Flooring Tile - Levelquik or Ardex FeatherFinish?

Hi all, I just finished getting the asbestos ladened mastic up using bean-ee-do ( that was fun ). I want to seal just to be on the safe side, and besides I need to do new tile in the bathrooms and kitchen ( the rest ofhte house is getting carpet ). I've had Ardex Feather Finish recommended to me by the guy who's going to do my carpet, but that means troweling it down, which is time consuming and a lot of work. Well, sealing it with Level quick looks tempting, since I just pour it down and it's suppose to self level...

At this point, I've got bear concrete with a little staining/residue left, what do you guy's think? Is Feather Finish worth the time/effort?

Im not understanding what you are trying to accomplish here. You can tile over cutback adhesive residue on a concrete slab. Many modified thinsets will work, just read the directions on the bag. Levelquik and Ardex are not sealers, they are patching and leveling compounds. Theres no indication in your post that you need either of these. You cannot seal a concrete slab if you intend to tile it. The slab needs to be able to absorb water for the thinset to bond to it. Whats bean-ee-do. Chemical strippers can be bond breakers for thinset over a slab and therefore chemical strippers are not recommended on a concrete slab that you intend to tile. Why do you need the ardex feather finish or the levelquik? You need to explain a little better.

I'm just trying to seal up any remaining asbestos that's either embedded in the concrete or stuck in cracks and holes I couldn't scrub into. There's still some discoloration and a few spots I couldn't scrub off, so I figured I'd seal the floor to be on the safe side and make sure there was no possible chance of asbestos fibers coming up.

Bean-e-doo is a stripper made from soybeans (hence the name) that I used to get the mastic up with ( it bonds nicely with asbestos fibers, making it safer to use). I've used a degreaser and plain water to clean up the Bean-e-doo, so that shouldn't be a problem. It's water soluble, so it cleans up easily.

I'm tiling some rooms and carpeting others. I did a little more research and found that the thinset I put down for tile will seal anywhere I tile just fine, but I'd still feel better if I knew there was something sealing the floor under the carpet.

No problem sealing the floor under the carpet. I wouldnt use either of those patching/leveling compounds to do it though. Perhaps someone else here has an idea on another product that might work in the carpeted areas. The thinset and tile will certainly encapsulate the residue remaining on the concrete for the tiled area. How do you know the adhesive contained asbestos? Did you have it tested?

Sure enough, it had asbestos. What scares me is we've had the carpet up for years, and never got around to retiling and carpeting, and instead just put throw rugs over everything. Meanwhile the old asbestos tile was crumbling and kicking friable asbestos into the air.

Lotsa folks are not aware that many of the products prior to the early eighties contained asbestos. Its good that you realized the problem and hopefully no harm done.

of people suggesting using self leveler here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flooring/msg0809551322022.html?6

I'm still researching though. A guy at a flooring store seemed to think a self leveling compound like levelquick would work, but he wasn't sure since my floor is already level. He's not sure if it would make an even coat or if it would just kind of puddle on the floor...

and here's what he suggested:

"Apply Level Quik Latex Primer to the floor, then, within 2 hours of applying the Primer, skim coat the floor with Speed Finish.



Kory Jones CTC, Technical Service Representative"

Im not an expert on asbestos so perhaps someone else here can help you out. I would think that encalsulating it is the best thing, but thats just my thoughts. I know for sure you'll be good with the area you will be tiling.

I think I'm gonna go with the Ardex Feather Finish. I hate to put the labor in, but I've read/heard more people suggesting a feather finish than using the self leveling compounds. Also, the floor places have all suggested some type of feather finish, despite the fact that they could've sold me on the much more expensive leveling compounds (Ardex Feather Finish is gonna cost me about 1/3 what Levelquik will).

Of the two products you've mentioned, Ardex is the better choice IMO. It's made to be spread very thinly if need be. The Levelquick is a good product when used in the correct application, but this isn't it. There's another product I'd suggest you look at called an embossing leveler. It's made to level out the pattern in sheet vinyl before installing another sheet over the old so it spreads on very thin also. The advantage to it over Ardex is the open time. Ardex, if not mixed right, will set up very quickly and you'll have a good time with it. Embossing leveler has all the ingrediants in the kit so you can't mix it too thick or thin so you have more time to deal with it. It also cures a bit tougher than Ardex. Another and way easier method is to paint a good coat of Kilz on the floor. Not where the tile goes, the thinset will take care of that area. I'm talking about the carpeted areas. Kilz is a sealer/primer used in fire restorations to seal in smoke odors or places where pet stains have been disinfected but still smell. The Kilz would do the job, is applied with a paint roller so you can do it standing up, and will cost less because the container will cover more area than a bag of Ardex or a kit of embossing leveler. If you go the Kilz route, don't be stingy, get a good coat on there and it'll seal fine.