# floor fillers /levelers



## NoExperience (Aug 8, 2008)

What is the difference between levelers and fillers?

I have one tight seem to fill in my underlayment along with the nail holes and just one small area with a slight wave in the floor is filler alone ok for that ?


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

No Experience:

I have never heard of a "floor filler". A "wood filler" is just intended to fill holes and nicks in wood so that it's smooth when painted. A wood filler isn't intended to have any strength or carry any weight.

A floor leveler is intended to be spready onto floors to provide a smooth surface to the floor. It dries strong and hard and will support the weight of someone standing on it.

If you don't need much floor leveler, just phone up some carpet stores and ask to speak to their Installations Manager. There's a good chance that one of their installers has an open bag of floor leveler and you could just buy a little bit for a few dollars.

I don't know about other companies, but I do know that Mapei recommends that you use their recommended additive (pronounced "adhesive") with their "PlaniPatch" cement based floor leveler. You might want to check with the Installations Manager to see if you can get a floor leveler that's already polymer modified so you don't need any liquid additive, or if you could buy some of the additive as well.


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## Janet (Jul 29, 2008)

I used a product made by Stone Mason called "Ready Mix Floor Patch and Leveller for Wood and Concrete" to fill in a 10" diameter (1/2" deep?) area in my (what I assume is) gypcrete floor. It's a ready mix product and all I had to do was stir it up and apply it. Because of the depth, I had to patch it in increments but it seems to be holding up fine....mind you, it's not a high traffic area and it's only been in place for few weeks. Time will tell. 

When I talked to carpet stores, they said that the area I was patching was too deep for the products they use...so depth may be a consideration. 

Just thought I'd add my two cents.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2008)

It sounds like you are talking about a standard floor patch and a self leveling compound. Floor patch is designed for thin applications. Patching seems and nail holes in a subfloor is one of the primary applications for floor patch, along with skim coating or floating floors. Self-levelers are for deeper uneven areas. It's designed to be troweled into the approximate area it needs to be and then levels itself out from there.

For patch we mainly use Mapei Planipatch, which works fine for most applications when just mixed with water. Certain applications, like sealing old adhesive or applying to wood, requires the addition of Planipatch Plus, the latex additive that improves the bind strength of the product. 

For a floor leveler we generally use Parabon PFU though Ardex makes a very good one as well. For this you put down a latex primer first and then apply the self leveler over that.


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## NoExperience (Aug 8, 2008)

Thank you all for repliying
Yeah floor patch is what it is.

I only have Home Depot near me.
Home Depot doesn't carry Mapie.
That have another brand called Henry.

I only have one area with a dip in the floor so can I just go with the patch.
The stuff by Henry , they seem to have 3 type the one type says it doesn't require additives when applied to wood.
And it says anywhere from 1/2" fill to feather edge.
So I'm assuming that is ok ?

The worker in the store said I should use adhesive even with self stick tile what do you guys recommend ?
Becase I dont know if I trust Home Depot workers .

The other thing is I see floor paint for self stick tiles , do i need that ?


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

I don't think any of the pros in here have much experience with Peel & Stick tiles. I've installed more than my share of vinyl composition tiles, but have yet to install my first Peel & Stick tile.

Might want to start a new thread asking about adhesives and paint for Peel & Stick, and someone who's installed Peel & Stick might reply.


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