Cementitious self-leveling overlays: A durable, trendy alternative for concrete floor resurfacing

When it comes to restoring an aged concrete floor, ripping out an existing concrete slab and pouring a new one is costly and very time consuming. This is where cementitious self-leveling overlays, such as Ultratop PC, offer an alternative that is not only cost-effective, durable and versatile, but also quite trendy.

Designed for interior use only, cementitious self-leveling overlays, also known as self-leveling toppings, can be used to resurface old uneven concrete slabs. A concrete overlay is usually a more economical alternative to granite, terrazzo or marble flooring material, and offers an attractive option to traditional concrete floor coverings.

What is a cementitious self-leveling overlay?

Self-leveling concrete overlays are flowable, polymer-modified cementitious toppings that differ from concrete in that they have the ability to self-level without troweling, reaching their final set in a matter of hours. Keep in mind that by definition an overlay is “something laid as a covering over something else” which means that self-leveling overlays must be installed over a sound, stable and properly prepared floor surface of either new or old concrete.

The range of applications is virtually limitless: residential, commercial, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, casinos, auto showrooms, resorts, theme parks, office buildings, light industrial floors, retail stores and museums just to mention a few examples. Self-leveling toppings offer so many alternatives for using old spaces in new ways.

Concrete Overlay - Decorative, Versatile and Trendy

The popularity of self-leveling concrete overlays initiated in the early 2000s, where cities like Las Vegas had approximately 95 percent of their interior floors done with self-leveling concrete overlays. These concrete overlays have been extensively used since, and almost two decades later there has been an increase in popularity for gray concrete floors as well as decorative concrete finishes.

A cementitious self-leveling topping can be saw-cut to create endless designs, including acid stained, dyed, sealed, coated, engraved and polished concrete options.

Ultratop [NA], Ultratop SP and Ultratop PC are MAPEI’s high-performance, self-leveling, polishable concrete toppings and here are some of the properties and features:

Ultratop - A single-component product

• Easily installed from ¼" to 2" (6 mm to 5 cm) thick
• Not able to be extended
• Quickly hardens within 2 to 3 hours
• Polishable as soon as 24 hours
• Uses Primer SN [NA] sand broadcast as primer
• Available in light gray and white
• Packaged in 50 lbs. (22.7 kg) bag

Ultratop SP - A single-component product

• Easily installed from 3/8" to 2" (1 to 5 cm) thick
• Provides a fine-aggregare exposed finish
• Quickly hardens in 2 to 3 hours
• Polishable as soon as 24 hours
• Uses Primer SN [NA] sand broadcast as primer
• Available in natural gray
• Packaged in 50 lbs. (22.7 kg) bag

Ultratop PC - A single-component product

• Easily installed from 3/8" to 2" (1 to 5 cm) thick
• Installed up to 5" (12.5 cm) thick extended*
• Provides a "salt & pepper" appearance
• Quickly hardens in 70 minutes
• Polishable as soon as 24 hours
• Uses Primer SN [NA] sand broadcast as primer
• Available in natural gray
• Packaged in 50 lbs. (22.7 kg) bag

*for installations from 2" to 5" (5 to 12.5 cm), extend Ultratop PC up to 25 lbs. (11.3 kg) per 50-lb (22.7-kg) bag with washed, well-grade pea gravel measuring 1/8" to 1/2" (3 to 12 mm).

Finally, since it seems like self-leveling concrete overlays are here to stay, we invite you to take a closer look at MAPEI’s Decorative Toppings Solutions.

For more information, application tips and a personalized customer service just call our Technical Service line 1-800-361-9309 or visit our website.