At Home In The Woods

[PhysAssist]

For my money, that looks more like a snowdrift than a professionally installed concrete floor. The contractor needs to either fix that or tear it out and do it again.

I don't know of a good fix, but if you could afford to lose a little bit of ceiling height, a new pour (about 3" above the "peaks") on top of this might be the most cost effective way to get this smooth & flat.

Hi again Dave,

Thanks for the support. We have 12' side and end walls, so we could afford a 3" repour, I just hope he stands behind his mason subcontractor's work like he did his own.

Thomas

 

[dave1949]

Hi again Dave,

Thanks for the support. We have 12' side and end walls, so we could afford a 3" repour, I just hope he stands behind his mason subcontractor's work like he did his own.

Thomas

That is pretty wavy. I'd say it is outside the bounds of what a person should accept.

A 3" pour on top, or another approach would be to have the contractor supply and install a leveling compound and floor covering. You buy the floor covering probably, but he owes you a flatter floor than that.

They make some nice looking sheet garage floor materials, but I have no experience with them for durability and so forth.

If you cap it with more concrete, check these types of products out:
Concrete Bonding Agent - Concrete Primer

 

[kevincook]

There is no way I would accept that floor. That floor needs to be jackhammered out and re-poured. There is a big risk that any leveling compounds will not last the life of the floor and will only make matters worse down the road.

Good Luck,
Kevin

 

[brin]

There is no way I would accept that floor. That floor needs to be jackhammered out and re-poured. There is a big risk that any leveling compounds will not last the life of the floor and will only make matters worse down the road.

Good Luck,
Kevin

I agree..that floor is completely unacceptable...you will be rolling things on that floor ,walking on it etc. for years...you don't want to let this go....I would make them tear it out and redo it unless as you say you have room for a 3 inch re pour...then I would not let the same contractor do it...instead make him pay to have a new contractor you find from recommendations to do the work...I sure hope you deal with this now and not try and live with it.....Best of Luck....

 

[Larro Darro]

I agree with everyone. The least your contractor should do is pay to have 3" added on. The wave action was so bad I was getting seasick just looking at those pictures.

Larro

 

[Depmandog]

Holy cow. That's without a doubt the worst looking "modern" concrete job I have seen!

As far as options: Yes, it's possible to grind this smooth, but not cost effective or practical. Yes, you can pour a concrete cap, or apply a self leveling product like Ardex. And if I caused the problem (or if it was a family member or friend who did the pour) - that would be my fix (Ardex products)

But since you paid your hard earned money to a "pro" to perform this work for you - I would demand recourse - complete tear-out and re-pour. Nothing less.

Have you spoken to the contractor about this? I would immediately contact him and tell him to fix it. And if he drags his feet one inch, get your lawyer involved.

Oh, and one more thing - tell him to use a bull float next time!

 

[srs]

Tear it out!

 

[crazyal]

If you pour 3" on top of the existing cement it looks like you'll cover your sill plates. I wouldn't want that. If they are a single 2x high then the cement will be 1 1/2" above it. If they are doubled up 2x's then you'll be flush but if you ever finish off the inside you're not going to have anything to nail to without adding wood (at your cost). Also being a garage I would be worried about water funneling to the sill plates and causing you headaches down the road.

 

[Coyote machine]

Wow is all I can say! I don't know how guys that do shoddy work like that can sleep at night. I would want someone else, ANYone else to pour you a new floor. I suggest going to three independent concrete guys and getting quotes on what they recommend, and a written guarantee as to level and smoothness for which you pay upon satisfactory completion of work. By concrete guys I mean guys who own a local plant or do commercial building floors on a regular daily basis.
Tear it out or whatever they recommend but don't live with that if you can help it. My new barn of 2010 has poured floors with drains in each and cuts for reducing the possibility of cracks. Water inside has to be able to get out and on your floor it looks like a wavy beach already so the water would pool causing dangers to you and your wife. Go to the Better Business Bureau, The State's Attorneys General's office and hire a lawyer and get ALL your money back. Work like that should be a jailable offense; it's inexcusable and incompetent, and downright wrong. Sue for costs and damages, negligence and pain, and suffering. Pull out all the stops. This guy needs to be out of business.

 

[PhysAssist]

Wow is all I can say! I don't know how guys that do shoddy work like that can sleep at night. I would want someone else, ANYone else to pour you a new floor. I suggest going to three independent concrete guys and getting quotes on what they recommend, and a written guarantee as to level and smoothness for which you pay upon satisfactory completion of work. By concrete guys I mean guys who own a local plant or do commercial building floors on a regular daily basis.
Tear it out or whatever they recommend but don't live with that if you can help it. My new barn of 2010 has poured floors with drains in each and cuts for reducing the possibility of cracks. Water inside has to be able to get out and on your floor it looks like a wavy beach already so the water would pool causing dangers to you and your wife. Go to the Better Business Bureau, The State's Attorneys General's office and hire a lawyer and get ALL your money back. Work like that should be a jailable offense; it's inexcusable and incompetent, and downright wrong. Sue for costs and damages, negligence and pain, and suffering. Pull out all the stops. This guy needs to be out of business.

Hi, and thanks to everyone for the comments and support. We are exploring our options, but need to have some independents come in and give us their evaluation and plan before we decide what course to take.

Thomas