Leveling a concrete floor

[RSKY]

Patrick I like your idea of removing the slab and pouring it at a lower level. My wife wants tile for the new floor but we are concerned with it being cold in the winter. If I cut out the old slab, repoured, at a lower level than I actually needed, then put it joists and a subfloor?????? I can see problems with this but it still may be my best bet. I will be 60 years old in a couple weeks but I think I can handle the labor, don't have to work twelve hours a day if I don't want to. Thanks for the ideas.

RSKY

 

[DFB]

Ok I'm under the assumption this is a shed style roof with the door on the face wall correct? If that be the case you could always frame a gable dormer in the roof over the door so you had more room to raise the header and thus the door. That has been done a lot to make standard height garage door opening in a building eave wall and/or add length... Patrick_g has got me thinking lol!

 

[patrick_g]

Patrick I like your idea of removing the slab and pouring it at a lower level. My wife wants tile for the new floor but we are concerned with it being cold in the winter. If I cut out the old slab, repoured, at a lower level than I actually needed, then put it joists and a subfloor?????? I can see problems with this but it still may be my best bet. I will be 60 years old in a couple weeks but I think I can handle the labor, don't have to work twelve hours a day if I don't want to. Thanks for the ideas.

RSKY

If you are going to pour at a lower level and end up with tile then skip the tapered joists and use the cement type materials and end up with the floor where the wood version would end up and yoiu are ready for tile. After the concrete or concrete like materials are very well cured AND AS DRY AS THEY WILL GET then tape a piece of heavy plastic like visqueen or similar about 3x3 ft with duct tape all the way around the edges. Let it go for a dday or so and pull off the plastic. Judge by the color of the surface of the concrete how much moisture is coming up from the ground. If their is significant darkening or actual dewlike condensation then you have to use tile that will breathe or else it will be popped off of the thinset by vapor pressure of the water vapor coming up through the slab. Porcelain tile is essentially glass and passes no moisture so is at the one end of the spectlrum. You may need to be toward the other end of the spectrum and have better vapor permeability.

Patrick

 

[farmer2009]

Patrick I like your idea of removing the slab and pouring it at a lower level. My wife wants tile for the new floor but we are concerned with it being cold in the winter. If I cut out the old slab, repoured, at a lower level than I actually needed, then put it joists and a subfloor?????? I can see problems with this but it still may be my best bet. I will be 60 years old in a couple weeks but I think I can handle the labor, don't have to work twelve hours a day if I don't want to. Thanks for the ideas.

RSKY

If you really want to do a complete demo of the old pad then I would recommend only digging deep enough to add a layer of gravel then a vapor barrier and a layer of 2" ridgid(sp) foam. Then tile right to the top of the new concrete or have the concrete stamped and stained and sealed. No need to tile over that. If there is a large moisture issue then add some weaping tile under the gravel or in the gravel. Run the weapers outside if possible to avoid a sump box.

 

[ultrarunner]

I had 3" and decided the best way was to float a new motar floor which was just the ticket for my new ceramic tiles... 17 years and nothing has moved.

Slab was really well made and it would have been a job to demo it in the back yard.

 

[Egon]

Remove the old floor. It will be easier than you think. Use a saw to score the concrete into manageable pieces.

At this point you may want to evaluate the ground moisture situation and make arrangements for drainage. You may also have to evaluate the bearing wall footings??

Remove enough of the base to be able to spread in some levelling sand or gravel, vapour barrier, foam and then concrete with embedded heating of your choice.

Finish off using the schluter ?? The orange stuff for the tile laying.

Seems like a lot of work but may be best for long run.

Notice: no mention of permits or codes.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I help by brother put in his patio... we did full footings with extra rebar.

He wanted it flat and I told him it should be sloped away from the house.

He reminded me of that when it came time to make the room a family room.

At least I put in a big header across the back where the kitchen was during the previous remodel... so that part went slick with the header and kitchen vent from the sink already routed out of the way.