I bought an old warehouse (lumber drying building) and plan to use it to store my wood, and to use it as a workshop. The floor is concrete but its really rough and uneven, its like they just dumped it out of the truck and nobody troweled it over.
I want to re-surface it, what’s the best way to go about doing it? I am going to do it in sections, the first being 20′ x 25’….
Here are the supplementary questions:
1. Is there a surface prep for the existing base pad concrete?
2. What kind of mix should I order for the new material on top? I need a hard surface which is easy to clean/sweep.
Any articles around on this? Anyway, any answers would help a lot.
Thanks,
SS
Replies
Self-leveling concrete topping would be my first choice. Ardex is one brand name. You mix it thin like pancake batter and pour it on the floor. Despite the name it is not quite self leveling, so it has to be pushed around a little. Sets up very quickly, like in 15-20 minutes. You would have to read the mfgr instructions, I think for a rough floor all you needd to do is make sure it is clean and free of oil/grease and other contaminants.
"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've spent a lot of time, standing on concrete floors at work. Compared to wood floors, concrete zucks. Concrete has zero resilience so the leg muscles get tired about twice as quickly as a wood floor. Concrete will also absorb heat from the feet, pulling energy out of the body.
If that was my place, I'd really think about nailing some PT 2X4 sleepers into the concrete, shimming them to get rid of the worst low spots, and installing a plywood floor.
I am going to build a raised wood floor in another section of my place, but the one with my large machines I want as a concrete floor....
Yesterday I talked to a tile guy and he said I can order the self-leveling compound (like a mortar but sets really hard) that can be delivered in a mixer, and it would do the job perfectly. It sets fairly quickly so he's going to have a crew there to work it as its poured.
Thanks for the advice.
SS
Good move having the tile guy do the top coat. It sets faster than you think, and seems to set even faster when you don't have enough time or labor to deal with it."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