Start by placing a long spirit level diagonally across the bathroom floor to quickly reveal any major high or low spots.

Begin by clearing the subfloor of debris and sweeping so the level sits flat. Use a level that is at least four feet long for small bathrooms and six to eight feet for larger rooms so you can span across truer planes; hold it in several positions including diagonals and along both walls to detect twist or crown. Mark any low areas with a pencil and high areas with chalk so you can track corrections; a straightedge and a carpenter s level together will help you see small deviations under one quarter inch over eight feet. For low spots mix a self leveling compound following the manufacturer directions, pour it into the lowest areas, and feather the edges so the finished plane is continuous; allow full cure time before tiling. For high spots use a coarse sanding block or an electric floor sander on plywood or cement grinders on concrete and then recheck with the level so you do not create hollows. As you lay each tile check the level across each row and diagonally after every few tiles because localized blisters or thinset lumps can recreate unevenness even after the subfloor looks flat.

Common mistakes include trusting a single quick check then starting to tile which leaves unseen crowns that cause puddling; solve this by doing multiple checks in several directions and rechecking after any grinding or filling. Another issue is overfilling low spots with too thin a layer of self leveling compound which can crack under tile; instead follow thickness limits on the product and build up in layers when necessary allowing full cure between pours. A third problem is failing to account for deflection in subfloor framing which makes a surface feel flat but bounce underload; reinforce joists or install an appropriate underlayment such as cement backerboard or an uncoupling membrane to isolate tile from movement before you begin.

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