sliding up and down the screw. The sound can be from materials rubbing or from air that is being pushed through the assembly. If you had installed thin-set mortar and just forgot to mention that, then the plywood subfloor is most likely deflecting. That would require more work than is outlined below. I would recommend cutting out the section where the sound is, reinstall that section of 1/4 inch board with thin-set mortar under it, screwing down the board while the thin-set mortar is fresh, prime the top of the board and re install the self leveler in that area. Some Laticrete SLU's require lath screwed to the floor prior to the application of the SLU. Read the bag you used and be sure that your product doesn't require lath under the SLU.

lol

No, the rake distributes the material evenly and then gravity directs the material, by taking some material from the high points and moving it to the low points. One depth on the rake may seem counter intuitive, but the high flow-ability of this product is what makes it work so well. It will not stay exactly where you placed it, it's not supposed to, it will seek out level when you cant see it. As it finds equilibrium you will have a flatter floor.

Please read the description

Thanks so much! We use SLU all the time, this is our approach, and we make a living doing this.

Yes, the gauge rake may need to be set to a greater depth, but generally dips and humps are part of every correction. The rake is a dispersing or placement tool, the self leveler will fall to the deeper areas, it just needs help from the rake.

OMG! I understand how you might feel this way. Read the description. Stop using OMG, you're welcome.

It would seem to me that once the curb is screwed in from the outside, you then pour cement inside to make your sloped floor, if the cement goes over the curb just built even by 1”, it will secure the whole thing. Plus you’ll be adding more thinset and tile over the curb anyway. It seems to me that this will work just fine. The way the curb was built it’s like a cast, the screws on the outside hold it in place and the cement on the inside holds the other side. It’s not going anywhere, unless it’s on the ceiling and even then I don’t think it will go anywhere

lol

Not funny for paying customer. And, you did pierce the membrane with the exterior side screws. Later.@@trendsettertilestone9602

Watch and then read. It can't detach. You can see in the video that the shower floor mud HAS NOT been installed yet. The shower deck mud will be against it and under the edge of it, which will lock it all together and make it tight. The only part I wasn't so sure about was that most folks are saying not to have the wallboard touching the shower floor. Here, he is saying that the cement board (like Durock) IS allowed to contact the shower floor mud, right? It's all as clear as mud, yes? 🤔🤪🤣

You should never install the dry pack over the cement board walls and inner curb. Never.@@jeffleonard5535

You're welcome!

Haha, the bucket is actually on top of something small so it looks like its hovering. The bucket was just there to contain wires and cables that were coming out of the wall.

Lol

This is a think outside the box method. It came about as a solution when skilled mudwork was on the decline and careless installers were penetrating liners with regularity. I understand that because this method has not been defined by the guidelines you feel it must not work. If that is the case why would Noble, Laticrete, and others manufacture foam overlays. That are to be installed in the same manor as this method. Laticrete states "Works in conjunction with most LATICRETE tile and stone installation materials." Heres a link to the product. stonetooling.com/laticrete-hydro-ban-preformed-curb-overlay/?scid=scplp70.607&sc_intid=70.607&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwg4SpBhAKEiwAdyLwvKL8VxdG06EhPnjGsPMfjJbbhe2AFwSpMb_tdy0LSI1KH88pdA4lFxoCwZIQAvD_BwE The fact of the matter is that the handbook is vague in the description of how some things are done intentionally. Products like uncoupling membranes took over a decade to get into the TCNA handbook. When it came about everyone scoffed at uncoupling. "No way you can stick to plastic, this can't work!" Ingenuity and practicality has always had its place in construction. This method still operates within TCNA guidlines since manufacturer guidlines overide the handbook. Even if something is not in the book that does not preclude it from being in a tile assembly. Unless specifically stated. Like spot bonding for example. We put this video up because it shows a practical way to construct a curb when mudwork skills are not on tap. You may have been taught mud work, and so you can understand that mud work is not something that can be learned over a video. Mud work takes finesse, a lot of time spent practicing, and a proper teacher. Word to your mother

Exactly, I learned how to do this before the noble curbs were on the market. I loved the Noble curbs when they became available but my boss never wanted to pay for them and cement board was always readily available. The preformed curb overlays sometimes develop a slight twist during installation and they can be fussy depending on how well the plumber installed the liner. Making the overlay myself takes 5 minutes and I use the rest of the board for other things on the job. Thanks!

No. The composition of fiberboard does not allow it to keep its integrity when it is bent along the partial cuts. Fiberboard cannot be installed below the mud line in a pan or in contact with the pan mud for that matter. While cement board has a high porosity, Fiber board has an even higher rate of absorption. Fiber board has a strong capillary action and will draw water from the pan mortar if it is in contact with the pan mortar. Thank you

Thanks for your detailed response, i really appreciate it. Subscibed👍🏻

Hi, the bags are 50lbs. each. Thanks for watching!

You can use 1/2" Durock. Your outside face would increase a half inch since the board is screwed directly on the outside, but on the inside you would increase about three quarters of an inch or more for the thickness of the board as well as the thin set mortar used behind it. We use 1/4 inch board to help minimize the profile and height on the top.

A spiked roller is fine for the final pass. But keep in mind a spiked roller not only breaks the tension and eliminates air voids, but it also distributes or displaces material like the rake. If movement of the material is no longer needed sometimes the roller can take material away from where you want it, unless the substrate was somewhat flat to begin with. On some jobs you could use a spiked roller from beginning to end. In my opinion if you choose the rake, then the spiked roller has no reason to follow the rake. When I use the rake I am actively placing more SLU in the deep areas. I have found the roller to be consistent in application but the rake was what was available when I was learning and I have stuck with it.

@@trendsettertilestone9602 Thanks for the reply . I watched a video by Ardex and the installer used a gage rake , smoother, squeegee and finally a spiked roller. I thought it was overkill and needing a big tool investment. It’s good to see someone else’s methods…

Spike shoes do work good, they can sometimes slip worse than mud boots, since they make such little contact with the floor. Stepping in the batch can sometimes be necessary.

Paint roller is great when the floor is smooth. Brush works better to get into crevices when some thin set was left behind during the demo.

Hi, you should not mix your SLU with less water to thicken it up. This will only make things more difficult, reduce coverage, and potentially create humps that the smoother cannot overcome. I almost always mix my ratio of water to product at the highest available water ratio. This provides a little more time to work and makes the product easier to rake. Do not mix your product outside of the manufacturers guidelines in regards to water and powder ratio. Most of the time I target the average height discrepancy to flatten the floor. To level the floor your target would be slightly higher than the average of high to low deviations on the subfloor. So you are 10-11mm in gauge rake height to level the floor, if you correct all at once. Consecutive pours are sometimes reserved for larger areas with greater depth that are not utilizing a truck delivery with a pump system. Small areas should be one pour when possible, multiple pours in the same area should be considered for individuals at a higher skill level. I understand this may be counterintuitive, but multiple pours actually increase complexity. The height of your pour would not meet my threshold for multiple pours and we work with levelers on a weekly basis. While you are raking keep pulling the SLU from the high points and drag it to the low points. The SLU will continue to flow down to the lows after you have stopped raking. Provided your floor is properly primed, the water ratio is on the higher end, and you work at a fast enough pace. Thank you

Yes. If the floor is out in flatness by more than a 1/4 of an inch in ten linear feet; It does not meet the standard for flatness as referenced in the TCNA Handbook, that is If the tile is smaller than 15 inches on any given length. Once the tile is larger than 15 inches, the standard becomes 1/8th of an inch in 10 linear feet. Variations in the subfloor should not exceed 1/16th of an inch in 2 linear feet. This is the standard a professional contractor should follow. Making corrections with thinset as you install tile increases the failure rate as well as the longevity of the installation, and of course the aesthetics of the floor become compromised due to mortar shrinkage/slippage. Leveling is not the goal for most installations. Increasing the overall flatness is. The floor in this video was not leveled, just corrected in overall flatness.

Thank you! We should have noted that rinsing the wet primer off the broom is best practice. We've learned that some primer, like the kind for anti-fracture membrane, can be extremely tenacious once it has dried. SLU primer tends to be mild when dry. Thanks again!

How then do you quote the client 😮