Self-leveling concrete overlays
A new, flat cementitious surface poured over a slab that has lost its own.
The build-up, step by step
Every self-leveling overlays job Shanks installs follows the same order, because skipping a stage is how floors fail. Taylor is on site for all of it.
Grind and prime
The old surface is opened and primed so the overlay bonds instead of floating.
Detail the edges
Perimeter, doorways and any drain get dammed and detailed before a drop is poured.
Pour and spread
The overlay is mixed to a strict water ratio, poured, spread with a gauge rake and smoothed.
Finish
Once it has set it can be polished, stained, or coated with any of the resin systems.
Right room, right system
Badly spalled slabs, floors with the wrong slope, and rooms where tile or carpet has been pulled and the surface underneath is a mess.
Where it is the wrong call
Slabs that are structurally moving, and floors where you cannot afford to raise the finished height by a quarter inch or more.
Back in service: Walkable in about 12 hours; coatings can follow within a day or two.
Compare the other systems
Why this floor costs what it costs
A quote on this work is really a quote on preparation. Here is what Taylor is looking at when he walks a floor:
Condition of the slab
A clean, sound slab grinds in a morning. One carrying old paint, carpet glue, or a failed coating can take a full day longer before anything can be applied.
How much repair it needs
Cracks, spalled edges, pitting and old anchor holes are filled and ground flush before coating. A slab that needs a lot of this can add a day on its own.
Size and shape
Bigger floors cost less per square foot, because the setup, the mixing and the cleanup are much the same whether the room is 400 or 1,400 square feet. Cut-up rooms with lots of edges take longer than open ones.
Which system you choose
Build thickness and the chemistry of the topcoat are the two biggest material costs. A heavier commercial build genuinely costs more than a residential one.
What Alabama slabs do
Out toward Gadsden, Southside and Pell City there are a lot of walk-out basements cut into a hillside. Those slabs sit against earth on three sides, so they get moisture-tested before a quote rather than after a failure.
Newer construction around Trussville, Chelsea and Springville is usually a clean, flat pour that takes a coating beautifully, as long as the concrete has had its twenty-eight days. Coating green concrete is one of the few genuinely unfixable mistakes in this trade.
Where the trailer goesWhat the days actually look like
People are usually more anxious about the disruption than the floor. Here is what the days actually look like:
Before Taylor arrives
The room has to be completely empty, including anything mounted low on the walls if the coating is being coved up. Freezers and fridges need somewhere else to live for a few days, and the breaker for the room should be reachable.
Grinding day
The loudest day. Grinders run on HEPA vacuums so dust stays contained, but it is not quiet, and it is worth knowing that in advance if somebody works from home.
Coating days
Once resin is down, the room is closed. Pets and children need to stay out, and doors get taped so nobody wanders in overnight.
Getting it back
Foot traffic the next morning. Vehicles wait the full window, and putting a car back early is the one shortcut that visibly damages a new floor.
Keeping it looking new
Sweep and scrub with a neutral cleaner; a solid color shows dirt sooner than a chip floor, which is the trade-off for how bright it makes the room. Traffic lanes will show first, and a recoat in those lanes is a straightforward job that does not need the whole floor redone.
Anything Taylor installs comes with a walk-through at handover covering exactly this, plus what to avoid in the first two weeks while the coating reaches full hardness. If something does go wrong later, tell him about it rather than living with it.
The owner is the installer
Shanks Concrete Coatings is Taylor and Heather Shanks, working out of Anniston. Taylor trained directly with Brian Phillips, The Epoxy Dude, in southern Indiana, and he runs the grinder and pulls the squeegee on every job himself. Licensed and insured, Alabama #2602341.
If a self-leveling overlays floor is not the right answer for your room, he will tell you that on the first visit rather than sell it to you. More about how Shanks works, or send over the details of your floor.
Self-Leveling Overlays questions
How much height does it add?
Usually a quarter to a half inch. Doors, thresholds and appliance clearances get checked before it is poured.
Is it a finished floor on its own?
It can be, polished and sealed. Most people put a coating or a polish over it because the raw overlay surface is plain.
Will the old cracks come back?
Moving cracks can reflect through. Those get isolated or treated first, and Taylor will say which of yours look active.
Can it fix a slope toward the house?
Overlays can adjust a slope within limits. A serious drainage problem is a concrete and grading job first.
How flat does it actually end up?
Flat enough for vinyl plank or tile to go straight over it, which is the usual reason for pouring one. It finds its own level, so it corrects a dished or uneven slab in a way that patching by hand cannot.
Four questions worth asking any installer
Ask these of Shanks and of whoever else you are talking to. The answers separate a floor that lasts from one that looks good for a season, and a straight installer will not mind being asked.
How are you preparing the slab?
The only acceptable answers involve a diamond grinder or a shot blaster. Acid etching and a scrub with degreaser is not preparation, and it is the single most common reason a coating lets go.
Are you testing for moisture?
On any basement or ground-level slab this should be a yes with a number attached. Vapor pressure will push a coating off no matter how good the product is.
Who is actually on my floor?
Worth asking whoever quotes you. With Shanks the person who quotes it is the person who grinds it and coats it, and that is not true everywhere.
What is the topcoat?
A UV-stable polyaspartic or aliphatic urethane holds its color. A cheap job leaves a standard epoxy as the top layer, and it will amber in daylight within a year or two.
Other systems for the same room
Self-Leveling Overlays is one of twenty-two systems Shanks installs. If the room is telling you something different, these are the closest alternatives, and Taylor will happily point you at the cheaper one if it is the right answer.
Flake Epoxy
Another system Shanks installs across the same sixty-mile area.
Metallic Epoxy
Another system Shanks installs across the same sixty-mile area.
Garage Floor Epoxy
Another system Shanks installs across the same sixty-mile area.
Grind and Seal
Another system Shanks installs across the same sixty-mile area.
Start with a look at the slab
Square footage, what the room is used for, and what the slab looks like now. That is enough to get you a real number on self-leveling overlays.