Any one used a self levelling cement top on a somewhat aged garage slab?
I've acquired a garage with the current house which is a steel frame, steel clad affair, build on a concrete pad. Currently the floor is uneven,
with a few joins, and as far as I can tell doesn't contain any damp-proof membrane so anything left on it gets damp underneath.
I don't have the time/money/inclination anything superb but in my mind a half decent 1/2inch skim of waterproof self levelling concrete followed
up with two coats of garage floor paint would make the whole place far more manageable in terms of keeping the floor clean and using crawler boards,
trolley jacks, etc.
So I'm wondering if anyone else has done similar or is in the trade and can comment on this proposal.
My main fear is failure to adhere, leading to the new surface lifting off the old. Current surface is largely clean, with a few oil/paint patches.
Dont mine attacking it a little to provide a key if thats going to help.
Obviously if the slabs shift slightly there something will give, but i can accept formation of odd cracks but now whole scale breakup of the topping,
particularly as i'll be putting wieght on it from trolley jacks and axle stands, etc.
Daniel
I've just done the floor in my sister-in-law's concrete shed floor (she wants to use it as a utility room) thatw as pretty much in cack
condition same as yours.
All I did was clean the floor with brush then vac, brush coat wit a PVA/water mix 1:1, then next day floated a coat of runny 3:1 cement. Let it dry
for a couple of days, then painted with two coats of Screwfix floor paint.
Job done in the best Locost tradition.
[Edited on 22/8/11 by Confused but excited.]
Used self levaling in the conservatory, it had several different patchs of concrete none of which were leval.
Worked a treat and the Mrs was very happy, all good.
What I would say is don't try and be clever, mix exactly as it says on the back of the bag...don't try and be clever and go 'gosh
that's to runny to be any good lets add some more powder' it is meant to be that runny.
Think we can all guess how I know this
I think i'd tackle it in the following way:
* Hire and use a 'Scrabbler' to open up the existing surface and remove any loose bits. Clean floor down well afterwards
* Apply an SBR 'slurry' mix - this ensures bonding and waterproofing
* Render the floor with an SBR render - toughens the thin added layer and ensures bonding to the slurry layer.
The render mix can be a wettish mix - easily levelled with a float and darby (or a straight edge)
SBR is available in most builders merchants....
see:
LINKY
Is this the same as screeding?
I did my kitchen recently, never done concrete or screeding before, certainly not my trade.
My advice is as above. Make sure it is really runny, nothing short of liquid. I used a Whikes liquid latex stuff and it worked a treat.
Other advice. Dont work it too much, let it settle itself. Certainly stread it about but if you keep working it it wont be even (I did this and have
slight up hill ness to the edges of the kitchen walls).
Use a large piece of wood baton to push it around, then just trust physics and gravity. I was very impressed with my finish. THe floor before hand was
many different cancrete bits, uneven and corse fine mixed.
Good luck, its a fun job with easy good quality results.
HTH
Got sick of painting mine so i got some cheap lino and put that down.... wont make it level but it looks ok !!
any self levelling i've used has had a max thickness of 10mm and isn't suitable as a top coat. i don't think it would last long in a garage using jacks etc. on it. IMO you are wasting your time and money trying to do a quick fix
quote:
Originally posted by Litemoth
I think i'd tackle it in the following way:
* Hire and use a 'Scrabbler' to open up the existing surface and remove any loose bits. Clean floor down well afterwards
* Apply an SBR 'slurry' mix - this ensures bonding and waterproofing
* Render the floor with an SBR render - toughens the thin added layer and ensures bonding to the slurry layer.
The render mix can be a wettish mix - easily levelled with a float and darby (or a straight edge)
SBR is available in most builders merchants....
see:
LINKY
quote:
Originally posted by bigfoot4616
any self levelling i've used has had a max thickness of 10mm and isn't suitable as a top coat. i don't think it would last long in a garage using jacks etc. on it. IMO you are wasting your time and money trying to do a quick fix
Try a latex based levelling compound, if you add sand to it can be used up to 20mm thick.
Had good results with it. Last job was to create an easily hosed down outside area for a pigsty.
just had a look through the ultra products that i use. looks like this might work for you
http://www.ultra-floor.co.uk/product.jsp?productID=23
never used it so not sure how good it is but generally there stuff is ok
quote:
Originally posted by bigfoot4616
just had a look through the ultra products that i use. looks like this might work for you
http://www.ultra-floor.co.uk/product.jsp?productID=23
never used it so not sure how good it is but generally there stuff is ok