I recently got my foundation repaired and am left with a very cracked and uneven concrete floor next to the wall. Along the very edge any leveling compound would be at least an inch deep. All I plan to do in the room is put down some epoxy floor paint and turn it into a workshop. So basically I don't need it to be picture perfect, and self leveling compound is very expensive, so I was wondering of mortar would work well enough in this situation. My primary concern is whether or not it would adhere well enough and whether or not such a large slab of the stuff would be prone to cracking. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Concrete – use mortar to roughly level a basement floor for workshop
concrete
Related Solutions
I had something similar in my basement - a drain in the middle of the floor, and the floor around it sloped toward the drain.
We did pretty much what you described and it turned out really well
- Clean the floor up nice.
- Used a wire brush to roughen up the surface a bit so the new concrete will adhere well.
- Poured in regular concrete to almost level it out.
- Used thin-set mortar to finish it off (the same mortar you would use for setting tiles)
As for your sagging beam - they make special house jacks for that kind of stuff, but a hydraulic car jack with a 4x4 would probably do the trick as well (for your situation anyways).
Type of flooring dictates how "perfect" it needs to be, carpet being the least work. Vinyl is flexible so just no real drastic changes.
Below are the basic steps to fixing uneven concrete floors.
Use a straight edge and mark high and low spots. (Really exaggerated case in this image)
Or if you like gadgets, Bosch has a new laser out that lets you easily mark the uneven parts.
You use a grinder (with dust mask and safety goggles) for high spots. You can rent a large floor grinder or get on your hands and knees.
and SLC (self-leveling compound) in low spots. For SLC just follow the manufacturer's instructions. If the floor is really bad you may want to pour the stuff over the whole thing.
Related Topic
- Concrete – the best choice for patching and leveling concrete before tile install
- Concrete – How to repair garage floor concrete damage near apron
- Concrete – Approaches to level a concrete floor with shallow pipes
- Concrete – How long does concrete need to cure before applying self leveling compound
- Concrete – Cheapest way to level large concrete floor without losing height
- Concrete – Flooring Options for Basement with Uneven Concrete Slab
Best Answer
Mortar will most likely crumble.
To ensure good adhesion, you could cover the existing floor with PVA before mixing up some granite chips with a little sand and plenty of cement. Leave it a little low, and don't bother where you need only a thin covering, then you can cover the whole floor with a thin self-levelling screed to give you a smooth finish all over.