My house is 1 story, but I have a basement so all the floors on the main level are "upstairs" and have a wooden subfloor. I ripped out the vanity in a bathroom I'm working on and starting taking out the tile. I had a bit of trouble because the vanity had to be lifted almost 2" to come out which I thought was odd. It looks like there is some type of poured in "concrete" like material above the wooden subfloor and the tile. Any idea what this is? Can I just pour in more where the vanity was to level it out?
Best Answer
This floor has been floated, a very common and traditional method for preparing surfaces for tile. To "float" is to apply a cement and sand mix similar to concrete but without rocks, gravel or coarse sand. A 2" thick float is not uncommon at all.
It is often applied using a "dry pack" method wherein only enough water is mixed to ensure proper set but wet enough to pack, shape, feather, and blend.
Do not use pre-mixed bagged concrete mix. If you do not want to mix your own, use pre-bagged mortar mix and "dry pack" the area. I guess you could then use a thin layer of floor leveling compound to flatten, smooth, and blend the damaged areas and seams.