Hi,

I have just yesterday completed fixing the ******* kitchen floor - the one
that looked liked this:

http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0001.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu...ZPlan.png.html

Put the F Ball F75 DPM paint on Monday and Tuesday and primed that with P131
(a neoprene sticky stuff) on Wednesday and me + SWMBO managed a single pour
of Stopgap 300 (5 bags) yesterday.

Today I have removed the dams (to stop the magic crap escaping the doorways
and to keep a bare area of concrete in the fireplace and hearth area (which
will be screeded in fairly strong sand/cement for reasons of heat
resistance).

It's looking good (fingers crossed big time!).

A cursory wave of the 6' level indicates it appears good to within 1-2mm
over any 6' span with many parts being as perfectly flat as measurable.

The floor seems solid enough so it's ready for tiling as soon as I screed in
the fireplace area (which won't have a DPM - not practical as it's expected
to get hot and the screed is not so thick) - but will be seperated from the
rest of the floor with a vertical DPM strip.

Some gotchas for the unwary, for Google:

1) Stopgap F75 is a 2 pack expensive epoxy DPM. It's easy enough to apply
but you need a set of disposable rollers and a 6' roller stick and wellies.
Quite impressive stuff - some I peeled off the mixer paddle seems as
flexible as a tough rubber.

2) Once the P131 over primer has been applied the floor is now very sticky,
even when dry (that's its job). I had a heart stopping moment when my
wellies pulled up a 1 sq inch bit of the DPM. My shoes hadn't been a
problem as they were dusty, but my wellies must have had a trace of P131 on
them so bonded very well to one bit. That was unexpected...

What to do - well, technically one should make good with more F75 - but that
would mean another 5kg pack (long wait, loads of money). So as it was a
tiny patch, I treated with SBR, and stuck 2 layers of overlapping PVC tape
over. Bit of a bodge, but almost certainly good enough to slow any major
vapour ingress. Tip: walk on the primed floor with bare feet until the
topping layer of Stopgap 300 poured, then wellies are safe again. I also
placed the buckets on rubble bags, which stuck down but could be peeled off
with minimal force so not damaging the floor.

3) 5 bags of Stopgap 300 (necessary to get a 3mm overcoat as required by the
F75) is a ******* to mix. I did it with a 3 bag mix in a 69 litre bucket
and a 2 bag mix in another bucket. Mix the 3 bag for no more than 5 mins
total, then do the 2 bag mix, then remix the 3 bag bucket. Have everything
ready, bags slit, water measured and an assistant on the mixer. 3 bags at
once is slightly more than a big SDS plaster paddle can manage - may get a
few small lumps. These can be worked out with a spiked roller. Using a full
on plaster's mixer would be better but as I expected this, mixing extra
hard and having the spiked roller ready made it work.

4) Someone once mentioned here a T-bar tool with 2 or 3 screws sticking 3mm
off the edge corner of the "T" to help spread SLC to about the right
thickness. I made one out of wood and that was invaluable. Kicked both
buckets over, then moved and placed upside down to drain every last drop of
our prescious magic crap. The T bar allows one to swifly, and in a standing
posture, to spread the SLC over the whole 20m2 withing 5 minutes. 5 minutes
with a spiked roller then fixed the air bubbles, odd lump and footprints.

At this stage, we are about 20 minutes into the procedure and the mix goes
off at 20-30 minutes!

That left just enough fluidity in the mix for gravity to lend a hand.

Looking at it today, I feel extremely pleased, and relieved! Bear in mind
the other alternative to this was dig out the concrete. I suspect that
would have cost a lot more (not a DIY job for me anymore). The latter could
have bought me an insulated floor, but I decided on the former and I'm
pleased enough...

Photos coming soon.



--

Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

Tim W wrote:

big snip

Photos coming soon.

Oh you tease.... I thought - lets cut to the photo now after all that! ;-)



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm
wibbled on Friday 02 October 2009 20:14

Tim W wrote:

big snip

Photos coming soon.

Oh you tease.... I thought - lets cut to the photo now after all that! ;-)




Sorry - busy with tiling the bathroom and random school/nursery pickups...
Tomorrow - promise...



--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

On 2 Oct, 13:17, Tim W wrote:
snip

What a marathon, sounds like a good job at the end of it.

Bolted
wibbled on Friday 02 October 2009 22:08

On 2 Oct, 13:17, Tim W wrote:
snip

What a marathon, sounds like a good job at the end of it.



The whole house is a marathon, one way or another!

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

Bolted
wibbled on Friday 02 October 2009 22:08

On 2 Oct, 13:17, Tim W wrote:
snip

What a marathon, sounds like a good job at the end of it.

I think I owe you personally much thanks too. IIRC it was you who introduced
me to F Ball products.

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

John Rumm
wibbled on Friday 02 October 2009 20:14

Tim W wrote:

big snip

Photos coming soon.

Oh you tease.... I thought - lets cut to the photo now after all that! ;-)




Here you go:

Red crap, aka epoxy F75
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0009.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0012.jpg.html

Finished with Stopgap 300:

http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0017.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0018.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0019.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0020.jpg.html

(Note - cutout for hearth screed as this needs to withstand more heat than
the F75 would be good for...)

The T-tool:

http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0022.jpg.html
http://photos.dionic.net/v/public/bu..._0023.jpg.html

Cheers

Tim

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

On 3 Oct, 07:27, Tim W wrote:
Bolted
* wibbled on Friday 02 October 2009 22:08

On 2 Oct, 13:17, Tim W wrote:
snip

What a marathon, sounds like a good job at the end of it.

I think I owe you personally much thanks too. IIRC it was you who introduced
me to F Ball products.

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...

It's a pleasure - well, they are the pleasure (you've used far more
than me, now, but that SG 300 is astonishing, isn't it).

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:48:25 +0100, John Rumm wrote:
Now that is red and shiny! ;-)

(looks rather like you just slaughtered and bled six months supply of JWs!)

.... or melted down a large supply of clown noses.

Jules
wibbled on Tuesday 06 October 2009 14:03

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:48:25 +0100, John Rumm wrote:
Now that is red and shiny! ;-)

(looks rather like you just slaughtered and bled six months supply of
JWs!)

... or melted down a large supply of clown noses.

Hehe. Pity it has to be covered up...

--
Tim Watts

This space intentionally left blank...