Temporary flooring over concrete slab?

M3 Pete

We are going to convert an interior atrium and a covered patio into livable space by installing a concrete slab on grade (like the rest of the house). The "covered patio" is actually within the building frame, so all we need to do is put a sliding glass door across the opening. The atrium, which was open to the sky and full of plants, is now covered with roof and skylights.

According to the structural engineer, the walls around these spaces can be removed. So the plan is to knock down the walls and put in a slab that ties into the existing surrounding slab.

The problem is that we don't have enough money to do the total kitchen remodel at the same time, which will include floor replacement. The existing flooring around these new slab areas is carpet and saltillo tile.

So I'm looking at various options for temporary, low-cost flooring, to last about 3-5 years before we can take up all the flooring and re-do it. Obviously, ease of removal will be a plus. Preferably, I'd like something that does not look like temporary, low-cost flooring, but I realize that is at odds with my goal.

The sliding glass door is the main door to our pool. It does not get a ton of wet traffic, but I'd prefer something that is somewhat water-resistant.

The total square footage is about 300 feet.

So what do you think? Carpet? Laminate? Something else?

joecaption

#1 a slab on grade is a sure way to have water getting in under the walls.
#2 If you try and install a slider close to the grade water will at some point come in under the threshold.
Any flooring installed will have to deal with moisture rising through the slab and coming in around the edges.
Even paint would pop off.
Adding a row of block around the outside and building the walls on top of that, laying a vaper barrier and using foam below the slab will help with the moisture and make the floor warmer. Grading away from the foundation, adding gutters over the door area, using a jamb sill will help keep water out.
Siding should never be installed within at least 6" of the ground.

rusty baker

Remember, even when installed right a concrete slab takes a minimum of 28 days per inch to dry. A standard 4" slab takes 112 days. Then it needs to be moisture tested, cause that is just a minimum time.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

M3 Pete

Nearly every house built in the last 30-40 years around here is slab on grade.

the concrete patio is well drained with deck drains, the sliding doors currently have about a 1" threshhold. Bear in mind that we live in nearly a desert climate, only 14" of rain annually.


Since this was my original question, what kind of flooring would that be? The carpet seems to be holding up OK, as does the saltillo tile.


The exterior walls are already built, 30 years ago. Same with the interior walls that we will be keeping. Vapor barrier and foam under the new slab may be a good idea.

Grading is done by concrete patio, drained by deck drains. Gutters surround the house. I'll look into jamb sills.


Our house is stucco.

M3 Pete

I suppose that's another good reason to put in "temporary" floor. I do know that you have to be careful not to install wood flooring on a new slab. Does that apply to other materials as well?

rusty baker

Yep....

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

joecaption

http://jamsill.com/

TLynd

I have worked in the flooring industry for about 10 years and I would definitely stay away from laminate or any product that has a medium/high density fibreboard core. If these get wet/absorb water they will be ruined. A little spill here and there is fine, but not much more than that.

Depends how inexpensive you want to go but there is some vinyl out there now that looks quite nice, low cost, and good with moisture. (We don't carry this, but it is out there)

My personal favorite is strand woven bamboo but that may be out of your price range, not sure.

beenthere

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