capping concrete

[Egon]

Remember that the minimum thickness you pick will be over the high points.

 

[EddieWalker]

well finally got started on my pole barn. Have a little problem, the concrete is little rough in places and has a few high spots. in the process of pouring it a rain storm developed cause all kinds of havick. Was woundering if a one inch cap could be laid over the floor, or would it crack out. Have heard there may be a bounding agent that could be applied between the layers. any one tried this? The floor is about 5 inches thick, just trying to pretty it up. thanks for any advice

How big is the slab?

How big are the problem areas?

Before pouring on top of the existing slab, I would rent a grinder and smooth out the simple areas. If you like the results, see how it works on the tougher spots.

I would rent a jack hammer and take down the high spots. Either take it all out, or go down halfway and fill with new concrete.

Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

How big is the slab?

How big are the problem areas?

Before pouring on top of the existing slab, I would rent a grinder and smooth out the simple areas. If you like the results, see how it works on the tougher spots.

I would rent a jack hammer and take down the high spots. Either take it all out, or go down halfway and fill with new concrete.

Eddie

Myself, I would need to rent an operator to run the jackhammer.

 

[weinerdog]

thanks for all the replies, it is a new pour less than a week old 30x48. contractor did some patching of some of the chips looks horrible and afraid they wont hold. the rain started about 3/4 the way through the pour, started messing up what had been finished rained hard all day guess they tried to save it did fairly well but just not what i wanted to start out with in a new building. think repairing all the problems would cost more than starting over. Rain had been perdicted, I was concerned about it my neighbor said they are professionals they do this all the time just let it happen. That logic worked great for me. the contractor agreed to knock off a thousand on the price but think Ill try for a redo. Ive tried to let the floor grow on me but just makes me ill to agree to pay for crappy work when i know the guy can turn out a super floor

 

[AGGIE00]

thanks for all the replies, it is a new pour less than a week old 30x48. contractor did some patching of some of the chips looks horrible and afraid they wont hold. the rain started about 3/4 the way through the pour, started messing up what had been finished rained hard all day guess they tried to save it did fairly well but just not what i wanted to start out with in a new building. think repairing all the problems would cost more than starting over. Rain had been perdicted, I was concerned about it my neighbor said they are professionals they do this all the time just let it happen. That logic worked great for me. the contractor agreed to knock off a thousand on the price but think Ill try for a redo. Ive tried to let the floor grow on me but just makes me ill to agree to pay for crappy work when i know the guy can turn out a super floor

Are ther any beams in the slab, or is it just a slab on grade? If you don't have any beams I would start over considering materials for the slab should be $3000 or less. Have the contractor donate removing the old slab and labor for the new. We were always responsible for the finished product and making any imperfections right. I think this is the only way you will be happy in the long run. Scabbing on concrete never lasts and epoxy is expensive.

 

[Degolyerent]

Do you have pictures? It would make for better recommendations on our part,you could cap with 3"" and virtually have no worries, it would reduce the chances of cracking and shaling off I would make sure and saw cut joints in it approx. 10' one way and 12' the other(30x48 ) it would take 13.33cy, being the contractor offered $1000 off it would cover some cost and maybe you could get him to pour the cap at a bargain rate,you could use 3000psi regular concrete,of course if you have not payed him yet or taken the money back offer you could let him pay total cost of re-do.depending on what kind of deal you struck with him originally as to what your options are

 

[EddieWalker]

thanks for all the replies, it is a new pour less than a week old 30x48. contractor did some patching of some of the chips looks horrible and afraid they wont hold. the rain started about 3/4 the way through the pour, started messing up what had been finished rained hard all day guess they tried to save it did fairly well but just not what i wanted to start out with in a new building. think repairing all the problems would cost more than starting over. Rain had been perdicted, I was concerned about it my neighbor said they are professionals they do this all the time just let it happen. That logic worked great for me. the contractor agreed to knock off a thousand on the price but think Ill try for a redo. Ive tried to let the floor grow on me but just makes me ill to agree to pay for crappy work when i know the guy can turn out a super floor

Sounds like a disaster, and a total redo. It's sad, but sometimes a contractor gets caught up in the momment and gets in over his head. It happens to all of us, and while it's happening, it's hard to see. But the next day, it's both embarrasing and obvious.

Take a ton of pictures of it, and let the contractor know that you paid for a brand new, perfect slab, and that's what you want. Don't pay him for anything except for the materials. The supplier will sue you and put a lean on your place if you don't pay for the concrete. I wouldn't trust the contractor to pay for the concrete. Something like this can get nasty. I would go to the concrete yard and pay for it in person and get a receipt .

Plan and expect the worse, hope that it doesn't happen.

Here is a thread that you might want to read. They had a big mess with their slab and after a lot of effort, managed to get it all worked out.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/91151-project-update-if-only-long.html

Eddie

 

[jake98]

Grinding contractors can make it look like glass. Don't know what the cost is, but it might be cheaper for your mason to have that done.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I work for a redi mix company. We are the ones that deliver the concrete. We deal with situations like this all the time. If it were my building I would want a perfect floor. If the person you hired to do it is a contractor and he ordered the concrete make him replace it. He should be insured. Make sure to get a material waiver from him. If you hired him to finish the concrete and you ordered the concrete it opens a whole different can of worms. The person who orders the concrete is the one responsible for the concrete bill. If there was a chance of rain the contractor should have had plastic on hand in case it did rain. If he was just hired to finish the concrete you should have had plastic ready.
Bill

 

[CurlyDave]

At this point, the least costly way out is going to be adding another 3" of concrete to the existing slab.

Tearing out the existing slab and re-pouring it will have the cost of concrete demolition and removal in addition to needing more concrete, and the drain rock and sand under the slab will have to be reworked.

My own opinion is that the contractor should bear the entire cost of the re-work, not just $1000. Now sometimes you have to be realistic. If the contractor is a little guy, he may not have the resources to do that. But, he should get a pretty good discount on the redi mix, so the $1000 he has already offered should cover that, and his own labor for the rework should be at no cost. The labor for his help is the only question and he should cover at least half of that.