Btw this is over 3/4 wood subfloor

As I look at today, the cracking at center of photo by small dark spot, has bulked, urgh. That has to come out. Any suggestions on anther method that doesn't involve self leveling compound? Again, this is for leveling of wood subfloor. Its 3/4" off level.

Calculate deflection asess structural. Have a busted joist ? settling ? cantileavers etc and look closer at underlayment type, bonding primer dry times, lath staple count/laps and meeting the self levelers Min Max thickness, mixing/pouring and again deflection specs. Undertstanding bond breakers as well. You likely dont meet deflectiion and underlayment specs or have a bonding issue and there's a 1/2 dozen other points that must be met for leveler over lumber substrate to succeed. More cement board over the mess not the answer, remove leveler and look closer at deflection, structure, new t&g underlayment, cross blocking etc and by that time you shouldnt need leveler anyways

Or roll the dice and pile on a buch more junk $$$$

Bamboo in a bathroom? Completely the wrong material. Completely wrong approach to this whole install as well. You've mucked this up royally with the SLC. You need to rip everything out and start over.

you have a drinking gamblers chance of long term sucess. + /- $$$$$

Just so you know, we had initial intentions to use porcelain tile, bought it, but remembered the original floor cracking and decided to look at using a different material. We looked at waterproof laminate as well as vinyl flooring. Vinyl click-lock was thin and I couldn't get it to line up to lock at store so kept looking. And, looked at wood options since people do put them in kitchens and if good for kitxhen , possible for bath? Cork, same.... We've installed click-lock wood laminate in a bedroom, so we are familiar with installation methods and mistakes we made & corrected with that. So, if it has to ever be redone, bamboo is the lesser of two evils we are willing to try. We are planning to install backer board with thin-set, so should we decide on tile in the future, it is already done.

by liking and thanking me for my comments are you using reverse psychology on me?

@thatsmuchbetter...love your terms. They're so great...lol thanks much for sharing your suggestions. Fyi...this house is 40 years old, built with old standards, so I have my doubts with any type of flooring, especially tile. It's been a chore to get my hubby to want to do anything and cash flow got a pro to do new tub and tile surround. So, third attempt at floor leveling was less than $150 and he about had a coronary.....but no $$$$ for quick pro fix....living and learning. We will do tile when we put on the market to sell, that water if it cracks, it will be well into them living here and we aren't doing it twice. We both do architecture and it will Crack again given age and structure. It's just a matter of when as we could address all the structure needs surrounding this space. But it is 5x better than before. I wanted to use penny tiles, but hubby did not, so....on it goes.....I digress.

I love it! put in the tile the week before selling and pass the buck! you are a class act Texas style. 5x better even!

I liked your comments as a way of indicating I read them. I said thank you as a courtesy for your time in reading and sharing your thoughts on my dilemma. Doing design on paper is much easier than hands on. I learn everyday from contractors on my educational construction projects. Though sometimes their words can sting I can appreciate them. I'm just trying to get this bathroom to a point of completion. This floor was added scope so trying to deal with it as best as possible so I can finish other task like installing the vanity, sink , faucet and storage. Now that the floor is less movement, honestly, I'd be fine with plywood sanded smooth and painted....hahaha

Since you're a pro and have all the answers, what's your fee to come and fix it?

OK now you unliked my comment poo!

OP said :"we both do architecture"

Youve just wasted lumber amd labor with the half baked shimm attempt. You failed to heed my early advice about computing and correcting deflection and decided to make it up as you go with this mess but you both do architecture..

Love me some hooz

Not much more anyone can do to help you. You first need to help yourself and consider ethics when selling your half baked home .

Heres the back story of this room.... the intent was to retile the shotty painted over tub tile that was loose and getting wet behind, and professionally resurface the peeling painted over tub the seller did. The floor tile was cracking and we figured we'do do later, but it had some movement. We knew there was some slope due to house settling and figured there was sagging and not enough thinset but again....address floor later. So we called a pro to do tub area and had them replace the tub. While he was there, once he installed the new tub, i asked if he could remove the old vanity and discard with other debris. He said he would remove after he completed his scope for the day. he took out the old vanity and the floor movement was greater. There were no screws of the subfloor to the joist. After days of anxiety over it, we asked him to come look at and we'd just get him to do everything as he expressed he wanted to do...he did a great job so we were willing to sacrifice for the floor (we never did tile over wood, so had our concerns). Well he never returned the call. So we had a few other "pros" look at and they all said same thing...secure decking to joist and SLC. I struggled with all to get them to see the decking needed removing and cross bracing be installed. They wouldn't do it so I did it myself. Now granted i was not taking out my newly installed tub and tile and possibly plumbing wall to get to the joist under the tub, so i addressed the most critical, noticable and walked on areas. Now i might not have raised the cross bracing to level out like you would have, but the joist were like new so we worked with the conditions we have. i talked to one on my contractors that had 15+ yrs as a residential superintendent for advice on how to move forward from where we were. He had similar suggestions to everyone including you, but he helped me move forward with respectfull words of encouragement. The SLC method everyone said i should use, did not work in our favor. The next best method most said was dry level. Its tomato ta-matto to level cross bracing such as yourself or use shim and plywood as we did.... Which btw only cost me $75- $100. Shims are wood, so i dont see the problem. They are good to use under cabinets, under tubs, under doorways, so whats your issue with that? And some are cedar (long ones which are termed commercial grade), some are plastic (using by toilet). Your first post was the deciding factor in taking 4 days to remove SLC. But now, your choice words have me ashamed of thanking you. I did not unlike your post, but now considering it. sorry to have dissatisfied not using your method to accomplish the same end result of obtaining a fairly stable level floor. When we sell, we will have saved more cash to have a pro (my ethics) to address floor and install the porcelain tile, so it won't be a "half baked home" as you put it. If it cracks, it will have been at he hands of a pro, not mine. And if there are no funds and the bamboo is not looking good, vinyl flooring will be installed and there's nothing wrong with that as it takes movement very well. I just don't like it as looks are not that favorable. You say you love houzz in a sarcastic way. Maybe you shouldn't give advise if it is not carried out 100%. Appreciate the little things.

The same end result? that is not an approved method of leveling nor correcting substrate deflection. and as such I call you out so other hoozers dont repeat your mess of bad decisions.

You can get mad and dislike my advice , but youre still 125% wrong and losing. Just dont spread misinformation to the masses as you save a buck and pass it on to the next poor sucker that buys the home. Bamboo likely survives , tile nope.

If you had even one foot in the architect trade as you claim, you wouldnt be here on this forum struggling with such A novice project on a mess of a misinformed forum.

So worried about your ego, you missed my "will have pro review when we sell"....shameful professionalism you are exuding. I accepted your advice with an open mind, but I rejected your delivery style of words. When it fails, ill let you know. When I have more cash to pay for your method, I will have it done and will let you know. Until then, I have to work with what I have unless you are in the season of giving. Afterall, it is better to give than to receive. :-) Well....at least I have a decent choice in the bamboo according to you....hahaha. Have a great and creative day.

Thanks Sophie for your insight. We haven't installed it yet. Most info I read on bamboo said it does well in moist areas, but to use stranded form as well as the lighter in color, the better, as it has undergone the least amount of processing making it a more durable product. What is your take on Pergo? Home Depot carries their water & scratch resistant laminate flooring. Their display images show it in a bathroom and kids splashing water over the floor.

Bathrooms should have tile. Period. Full stop. Do not pass Go. If the budget doesn't work for tile right now, then sheet vinyl is the only acceptable alternative with kids in the picture. No laminate. No wood.

I found a product called Aqua-Step and another called Dumaplast Duma Floor, both out of Belgium with 100% waterproofing properties. Ever heard of them? Aqua-Step is only one available in USA and there's only one distributor. I have ordered some samples to check quality of material and I spoke with distributor and cost wise, $3.75- $4.50/sf. It is a laminate click lock synthetic pvc core, 20 year waterproof warranty, 0% swelling, can install upon arrival. Sounds good, but need to see. I found a video on YouTube by Factory Direct Flooring on installing and another by IPSL. Most other videos are non-English. The floor area to cover is just under 60 sf, so willing to give it a try to test out. If it goes well, when we do the master bath, could be a potential in other areas. Thanks

Some people just won't take good advice, no matter what. And will bend over to pick up 3 shiny pennies and let a dirty old dime slip through their hands.

You are focused on the shiny pennies. New and cool doesn't fix your basic problem. Nor is it cheap enough to get you through as a stopgap until you can address the actual problem.

Actually do it right, or do it so cheap that you don't regret the expense when you rip it out to do it right.

I accepted all you guys advice....compression is very well, but if I don't ask questions that come to mind, then I'll never know. No question is a bad question. I kept asking what I thought I should ask to see what are the different options. And to understand the best option. I realize for this scenario, there's only one option, which we will have to wait and do later when the resources are available. Thanks again for your advice.

Rip it out down to the subfloor, add 5/8" BC exterior plywood - screwed down, every 6", perpendicular to the floor joists. Trowel on a layer of thinset, and screw down 1/4" hardibacker cement board. If it is uneven, use self leveling cement - Note: the floor will not be level - but it will be flat. Now you are ready to tile. There are many tiles out there (like 6" x 24") that look just like wood.

I suspect you will regret bamboo. I have stranded bamboo in a kitchen and I wouldn't put it in a bath.

If you really don't have the money to truly fix the deflection, use a small mosaic tile, hexagon or penny-round will probably work best. Use a masonry board or a uncoupling membrane and then adhere the tiles with a flexible thin set. I prefer Laticrete 254, but if you have to do the big box store, Flex bond from Home Depot isn't bad. Then use a decent flexible grout. The Mapei flexcolor is a solid product.

If your floor is flexing enough to break those tiles then you have much bigger problems. Eventually the grout might work loose but you should have quite a while before that becomes a real problem.

ETA: Check my advice on the johnbridge forums if you would like. You can literally paste my advice to your problem over there and get opinions from professional tilers who will put their name and experience right there in their signature.