Hey guys. I know I’m an idiot, but I need help.

My wife and I are laying vinyl tiles over existing ceramic tile in our kitchen. The ceramic tile is very polished and smooth, so the vinyl lays down very nicely.
However, we decided part way through to rip out our island and lay vinyl there too. The island left a depressed portion of floor, approximately 17”x36”, maybe 1/2” deep. So, a friend recommended we fill the hole with Mapei Planipatch. So we did that... but we did it very poorly. That section of floor is now very lumpy — far too lumpy to lay vinyl on.

Needless to say, we did an awful job with the patch. What should we do now? Should we bust up the patch? Does that stuff even break up easily? Or should we sand it and try to lay down a final coat? Do we need to call a pro?

Should we have used something different to fill the space?

I’m at a loss right now and am stuck with a half finished kitchen. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kevin

I use planipatch often, and it sounds like you didn't add enough water to the mix. Lumps only form when its not runny enough to let gravity do the self-levelling for you (should be a bit thinner than pancake batter). It would been proper to remove all the ceramic tile first... then you can level out the whole area around the island depression to make sure everything is flat for the vinyl.

Good news is the stuff can be chipped out to try again. Depending on the size and amount of bumps, you may be able to grind the highs down with a hand grinder.