# Self-leveling compound directly over 9x9 asbestos tile (AVT) - good or bad idea?



## Ravingmick (Jan 20, 2011)

I had the same issue when I was remodeling my bathroom a few years ago. I took a sample of the asbestos stick down tiles to a lab and had it tested. The tech said that the percentage of asbestos was extremely low (2%), and if I removed it myself, when I was done I could put it in a garbage bag and leave it out by the curb. Not sure if you're in the same boat, but the options for me were basically :
1. leave it (which I didn't consider "doing it right" for the same reason you quoted about future homeowners
2. Pay someone to remove it - wasn't going to do that with how much it'd cost/how low the content was
3. Remove it

I removed it, took a day, worse a suit and respirator, used soapy water, put up plastic sheeting on all walls. Wasn't expensive, didn't take long, don't regret the decision.


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## JazMan (Feb 17, 2007)

OMG, what is this world coming to? Remove the damn stuff. Many pieces will probably just come up whole without much effort, if not heat or a torch. How are you exposing yourself by removing the tiles? Are you going to sand it? Grind it? Sand and grind it and breathe the dust for 35 years? 

I can't tell from here, but those are probably asphalt tiles, (if they're as old as I think and are probably ⅛" thick). They contain asbestos but the asbestos does not leak or ooze out magically. You can remove them very easily and is much safer than doing a brake job on your car 40 years ago. Search and follow the removal directions, essentially keep the tiles damp if they break up and crumble to avoid breathing particles. It's very safe, but better safe than sorry in 50 years. 

Jaz


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## cannahere (Jan 16, 2018)

suburbanbeat, what did you do at the end and how did it go?


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## suburbanbeat (Feb 6, 2017)

cannahere said:


> suburbanbeat, what did you do at the end and how did it go?


Thank you for reminding me to report back on my self-leveling project! It was... interesting. 

I ended up using LevelQuik RS, which was available at my local hardware store. At $35 per bag, it wasn't cheap, but it seemed to have a decent reputation. Additionally, I shelled out another $30 for a bottle of LevelQuik primer. 

I treated the floor first by sweeping, then mopping several times, then priming. By this point my basement floor was a real hodge-podge mix of newly poured concrete (over recently installed plumbing), cutback adhesive, vinyl tiles, and old concrete. It was a total mess. The primer laid on top of everything nicely though, giving the floor a consistent texture that I'm sure helped with the SLC. I did notice that the primer absorbed right into the newer concrete though.

So, once my floor was cleaned and primed, it was time for SLC. I recruited one friend to help me mix and pour. I measured out my water in a bucket and had my friend pour the SLC into the bucket. Things went wrong pretty quickly when my drill, which I thought was up to specifications recommended by LevelQuik, completely crapped out. It just didn't have the torque to mix the SLC! Not wanting to waste $35, I took a metal rod and we took turns hand mixing the compound at about the same rotations per minute that was recommended by LevelQuik.

Obviously, this is NOT the proper way to mix the compound, but here I was with a few hundred dollars worth of the stuff ready to mix. The hand mixing actually worked OK and we were able to get a mix that was smooth. We poured this first batch (I think it was a double or triple batch, and it covered about 1/3 of my basement floor really nicely. I did find that it had to be directed manually to cover a wider area, otherwise it will just try to lay thick in a much smaller area. I used the broad end of a snow shovel to guide the SLC to edges and anywhere else I needed it to go.

Now knowing my drill's limitations, we took the rest of the process much more slowly. I would mix constantly while he poured the compound into the bucket of water, and he would pour *very* slowly. The good news is that this prevented my drill from overheating and losing torque. The bad news is that we lost precious time doing this.

See, to get a really smooth surface, one should pour new mixes immediately after pouring previous mixes. This allows the wet edges of each mix to meet and combine for a seamless floor. Our snail's pace mixing process meant that previous pours were pretty much dry by the time we were ready to pour the new mix. This stuff truly does set in a few minutes on a dry day.

So, we eventually covered the entire basement floor, but over MUCH more time than it should have taken. The result is a floor that is worlds better over the floor that was there previously, but hardly the skating rink-smooth I was hoping for. The different pours are very obvious - some are higher than others, and there are small but noticeable lips where one pour ends and another begins. Additionally, the floor still isn't perfectly level. There's probably about a 1" different from one end of the 17' foot space to the other. I was really sad about this at first but then accepted that I live in a 100 year old house, and that's probably about as good as I could hope for.

Here are my recommendations for anyone doing this as a DIY job:
-RECRUIT HELP. LOTS OF IT. - In hindsight, we should have had three teams of 2 who all had one person mixing and another person pouring, so that lots of wet compound could be poured at the same time.
-GET DRILLS WITH MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK YOU'LL NEED. - Self explanatory. More is more in this case.
-DON'T TRY TO SMOOTH OUT EDGES MANUALLY. - Guide the compound to where you need it to go, but don't try to spread the edges, especially after a few seconds have passed. It will look crappy. Once you've given it some general direction, let it end where it wants to end.

I hope all of this helps. This was a pretty tough project and I just did not have the human or mechanical power that I needed. Seriously, get yourself 3 buckets, six friends, 3 over-powered drills, and 3 mixing paddles. Plan on doing your pours quickly.

My floor at this point *might* accommodate laminate flooring, but not hardwood and certainly not any kind of hard tile. I'm resigned to carpet at this point, which is actually OK I've decided, because I think it will do a lot to keep the space feeling warm and inviting, but yeah, it's carpet in a basement. Risky. Let me know if you have any other questions.


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## Bret86844 (Mar 16, 2016)

JazMan said:


> OMG, what is this world coming to? Remove the damn stuff. Many pieces will probably just come up whole without much effort, if not heat or a torch. How are you exposing yourself by removing the tiles? Are you going to sand it? Grind it? Sand and grind it and breathe the dust for 35 years?
> 
> I can't tell from here, but those are probably asphalt tiles, (if they're as old as I think and are probably ⅛" thick). They contain asbestos but the asbestos does not leak or ooze out magically. You can remove them very easily and is much safer than doing a brake job on your car 40 years ago. Search and follow the removal directions, essentially keep the tiles damp if they break up and crumble to avoid breathing particles. It's very safe, but better safe than sorry in 50 years.
> 
> Jaz


After re-reading this thread, I'd like to 'like' this post about 5 more times.


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## cannahere (Jan 16, 2018)

This is super helpful! I guess anyone read your email can do a DIY  Super! 

So basically you put primer on top of the tiles and then SLC. Will there be any moisture issues between the primer and tiles that you would think of? I am planning to remove the tiles, the abatement company doesn't recommend to remove the cut back because it is a messy process according to them.. not sure if I do that, can I still put primer and SLC on top of the cut back. 



suburbanbeat said:


> Thank you for reminding me to report back on my self-leveling project! It was... interesting.
> 
> I ended up using LevelQuik RS, which was available at my local hardware store. At $35 per bag, it wasn't cheap, but it seemed to have a decent reputation. Additionally, I shelled out another $30 for a bottle of LevelQuik primer.
> 
> ...


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## suburbanbeat (Feb 6, 2017)

cannahere said:


> This is super helpful! I guess anyone read your email can do a DIY  Super!
> 
> So basically you put primer on top of the tiles and then SLC. Will there be any moisture issues between the primer and tiles that you would think of? I am planning to remove the tiles, the abatement company doesn't recommend to remove the cut back because it is a messy process according to them.. not sure if I do that, can I still put primer and SLC on top of the cut back.


The makers of LevelQuik do assert that the SLC can be poured on top of cutback adhesive. As far as moisture is concerned, there will always be some vapor coming through the slab, but as far as I understand there is no risk of moisture being trapped by the primer or SLC, and that it will still escape as it normally should. Eventually, when your floor is level, you'll want to lay a vapor barrier or some kind of waterproof subfloor to prevent vapor from entering the space. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## jp_pianoguy (Apr 4, 2018)

Thanks for this thread. I just posted a similar situation last night, but over a much smaller area of asbestos tile - I'm going to use your approach, especially since LevelQuik specifies it can be installed over VCT _and/or_ cutback adhesive.


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## Think twice (Jun 26, 2021)

Do not do not do not do this! I know this is an old thread but anyone else reading should not put level quick over the cutback adhesive. Yes they say you can put it over cut back adhesive, however they clearly say do NOT Put over asbestos. Black cut back adhesive under asbestos tile is almost always asbestos based adhesive. Thus, You can not liquid level on top of this! Old Asbestos adhesive mastic does not bond to much of anything. Failure will certainly occur. It might take a year or less or more… but the level quick membrane will absolutely begin to pop away, leaving a worse problem down the road. A better solution would’ve been and will be for the next person that my try this, is to float a cork underlayment and has Vapor barrier attached. These are an inexpensive at the big box stores. When you can either float and engineered wood floor, vinyl plank, etc or carpet.


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