Putting down a tiny bit of concrete

[El Barto]

This workshop I just moved my stuff into used to be a barn. It's a good size and has a concrete floor and I want to skateboard in it. The concrete is a bit rough, I have no intention of completely redoing the floor but I thought maybe I could "top off" one part of it to make it smoother to skate on. Would this be a straightforward job? If so what would I need to do? Any advice appreciated.

 

[NazNomad]

Sounds like you need a self-levelling screed on top of what you have already?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I don't envy your paying for that.

 

[El Barto]

Maybe I just need some screed to patch particularly rough areas. It'll be cheaper at least...

 

[morfa]

You can get concrete polishers can't you? Would that help?

BTW, I'm very jealous, I've just restarted skating after a 10 year break and I'd love a private mini-ramp.

 

[El Barto]

Yeah I've been waiting years to have enough space to build a ramp. Eventually there will be a mini ramp in there but there isn't enough room/time at the moment so I've got a lil box in there for now.

A concrete polisher is a good idea, I'll look into it. The floor is pretty grimy from years of oil/grease/dirt/general wear and tear and I kind of want to do the bare minimum on it. Ha ha. I'm hoping a thorough sweeping and maybe some bondo/concrete will do the job.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Pretend to be a builder looking for an apprentice.

Put some ads around.

The 'interview' will be to level a small section of floor!

 

[novocaine]

wood is king, board it, look for a load of hoarding being chucked by a local builder and lay it straight over the concrete, add some adhesive and you're gold screwfix cheap nasty no more nails or silicone will do. when you want to build a ramp on it, go for it, screw it straight to your floor. clean the concrete with a pressure washer first if you can, get rid of all the oil and stuff.

I'd love to do this again, but alas the space doesn't exist so I'll have to stick to riding with the general public (note we did this for BMX but it was used for skates and boards too).

 

[sunnybob]

thin concrete screed will break up almost immediately. Anything less than 4" deep wont last.
Either grind the surface down, or board it.

 

[El Barto]

Cheers fellas. I did think of boarding it - I think that's now what I'll do. Hoarding is a great idea so thanks Novocaine.

 

[jnw010]

What I did in my single garage with a very rough floor:
1. Put washing machine powder down for a couple of days. Effective way of drawing oil stains etc out of the concrete.
2. Washed, scrubbed and rinsed thoroughly.
3. Liquid DPM.
4. Cement mix of sharp sand, Portland cement, and 5 litres of SBR per 25kg of cement (I think, it was a few years ago) laid 2 to 3 inches thick.

Did that about 5 years ago. The floor is very smooth and does not dust up at all.

 

[siggy_7]

Depends how uneven the floor is. If you use a bonded screed, I would consider a thickness of about 30mm to be the minimum - but that means the floor at its highest point will be up by 30mm, you can't just feather it. It sounds like what you are trying to do is more suited to spot grinding and self-levelling compound. If you're concerned about strength of the compound compared with concrete screed, I would look at Cempolay Ultra as it's recommended for garage floors.

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