Need advice about adding conrete to my basement floor from you experts.

[spyy22]

Hello, I am attempting to get rid of all the little chips cracks and general damage to a conrete basement floor on the house I recently bought, the basement is dry, I may be completely off but from what I understand I can get the self leveling concrete and let it resurface my floor. Drop it down in small areas at a time ensuring it levels properly...now the questions.

I have a wall in the process of being created and have the pressure treated wood down, do i need to seal that with 6mm or so plastic before dropping the concrete? Or do I need to completely take up the wood beforehand?
The stairs going down are wooden...do i border them off somehow, if so how do i get it as close as possible to avoid lips.
I considered putting something thin down to block it touching, but would that create a gap, or lip between floor and wood that various objects would end up collecting in? Is taking apart the stairs temporarily an idea or possibility? Also is there a special concrete I should consider? I have been looking at decorative conrete floors, it seems to me like its something you ADD to a current concrete floor though..

Any advice is appreciated, I am pretty good at DYI but am still young to it.

 

[Incognito]

no basement will EVER be dry------in the context of floor covering

self-leveling products are NOT concrete

they are cement based TOPPINGS

they are usually very sensitive to ANY moisture issues-------like you will 100% certainly have in a basement

there are "solutions" for the moisture conditions that would allow you to use some of the self-leveling colored/stained "concrete" toppings.

Google Ardex. See if they have any local representatives or distributors that can advise you more specifically on the type of products you need.


Chances are you'd be best off skimcoating with Ardex Feather Finish and then going to a premium paint store and getting a nicer quality floor paint with the characteristics you're thinking about in a stained concrete appearance.

 

[BudCline]

spy,

Keep in mind that not all Self Leveling products are suitable for creating a "wear-layer". Most all of what you readily find at home centers in the area of Self Levelers are intended to be covered with additional floor coverings after installation.

There are however self levelers that are suitable for use as a wear-surface. Some if applied in a proper thickness can be impressed with designs also. Some can be colored.

As far as the new wall...the fewer obstacles in the path of Self Leveling compounds the better. Don't be fooled by the name "Self Leveler". These products work great but are not fool proof and do require some finessing when installing in large areas. The entire area should be installed at one time. I would suggest you find a mechanic with self leveling experience and hire him to do this. Self levelers are mostly user friendly but in a large area they require some skills. All self levelers require a primer before installation.

 

[highup]

.............just to add, these products do "level" the floor, not simply make it flat.
If an area has one side of a room 3/4" inch lower than the other side, the product will flow to the low side. Cracks and deep chips ought to be filled before applying the leveler. Those products go on thin and travel pretty much like water. Any place that the lever can flow to, it will flow to.

 

[havasu]

Bud, could you provide me a link to any SLC manufacturer for use as a top surface?

 

[BudCline]

Bud, could you provide me a link to any SLC manufacturer for use as a top surface?

Mapei International offers such products and so does Ardex as far as I know. I'm sure almost everyone that makes the stuff offers something.

 

[havasu]

Thanks Bud. This is something I would like to experiment with, someday...somehow.

 

[Nick]

I've have use both . Both are good , But i like Ardex the best .

 

[BudCline]

havasu,

There's a world of information here if you don't already know about:
http://www.concretenetwork.com/products-overlays/

 

[Ernesto]

They don't have to be SLC either. Theres lots of other cement based products out there. What you need to know is how to screed them flat. Many concrete topping base is made of white cementacious product.