Self levelling bathroom

[Jmaclicious]

Okay so I am doing my bathroom, I want to make the shower pan area perfectly level, however the rest of the floor is relatively “flat” but just unlevel because of drainage in my basement. Would it be okay to self level the shower pan area perfectly level, let dry and then pour self leveler over the rest of the bathroom to just fill in the valleys/dips ?

I originally had planned to level the whole floor but then it would require building the whole floor up towards the rec room almost 1.5 inches... which on top of ditra duo and tile I feel would be too much so I’m thinking about doing the above.

 

[Jadnashua]

What you're asking about sounds like a barrier free shower?

FWIW, the shower floor CANNOT be perfectly level, at least in the USA (and Canada is similar, I'm pretty sure - the laws of physics don't have borders), the shower area MUST slope a minimum of 1/4"/foot towards the drain. On a slab, that isn't all that easy unless the shower area's slab was poured expecting that with a depressed area.

SLC (self-leveling cement) is really a misnomer...it can be made level, but it usually needs some (at least semi-) skilled help to make it happen.

Even on what people think of as a water proof concrete slab, you need to consider waterproofing. To accomplish what you're interested in a surface applied membrane is usually the easiest and has the side benefit of (usually) requiring the least height buildup. Since you're dealing with Schluter products, you should look into Kerdi for your bathroom/shower waterproofing. You could do what you're talking about by using a ramp to the sloped area that would help contain and direct the water from the shower. Depends on the size of the room and shower you plan on how well that might work out. In this scenario, you'd ramp up to the shower pan that would slope away towards (probably) a linear shower drain against the back. Still accessible via say a wheelchair.

There are products that you can use to fill depressions on a slab that will end up being tiled. One specifically designed for that is Ardex's LiquidBackerboard. It's handy as it's one of the few that doesn't require a special primer. But many of them can be poured (in this application, it may require screeding) in shallow areas to a feather edge on a slab (can't be done on a wooden subfloor, though).

 

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[Jmaclicious]

Hey, I forgot to mention, I am going to be using a 36x48 Kohler Purist cast iron enamel shower base in the alcove i have built, which needs a toe kick and I will be using kerdi board and tiling once thats done.

 

[Jadnashua]

Then, you'll want it to be level, and yes, SLC can do it. The stuff is more like pancake batter than water. It needs some help to get things leveled otherwise, it will end up like a pancake in the skillet with an edge. It's much harder to use when not flooding the whole area moderately thick. Throw in that you don't have much time to work the area and the stuff is expensive. It can be done, but you need to read up on its use, maybe watch some videos first.

OFten, though, the shower base can be set in piles of mortar so that it can be settled down and be perfectly level. But, CI on a slab, you could use shims as long as they aren't something that will compress or degrade over time. See what the installation instructions call for.