Techniques for checking levels for a floor

[tiler burden]

its weird learning a new trade...you go back to the basics and the corect british standards way bu then you realise that nearly all goes out the window in the real world!! you learn parrot fashion at the begining, following every word until you develop but that takes time. i am in a strange position. i am a plasterer, can do most joinery and have a hnc in construction with 20 yrs building experience but tiling is new ground so you have to listen , respect and learn as if you were 16 again..thats a good thing tho, keeps you grounded, respectful and flexible!!

good job there are people like gaz, dave, dan, etc etc etc who help for free. i dont htink people realise how lucky we are that we can jump on here, ask a question, get it answered and go out and make money due to their kindness and willingness to help..

 

[Perry]

Just make sure the kitchen isn't to expensive before you put your datum line round the units and make sure the step in the doorway is not higher than 200 mm pmsl ete

 

[tiler burden]

got an answer for your expensive kitchen units....get a psl180 laser!!!!!

 

[GazTech]

This trade is a law unto itself, it is a finishing trade but has to be sound, flat, practicle, pleasing to the eye, for the right money, be the same as when fitted in 20yrs time, spaced right, primed right, colour co-ordinated, easy to wash, polish, cut, mark, get hold of, and inbetween all that there is family, football, boxing...etc..need I go on...lol

 

[GazTech]

oh and beer

 

[grumpygrouter]

Monty don't confuse "level" with "flat. Trying to get your floor "level" may not be neccessary!

 

[Gazzer]

Get a laser level and put it on a surface like the kitchen unit or Cill. Take a reference mark on a staff near the laser and then try all around the room. Easy stuff

 

[Perry]

Monty don't confuse "level" with "flat. Trying to get your floor "level" may not be neccessary!

Monty this is what i was getting at if i leveled my floors i would be in a lot of trouble ete
PS Grumpy you are far to polite for us lot lol

 

[monty]

Thanks for all your replies guys...much appreciated..

So what you are saying Pete is chisel away as much as you can with the high points and with the low points build up with adhesive?

Monty

 

[grumpygrouter]

Monty this is what i was getting at if i leveled my floors i would be in a lot of trouble ete
PS Grumpy you are far to polite for us lot lol

One of my major failings in life Pete. I never want to offend anybody - can lead to all sorts of problems sometimes:yes:

 

[tiler burden]

monti

i am not a tiler yet (give it another 3-6 months!!) but i am a plasterer and i have preped more walls and floors than i care to remeber since 1985!!

get a straight edge or feather edge, and put in on the floor in a few different directions across the entire floor starting from the door way onwards. where you see a gap under the straight edge then have a piece of chalk handy and mark an x as you go along to see where needs filling in. if you hit a really high spot and you can chip it away with your hammer and bolster or hammer drill then do so, if not, then it may require more action. either a self levelling compound to cover the entire floor upto about 45mm, after that it would need a sand and cement screed laying (feel free to ask me how to do this) there are some slc out there that go higher than 45mm but they become very expensive in comparison to sand and cement.

if the dips in the floor are only a couple of mm , say 2-5mm then you could use slc and pull your straight edge across till flat...tilers may use a rapid set instead of slc. maybe gaz or dave could put us straight there. either way after a couple of hours you would be ready to tile your flat floor.

grumpy made an excellent point about flat not level. many plasterers can flatten a wall but there are many so called spreads who can't set up screeds and get a 100% bang on level wall/floor. i expect the same applies to some of the so called time served expert tilers on here who sit back and lol on a regular basis but dont actually come up with a solution to the question.

experience comes into play with your judgment but if your buy a 2.5m feather edge and get used to eyeing up walls and floors then id say you'll have it cracked on your first day...


as for our question about whats the maximum tolerance that a floor can have a deviance in over 2 meters, then i would guess and say 5mm..2-3mm could be taken up with the notched trowel and maybe 2mm for back buttering as you go along but this is an educated guess so again, tilers please feel free to correct me.

 

[monty]

Thank you very much tiler burden... Excellent bit of info for me pal..

Monty

 

[Perry]

Monty if you have someone to hold the other end of a chalk line or ball or string you can use it as a straight edge over larger areas will give you some idea just keep it of the floor slightly ete

 

[monty]

Cheers pete mate...

 

[guy1976]

you can place a laser level in the corner of the room and project a datum line around the room,then use a staff and work out the highest and lowest points of floor and mark on staff , then place the staff along the walls with the highest point mark on the datum. then mark the skirting with a pencil at how high you should go with the leveler to make the floor level