Dealing with a rubbish garage floor
Discussion
Another garage floor thread, sorry.
I have a link detached garage with concrete floor. It is in poor condition with pits, cracks and occasionally seems to get damp. I cannot ascertain whether the damp is coming up, or condensation on the concrete. It is rubbish though.
Thinking of options to improve the floor, and ultimately plastic tile it.
Wondering whether I should;
A. Dig it out, lay down a membrane, concrete over and put down tiles. It will require logistics to empty the garage, store stuff elsewhere, will cost the most, but possibly give the best result.
B. Use a levelling mix. It needs to be deep in places and may not key to concrete if damp id coming up.
C. Find some form of membrane that I roll out on the existing floor, then lay down plastic tiles. Not sure if such a membrane even exists. Not sure what implications there may be if there is trapped damp. Probably the cheapest and fastest option.
Any advice on which option is feasible please?
Thanks
I have a link detached garage with concrete floor. It is in poor condition with pits, cracks and occasionally seems to get damp. I cannot ascertain whether the damp is coming up, or condensation on the concrete. It is rubbish though.
Thinking of options to improve the floor, and ultimately plastic tile it.
Wondering whether I should;
A. Dig it out, lay down a membrane, concrete over and put down tiles. It will require logistics to empty the garage, store stuff elsewhere, will cost the most, but possibly give the best result.
B. Use a levelling mix. It needs to be deep in places and may not key to concrete if damp id coming up.
C. Find some form of membrane that I roll out on the existing floor, then lay down plastic tiles. Not sure if such a membrane even exists. Not sure what implications there may be if there is trapped damp. Probably the cheapest and fastest option.
Any advice on which option is feasible please?
Thanks
Crumpet said:
I ve used a lot of the Arditex NA, it s brilliant stuff and I found it very easy to use.
For my garage floor I used a basic leveller and then put the plastic Duramat tiles down. It wasn t damp but it s been perfect, although I don t think you need to overthink it.
Good to know.For my garage floor I used a basic leveller and then put the plastic Duramat tiles down. It wasn t damp but it s been perfect, although I don t think you need to overthink it.
My garage measures at 30m2 - so that is nominally 6 bags (each does 5m2) to cover 3mm.
My floor does resemble the moon's surface though. I am thinking even 6mm may not be enough.
Would it be best to use one application to fill the craters as a first level, then add a secondary layer to cover everything? Or hit it hard with a lot of the stuff in one go (less effort I suppose), but risk that there may still be some high bits?
What I’ve found with levelling compounds is that I’ve always had to work out what I think I need and add 50%! Mine is 5m x 3m and, I think, used 9 bags. But it had a height difference of 15mm in one corner and half the floor had little more than a a light skim just to seal the concrete below.
I don’t want to encourage a bodge job in case you’re disappointed, but because the plastic mats do take up the shape of the floor below I probably wouldn’t go nuts with the levelling compounds next time trying to make it dead flat. A 5mm skim all over will probably do the job. But definitely buy more compound than you need!
I don’t want to encourage a bodge job in case you’re disappointed, but because the plastic mats do take up the shape of the floor below I probably wouldn’t go nuts with the levelling compounds next time trying to make it dead flat. A 5mm skim all over will probably do the job. But definitely buy more compound than you need!
Crumpet said:
What I ve found with levelling compounds is that I ve always had to work out what I think I need and add 50%! Mine is 5m x 3m and, I think, used 9 bags. But it had a height difference of 15mm in one corner and half the floor had little more than a a light skim just to seal the concrete below.
I don t want to encourage a bodge job in case you re disappointed, but because the plastic mats do take up the shape of the floor below I probably wouldn t go nuts with the levelling compounds next time trying to make it dead flat. A 5mm skim all over will probably do the job. But definitely buy more compound than you need!
I like the black skirting what is it?I don t want to encourage a bodge job in case you re disappointed, but because the plastic mats do take up the shape of the floor below I probably wouldn t go nuts with the levelling compounds next time trying to make it dead flat. A 5mm skim all over will probably do the job. But definitely buy more compound than you need!
48k said:
I like the black skirting what is it?
It’s leftovers from the kitchen refurb! 
It’s mdf but with all sides sealed and painted with normal interior satin. It’s a very dry, insulated and warm garage so no issues with moisture. You can buy the black pvc commercial skirting though.
Crumpet said:
48k said:
I like the black skirting what is it?
It s leftovers from the kitchen refurb! It s mdf but with all sides sealed and painted with normal interior satin. It s a very dry, insulated and warm garage so no issues with moisture. You can buy the black pvc commercial skirting though.
If it is damp which from your description sounds likely if you self level and plastic tile.your just going to trap moisture under the plastic tiles. In time you'll end up with a disgusting black slime/mould under the tiles that your oblivious too. You'll be breathing that in and anything stored in there won't be great.
A garage floor dig out, level and prep.is a one day job for a competent guy with a micro digger and pecker. Let him pecjer concrete, pull it out and scrape off what you need. If required few ton of stone, sand to blind it, insulation 50mm? And then a dpm. If he pulls all rubble out a grab wagon will take away and fire in concrete. Digger guys can normally lay a basic concrete floor.and float to a decent standard. Yes there are cheaper options but will be 100% right forever
A garage floor dig out, level and prep.is a one day job for a competent guy with a micro digger and pecker. Let him pecjer concrete, pull it out and scrape off what you need. If required few ton of stone, sand to blind it, insulation 50mm? And then a dpm. If he pulls all rubble out a grab wagon will take away and fire in concrete. Digger guys can normally lay a basic concrete floor.and float to a decent standard. Yes there are cheaper options but will be 100% right forever
theposhboy said:
A garage floor dig out, level and prep.is a one day job for a competent guy with a micro digger and pecker
Yeah that's what my builders thought too. Then they discovered my garage floor was over 400mm thick at its deepest point 
Took them two weeks just to dig it all out.
Given that the plastic tiles are fully washable and very quick to lay / remove / wash / relay, I think there’s a case for going with a bodge job to see how it goes. Inspect after next winter to see the state of the underside of the tiles. There’s probably some kind of DPM you can put on the existing concrete before levelling and laying the plastic tiles.
With regards to mould and moisture under the tiles, it’s just as likely that when you bring a wet car in over winter the water seeps down through the joins and does exactly the same as damp from below would do. I haven’t lifted mine yet, but I know how much water comes off the car when you bring it in when it’s raining - or if it’s raining sideways when you open the door!
With regards to mould and moisture under the tiles, it’s just as likely that when you bring a wet car in over winter the water seeps down through the joins and does exactly the same as damp from below would do. I haven’t lifted mine yet, but I know how much water comes off the car when you bring it in when it’s raining - or if it’s raining sideways when you open the door!
Thanks all. I do need to find out why and where the damp is coming from. The concrete base at the moment has the absorbency of a sugar cube. It is often damp but at one end. There is a damp proof course in the brick walls, but as to what lies below the slab, no way of knowing. May have to dig out a small section and see.
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