Prepping concrete floors

[Varley]

Was talking to a local tiler the other day and he was telling me he had just finished plying a concrete floor ready to tile. This seemed strange to me as if a concrete floor ever needed levelling i always use self levelling compound, he thought i was strange, said he always ply's concrete floors, drills the concrete, plugs the holes and screws the boards. Must take him a while. Any of you guys ever ply'd a concrete floor and if so why?

[M D HUGHES]

If the entire floor was concrete then yes, thats mental. I did have a quote a few weeks ago where the floor ran into an ext. and I had about 18mtr or boards and then ran onto concrete for about 6mtr. Options would have been, plyout then self level, hardibacker board the lot or ply the lot. Must admit plying the lot seemed an easy option to get the job preped quickly. Plying concrete seems alot of work and totally against the object of what your trying to create inthe first place.
IMO

[NETT Darren]

No need to ply concrete, just seal and tile, if self leveling, seal floor, level it, seal again, tile it,
Guy might be cashing in on uneccessary work

[Varley]

I agree guys, seemed really strange to me, just wanted to make sure my sanity in tact

Originally Posted by Varley

Was talking to a local tiler the other day and he was telling me he had just finished plying a concrete floor ready to tile. This seemed strange to me as if a concrete floor ever needed levelling i always use self levelling compound, he thought i was strange, said he always ply's concrete floors, drills the concrete, plugs the holes and screws the boards. Must take him a while. Any of you guys ever ply'd a concrete floor and if so why?

Yes, to raise a floor level with an adjoining floor, that was uneven to start with. It was over a massive area, so it was quicker and cheaper to board it as opposed to SLC. Perfect surface too.

[Leatherface]

Have seen it done - but have never done myself. Always self level if needed. The labour cost for plying, in my opinion is greater than labour cost to self level -the 2 nearly balance themselves out. The self levelled surface in my opinion is better than a plywood surface

[Dan]

If it's too big to level at a decent cost you would screed it I think wouldn't you? You can add chippings to SLC to thicken it out and allow it to withstand a thicker bed with some brands I think.

[guy1976]

you can add granite chiping to self leveler to allow for thicker screed not so much self leveling then you will need to trowel it or use a plasterers derby or feather edge or piece of straight wood

Originally Posted by Leatherface

Have seen it done - but have never done myself. Always self level if needed. The labour cost for plying, in my opinion is greater than labour cost to self level -the 2 nearly balance themselves out. The self levelled surface in my opinion is better than a plywood surface

The guy wanted ply, so thats what he got and paid for it

plying over a good concrete floor is absolutey ridiculous!!!

He wanted it raised by 15-20mil (I cant remember - it was ages ago) to meet the level of an adjoing floor, allowing for 15mil for tiles and adhesive.

[Leatherface]

Sorry Concept - I wasn't implying that you were wrong.
The self leveller I use can be applied up to 30mm in one application and is guaranteed not to shrink or crack. My powers of persuasion usually work with the customer.
Anyone that chooses to ply over concrete - fine by me