Self-leveling concrete calculator
A 200 sq ft floor that is 1/2 in out of level needs about 14 50-lb bags of self-leveling concrete to finish 1/8 in over the high point. With primer that is $595 in materials; hiring it out runs $903 – $1,504. Put in your own floor below.
Bags to buy
14 bags
200 sq ft poured 0.375 in thick on average, with 10% for mixing loss. Materials come to $595.
- Self-leveler
- $560
- Primer
- $35 (1 gal)
- DIY total
- $670
- Pro installed
- $903 – $1,504
Doing it yourself saves about $533 against the midpoint contractor price. DIY includes $75 for a mixing paddle, buckets, a gauge rake and a spiked roller.
An estimate, not a bid. A contractor's price depends on your site, access and timing.
National prices, estimated. Bag, primer and labor figures are our own assumptions until a supplier survey exists; the bag count depends only on your inputs.
Flooring contractor? Turn this into a branded estimate with your own prices.
Self-leveling concrete floor: how the numbers work
The pour fills the space between your floor and a level plane, so it is thin at the high point and deepest at the low one. On average it is the thickness you want over the high point plus half the difference between high and low. That is why the floor's flatness matters more than its size: the same 200 sq ft floor at 1 in out of level takes 23 bags instead of 14.
Before pouring, clean the slab down to bare concrete, fill cracks, and dam doorways and drains so the mix stays where you want it. Mix one bag at a time to the water ratio on the label, pour in a steady run and pull it out with a gauge rake. The mix sets in minutes, so on a bigger floor a second person mixing while you spread helps a lot.
Leveling compound or self-leveling concrete?
Stores use both names, often for the same kind of product. A pourable leveling compound (self-leveling underlayment) flows out flat by itself and is meant for whole floors. A trowel-on patching compound is stiffer and only suits small dips and feathering edges. Both go over an indoor floor under tile, vinyl or carpet, not outdoors unless the bag says so.
Neither lifts anything. If an outdoor slab has sunk, the gap is under it, and the fix is mudjacking or foam: the concrete leveling cost calculator prices that.
DIY or hire it out
For the 200 sq ft example, doing it yourself costs about $670 including tools, against $903 – $1,504 for a flooring crew. Skipping primer saves $35, but on porous concrete the pour can lose water into the slab and pinhole or fail to bond, which costs far more to redo.