Need suggestions/ideas for sloping/uneven kitchen floor

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just_maci

New Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2022
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2
Location
Central Florida
We have a concrete slab floor at present and need some ideas for flooring that won't break the bank but would look decent. We've removed the old tile floor, which we found they used thin set to compensate for the sloping floor. Here's a diagram showing the floor in 12" grids with the number indicating the number of eighths of an inch that it is above (blue) or below (red) level. The low spots can be filled with SLC. The major issue is the slope that goes up to 3/4" at one end of the kitchen. The kitchen threshold to the living room is noted, and the living room floor will also be eventually replaced. The LR floor is already nice and level, so obviously we'd like to not have to bring it up to the high point in the kitchen. Grinding that much isn't something we'd do unless there was absolutely no other option, so checking here to get ideas on what we can do with this floor. We'd initially planned on LVP, but rethinking this. We're open to pretty much anything at this point that isn't too costly or massively labor intensive.
Link to kitchen floor grid
 
Well it doesn’t really have to be level, just flat. With a screed and some skilled trowel work and maybe just a little bit of grinding I think you can gently slope the whole room toward the living room and Florida room entrance using underlayment compound. You could even leave it 1/8” or 1/4” high in the living room doorway and float that into the living room when you redo that floor. That will lessen the slope. Depending on your skill level you might wanna call in some professional help on that part.

If your personal needs require everything to be level then grinding and leveling are your only options.
 
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I've used a self leveling product made by UZIN I believe called NC 170 they have another product called NC150 and both say they feather out to 1/16th. The 150 has a depth limitation of 1 in and the 170, 2 in.
These products don't shrink up as the cure, I think they actually expand slightly..... Nothing you would notice but talking to the rep for the company, he says their products go farther per bag than other manufacturers.
I did a very rough calculation that would bring the areas you have marked with an L or -numbers, and to bring them up to 3/8 of an inch would require about five bags.
You've done a pretty good job mapping the floor so you can get more detailed than I did with my square footage. They have a calculator on their website to calculate the depth and square footage and it punches out a number. The number will vary depending on the product. The 170 and the 150 come out differently when I do the calculations.
Let's say that you poured this area. Once it was set, you could continue feathering and blending from the leveled area out to the rest of your floor using a non self leveling type of floor patch.
I figured raising the low spots 3/8 of an inch would kind of be a happy medium considering the rest of your higher spots. Maybe just grind off the sixes.
When using any self leveler, it pours thin enough it will creep under wall plates or any place that water would leak through. Just saying that pretend you're pouring water. You have to caulk around the perimeter of anywhere you put this material because they pour out very thin. In that doorway you'd have to nail down or screw down a barrier that is 3/8 of an inch tall. 3/8 plywood would work but so would any 3/8 thick material. That barrier in the doorway would also give you an indication of when you have poured enough. If it's close to level with the barrier then you know that you're done.
If 3/8 is too tall then you could always go to 1/4 inch. You would still have the high spots in the center to deal with. You'd just have to blend them out or grind some of them down a tiny bit until the floor is flat enough for what are you plan on installing. The self leveler will give you an accurate surface to level away from.
The benefits of a self leveler are that it does most of the work for you.
 

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Well it doesn’t really have to be level, just flat. With a screed and some skilled trowel work and maybe just a little bit of grinding I think you can gently slope the whole room toward the living room and Florida room entrance using underlayment compound. You could even leave it 1/8” or 1/4” high in the living room doorway and float that into the living room when you redo that floor. That will lessen the slope. Depending on your skill level you might wanna call in some professional help on that part.

If your personal needs require everything to be level then grinding and leveling are your only options.
Appreciate your reply and advice a lot. Thanks especially for the hint about bringing the float into living room. Another option would be tile in the kitchen and LVP in the living room. Since it's not open plan, having the same flooring isn't much of an issue. If we did tile, wonder how that would compare with the amount of leveling needed.
 

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