Hello,
I have a 1-1/2″ mortar bed flooring underlayment in my condo, presumably to limit noise transmission to the unit below. Unfortunately, there is significant damage, both cracks and breakup, that needs to be dealt with before I put down new carpet. I had originally planned to pull up the entire floor and replace with Homasote, but now I do not have the time to finish this. I believe that the mortar bed can actually be salvaged by removing the badly broken pieces and patching where necessary. I believe that this is common in commercial renovations.
My question is, what would be the best patching material or product to perform these repairs? Also, if there are any hints to doing it properly, I would appreciate advice as well. Thanks.
Replies
Bumping to give this a second shot... Forgive the impropriety.
I'd be more concerned with the reason why it has gotten so bad than patching it. You could use a number of different materials, including plain mortar. Shoot, it's only carpet--the easiest and most forgiving floor covering to deal with. I'd maybe use floor leveling compound, depending on how bad these cracks and broken areas are. But if you have large chunks come out, maybe use some mesh between layers of mortar, or tile mud, especially a reinforced mix.Any idea how this happened?
Thanks for the ideas. I was thinking I didn't need to be real sophisticated with whatever I do.
The reasons that I suspect: It's over 20 years old, and only on top of 3/4" plywood over joists 24" oc. Some of the spots that I have dealt with were bad because of water damage, but I think it is mainly just traffic. This place is so small that you can only put furniture in so many places, so I think the tendency is to have the same small areas that receive all of the back and forth. There are spots where the bed is remarkeably holding up. One spot that we had to take out in the kitchen required a LOT of effort with a sledge hammer and prybar!
But I plan on selling shortly after this floor is finished, so I think your one sentence tells the story. I can do something simple and let someone else deal with it in fifteen years when the carpet needs to be replaced again.