Resurfacing Concrete Floors with a Self-Leveling Skim Coat 

Absolutely and having a spike roller to agitate and blend pours would have made a massive difference.

Facts

Also if you are getting microcracks are you wetting your surface before you pour? Maybe thats causing it!

I agree with Mojo jojo. In fact on larger projects we used a specialized machine that mixes and pumps the self levelling product while our guy used the gauge rakes and long handled trowel to break the surface tension and prevent ridges.

Another important part is prep work, that floor should of been cleaned with a grinder

Odd video lol

Did it work on your floor?

I totally agree. That was the best part 👍

A trowel works too!

No you use a trowel and spike roller to roll the bubbles out at the end

@@davidshore4811u dont use no damn trowl!

what would you put over it? would Skimstone work? or are you thinking a flooring like tile or planks?

seal the concrete and it is supposed to last longer then the house

Yeah, SLC suuuuucks for this kind of application.

He could do an epoxy topcoat though, right?

@@mileshh515 should work yes

Or do a skim coat of ardex! Cheaper by far than epoxy!

Ardex is the absolute best of any self leveler i have ever used! You could drive a semi over that stuff when its dry!

By wheeled traffic are you talking vehicles i assume?

@@StonemanRocks At one time I was the largest user of Ardex in the country. I installed it all over New York City to rehab buildings. 80% of all construction in NYC is rehab of existing buildings.

@@jamesmorrison7847 Very impressive! I would have loved to work with you! Im sure I would have learned a lot of good nuggets of knowledge! My resume might not be quite as accomplished ,however, I think I could carry on a conversation with you over a cup of coffee about this topic! My experience is well rounded with a lot of commercial tenant development and new construction as well, movies, restaurants, hospitals, post offices ,custom homes , tract homes etc. not to mention probably 1000 shower/ bath remodels! I have used a lot of different self levelers in all kinds of different senarios. Ardex is by far the best!

How’s it holding up in your garage? I looking to do this in my garage but curious if it holds up to parking in it

@@NoName-be5ir It's held up well. No spalling or immediate signs of wear.

You can too add xtra water and it can work for a wear surface too! You just need to buy the good stuff with a high compressive strength and do the right prep on the existing surface! Im thinking you are a well intentioned keyboard cowboy but that you have limited or no flooring exp! No one calls a trowel a “spreader“ ! And what the hell is a “smoother” lol! Plus $100 isnt going to buy a drill that will stand up to the rigors of tile /stone installations overtime not where I live anyway!

I take that back my smoothers name is Dave!

It’s on the bag and would have taken 2 mins of googling for them to find the right answer. I’m still perplexed that they are fine spreading bad information for other home owners. Especially with something that is such a pain to fix later.

Experts are after perfection and perfection is costly.. he was after the imperfections, hence why he said he doesn't mind stains and he liked the patterns he got. Giving him the old rustic look..

good tip!

Yes you do!

Huh?

I never thought of that. Good catch. 👍

Not too much though or you will weaken it and it will turn to dust!

​@@StonemanRocks south Louisiana climate (humid) barely had to add extra. But my niece in AZ had way different experience..had to add considerably more than I did. We had the same size area to do as well. And we both ended up pretty happy with results..

@@kimlewis5429 good deal glad it worked! The reason for the xtra water isnt so it takes longer to set up, its so that it flows or (self levels) better! What makes this stuff level itself is the shape of the silicon sand! Its more round so it rolls! More water = more space between the sand particles so more room to roll! You gotta watch it though too much water and it weakens it to a point its powdery the next day like any cement containing product, there is a line you can cross with too much water and your product becomes weaker ! Way too much water and its worthless! I live in new mexico so about as dry here as it gets! About like AZ.

@@StonemanRocks all great info! Thanks for sharing!

You need to find a product that the manufacturer recommends for use as an uncovered finish. Self levelers is supposed to be covered by flooring. It isn't strong enough for your garage.

What if I use drylic wet look?

Instarnac is bullet proof.

I think you can if it's got fibres in it and is thick enough.

Keyboard experts everywhere ! 😂😂😂😂

U want it like a thick milkshake

good tip!

Lol @ bucket tips by Joe!

Nah it dries so fast it wont hurt the sheetrock!

​@@StonemanRocks All these types of materials do not dry... they hydrolize. If they dried, they would be power. Hydrolysis is the process of breaking down the concrete as it reacts with water. In this instance, the water content is high so that the leveling can occur. The water in the mix will absorb into the surrounding material and/or evaporate. The difference between absorption rate and evaporation rate determines the rate of breakdown in the concrete.… too fast, and it cracks… too slow, and it loses cohesion. Here, the difference in the rate of absorption of water into the cellulose in the sheetrock and evaporation in the air (as well as the process of hydrolysis) means that the edges of the leveling material will probably crack over-time. It is not the speed of of evaporation of absorption but the difference between the rates of hydrolysis. That is why preparation of the both surface and leveling material has so many variations that the process becomes based more on experience rather than simply a list of instructions. As a result, most experienced persons typically tape moisture resistant craft paper or plastic to the wall adjoining the floor leveling material.

@@joemoya9743 you havent used much self leveler have you!

@@joemoya9743 its not going to crack on the edges ! And by the way mr wizard the way it self levels is partially a function of the amount of water but also do in fact to the shape of the aggregate silica in the product because it is round therefore it rolls when it “flows” ! Without enough water though it stops flowing and you get high spots. Water or not you still have to work it as you pour it with a trowel rake something! Too much water just makes it powder after it dries . I have never seen it crack from too much water! Also there is a chemical reaction that makes it dry not just evaporation ! You can tell as it gets warm to the touch while drying!

​@@StonemanRocks The chemical reaction you speak of is called hydrolysis. The rate of hydrolysis over the entire surface determines if it cracks or adheres properly. In this instance, if you want the leveling fluid to adhere or not crack, you want the evaporation of excess water to be the same through out the media. And, that will not happen if the rate of evaporation is slower or faster along the edges that are adjacent to the the sheet rock. How much of impact the the difference in absorption rate is determined by how much of the leveling fluid is touching the sheet rock. If it is very little, then the absorption rate into the sheet rock is also very little. This results in little chance of cracking. However, the video indicated he may have used as much as 1 inch of leveling fluid. And, that increases the chances of having problems along the edges. The good news is that self leveling uses lots of water and cement BINDER such as fluidizing adjuvant (also called superplasticizer designed to bind to latex primer and prevent delamination) and fine granulates (typically a sulfo-aluminous clinker and not silica since it is a quick setting mixture) to prevent shrinkage and cracking. The cement is typically Portland cement that contains Calcium Silicate and the major contributor to any potential cracking. Thus, the need for a cement binder. The key in making self leveling work is the proper amount of mixing of all ingredients applied to a homogeneous surface. And, sheet rock edges make the surface non-homogeneous. All this being said, it appears that he is using leveling fluid for a situation that should not have been done - at all. There was no floor height difference. He is comparing floor surface to foundation surface. He doesn't know the difference between flooring and concrete foundation. And, that is a fundamental problem.

will try!

Golf shoes work too !

What you mean by cement plastered floor exactly?