The slab drops almost an inch by the sliding door. Is self-leveler enough?

Probably, if the slab is stable and the dip is just uneven concrete. HomeAdvisor says self-leveler suits slabs that haven't sunk more than an inch, and Fixr says it's never the fix for a whole slab that has sunk. If the concrete itself has settled, HomeAdvisor puts mudjacking an indoor floor at $650 to $4,300.

How long after the pour can the wood go down?

For ARDEX K 15, walking is fine after 2 to 3 hours and floor coverings other than tile and stone can go on after 16 hours. Your wood maker's rules still apply on top of that. ARDEX also says its leveler is not a vapor barrier, so the slab's RH test comes before the pour.

How flat does the slab need to be for glue-down engineered planks?

It depends on the maker, so ask which instructions the quote follows. NWFA guidelines and Provenza want 1/8 inch over 6 feet and 3/16 inch over 10 feet. Pergo's locking engineered floor allows 3/16 inch per 10 feet, and Tarkett's engineered line is stricter at 1/8 inch over 8 feet.

Why is the leveling quote so far above the price of the bags?

Material is the smallest part. Fixr lists a 50 lb bag at about $35, but installed leveling at $1.80 to $5 a square foot. ARDEX's sheet calls for cleaning, removing old adhesive or sealer, treating cracks and priming before the pour, and each step is labor. Ask for those steps as separate lines.

Will leveling hide the crack across my living room floor?

Not if the crack still moves. ARDEX says cracks will telegraph through its leveler wherever the slab moves and that it knows of no way to stop that. Moving joints must be carried up through the whole floor. Dormant hairline cracks can be filled first, but ask how the new floor will handle any joint.

Floor Leveling in Pompano Beach, FL

Typical price: Fixr puts self-leveling compound at $1.80 to $5 a square foot with labor; HomeAdvisor gives $1 to $5 before labor.
Cure: ARDEX K 15, one widely used leveler, is walkable in 2 to 3 hours and takes floor coverings other than tile and stone after 16 hours.
Target: within 3/16 inch over 10 feet for most wood floor makers (NWFA guidelines, Provenza, Pergo).
Limit: HomeAdvisor says leveler suits a slab that hasn't sunk more than an inch; beyond that it's a lifting job.

Pompano Wood Flooring sets up a site visit with a slab-prep contractor for grinding high spots and pouring self-leveler so new boards sit flat. Send the room sizes and what's on the floor now, and ask for the slab to be checked with a straightedge at the visit.

Floor Leveling Methods for Wood Over Concrete

Wood floor makers publish a flatness tolerance. Provenza's warranty, for one, excludes failures caused by skipped pre-installation steps. Leveling brings the base into that range by taking material off, adding it, or both.

Gray self-leveling compound flowing across a primed concrete slab, spread with a gauge rake

Self-Leveling Underlayment on a Slab

A cement-based compound is mixed with water and poured, and it flows into low areas on its own. It needs a clean, primed slab first. ARDEX K 15 goes on up to 1 1/2 inches thick neat, or 5 inches with aggregate added. Fixr says self-leveling is meant for small hills and valleys indoors.

Installed: $1.80 to $5 a sq ft (Fixr); 100 sq ft from about $180
Walkable: 2 to 3 hours (ARDEX K 15)
Ready for wood: 16 hours (ARDEX K 15), then the wood maker's own conditions

Concrete grinder with a gray dust shroud flattening a raised ridge on a bare slab

Grinding High Spots

Where the slab has humps, ridges or old adhesive, the fix is to take concrete off rather than build the rest of the floor up. The NWFA's guidelines, as its magazine reports, allow either grinding down or building up with a leveling material. Grinding indoors raises silica dust, so ask how it's controlled (dust control on tile jobs).

Trowel feathering a thin gray patching compound into a shallow dip in a concrete floor

Patching and Feathering Low Spots

A single shallow dip doesn't need a whole-room pour. Tarkett's instructions call for dips to be filled with a cement-based patching compound. Fixr notes that a pre-mixed patch shouldn't go on thicker than half an inch, or it can crack.

Pre-mixed patch: about $10 for 20 lb (Fixr)

Section of plywood subfloor cut out and replaced between floor joists, fresh screws in a row

Plywood Subfloor Repair on Upper Floors

On a wood-framed upper floor, leveling means fixing the plywood. Provenza wants a wood subfloor nailed or screwed every 6 inches along the joists, with high spots sanded and lows filled. Plywood must be at 12% moisture or less for Provenza and 13% for Tarkett.

Subfloor repair: $900 to $3,000 on top of the floor (HomeAdvisor)

Installer kneeling on a bare concrete slab and checking it with a moisture meter before a wood floor goes down

Why Pompano Beach homeowners call Pompano Wood Flooring

One local flooring contractor calls back, not a bidding list
Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing
Ask for the slab moisture readings in writing
Florida doesn't license flooring: ask for the business tax receipt and insurance certificates

Floor Leveling Cost and Timeline at a Glance

Put these numbers next to each line of a quote. They're national figures; no Broward County price survey was found.

Self-leveler, installed
$1.80 to $5 a square foot (Fixr).
Self-leveler, material only
$1 to $5 a square foot before labor (HomeAdvisor); about $35 for a 50 lb bag (Fixr).
Sunken slab
Mudjacking an indoor floor runs $650 to $4,300 (HomeAdvisor).
Wood subfloor repair
$900 to $3,000 extra (HomeAdvisor).
Cure before wood
16 hours for ARDEX K 15; other products differ, so get the product name on the quote.

What Floor Leveling Won't Fix

Leveling makes the slab flat. It does nothing about water or movement, and both will show up through a new wood floor.

Moisture
ARDEX says its leveler isn't a vapor barrier. Test first; see concrete moisture testing.
Moving cracks
ARDEX says cracks telegraph wherever the slab moves, and joints that move have to be carried through the finished floor.
A settled slab
Fixr says leveler never suits a whole slab that has sunk. That's a lifting or structural repair first.

See tile removal.