How to level a concrete floor with self-leveling concrete

The process of how to level a shower concrete floor with self-leveling concrete to give you the level floor to tile a shower. 

Are you tired of your uneven concrete floors? Or maybe you cannot complete a project without having a level floor so you need to fix your concrete. It just so happens that we had this same problem in our basement, our shower to be exact. And guess what, you can not tile a shower when the floor is uneven. So we fixed the problem and I wanted to share how to level a concrete floor with self-leveling concrete so you can fix your problem.

First, our problem occurred after we replaced our plumbing drain lines plus the floor had a slope. The image above is what we were working within our shower.

Do you think this is a problem? Well, let’s talk about how I fixed our uneven concrete floor and how you can too!

HOW TO LEVEL A CONCRETE FLOOR

Make sure you read the instructions on your self-leveling concrete bag plus the primer. This is what mine said to do.

SIDE NOTE: If you are adding concrete up to a wall you may want to protect the wall with something so the water from the concrete does not hurt the wall. 

STEP 1: Cleaning

The very first step is cleaning the floor, use a shop-vac to vacuum the dust and debris from the floor.

TIP: You could use a scraper if needed.

Then clean the area with soap and water.

If you have a shower drain in the floor

Because I am talking about a shower floor, I want to tell you how I made sure no concrete went down the drain. I cut a piece of foam to fit around the drain then used painter’s tape to tape it to the floor. But I did not stop there, I applied a layer of caulk around the foam base.

STEP 2: Applying the primer

Once the soapy water dried, it is time to paint the floor with concrete primer. Make sure you shake the primer first!

Here my floor after applying the primer.

Let the primer dry according to the instructions.

STEP 3: Apply the self-leveling concrete

Now it’s time to mix the concrete. It’s best to use a paddle mixer that attaches to a drill to mix the concrete. Plus again follow the instructions on your concrete bag to make sure you mix the concrete correctly.

Once the concrete is mixed, pour it over the floor. Use a margin trowel to help the concrete get into all the corners. Then let the self-leveling concrete do its job. Because if you mixed it correctly, the concrete will level the floor all by itself.

Now just walk away until the concrete dries.

Your concrete bag will let you know how long this is. And that’s how to level a concrete floor with self-leveling concrete, hope this helps!