I'm in the planning stages of a basement refinishing project. The basement has a concrete slab that is in decent shape but needs a few things:
- Some sizable (6"x6"x1/2") protrusions need to be ground down
- Some similarly sized areas need to be filled in
- It is otherwise fairly flat, but definitely not level (say 1/4" slopes over 6').
I'm going to basically be partitioning the area into two rooms (a workshop and a laundry/bonus room). My question is, do I tackle the entire floor first by doing the grinding and leveling across the entire area, or do only the messy major repair first (grind/fill in) and then do the leveling after framing in each of the two areas? I plan to put down vinyl planks so from what I understand it's typically cement/underlayment/vinyl planks. I was planning to use a self-leveling product for the first step.
In other words, do I not try to get the whole basement level across its entire dimension, but rather make only the two rooms level within themselves, to try to make it a smaller job and not require so much of the self-leveling product.
Also, if anyone has an advice on how important it is to get it level vs. simply flat and relatively level, that would be good to know.
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Jared
Best Answer
I'd definitely want to do all the grinding first. You'll probably have to rent the grinder and why do it twice. Also, you'll get grinding dust everywhere unless you really wet it down.... messy. When you frame the rooms, you don't want protrusions.
The filling in could be done as you go along because the rooms are divided. Being level isn't as important as being flat. I've been in many residential construction sites and have seen very few totally level foundations.