Fixing Others Mistakes Waterproofing & Slab Leveling [How To] 

For the leveling, overall, I would say you did a good job. A few tips for those watching: 1. Never acid etch, residual chemicals can affect your primer/leveler. If you wash the floor after you will introduce excess water that can affect your primer/leveler 2. Angle grinding is a good move, you need to make sure that you have a surface that is defect and residue free and able to create a mechanical bond. 3. Always prime always, every single time. Primer handles a couple of tasks in the leveling process and you should Never skip it. Sika is a quality brand. 4. I wouldn't double prime, you can make a prime later too thick that can introduce microfractures in the pour. (exceptions for wood or gypcrete subfloor where you cut the 1st coat something like 3-1 with water) 6. Always watch your water ratios, engineered products are designed for a specific amount of water to attain their PSI. Over water makes a weak product. Your first pour looked a bit loose, the second looked about right. However, I trust you followed the instructions. 7. Cold water/temperature can slow your dry times, which is ok. Trying to dry it too quickly can lead to poor results. 8. I'm glad you solved your drainage/leaking problem before tacking the leveling as excess moisture or hydrostatic pressure can cause your leveler to fail.

Wow… I don’t know what’s more impressive: your woodworking skills or your DIY physical labor skills. 😃 That looked… not fun. But as usual, you kicked butt. I love how you just attack the project physically and mentally. I’m so jealous of your creativity and ability to problem solve, so I always appreciate learning from you. Awesome job, as always! Thanks for making these videos. 👍🏼

It’s funny how you actually read the directions/instructions for the products you utilize and actually follow them. It truly makes a difference in the end when you spend your money. What a great statement and I’ve paraphrased a bit, 18:30 but it’s nothing but the truth…. “When you post stuff on the internet & you think someone is not going to have a different opinion, you’re CRAZY!” I don’t have any different opinion on this and I believe this to be a fact. I respectfully concur and thanks for sharing Caitlyn.

I keep watching your channel because you do so much thinking through the processes. Even with a "cheaper" fix you are very thorough. Thanks for sharing!

HEY, YOU did it ! A video showing how a master cabinet designer approaches a problem ! And the best is you swinging the sledge. I still wish you were running the country. Thank you and great work.

Good job. Reasonable fix for your situation. Yes , the driveway grade should be about 4" lower.

A lot of detail,but the aggravation of water in the shop every time it rains is something that you won’t have to worry about any longer. Thanks for the video.👍🏝️🇨🇦

Молодець Натхнення терпіння і всіх благ ❤

Ooh, just my kind of project. Loved that you went to town on the asphalt (tarmac in the UK) and treated the cause as well as the effect. I've done plenty of self levelling cement fixes and never been let down by them. It's a shame you don't have a main drain to drop into but you've clearly done all you can reasonably do to fix the rainwater problem. It would be interesting to see how it works over time but your sealant fixes look spot-on. Nice to see how you address the problem you actually have rather than someone turning up with a pre-determined solution in the back of their van. Of course there were other options and I look forward to reading a comment about just raising the whole garage 6 inches...hahaha

Awesome !!!! your work, your energy and your determination !!! Congrats !!!

Good afternoon H. B. excellent repair to your water situation. Always a pain when you have to correct something that you shouldn’t have had to do in the first place. But the plus side is that you tackled the situation yourself and the piece of mind knowing that the repair was done with the best possible expectation for success. Not by someone else with fingers crossed. As for opinions they are always a good source of information, but you seem to do just fine with your gut feeling. I liked how added the extra pieces of vertical trim up against the door on the outside, by furring it out to help seal out the air. Now you’ve given me an idea. Hahaha. Nicely done H. B. Enjoy your weekend and the coming week.

I recommend LEXEL available at Lowes, (a Sashco product who also make other great sealing products), for sealing from rain, etc. Its clear and won't yellow. Also, with PVC trim (e.g. Azek, etc), you can glue pieces together with PVC adhesive (think plumbing but without the purple cleaner/primer). And about PVC trim, since I am doing exterior trim, you need to give some gap as it does expand with temperatures. Great work!

Quick and dirty fixes are sometimes the right fixes. Looks good from here. The folks that put the asphalt down higher than the slab are the ones that started that whole chain of issues.

Wonderful fix. Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful week.

You solved those issues at all angles, brilliant! I'll tend to overcomplicate sometimes and watching your approach was motivating. Thanks for sharing :)

Honey Bagder Earth Works. Nice fix. Creative problem solving as always. ✌️

Perfect fix for the problem. I have used the leveller compound before, works great. I agree 100% with your solution.

Caitlin, you should not care about the criticism that may be given to you, you did a job and it worked, the rest is smoke, everything is learning with mistakes or successes, the topic worked and time will tell if something failed, from there we learned in life.¡¡¡¡😉👍💪

A LOT of work. Had a bit of concrete work to do before winter myself; forgot how much fun it is(kidding OF COURSE.) Happy New Year...rr Normandy, Fra.

Thank you Hb, very well resolve issue which must be done job before the heavy snow.

That floor looks great! I think that it was a good fix for all your issues. Awesome job!

You sure do nice work, and explain so clearly.

Very very impressive! I was wondering how this all turned out. Your did a great job, as usual. Keep up the good work.

I would say you "nailed it" as a DIY type project for a non professional. Only thing I would add is a full floor screeding in a couple of years.

Warmer shop- priceless!

Very nice work as always you are very talented!!!👌💯👍

Very impressive. Well done!!

Nice-Nice. One of my goals for today is to address a leak in my shop that I have been fighting for twenty years. Your detailed explanations of how you attacked yours - esp. the products shown - I will watch several times and use what I can. An edited video does not show how much a pain in the but this was for you to accomplish, so I am not looking forward to this. As I was mopping up yesterday and working through my list of curse words, it is now officially war.

Awesome job! You should get several years out of that project. Should last your stay at that house. Maybe you’ll be able move to a non fixer upper on the next stop on your journey.

Impressive!

Hell of a good job (fix) in my opinion. :-)

quel courage pour travail difficile et physique .courage .Kathleen je vous souhaite une bonne et heureuse année et beaucoup de succès car vous le mérité .patrick

Nicely done!

You are amazing! Nice job! Give us an update after the winter! I don't have the sinking slab issue but I too have to tighten up the seals in my garage here on Long Island. There's been a ton of rain this winter and we have escaped the snow. You just got hit a bit with snow this past sunday, right? Hope all is holding up!

Nicely done - but I told you to buy more than you think you’ll need because you will … and you did😜 Spoken from experience 🙄

You should come out to CO and work at a forever home here.

The one positive thing about fixing other people's mistakes is you learn how not to do something by seeing how they did and why it failed.

What I don't understand is why someone put in the driveway and didn't make it flush with the garage floor. If the garage was being used for your car then driving over that uneven part would get a bit annoying. It amazes me that someone does stuff like that and they step back and think "Yeah, that looks good", then we as homeowners get to spend more money to fix their problems. Sorry you had to go through all that but it's done and no more water in the shop so you win.

It is so annoying fixing other peoples shoddy work. I'm sure you had a long list of other ways to spend that time.