Thread: Help with leveling floor

You can buy self levelling compound to pour over your existing slab, also for your laser level question, make a datum point on a stick and use this to check your height, stick can be anything you want.

Some ideas that may help.

Lanko 20kg 133 Pro Level Floor Leveller - Bunnings Australia

Patching & Levelling Products – Dribond Construction Chemicals

Good luck.

The self leveling toppings still require a reasonable amount of skill so may not give you the desired outcome
If you can afford the height change skinning the floor with flooring is probably a nicer floor to be on.
I have done dozens of jobs where we have batterned a concrete floor and layer either sheet flooring or a polished hardwood floor.
You can use the 70x 35 on flat and level with horseshoe packers as required or a 19mm hardwood battern. We usually use Mungo plugs to fasten them down as they are quick and easy to use.
Just set a layer up on the floor and reference off a mark on a block of timber or a rule or whatever you are comfortable with. You can reduce the battern spacing and packers to firm up the floor if you want

Easy job to do and a good outcome

You don’t have to have the laser set up at the exact height, just set it up on the tripod and measure down to the slab all over it to find the highest point, then deduct the thickness of your battens from that and mark the tape with a pencil and set all the battens to that height and throw the sheeting on top, easy.

Thanks all. Yeah I would rather timber floor as it will also be nicer to stand on.

Any recommendations on a laser level?

Just got one of these a few weeks ago, dead accurate (checked it against my big one) and so easy to set up, has magnetic mounts and a target as well (visual only, not an electronic target), does both level, gradient and plumb.
Lasertec CX2R Crossline Laser - Bunnings Australia

Hi Q. I highly recommend the DeWalt one I have. Perfect for what you're trying to do

DEWALT Multi Line Laser Level Green Beam DW089CG-XJ | Total Tools

I have three and my go to is the Bosch unit. They all will do the job , the one Ray has would be a good choice for the money.

More important than brand is deciding want uses you have for it which will determine the number of beams and if you will need a receiver
Green beam Is supposedly better in bright light and I have one but still prefer my cheaper Bosch red beam unit.
I prefer replaceable battery ones over the rechargeable option because you know it will go flat in the middle of a project and will put it out of action while it charges, they are not a heavy battery user.

Originally Posted by qwertyu

The concrete floor in my shed/wokshop is REALLY uneven - DIY concrete job. I want to put a level frame ontop of the concrete with 35x90 pine and put some yellow tongue down so its flat and level. (unless someone can suggest another method which might be better) ...

I asked essentially the same question a bit over 3 years ago - debate and answers might help:
Levelling the Shed Floor

The options considered were - and still are as I haven't done anything because of Covid and inertia of moving everything out of the shed for the duration:

OPTION 1 - Self levelling cement. Dismissed early as extremely expensive.

OPTION 2 - Professional Concreter. The cheapest option and a good one. But it means walking/working on concrete forever.

OPTION 3 - Yellow tongue flooring over pine joists. Essentially what you are proposing - the woodworkers solution. Belts and braces mentality suggests going to thicker flooring than yellow tongue. Big advantage is that it is so nice to walk on.

OPTION 4 - Yellow tongue flooring over concrete. The rolls royce option, but $$$$'s.

Thanks all

Is there much difference green and red laser? Is green easier to see outside if I ever wanted to use it outside?

Lasertec CX2R Crossline Laser - Bunnings Australia

Bunnings have a green version of the above laser but it is not listed on the website for not much more - thinking I should get the green.

Does yellow tongue need to be sealed with polyurethane or anything?

My local building supplier has 35x90 for $2 a meter (last time I checked - could be more now though) so I think that would be best but I am worried that it will be difficult to attach everything together as I will be screwing through 90mm of timber before hitting the other piece (I would prefer to leave it flat so I dont loose too much height in the workshop). What type of screws should I use? (My experiences with self tapping screws have been bad but it Ive only ever tried them in hardwoods)

To level a floor.
Would it be possible to wash the floor . lay two level wood tracks down 1 meter apart that are at the thinnest point 20mm higher than existing floor. Make a mix of sand , cement and Bondcrete. Put it in and level it with the tracks using a board from one to the other? Trowel it off as it dries. Lift the tracks out before it dries and fill the track holes later?

Do it in stages .

How many square meters is your shed floor ?

Ive just bought a green Makita laser. Used it outside the other day and at 12 Meters it was dim but good . I used it with the plastic indicator and without and it worked both ways . I was checking 40 foot concrete container footings. I wont be doing to much outside with it. Its very good inside.

At that pricepoint I don’t if it will make a lot of difference because it depends on beam quality. Strength of beam is more important than colour
I have a green beam from Sydney Tools ( can’t remember brand) but was about $350 and about 18 months later bought a Bosch red beam BOSCH Laser Measuring Multi Line 3x360 Red Beams GLL3-80 | Total Tools

The Bosch is a much nicer beam to use and the other one now sits in the cupboard, the Bosch also have a beam detector to use outside so it can be used as a dumpy which is really handy.
The pricepoints are different and if you don’t see yourself using it for other projects I would just get the $79 one and if the beam is not strong enough just move it and set up again closer to where you are working, either way you will love the simplicity of using one. I hang doors with them instead of using a level as you have both hands free all the time

Lay your 90 x 35 on the flat unless you particularly want to raise the floor that much. Use pinboard screws and glue to fix the sheets down, you don’t need to seal it ( assume it won’t be in a wet environment)

Also, are these suitable?

Macsim 1 x 75mm Window Packer - 200 Pack - Bunnings Australia

or are they not 'structural' enough being 'window' packers

The green laser is better.
If you are going to lay your timbers on their flat, use 70 x 35 (cheaper) and the window packers are perfect just add a spot of liquid nail to hold them together after you determine which ones for each fixing point.
I suggest tapcon screws available at Bunnings/Mitre10 Concrete Anchors & Fasteners | Tapcon