OT: self-leveling floors

[DFMiller]

I can't figure out whether we need a translation from UK English to Dominion English, or from concrete slinger to metal worker.
I have been around a few metres on concrete in my day. ;-)
Could you please elaborate more Mark?

Thanks
Dave

[JoeLee]

The guy down the street from me put some kind of stuff like your talking about on his basement floor and after about 6 months it started to flake and crack. When he rolled a steel wheeled dolly across it with about 600 lbs of machine on it the wheels left a crack trail, not to mention all the pock marks from dropping stuff on it. Might be OK for your garage provided all you do is park the car in it. I would try asphalt floor tiles????? easy to put down and if in the future you mess one up just replace the tile. I put these down in my wood shop. I was tempted to do the entire shop but my concrete floor is high polished and sealed so no dust problem when sweeping.

JL.................

[914Wilhelm]

Garagejournal.com

http://garagejournal.com/forum/

Just follow this link and look at the flooring link. You'll see a bunch of collected experience regarding floors.

I currently have a wood floor in my shop and hate it. Catches on fire when I weld, hard to sweep. Only good thing about wood is i can screw setups down to it. Of course i could screw the same setups down to a sacrificial piece of plywood or two. The epoxies look good for a while than get scraped or have hot tire pick up problems. Asphalt tile and the plastic click together stuff stink when they get burnt and oil and dirt are hard to clean. I'm thinking when I do my floor it's going to be porcelain tile. They are pretty tough and really not that hard to replace if one gets broke. I've rolled my 1000 pound table saw (equipped with 3/4" wide steel wheels) though my house over the porcelain tiles protected only by a sheet of cardboard and had no damage.

[Gravy]

I'd be REALLY skeptical about a 1/2" (or even 2") layer of any kind of cement-based compound holding up under the stated conditions. If the substrate isn't sound and the bond isn't good, it's going to shatter under the load of machine tools. Then you will have a REAL mess on your hands.

I'd vote for sacrificial paint or good plywood.

[darryl]

I've walked across an epoxy-leveled floor- you can feel the flatness. It sure looked tough, and I have no doubt it is. It also feels very hard. I don't know how it would compare to the bare concrete to walk on for hours, but I doubt it would be much less tiresome. The rubber mat is definitely less tiresome. You might inquire about rubber mat- a place I found locally makes it in-house, and will make it up to 12 ft wide. I don't know if they limit the length per piece, but even it it's 12 ft also, that's a pretty good size for a no-gap floor covering. They were cutting pieces to 4x6 ft the day I was there, and asking $40 for them. That works out to $240 for the 12x12 area, but it would probably be less for the full piece.

My procedure would be to paint the floor with a reasonably suitable barrier coat, then lay the rubber in as large of pieces as I could handle. If it's not curled it would be fairly easy to use a seam filler and end up with effectively one large piece.

It's not as easy to sweep as concrete- painted concrete is easier still, and epoxy would likely be the easiest to sweep up. If you went with self-leveling epoxy it will be a very nice floor, but still hard and cold. I think that 1/4 inch is enough thickness in the thinnest spots, but less than that I think would give problems over time. Maybe not, but all it would take is for the layer to lift off the concrete- then you'll eventually get a large chunk cracking out, and it will only get worse. It will be like a blister that you eventually break, then nurse for weeks till it heals- only difference is the floor will not heal.

I did a portion of my basement shop floor with floor paint, and it's held up really well. I didn't consider any kind of treatment for the rest of it, but lately I have laid some rubber mat. I wish now that the whole floor was mat. I've gotten used to stepping up the half inch from the bare floor, but if I knew I was going to leave it in pieces as it is now, I'd glue some wedged strips to the floor up to the edges of the rubber mat.

[J Tiers]

Dusty concrete?

it's a SHOP..... why isn't the floor oily enough to "lay" that dust?

I used a concrete material to level a floor in the basement, part of which is expanded shop area. We had had the floor trenched for pipe replacement, and it mostly wasn't filled up flat, while some areas were way proud, and I had to chisel them down.

Some spots filled were as thin as 1/16", but it is still holding up in it's second year, despite having machines dragged over it.

Quickcrete Concrete Resurfacer is what I used. Seems to have worked well.

[BudB]

I might suggest a product I have used in the past both on older small applications and on fresh 100,000 sq ft factory floors. It is a 1930's water clear product called "Ashford formula" and is a sodium silicate formula. Repaces sealer on fresh concrete. Penetrates up to 1/3 of an inch. Hardens and densifies. With a good steel trowel job the concrete will shine like glass with wear. Squegezee in.....rinse ....After 15 years of wear no problems and no dust. Older concrete needs to be very clean of oils and apply at double strength. There are dealers thoughout the country. Good luck.

[Bond]

I've been putting up for way too long with a concrete floor in the
shop that just keeps generating dust. its become intolerable. I've
already moved 1/2 the shop into the other half and plan to get started
asap.

thing is, am not sure which way to go.

I'm considering using a self-leveling epoxy/cement/god-knows-what
called Mapei Ultraplan 1

http://www.mapei.it/referenze/Multimedia/Ultraplan1_TD_EA.pdf

technically its not a finished floor -- its meant to be a level foundation
for carpet / wood / tile -- but I'm wondering if this isn't a marketing gimmick?

its rated to 4500 psi after 28 days.

thats concrete to me.

has anyone ever tried anything similar?

I've considered sealants and paints but i think this concrete just stinks
and will break easy if i drop a heavy hammer for example. by break i mean
easily pulverize into powder.

Tony

If its what I think it is (and I am shur it is) it hold up exelent. It was put down on a track that as 1000lb carts run on it all day.It was put down in the late 80s and it still there.

[Evan]

I wonder, is there a pressure treated grade of plywoods?

Yes there is. I have a couple of 3/4" 5x8 ft pieces for my observatory floor. They cost about $30 each.

[914Wilhelm]

"Originally Posted by Chris
I wonder, is there a pressure treated grade of plywoods?

Yes there is. I have a couple of 3/4" 5x8 ft pieces for my observatory floor. They cost about $30 each."


None that I would want to walk on or sweep. The stuff I have seen is splintery with lots of surface cracks in it. Who knows what your breathing all the time working with this versus what gets released when hot slag causes it to smoke.

[Evan]

I will take a picture later. It is very good grade material. With a coat of paint it will be fine.

[914Wilhelm]

Evan!
Why aren't you asleep instead of on the computer? it's 4am for goodness sakes!
Wilhelm

[J Tiers]

The sodium silicate (water glass) formula sounds like the real deal..... I think my floor must have been treated with something similar, that or it was a really "fat" mix..... it's rather dense and hard, and shines up with wear as stated.

[Chris S.]

Yes there is. I have a couple of 3/4" 5x8 ft pieces for my observatory floor. They cost about $30 each.

Thanks Evan. Is there a type designation like "CDX-P"?

[Evan]

This is the plywood.