How To Level a Concrete Floor: Ultimate Concrete Floor Leveling Guide

Learn about your options when it comes to evening out the surface of your concrete floor, or lifting it from the bottom up.

If you want to install new flooring on top of uneven concrete floors, paint or stain them, or the concrete floor slabs themselves have settled over time, you first need to level them.

However, the approach you take to leveling your concrete floor will depend on the specific reason your concrete is unlevel.

This article will walk you through three of the most common problems we see with concrete floors and which leveling method works best for each.

How To Fill Dips in a Concrete Floor

When concrete is originally poured, the finishing process can leave it with dips and low spots rather than a smooth, completely level surface.

After the concrete cures, these dipped areas are permanently part of your concrete floor.

How To Fix Dips and Low Spots

In the case of dips and low spots on a concrete floor, self-leveling concrete compounds can be applied to the affected areas.

This thin, concrete-like mixture spreads out to fill the dips in the slab and leaves the concrete with an even, level surface.

Pro Tip: Self-leveling concrete is only meant to level out surface imperfections on interior concrete slabs. If your slab is sinking, concrete leveling is a better option to get it supported and level again. More on this in the next section.

Why Dips and Low Spots Are a Problem

Low spots and surface dips are mostly a problem when installing new flooring on top of your concrete floor.

Hard flooring options, like luxury vinyl planks, hardwood, or tile, need to be installed on a level surface so each piece of flooring is properly supported and joins together correctly.

How To Level a Sinking Concrete Floor

Sinking concrete floor slabs are common in garages and basements. Anything from shifting soils to water erosion plays a factor in causing the concrete to settle.

Fixing Sinking Concrete Floors

Sunken interior floors can be lifted with a process called “concrete leveling.”

To lift a concrete floor, concrete leveling technicians drill holes through the slabs in strategic locations and pump a compound through the holes. The pressure from the compound causes the slabs to rise back up to the proper position, and the drill holes are sealed off.

The entire process is usually done in a few hours and can save up to 70% off the cost of replacing the concrete entirely.

Related Resource: All About Concrete Leveling - Cost, Process, FAQ, and More

Why Fix Sinking Concrete Floors

Settling basement or garage concrete floors can cause water to flow away from drainage and toward walls.

Sinking interior slabs can also cause trip hazards or uneven sections that may prevent you from being able to install flooring on top properly.

How To Grind an Uneven Concrete Floor Surface

Similarly to dips in the concrete surface, high spots can also form while the concrete floor is being finished. When the concrete cures, the raised areas are there permanently.

Carpet glue or tile adhesive can also leave behind a rough, uneven surface on basement concrete when the flooring on top is removed.

How To Grind Uneven Concrete Floors

For smaller residential applications, you can rent a tool called a “floor maintainer” and use a grinding head attachment to grind down large areas.

An angle grinder fit with a concrete grinding attachment will help get around corners, edges, and areas that the floor maintainer can’t reach.

For large floor grinding jobs, professionals use bigger, more powerful commercial floor grinders and a dedicated edge grinder.

Why Grind Your Concrete Floor

Grinding concrete floors will leave you with a smooth, even surface. Having an even surface will give you more options for flooring or additional finishes.

For example, grinding is often a prep work step for painting the floor or applying a protective epoxy or polyurethane coating on top.

Pro Tip: You can even go beyond just basic grinding and continue with finer levels of abrasive to polish the concrete, leaving a super smooth finish. Polished concrete is often seen in big-box retailers and grocery stores.

Concrete Floor Leveling FAQ

How much does it cost to level a concrete floor?

The amount you pay for concrete floor leveling will depend on the leveling method you need for your specific application.

For example, professional concrete leveling services for an interior floor can range anywhere from $1,260 to $8,100.

Using self-leveling concrete or grinding the surface down may be more or less expensive, but these are all solutions for distinct problems.

Related Resource: Concrete Leveling Cost Guide (2024 Prices)

Can I level a concrete floor myself?

You can definitely grind your concrete floor or apply self-leveling concrete compounds as a DIY project.

However, lifting sunken concrete slabs (concrete leveling) is a complicated process better left to professional concrete leveling technicians.

Related Resource: Can You DIY Concrete Leveling?

When should you not use self-leveling concrete?

You should avoid using self-leveling concrete in these cases:

• Outdoors
• In thick layers
• On settled concrete
• On vertical surfaces
• Over large surface areas

Related Resource: Can You Pour Self-Leveling Concrete Over Existing Slabs?

Should You Level Your Concrete Floor?

Leveling your concrete floor will help you get closer to your overall goals for the floor. And depending on what those goals are, and the cause of the uneven concrete, your approach will change.

Here at A-1 Concrete Leveling, we’ve lifted countless sunken concrete floors in basements and garages back up to the proper position, but that’s a solution to only one of the common problems we see with concrete floors.

To learn more about concrete floor lifting, check out this guide: All You Need To Know About Concrete Floor Leveling

If you’re dealing with sunken concrete floors and would like to learn how concrete leveling can help, request a free onsite cost estimate with an A-1 Concrete Leveling location near you!