Anyone used floor leveler? OMG!

toxcrusadr

Omelette au Fromage
This stuff set up so fast I thought it was a WMD. I have this shack that I had to fix some flooring on, so we put in new OSB flooring sheets, and there was a ridge at one area that would stick up when I glued the carpet back down. So I got me a bag of this leveler stuff. Mix it with water, says you have 20-30 min. to work it. Looks like drywall mud but it doesn't act like it! I started with way too much in my bucket, and it had lumps. That was my first problem. Then the stuff just started getting thicker and thicker, faster and faster! I barely got it smoothed in place before the rest of the bucket hardened into a solid mass WHILE I WAS MIXING MORE WATER INTO IT. Couldn't have been more than 10-15 minutes either. Dam! I was lucky to get it off my hands. 'Yeah, boss, uh, I can't come to work today...yeah...my hands are in casts...what? No, I didn't break em..." :no: You could drop this on an enemy position and immobilize them in seconds.

Stop me before I remodel again!
 
Yep you`ve gotta be Very careful how you mix that stuff! Fast setting is a BIG understatment. I used some in my old house to level the floor before puting down hardwood flooring and WOW does it set up Fast!! I did the same thing ruined a perfectly good bucket and trowel!

+1 on the Stop me before I remodel again theme!! :yes:
 
We've used it, and it's tricky. After the first batch, we used more water, and it worked better (longer to dry, and some fine cracks, but level and smooth).

Charles
 
The key is to have enough to let it find level while it's still in a liquid state. I used it on a basement floor to encase the petroleum based tile adhesive before carpeting.

It does set-up quickly.
 
Ah-ha! I think I get it!

So, it's not supposed to be thick, i.e. not supposed to be troweled level, but it should be thin enough that it spreads out by itself, and levels by itself, before it hardens. Ok, maybe with a little help, but it should still "seek its own level", yes?
 
Right, you mix it thin (soupy poopy) and pour it in the low spot and let it self level.
 
Glad I read this thread. I've gotta work with this stuff in a couple of weeks. Sounds like I better mix in several batches instead of one to do the whole room.
 
I had a 12 lb bag and I think I used half of it at once. That was too much, and I added water to the powder, and given I was in a remote location w/o very good tools, I was in trouble mixing it. I would use a drill powered paint mixer, and add powder to the water, not the other way around. And wear gloves. I was still scraping it out of my fingernails the next day.

Glad I may have saved you some heartache with this silly thread.
 
A good coating of something like Vaseline intensive care lotion on your hands BEFORE you get it on your skin is a good idea as well, helps keep the mix from drying out the skin, and helps a bit with clean-up as well.
 
A good coating of something like Vaseline intensive care lotion on your hands BEFORE you get it on your skin is a good idea as well, helps keep the mix from drying out the skin, and helps a bit with clean-up as well.

There's a poduct out there called something like "Invisible Glove" (by Elmer's, IIRC). Works great for applications like this, where you're not really doing fine work with your hands.
 
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