Concrete Basement floor Fill & Level - DIY Chatroom

Crispy · 11-06-2009, 06:26 PM

My basement floor has heaved cracks like a mountain range covering most of the area , i jack-hammered out the highest cracks and peaks and where they joined up ( pic attach ) .

Question was to fill and get back to reasonably level , what products would i use . A regular concrete mix to fill then a self-level over that . I will be installing carpet and some laminate over top with a nice underlay and a dimpled membrane for a little more give so it doesnt have to be 100%

Thanks,

Chris

jogr · 11-06-2009, 06:56 PM

I'm worried your new finished floor will soon have mountain ranges too. Are you in Colorado with those highly expansive clay soils? I'd be getting some pro to look at it before going to the expense of finishing it.

Crispy · 11-06-2009, 07:00 PM

Hey there , no im in Calgary Alberta , we have sulfates that make the concrete chip and flake away . The heaves are from a bad pour i assume . I dont plan on retiring in this house just want to get it back to good to get some new flooring on it .

And the heaves have formed over 30 years since house was built so i should be alright , i hope heh

jogr · 11-06-2009, 07:26 PM

If it was settling I would figure it was from overdigging and inadequate fill compaction and after 30 years it would probably be done recompacting. Heaving concerns me more because it implies the soil is expanding and contracting and that could continue. But if you're comfortable that it won't reheave I'll defer to your experience with the slab.

Self Leveling stuff can be expensive for a large area. If the "sections" are level with each other you may get a level floor just using a concrete mix in the jack hammered areas and screeding carefully. A lot of the area looks like a concrete mix won't work because the crack isn't big enough. You might be able to find a "repair" mix that has smaller aggregate and will work better in the shallower areas.

Crispy · 11-06-2009, 07:39 PM

Right on thanks jogr , ill look into that 'repair' mix but i think i still might need some SLC for the dips in between the high spots . After the cracks are filled is there any extra prep i might need to do the self level or can it go over the 'repair' concrete easily if necessary ?