Covering Radiant heating with self leveling conc

Redbuilder

Hello,

I am installing radiant flooring over a concrete slab. I need to cover the heating wires with self leveling concrete. I will be installing a vinyl floor on the leveled concrete surface. I have confirmed with the manufacturer that this is ok.
Only issue I see is I will need a lot of self leveling concrete to fully cover the wires. I am doing an area of approx. 200 sq. ft. I figure the self leveling concrete will need to be approx. 1/2" thick.
Any advice how to tackle this? Or do I just need to keep mixing bag after bag? How much would one bag do?
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks

JazMan

Hi Red,

Why do you think the SLC needs to be 1/2" thick? Also remember it is self-leveling, so to get half inch here, it may be 3/4" over there. See what I mean?

Also remember that it does not really level its self, it needs a little help. A small plastic rake might be useful.

You need to mix one bag after another quickly. You need help. Plenty of buckets, water pre measured and someone mixing while another pours. If you're not careful you'll create bumps instead of eliminating them.

A #50 bag does about 50 sq. ft. @1/8" thick. So mathematically you need 16 bags, OUCH $$$. But if you have to go about 1/2" it's likely to take more depending of how level the floor is. I'd buy 20 if it were me.

You know the heat is gonna warm the floor not heat the room right?

Jaz

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Redbuilder

To adequately cover the wires I figured approx. 1/2" maybe I am wrong here, i have not installed the wires yet. I realize the floor is not perfectly flat and some areas may be thicker than other areas. I am just thinking the average thickness would be 1/2". As for heating the room I am going to wait and see how well it does. I can easily add baseboard heat after if required but I think this may be all that I need for 90% of the year. Maybe in a real cold spell a freestanding heater may be required. Heat does radiate upwards and the room is very well insulated. I agree it is looking like I will need a lot of bags and thanks for the input, pre-measuring the water is a good idea and getting some help.