Level with me…

All of my projects require a lot of prep work, but this was one of my most intensive. My client, Ngaire (pronounced NY-REE), had a bamboo floor that failed—so she wanted new Marmoleum floors. She also needed the flooring to be completely level. There was a lot to do.

First, I wanted to know the moisture content in the concrete subfloor. This testing is something I do for any concrete subfloor, because it tells me whether the surface is “healthy” enough for the pad and flooring I’m going to put on top of it, or if it needs some sort of moisture remediation. I won’t go through every step, but testing involves calcium chloride kits that are placed on the floor for between 62-72 hours, screening of Ph levels, weighing the kits with a digital gram scale, and more.

It all gets fed into a complex equation, and what you get is the moisture vapor emission rate, or MVER.

Many installers don’t do this. They just assume that the moisture pad they install will prevent any problems. But that’s not always the case. For instance, the pad installed for Ngraire’s bamboo floor required an MVER of 3 or lower. Otherwise the pad would be useless at protecting the flooring above it.

When I measured, the concrete had an MVER above 5, and almost 6 in one spot. It’s no wonder that bamboo floor failed.

Even though those levels would have been fine for the Marmoleum I was going to install (its adhesive has a built-in moisture limiter that can handle a rating up to 11), I thought it was important to figure out why the subfloor had excessive moisture. I don’t want it to become a bigger issue for my client down the road, even if it doesn’t threaten the floor. Too much moisture in a home is never a good thing.

I asked Ngaire to have someone look at the drain system from the roof and the sewer pipes, something I often have clients do when there are moisture problems. Sure enough, we discovered that one of the pipes was cracked—it was leaking into the bathroom and along the bathroom wall. Now it’s fixed, so moisture shouldn’t be a problem again.

With that handled, it was finally time to get to leveling. But before you can level, you need to make sure the floor is in good health beyond moisture content. You can see a crack in one of the photos here; if I don’t fix that before I use my leveling products, that crack is going to keep growing. It’s quite possible that it will crack the leveler. And eventually it will show through the Marmoleum.

I used a mesh and patch product by Uzin that is great—it allows the crack to flex, but it keeps the leveler flat. Which means the Marmoleum will stay flat, too.

OK. Now it was finally time to get to leveling. First, I created a topographic map of the floor with a laser level, finding the high and low points. If needed, I can place leveling pins throughout the area so I know exactly how deep to apply leveler in each specific spot. The entire perimeter is taped, primer is applied, and then it’s time to pour.

(I have a habit of naming my tools—in these photos, you can see my concrete drill, “Helga,” and my spiked shoes, “Sadie.” Just so you know.)

There’s more to it, but you pay me to do the work, not teach you how to do it! I just wanted to give you a quick look at the process. Once the floor is poured, I can come back the next day and it will be perfectly flat. And I truly mean “place a level anywhere and the bubble will be square in the middle” flat. If you’re placing cabinets or appliances, or something heavy like a fish tank or a pedestal sink, it’s really important.

Do you need perfectly level floors? Give me a call at (206) 327-5185 or email JD Jarmer to talk about your project today!