How to stop concrete from chalking?

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Found the best way to apply sbr is with a sponge.

I'd Chuck some deep fill self leveler down there too.
Spiked shoes are a blessing when self leveling.

 

[Phil_D]

Might as well level it now while the sbr bond is clean and ready to go.
If you put the mats down, it will all need cleaned & done again.

Found the best way to apply sbr is with a sponge.

I'd Chuck some deep fill self leveler down there too.
Spiked shoes are a blessing when self leveling.

How difficult/expensive/time consuming is this to do? If it’s fairly simple I might give it a go but o b honest I’ve never done anything like this so wouldn’t know where to start.

Also there’s a slope down towards the garage door, would this not make it a nightmare?

Buuut having a level floor would be nice, and I’m all for learning new skills!

 

[pandemonium123]

Just a case of mixing in a big rubber bucket with paddle mixer till creamy.
Pour on at the high point & spread with a spikey roller till you fill all the divets.

 

[pandemonium123]

Like this.

 

[pandemonium123]

Float it out up to edges, then roller out the trowel marks

Start in high area, pour out a bit, work backwards & add as you go.

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Float it out up to edges, then roller out the trowel marks

Start in high area, pour out a bit, work backwards & add as you go.

And work out how much you should need.
Il fill 4 gorrilla tubs with the correct water for a bag each
Mix one and pour. Then empty another bag in to the next bucket mix and pour.
Saves faffing while it's live.

Not hard to do but get your prep done first including any damming required to stop it's spread.

 

[premmington]

Float it out up to edges, then roller out the trowel marks

Start in high area, pour out a bit, work backwards & add as you go.

+1 for the above (my exact thoughts).

Plus always mix it - exactly as the instructions ex the outside of the bag - never deviate from the makers volume of water required.

I was a bit scared of my first outing with self levelling compound - I am no builder - but it is nothing to worry about - I have done loads of jobs with it.


As I said while I am no builder - I really fight paying anybody for labour - a few weeks ago I stripped the skirting board/ flooring from my front room/dining area - levelled it out and then glued £1630 quids worth of Karndeen type flooring down. Then fitted some deep Eurocel type modular type office skirting board - with 3pin sockets and a couple of CAT5 sockets in behind where the TV and PC go. I got the £4600 quotes down to £2150 in materials - with just short of three days labour from me - one short day stripping the floor/skirting laying the compound - one really long day laying the flooring - one short day doing the skirting.

I did pay my eldest daughter - aged 30 - a whole days wages - for helping me lay the floor - plus I had to buy a £25 roller for the floor and new notched trowel (which I still got).

Yes - a professional flooring contractor - would have been able to cut around the skirting board with ease - but I would have still had to paint the skirting (cut round the new floor with frogtape and a paint brush) - it was dark wood in colour - it would have taken loads of undercoating to get it to match wifeys new "farrow and ball" pastel colour scheme. I have always committed to new skirting boards when I lay new hard flooring (laminates) - it just makes it so much easier.

Wifey choose the floor - I had never heard of this Karndeen stuff - and if you ask me - I cannot see too much advantage with it - over - simple to lay laminate flooring - but if it keeps her happy - I might still get my dinner cooked.

What really pleased me out of the whole thing was - my eldest daughter has got the "practical gene" - she too has done loads of big DIY jobs in her own house. To include fencing and a driveway - plus a new kitchen and bathroom. Funny thing is - when she comes to help me I pay her - when I go help her - I might get a cup of tea! My wife (her Mother) does not get it - for Xmas last year - I bought the daughter a 1/2" Hitachi router with a box of TCT bits (she was boxing in the staircase in her house - borrowing my old 1/4" Elu router and nearly killing it).

 

[premmington]

And work out how much you should need.
Il fill 4 gorrilla tubs with the correct water for a bag each
Mix one and pour. Then empty another bag in to the next bucket mix and pour.
Saves faffing while it's live.

Not hard to do but get your prep done first including any damming required to stop it's spread.

+1 for this...

 

[premmington]

The only problem I have ever had with self levelling is - air bubbles drying in it - this is not a problem as you knock them back/flat with a scraper.

I have a power mixer - a low spec Vitrex one.

The air bubble thing was much improved - when I bought a spiked roller.

Hovering the floor up first - is another good tip - you don't get un wetted debris rolling about to the surface - when you are trowelling the stuff into the corners.

I have not advanced to spiked shoes as yet. But I can see the advantages they would give you - being able to got over an area again with a long handled roller.

I have only resorted to dams once - on a workshop floor where I needed to do it in sections (as I did not want to shut the garage).

Plus another - very valid point mentioned above - you gotta be geared up to be ready to mix some more - if you have under estimated how much you need. The screeded floor you are looking at - may not be as level as you think it is - when you start pouring - then only can you tell where the "mountains and valleys" are. My living room floor - looked flat with carpet on it - I reckon in the middle of the dining area there was a 12mm deep - 8mtr sq puddle I did not notice. That got me rushing about mixing some more. I always buy Self Levelling compound from Wickes - I over buy - the reason I buy from Wickes is - they will credit you for the unused bags against something else - if I am self levelling a floor - I normally gonna be spending more money on paint of something else - so a credit against something else I need is not a problem. Big thumbs up for Wickes (shame they are in financial problems and Travis Perkins are tying to cull them). I like Wickes... But it has to said - B+Q are normally cheaper on most things now.

 

[Phil_D]

first coat has worked suprisingly well, swept it and had zero dust. Mixed up the second bottle of 2.5L SBR and it was way more than needed to do a second coat - to the point where I probably put a bit too much down and got some puddling in the low points. Went back in after an hour and tried to brush the low bits out best as I could so it doesn’t take forever to dry.

It’s annoying I couldn’t do the whole thing at once but I didn’t want to empty my garage out on the driveway. Bought another 5L of SBR (this time from Screwfix) so will try and get it done tomorrow.

Also picked up enough rubber mats to cover 12 by 12 foot - most of the garage. Each mat weighs 40kg and is 18mm thick so will hopefully mask a lot of the holes!

 

[Phil_D]

Just finished the second half of the garage, this side was a lot better, when I brushed it I didn’t get endless dust. When applying the SBR it didn’t soak in super quick like the first side either.

Ended up having to resort to all my garage junk being left out on the drive overnight. Anything worth more than a few pence is back in the garage but hopefully no one steals my broken lawn mower or scrap wood

 

[Phil_D]

Boom, home gym in. Thanks for the help guys

 

[TechnicAl]

concrete sealant is Sodium Silicate......otherwise known as Waterglass...........Crosfield Chemicals in Warrington make it

 

[bigegg]

concrete sealant is Sodium Silicate......otherwise known as Waterglass...........Crosfield Chemicals in Warrington make it

thats useful to know.
sodium silicate has lots of other uses - binder for sand mold cores.
fireproofer for paper/wood.
and as an ingredient in homemade refractory for lining kilns/foundries/forges.

nice to know it can be bought "off the shelf" in builder's merchants.

 

[DAPPH]

The only problem I have ever had with self levelling is - air bubbles drying in it - this is not a problem as you knock them back/flat with a scraper.

I have a power mixer - a low spec Vitrex one.

The air bubble thing was much improved - when I bought a spiked roller.

Hovering the floor up first - is another good tip - you don't get un wetted debris rolling about to the surface - when you are trowelling the stuff into the corners.

I have not advanced to spiked shoes as yet. But I can see the advantages they would give you - being able to got over an area again with a long handled roller.

I have only resorted to dams once - on a workshop floor where I needed to do it in sections (as I did not want to shut the garage).

Plus another - very valid point mentioned above - you gotta be geared up to be ready to mix some more - if you have under estimated how much you need. The screeded floor you are looking at - may not be as level as you think it is - when you start pouring - then only can you tell where the "mountains and valleys" are. My living room floor - looked flat with carpet on it - I reckon in the middle of the dining area there was a 12mm deep - 8mtr sq puddle I did not notice. That got me rushing about mixing some more. I always buy Self Levelling compound from Wickes - I over buy - the reason I buy from Wickes is - they will credit you for the unused bags against something else - if I am self levelling a floor - I normally gonna be spending more money on paint of something else - so a credit against something else I need is not a problem. Big thumbs up for Wickes (shame they are in financial problems and Travis Perkins are tying to cull them). I like Wickes... But it has to said - B+Q are normally cheaper on most things now.

Several professional flooring company guys I've see in action have some 5 or 6 mm thick chequer plate cut to the shape of their work boots with four 90 degree 40 x 40 mm or so turned up lugs on the sides that have slots cut in them so they can use Velcro straps to fit them on under their boots
Then in the actual plate they have drilled four holes at the heels and several more on the soles to take 35 mm gutter bolts , putting the dome heads so they touched the sole of their boots and on the other end nylock nuts with a steel washer to make stand offs when working with clear acrylic sealers for new ish still sweating concrete and self leveling compounds put on the acrylic several days later when it was fully cured .

. Those spiky rollers can be had in aluminium with pointed steel spikes in widths of around 500mm which is handy for big floors . Several of the lads had the metal extending roller shafts . When finished even for a few minutes the spikes were submersed and agitated in clean water to stop them becoming clogged with setting materials . They also use extra strong big bin bags in their mixing tubs as container liners so that when each container was emptied all guys had to do was lift the polybag out of the mixing tub to have a clean mixing tub ready for a new bag and the next mix .

 

[caprinut]

For expansion joints just use hardboard cut to the depth of the concrete placed in when you're laying it, it breaks down over time.
Bert

 

[bigegg]

For expansion joints just use hardboard cut to the depth of the concrete placed in when you're laying it, it breaks down over time.
Bert

I've seen triple wall corrugated cardboard used for the same job- breaks down by the time the concrete has set, just leaving a c.6mm crack.

 

[Pete.]

The trouble with using anything which will eventually leave a gap is that the gap will pack with dust and grit over time. the proper foam expansion joint filler expands and shrinks with the movement of the slab, so there is always expansion space.

Plus, rodents just love cardboard.

 

[bigegg]

The trouble with using anything which will eventually leave a gap is that the gap will pack with dust and grit over time. the proper foam expansion joint filler expands and shrinks with the movement of the slab, so there is always expansion space.

Plus, rodents just love cardboard.

it doesnt last long against wet concrete: and then a squirt of silicone sealer(i think - i wasnt involved, just watching - might have been a bodge)