Are you using the flat of the trowel instead of having the trowel at right angles to the floor using large sweeping movements. Watch that video again
Doing floor prep is not like using concrete
Doing floor prep is not like using concrete
My bathroom floor project
- Thread starter zannej
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Seems you are doing it wrong by trying to hold the trowel too hard onto the floor
Once you have mixed the product, make sure you have enough to cover the area, it should only take 10 minutes max to cover that area. Do not play with it. Once the product has dried a bit use the back of the trowel to lightly scrape the high, lumps off then repeat with more new product. Easy Peasy
You want me to come and do it for you?
Your cost for airfares from New Zealand of coarse
Jon, It was actually my friend who did most of it although I came back afterward to do some smoothing before it fully dried. I don't know how hard he was pressing, but he was just trying to get it to spread in to the pits of the old botched job. Some of the bumps and lines are actually from the previous layer that really clumped up.
Ernesto, it was even worse before. Lots of craters- that are still there where we didn't spread the mix.
I'm procrastinating again- thundestorms all day plus I felt nauseous & ended up sleeping.
Ernesto, it was even worse before. Lots of craters- that are still there where we didn't spread the mix.
I'm procrastinating again- thundestorms all day plus I felt nauseous & ended up sleeping.
I'm waiting for my deltoid muscle (that I pulled) to heal a bit more & am trying to figure out where the hell I put some of the tools I got for this job. I thought I put them in my bathroom, but can't seem to locate them. Found one of the items in the kitchen & am trying to figure out where the rest of them went.
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The cats managed to break my toilet tank (knocked the box down- it sat in the same spot since 2008). It reminded me I really need to work on this project. I went to check for level on the closet flange and realized it needs to come up some on the right side. Gonna be fun since the leveling mix got over one of the screws.
They actually have some of the 546 leveling additive in stock so I might go get it because the previous layer with just water has cracked in some spots. I'm going to get myself a mat to sit/kneel on, and try to take it slow and easy. I'm mostly concerned with getting where the toilet bowl sits to be level. Don't care if it's terribly smooth in the middle so long as the toilet has something level and solid to sit on. I will try to get rid of bumps in other areas so it won't mess up the sheet vinyl. I injured my right rotator cuff and doctor said it will take 8 weeks to heal but I need to stop procrastinating on this. I'm going to try to get the additive soon and maybe add a little water and hope it holds up. I need to lay my toilet bowl on some cardboard to trace around it and make a template so I know where the edges are so I will have a general idea of what spots need to be the most level. (I hope I'm making sense-- haven't been able to get back to sleep since cats woke me up with that catostrophic crash).
They actually have some of the 546 leveling additive in stock so I might go get it because the previous layer with just water has cracked in some spots. I'm going to get myself a mat to sit/kneel on, and try to take it slow and easy. I'm mostly concerned with getting where the toilet bowl sits to be level. Don't care if it's terribly smooth in the middle so long as the toilet has something level and solid to sit on. I will try to get rid of bumps in other areas so it won't mess up the sheet vinyl. I injured my right rotator cuff and doctor said it will take 8 weeks to heal but I need to stop procrastinating on this. I'm going to try to get the additive soon and maybe add a little water and hope it holds up. I need to lay my toilet bowl on some cardboard to trace around it and make a template so I know where the edges are so I will have a general idea of what spots need to be the most level. (I hope I'm making sense-- haven't been able to get back to sleep since cats woke me up with that catostrophic crash).
Does the toilet sit level and its just the flange on the floor that is unlevel?
If it's the flange on the floor then the wax seal will correct that problem.
If it's the flange on the floor then the wax seal will correct that problem.
I don't think it will sit level. I was checking the patched part for level and it's crooked as well. I'm going to use a waxless seal for the toilet because we've had too much trouble with wax ones. Drawback is, I don't think they are as forgiving if stuff isn't level. Have to wait until I get a new tank to be able to install. But, that's what I get for procrastinating on the project for so long.
I got the supplies and I will go over my checklist before I start. Got my measuring cups (for wet and dry), buckets, stirring attachment, cordless drill (will check to make sure battery is full charge), stuff for spreading the mix, pad to kneel on while working, additive so it won't crack this time, cardboard to cover stuff I don't want to get splattered just in case, level for checking the progress and making sure it's not sloping, flashlight in case the light isn't bright enough to see the level, etc.
Probably should use gloves- I do have some.
I got the supplies and I will go over my checklist before I start. Got my measuring cups (for wet and dry), buckets, stirring attachment, cordless drill (will check to make sure battery is full charge), stuff for spreading the mix, pad to kneel on while working, additive so it won't crack this time, cardboard to cover stuff I don't want to get splattered just in case, level for checking the progress and making sure it's not sloping, flashlight in case the light isn't bright enough to see the level, etc.
Probably should use gloves- I do have some.
Put in the two toilet bolts and set the toilet in place so the bolts are centered and the upper toilet bolt holes are parallel to the wall. Draw a pencil line (not a felt marker) around the outside edges of the toilet.
With the toilet in place, put two or three shims in place to level the toilet so it doesn't rock. You can use bamboo barbecue skewers, door casing shims or wooden shingles..... virtually anything that's the right thickness. You don't need anything wide it just has to be the correct thickness. If you use something like a door shim you can split it so that it's only a quarter of an inch wide.
Tape the shims to the floor so that they can't move. Now draw arrows or lines pointing at the places where the toilet makes perfect contact with the existing leveler. You don't want to add any filler on that area.
Now remove the toilet and set it out of the way.
Mix up a small amount of that floor filler. No need for measuring cups and ratios. Just don't make it so runny that it pours, and don't make it as thick as butter from the refrigerator. sooner is better for this process.
Spread out some filler about an inch wide, covering the outline of your toilet.
Lay a couple of narrow strips of a hravy duty plastic trash bag directly on top of that wet filler. The shims should still be in place. You're trying to put just enough filler on the floor to equal the thickness of the shims, maybe an eighth or a quarter of an inch higher than the shims so that any extra height get squished out when we set the toilet in place.
Anyway after you put the plastic strips on top of the filler, set the toilet back in place centering the bolts just like you did at the beginning of all this.
With the toilet in the right position, let it sit there for 15 or 20 minutes, then carefully lift the toilet and set it aside. At this point you can probably peel the plastic off of the filler without much effort. What you're left with is the impression of the rim of the toilet.
Before the filler has hardened, while it is still relatively soft, pop out the shims. Use a handheld razor scraper to carefully shave down any filler that sticks up above that impression from the toilet base.
Set the toilet back in place like before to see if the toilet rocks at all. If it doesn't then you now have an area to screed away from with any additional filler that you need to apply to smooth the floor out.
It doesn't make any difference if removing those shims breaks out some filler. Just mix up a tiny bit more filler and patch in where the shims used to be and scrape that area too after it's hardened a little bit.
Once you know the base of the toilet is flat, level and it won't rock, you can use whatever filler you need to screed away from that area that's level and flat. You going to be using that strip of filler around the toilet as a guide to float away from.
You know from earlier not to let any high spots remain until the filler is rock hard. Any filler that you put on that needs some minor scraping, do it while the filler is still wet, but hard enough to scrape on.
Hoping that this makes a tiny bit of sense.
With the toilet in place, put two or three shims in place to level the toilet so it doesn't rock. You can use bamboo barbecue skewers, door casing shims or wooden shingles..... virtually anything that's the right thickness. You don't need anything wide it just has to be the correct thickness. If you use something like a door shim you can split it so that it's only a quarter of an inch wide.
Tape the shims to the floor so that they can't move. Now draw arrows or lines pointing at the places where the toilet makes perfect contact with the existing leveler. You don't want to add any filler on that area.
Now remove the toilet and set it out of the way.
Mix up a small amount of that floor filler. No need for measuring cups and ratios. Just don't make it so runny that it pours, and don't make it as thick as butter from the refrigerator. sooner is better for this process.
Spread out some filler about an inch wide, covering the outline of your toilet.
Lay a couple of narrow strips of a hravy duty plastic trash bag directly on top of that wet filler. The shims should still be in place. You're trying to put just enough filler on the floor to equal the thickness of the shims, maybe an eighth or a quarter of an inch higher than the shims so that any extra height get squished out when we set the toilet in place.
Anyway after you put the plastic strips on top of the filler, set the toilet back in place centering the bolts just like you did at the beginning of all this.
With the toilet in the right position, let it sit there for 15 or 20 minutes, then carefully lift the toilet and set it aside. At this point you can probably peel the plastic off of the filler without much effort. What you're left with is the impression of the rim of the toilet.
Before the filler has hardened, while it is still relatively soft, pop out the shims. Use a handheld razor scraper to carefully shave down any filler that sticks up above that impression from the toilet base.
Set the toilet back in place like before to see if the toilet rocks at all. If it doesn't then you now have an area to screed away from with any additional filler that you need to apply to smooth the floor out.
It doesn't make any difference if removing those shims breaks out some filler. Just mix up a tiny bit more filler and patch in where the shims used to be and scrape that area too after it's hardened a little bit.
Once you know the base of the toilet is flat, level and it won't rock, you can use whatever filler you need to screed away from that area that's level and flat. You going to be using that strip of filler around the toilet as a guide to float away from.
You know from earlier not to let any high spots remain until the filler is rock hard. Any filler that you put on that needs some minor scraping, do it while the filler is still wet, but hard enough to scrape on.
Hoping that this makes a tiny bit of sense.
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One other thing. Once you're confident that the toilet sits correctly or as good as you can make it, mix up some filler and screwed around that area where the toilet sits and make it as flat and smooth as you can. once the filler has started to harden up a little bit scrape smooth any trowel marks or ridges and make that as flat as you can. From what I'm understanding you're probably going to need to do this procedure a couple of more times until you get the floor relatively smooth. Don't think you're trying to make it smooth in one pass. Once it's smooth as you can get it and you have it scraped it as flat as you can get it, mixed up another batch of filler a little bit thinner this time and put a very thin skim coat over the entire floor. By skim coat I'm talking a 16th of an inch not a quarter of an inch. Think of it like a glaze coat. You're just trying to blend in any areas that have small ridges. Depending on how rough a floor is I can't always get it right with a single skim coat so I screed what needs to be flat then scrape it ......then add a final smooth skim coat.
Thanks, Highup. I'll have to see if I can get my toilet jack back to make this a bit easier for the moving of the toilet (but will need to make sure the wheels won't roll over any of the leveling mix when it's wet). Although, I might be able to handle the base by myself without the jack if I can get the inflammation in my back and rotator cuff down. I don't bend and lift well. LOL. I'm hoping I can try to work on it tomorrow if I don't have another day of exhaustion.
In my experience, you dont really need all the porcelain, you just need the hole
Maybe make the hole two feet taller.In my experience, you dont really need all the porcelain, you just need the hole
In some Asian countries, they just use a hole.
See, makes sense to me. Its hard to break and i never have to scrape wax seals off of it.
Gentlemen, we need to remedy this!
Gentlemen, we need to remedy this!
If the tank isn't on it the toilet base isn't usually very heavy. Worst case scenario is once you have it setting in place, with a line drawn around the toilet and the shims in place and taped down....... If the good part that's already fitting correctly is on the left or right side, is there lifting the toilet just tip it over and lay it down. Once you put the strip of filler down and the plastic on it, just tip the tank over after the filler has set up sufficiently.
Are you able to squat down like they do. If I was able to do that, i would never be able to get back up.
I remember the squat toilets from Singapore. Bit of porcelain with ridges to help people get grip with their feet. In places where they didn't have squat toilets you'd sometimes see footprints on the toilet seats.
There's no way I could use a squat toilet. I'd probably fall trying to squat and then have trouble getting back up. At least I'm not slim enough to fall into the toilet. My brother-in-law told me about a girl he dated (before he met my sister) who was so skinny she once fell in the toilet when the seat was up and got stuck. She called out for help, he saw her, went and got his camera instead of pulling her out. No surprise that relationship didn't last.
I will have to carefully slide my toilet base in it's box (after I get the sheet vinyl out of the way) and see if I can carefully roll it out and mark. Need to find where my pencils went.
Worst case, I can see if my friend can help me if I find I can't lift stuff. I don't trust my brother to not drop it or knock it over and chip it.
There's no way I could use a squat toilet. I'd probably fall trying to squat and then have trouble getting back up. At least I'm not slim enough to fall into the toilet. My brother-in-law told me about a girl he dated (before he met my sister) who was so skinny she once fell in the toilet when the seat was up and got stuck. She called out for help, he saw her, went and got his camera instead of pulling her out. No surprise that relationship didn't last.
I will have to carefully slide my toilet base in it's box (after I get the sheet vinyl out of the way) and see if I can carefully roll it out and mark. Need to find where my pencils went.
Worst case, I can see if my friend can help me if I find I can't lift stuff. I don't trust my brother to not drop it or knock it over and chip it.
zannej when people here come from those countries they stand on the wall hung toilets pulling the toilet pan off the wall so I understand what you are talking about
