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john_daniel_salamone

Grinding Concrete Floor Level

5 years ago

Hi, I had a contractor lay too much self leveling concrete in my concrete kitchen. The slope is noticeable to me as I walk towards the refrigerator and stove wall with LVT on-top of the concrete subfloor.

Prior to the SLC, the floor dipped down 1/8th an inch per foot towards the fridge. I now have 1/8th per inch slope the opposite direction which was not the goal.

Will it be possible to carefully grind the floor level? It’s less than 100 square feet. The worst of it is probably 10 feet wide and 5-6 feet deep of slope. The rest of the house is finished so keeping dust to a minimum is also critical. Id love to have flat floors and not be walking up any hills!

Comments (11)

  • 5 years ago

    Sorry, to be clear I’m asking whether uniformity sloped floor can be ground level. I know imperfections and spots can. Is this something reasonable to ask the contractor? I’ve had people come over that claim they can’t really feel anything but I certainly can.

  • 5 years ago

    If you use a spirit level you can see differences. Someone can do the work using a laser level setup and get it as level as you want.

  • 5 years ago

    As an individual that is doing their own floors and was too enthusiastic with the self leveler, it is possible, but takes A LONG TIME, and makes a huge mess. Be prepared with a respirator and to clean dust off of everything even if you have that room sealed off.

  • 5 years ago

    A couple things that will determine your success. The thickness of the SLC and the type of SLC. Assuming you have gypsum-based SLC (to level 1/8" but wound up maybe 1/4" to 1/2" thick?), which requires it to be thin, it is possible to sand spots. A uniform slope may be harder, especially over a large area. It might be easier to grind it off and start over where you need to. Good luck.

  • 5 years ago

    Really appreciate the comments! There were several layers of leveling added and the final layer or two seem to be too much. The last picture shows where the contractor added a little more right before laying floors while I was out of town. All this back tracking is tough but I’d really like to have more level floors after all the effort!

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    OMG, he didn't pull the baseboards or the cabinets to level the floor. Next he'll tile in your dishwasher. What a hack.

  • PRO
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    You can pick up a 7" angle grinder, 16 grit daimonds, dustless shroud and wet vac. Oh, and nice knee pads and respirator. This would be labor intensive.

    Or you can rent a floor grinder and stand upright. Still need 16 grit daimonds, though.

  • 5 years ago

    Wait! Is the kitchen FINISHED????

  • 5 years ago

    Yes - kitchen is now done. I may pull the floor and try to wet grind some of the high spots. I guess we will see how it goes if they’re willing to try

  • 5 years ago

    Do you have a 10ft level to put down on the floor to prove the issue? A photo is worth 1000 words. You can put down the level and take a photo of the pitch and then send it to the contractor.

  • 5 years ago

    I will go that route if the conversation tomorrow doesn’t go well. I think he will be accommodating but I will find out soon. I only have a 4 foot level but I can get a larger one