A floor with dips and ridges that new tile or plank won't sit flat on? A thin poured layer gives it a smooth, flat base.
Self-leveling concrete and overlays in Castro Valley are a thin layer we pour over an existing indoor floor to even out minor dips and ridges, so your tile, plank or coating goes down on a smooth, flat surface.
It works when the floor underneath is stable and only a little uneven. A slab that has settled or is still moving is a different problem, and a leveling layer on top won't solve it. So before I talk about pouring anything, I look at whether your slab is sound, and I'll tell you plainly if it isn't.
What moves the price is mostly what's on and under the floor now: the size of the room, how much old flooring and glue has to come up, how deep the low spots run and how much patching the slab needs. The schedule turns on that prep, on a moisture test, and on the room staying closed while the pour cures. Your written estimate sets out the price and the prep.
Most of what decides a good leveling job happens before the pour. These are the parts homeowners ask about most once they see the old floor come up.
Older floors sometimes have black cutback adhesive under the vinyl or tile, and grinding it off by machine can be hazardous because it may contain asbestos. If it's there, safe removal starts with the adhesive maker and the proper government agencies, so please tell me about any old glue you know of at the estimate.
One self-leveling maker says primer is required every time its underlayment, the poured layer that does the leveling, goes down. Primer helps the new layer hold to the old slab instead of letting go later, so it's part of every pour and not an extra you can skip.
Self-leveling suits basement floors and kitchen slabs before tile goes down, because tile and plank show every dip in the concrete under them. A plank that rocks or a tile that cracks over a low spot usually traces back to the slab, and leveling first deals with it underneath.
Here's how a leveling job usually runs, from your first call to the walk-through, and what you'll have in hand before any work starts.
Call (510) 931-7868 or send the form with the room size, what's on the floor now, any old glue you know of and the flooring you plan to put down. We'll get back to you to set up a visit.
I come out myself, check the slab for cracks, moisture, movement and old coatings or glue, and ask how you'll use the room. You get a written estimate with the price and the prep spelled out.
Once you're ready, our crew and I prep the floor, prime it and pour the leveling layer we agreed on. The room has to stay closed while it cures, so we plan that with you ahead of time.
Before we leave, I walk the finished floor with you, and we clean up so the rest of your house is the way we found it. If anything doesn't look right to you, please tell me then.
The first thing I check is whether your floor is stable. Leveling suits a floor that's sound and only a little uneven, not one that's moving, and I'd rather tell you the slab needs more work than pour over a problem and hope it holds. If I see signs of movement, we talk about that before anything else.
The second thing I ask is what flooring is going on top, because that shapes the prep. Tile, plank and a coating each ask something a little different of the surface under them, and the flooring maker's instructions decide some of the checks the slab has to pass. That's why I'd like your flooring picked out before we set a pour date.
If the old floor is still down, or there's a coating or glue stuck to the concrete, that has to come off first, and our concrete floor stripping and removal work covers it. Self-leveling is poured over indoor floors. If it's the concrete around your pool that's worn or rough, that's a different job, and our pool deck coatings and resurfacing page explains it.
A full pour gives one flat surface from wall to wall and suits a floor with several dips. It means the room stays shut while it cures, so it's best planned before your new flooring arrives.
When a floor is flat except for one dip or ridge, grinding the high spot and filling the low one can be enough. I'll tell you at the estimate which your floor actually needs.
We reply to every call and form within one business day to set up a visit. The estimate is free and done on site, with no pressure and no obligation, and I come out myself to look at the slab before putting the price and the prep in writing.
(510) 931-7868Castro Valley is unincorporated, so building permits here come from Alameda County rather than a city hall. I won't guess at whether your leveling job needs one. I'll tell you at the estimate, and if it does, we'll file it with the county office for your address or walk you through filing it yourself, whichever you prefer.
When the county requires a permit to alter or repair a structure, the applicant signs a statement that they're licensed under the state's contractor licensing law or explains why they're exempt. California also requires a home improvement contract to carry set information, notices and disclosures that protect you, and any change to it has to be in writing, easy to understand and tell you about your right to cancel.
We're based in Castro Valley and do the same work in Hayward, San Leandro, Oakland, Dublin, Pleasanton and many other cities around it. On older floors here we often find a dip beside an old patch or a ridge where two pours meet, and those are usually the spots that decide how much leveling a room needs.
I've run this business since 2017. I learned the trade by grinding and coating my own garage floor and reading every product sheet I could find. I still do every estimate myself and stay on the job with our crew from the first pass of prep to the final walk-through, so the person who looked at your slab is the one watching it get poured.
We're licensed and insured. The state licensing board treats concrete contractors, who pour, place and finish flat concrete, and flooring contractors, who prepare a surface for flooring, as separate kinds of work, and leveling a floor touches both. Our promise is the same on every floor we pour. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
In a lived-in house, that means covering what's around the room, keeping the dust where the work is and leaving the room clean when we go, because it's your home and not ours. If you'd like me to look at your floor, please call (510) 931-7868 or send us the form, and thank you for considering us.
When old vinyl, tile, carpet glue or a worn coating is still stuck to the slab, it has to come off cleanly before a leveling pour can bond.
If the concrete you're worried about is the deck around your pool rather than a floor inside, this is the service that deals with worn, rough or faded surfaces.
We're based in Castro Valley, CA 94546, and we level floors in homes across the cities around it. Find your city below to see the other work we do there.
The price is set at the estimate, once I've seen the slab, because most of it comes from prep you can't judge from a photo. A clean floor with a few shallow dips costs less to level than one with old glue to remove, cracks to repair and deep low spots that take more material. Please call (510) 931-7868 to set up a visit.
No, a self-leveling pour won't fix a slab that's sinking or moving. When the soil under a slab was poorly compacted or has washed out, the slab loses support and can move and crack under heavy loads, and a thin layer on top doesn't change what's happening underneath. That's a structural problem to sort out first, and I'll tell you if that's what I see.
Yes. One self-leveling maker's guide says to test the slab for moisture before any of its product goes down. The test follows the instructions of whoever makes your finish flooring, so the tile, plank or coating you choose decides which test applies. That's why I ask you to pick your flooring before we set a pour date.
One maker of self-leveling products says the slab and room should be between 50°F and 95°F before the pour and stay in that range for at least 72 hours after. The same maker says doors and windows stay closed and the heating and cooling stays off until it cures, so please plan on that room being shut for that time.
Please have your new flooring chosen and the room cleared before we arrive. One maker's guide says to keep direct sunlight off the work area, so shading sunny windows ahead of time helps, and for a large room the same guide calls for indirect air circulation to clear the humidity the pour gives off. I'll go over the rest at the estimate.
Please call (510) 931-7868 or send the form before your tile or plank is delivered, so you know what the slab needs before your installer is booked.
