I am constructing rooms in the basement of my 100 year old house. The cement floors are in excellent condition and there is no moisture intrusion.
The problem is that the floor slope very substantially from the foundation walls to the floor drain (approximately 3 inches over a 20 foot span).
Headroom is an issue as the total floor to joists height is only 6’5″, so this rules out 2″ X 4″ framing.
Self-leveling cement with a bonding agent could be an option but this would be exceedingly expensive with roughly 1000 cubic feet needed for coverage.
I have been thinking of the following steps:
1- first build up the floor to about 1/4″ from level with a topcoat of regular cement with a bonding agent.
2- what the topcoat has fully cured, applying self-leveling cement to achieve a fully level floor.
3- covering with a high quality linoleum or floating laminate.
Does anyone have experience with this? Is it workable and durable? Are there alternatives that would be recommended?
All comments adn advice welcome.
Thank you
Keith
Replies
1,000 cuft is about 37 cy, that's a lot of material. Are you sure that's correct? What are your dimensions?
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
HI
You are right. The dimensions to be finished are 20' X 20' and the approximately average depth of new concrete to achieve a level surface would be 2.5". That is very expensive to do with self-leveling concrete.
Keith
There are many different companies selling engineered ceements that will accomplish your step A and B together. Possibly serve to act as step C. Here's one you can stain after:
http://www.miracote.com/index.php?href=productdetail&id=16
For more info about their other products, redo that page to just include the main site.
You said that the slope is about 3" to the drain. Assuming an even slope, for a 20x20 ft room that works out to about 50 cu ft of fill, or a little less than 2 cy. I would call a concrete contracotr and have them chute it in through the window."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I trust you mean 1,000 sf of floor area which still would be expensive using SLC.
Another thought, given you have such low headroom, is to excavate down and pour a new slab. You would probably have to underpin the footings too, but you would gain headroom.