basement floor problem - DIY Chatroom

money pit · 10-26-2009, 01:47 AM

hello. I want to finish my basement but have run into a problem. Whoever poured the basment floor seemed to just slop it to the wall. The floor itself is fairly level, but the edges have a build up of up to four inches of roughly tossed concrete. How do I remedy this? Do I attempt to chisel it all out? Frame walls that float above the floor only attached to the floor joists? Help!

oh'mike · 10-26-2009, 08:25 AM

Any way you could post a picture?

Arvind · 11-11-2009, 11:19 PM

Rent an electric jack hammer (cement breaker) that weighs about 100 lbs and break the cement you don't like. Replace with cement sand mix and you are done. Start Friday evening, be done by Sunday.

Timberratt · 11-12-2009, 06:17 AM

I've seen this and it's always irritating, the quik-fix( if the walls are non-bearing, I'm assuming it's concrete perimiter) attach the wall to the joists above. Two options: 1) attach a 2x4 run of pressure treated lumber to the foundation wall with glue and concrete nails/ or 3/8"x4" anchor bolts. The plate should be 1/2" above the floor, the wall at an 1" attach the wall to the plate w/A-35's 16" oc. 2) place a pressure treated 2x4 on your concrete floor, nail or anchor the leading edge in line with the floating wall, drill holes through the center of the bottom plate and drive spikes into the pressure treated 2' oc. The nail size will depend on your distance to anchor. Try to keepyour wall no more than an 1-1/2" above your plate!