[HarleysRus]

Hello all
New here to DIY from East central Fla. I have Searched a bit with no answer yet to my problem, seems like some expert are here to give some advice.
I erected a separate 18x24 storage shed 10 years ago on a poured slab with footers. No moisture or settling problems.
However it seems the contractor had the truck driver add too much calcium to the slab pour to speed troweling time for a smooth finish.
I have used the shed mostly for storage of some old bikes etc. and have noticed the floor is increasingly very soft. Just wheeling a bike around creates a fine dust that hangs in the air when swept.
Would like to insulate and install heat pump, and start using this for a motorcycle work shop now, but this will involve steel wheel jacks etc. that will really gouge it up!
So is there a top coat or chemical treatment heavy enough stand up to this kind of use, or am I out of luck?
Thanks for any help given.

 

[joecaption]

If you cleaned and sealed it or painted it that should stop the dust.

 

[HarleysRus]

I did buy some sealer, it is very thin and I'm thinking it would't stand up to the soft surface.
Haven't applied it yet, thought I would ask here first. It would be great to squeegee that on and be done with it.

 

[Nealtw]

I wonder if a resurfacing would help?

 

[ClarenceBauer]

Check the ProSoCo OH Stone Strengthener & H Stone Strengthener.
One of these should harden your concrete surface.

 

[HarleysRus]

Thanks for the suggestions, I would really hate to resurface as to the video above. That seems like a good driveway solution, but my surface is crack free and smooth now. And this would get up to the wall sill plates.
I will now google the ProSoCo product.
Reading old threads I see epoxy top coats that may work, but haven't researched them.

 

[stadry]

if the conc's soft, resurfacing's kind of useless impo,,, i'm w/bauer,,, we'd use a densifier which'll make the conc harder,,, depending on just how soft it is, may not achieve your desired hardness to withstand steel wheels but its certainly better method than paint or coating w/resurfacer,,, last resort's 3/4" plywood sheets, rubber tires on the workstands, or buy a beemer - they don't need much repair :thumbup:

 

[de-nagorg]

Over 40 years ago, I was part of a crew that was pouring a very large shop floor for repairing of D11 Caterpillars.

We used a product called STEEL-TOP, in bags, It was very dense, and weighed at least twice the usual bagged weight.

I would think if it was designed to hold D11s, it will withstand your usage demands.

I do not know if this is still available, a google search might be useful for you.

STEEL-TOP, concrete topping.


ED

 

[stadry]

sounds like what's called a 'steel floor' ( 'mastertop'/'masterplate' ) in which steel fibers are power troweled into conc surface during finishing process,,, works fine on fresh conc but how does 1 retrofit ? new conc's also spec'd higher compressive strength than this op's shed's floor,,, reason for steel was to increase abrasion resistance, not flexural or compressive

 

[de-nagorg]

More than likely not the proper stuff for them, but this is how it was done.

The base was poured at 9" thick, full grid re-bar, cage.

Wait a week and another 1" of the STEEL-TOP, poured over that, and power troweled.

All this was going on while the building crew was erecting the steel building over the work site, on the pre poured footings.

Yes we were in each others way too much.


ED

 

[stadry]

interesting ! we always poured after steel & drying in !

 

[de-nagorg]

This shop was HUGE, probably 5 acres under one roof.


ED

 

[de-nagorg]

I went googling, looking for STEET-TOP surfacer, but it seems to not be in existence now.

Too bad, it was quite abrasive resistant, if you can drive a steel track D11 over it, spin around, and not leave a mark.

Now I suggest that you get a rubber mat, similar to a truck bed liner, to lay on your crumbly floor, this will protect it, and be chemical resistant also.

ED

 

[stadry]

https://books.google.com/books?id=4...QAQ#v=onepage&q=master plate concrete&f=false

 

[de-nagorg]

https://books.google.com/books?id=4...QAQ#v=onepage&q=master plate concrete&f=false

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO3Rk1acFpI

That is interesting.

Not the way that we did it.

The product came in bags, just like sakrete does now, the bags were smaller in volume, but still weighed 90 lb.

recommended to mix no more than 2 bags at a time in your 1 yard mixer, due to the weight, and most people can't truck a wheelbarrow with more in it, that's most people, I trucked 4 bags at a time in my barrow, the foreman was upset, and ordered my team to "knock it off".

Mixed on-site, had so much to pour in there that they had 3 mixers going side by side.

5000 sq. ft. 1"thick in 4 hours, had to do about a week on this building.


ED

 

[stadry]

how did you bond the new to old ? prep method ? seems as if yours was an overlay,,, we used to dry shake steel fiber & power trowel it into the surface,,, also had a few jobs that required we diamond saw masterplate floors,,, talk about fire jumping off the diamond blades - YIKES !

 

[de-nagorg]

"old" is a relative term, the base was barely 3 days old, so was not fully cured, and was not a finished smooth surface, it was left a little rough, ( like a rough broom finish) to give the STEEL-TOP something to adhere to.

I did the math, 1975 was 45 years ago.

This was out in the field, they brought in a portable batch plant, to do the mixing for all the concrete work, but still had even smaller 1 yard mixers setup for the topping mix.

Because it needed to be done close by and "trucked" over to the pad.

Trucked being in a wheelbarrow.:vs_laugh:


ED

 

[HarleysRus]

Well thanks for the additional suggestions gents! Seems like the densifier would be the simplest solution at this point. Will call ProSoCo and talk to them about application methods, as I saw it in their product line up.