I’m a carpenter/cabinetmaker with an old garage that’ll be a shop. The driveway is sloped to the garage and in the past had underwashed the concrete floor, allowing it to break in large sections, including a few that actually rock when stepped on. The water has been largely diverted, I may improve that, so I would like to replace the floor. Can I bust up the loose and rocking sections with a sledge and then pour over, if so how thick? I don’t want to have to rip out everything and pay to have it hauled. The shop floor may see the weight of a vehicle once or twice a year and instead be covered in sawdust.
My other thought is to bust up and remove the chunks, then pour and float the floor. Following that cover it with an OSB basement floor product. How thin can I allow the overlay and how should I treat the surface of the old to promote stability?
My experience is mostly with stuff grown on trees, concrete pads are unfamiliar so some advice would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
me personally ..if it was my shop floor, this is what id do. break it all up and at the break of where the driveway and the floor meet a foot to 16" inches away . i'd put in a french drain or a soakaway with a good sized dry well with permanant access to be able to dig or pump it out. because in reality french drain are only temporary. take the pulverized floor minus the 6" x6" wire , that used in the floor and put it the bottom of that dry well to create a soakaway drywell. than re pour( pitched towards the french drain) the floor 2-3" or as high as the stem wall in the garage ( that if you have a stem wall). above the finished grade of the driveway. than put in a sleeper system with what evevr subfloor of your choice, with rigid insulation and a vapor barrier. i'd becareful around the perimeter of the where the floor and the wall meet. and make sure you dont breach that wall where the wall sit's on it sounds like you a good deal of water. any cracks will cause more leaks and headaches you are already familiar with.......
.." He who makes a beast out of one's self, get's rid of the pain of being a man"
Edited 5/22/2005 5:34 pm ET by the bear