The project: Replace a pre manufactured shower base on plywood The problem: a 3/8" slope at long points The solution: floor leveling compound The new problem: It never turned soupy to pour, I had to trowel it. I used Savogran Level Best floor leveling compound on a plywood floor. Small area. I thoroughly read the directions. I dampened the plywood first. I've used this product before a few times and IIRC it was soupy. It certainly did not level out on it's own this time. I mixed 1/2 a bag and added water by volume at the 4:1 suggested ratio(water 1st) Quart containers. I used an electric drill and the proper paddle. It was too thick. Poured in a second volume of water and it turned into meringue. At this point I was about 5 min into the mixing and I had no choice but to scoop it out and trowel it. Luckily I had set a few screws into the floor for a proper height. The stuff STILL set before I could really float it out. The project is a shower base install, actually fixing someone else"s screw up. Now I have mine to contend with. The footprint is 3'6x3'6 with a 45 deg in front at the door. The floor was out 3/8" long point to long point. I figured... pour the soup on,dry, mastic the base in and I'm done.Yes I know about letting it set,it's not magic, lol. Some back story. I've been in construction for over 25 years. I know what proper prep is and workarounds. There was no solution to the slope as the bath is tiled i.e. jacking up the floor joists. I'm really not happy with how this worked out. I think I should have used ThinSet or something with more working time. This stuff flashed in 10 minutes at most and was unworkable. The 1/2 bag did 3/4 of what I need do. The leveler was still green and I was very lucky on high spots, So I took an old block plane and had at it. Kinda like auto body work without the cheese grater, lol. It worked fine, knocked down the high spots. But I still want to know why it wasn't soupy and flashed so fast. I used cold water and the temperature is normal. It has nothing to do with retempering the mix. I'm not laying blocks and the mortar is stiff. The whole mixing process took less than 5 minutes. Any suggestions welcomed. [ATTACH]83968[/ATTACH][ATTACH]83969[/ATTACH] Thanks, Steve

Hello everyone! I just purchased my first home - an 800 sq. ft, single story shotgun/cottage style home that appears to have been built in the 1940s. There are quite a few projects to be undertaken! And I'm fairly green with remodeling so I hope I can be as clear as possible. The subfloor is the original plank tongue and groove. I thought it may be hardwood but after looking at a thread on here, it seems it may be plywood. I didn't think a house built in the 40s would have plywood floor though. Can anyone tell from the pictures? The majority of the house is covered in that beautiful pink carpet you see in the picture! The kitchen is linoleum. I definitely want to redo the floors and have had the mindset of pulling up all the carpet and linoleum and sanding/varnishing/sealing the subfloor. 1. Is this a good idea??? Or should I just go over it with plywood and then put down wood flooring? I wouldn't think bare subfloor would insulate too well....? 2. The walls are all covered in wood paneling. Behind the majority of it is original beadboard. I am thinking of pulling out the paneling and finishing the beadboard. Has anyone ever done something like this? I have googled and cannot really find examples of a project like this. In the zoomed picture, that is beadboard showing where a window facing has been removed. From what I can tell, that covers the majority of the walls. Thanks for any input [ATTACH]84097[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]84096[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]84098[/ATTACH]