Self Leveling Concrete Overlay

A self leveling concrete overlay can be used to resurface a concrete slab. The most common use is to fix problematic slabs or as an underlayment in preparation of flooring installation.

Slabs with cracks or slabs that have high and low spots can be fixed with self leveling concrete overlays. As an example, wood flooring requires a very flat surface. So a slab that has high and low spots must be fixed before the flooring can be laid. In many cases a self leveling overlay is the easiest solution.

Although it may seem fairly simple, there's a bit more to it than just mixing it, pouring it out, and letting it do its thing.

You might be hoping it's a cheap an easy way to make an entire floor or slab new again, but it definitely is not, at least for the inexperienced. Not only is the material costly, but it has a pot life of 15 minutes or less.

A short pot life means it hardens rather quickly and the most important part of application is having the speed and resources to maintain a wet edge throughout the process.

Unless you plan to cover a slab with carpet or some other flooring system, a self leveling overlay is not a do-it-yourself project. Without experience it is likely to turn into a big mess.

A self leveling overlay can be colored after it gets hard with either acid stains or acrylic stains. It can also have patterns scored on the surface to create any type of design.

For the most part, a self leveling concrete overlay is not used as the final finish, but rather covered up with another type of flooring. For decorative overlays, polymer cement overlays are the ideal materials. They are less demanding, easier to work with, and much more versatile.

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