leveling concrete floors for laminate Help, advice, information, answers and tips on all types of flooring from laminate and carpet to timber and vinyl

[sallyon]

I am trying to level out bedrooms for laminate application. What products and how would you go about it- find unlevel areas first then pour down level stuff?? Sick of paying the 100$ a bag to level this roller coaster floor plus cost of flooring. Also any comments on the hand scrapped- looking for a texture to the laminate for the older dog time. Thanks for info and advice! [/b]

[stoneyboy]

sallyon,
Have a look at the instructions for the laminate floor - they will tell you how much out of flat the laminate will tolerate.
Self levelling compound is really your only option - phone round and try some builders merchants you do not have to use industrial grade materials.
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[xmfclick]

I'm in slightly the same position as you -- I want to lay an engineered-board floor, but the screed was done badly and so I need to work out how to level it. The obvious answer is "self-levelling compound". However ...

Googling for "self-levelling compound" did lead to one comment that I think has merit, i.e. self-levelling compound may be a bit of a misnomer. Actually, it gives a nice smooth surface, but (and I have a friend who experienced this) it doesn't necessarily "self-level" -- in my friend's case, it dried with lumps and bumps in some places, even though he trowelled it flat when wet. The Google commenter went on to suggest that, if your floor is actually not very flat, the better option is to screed it first. (Not being experienced, I can't advise you what type of screed to use, but I expect somebody else here can.) However, my own experience is that you need to be careful who you get to do the screeding -- I now know that the people who did mine weren't experienced, and it shows.

Sorry not to give you an easy answer, but hope this helps.