How To Lay A Concrete Floor

Due to the fact that concrete floors are capable of withstanding significant loads, their application area is quite large. This type of floor is ideal for industrial facilities (factories, factories, warehouses, vegetable stores, offices, supermarkets, etc.).Also, often a concrete floor is poured into sheds, garages and other economic buildings. The most common is a polished concrete floor, but, for example, in the pig sector demand for slotted concrete floors. If you decide to do it yourself, you just need to carefully study the recommendations on how to properly lay the concrete floor, so that the surface is even, firm and resistant to cracking.

Advice: When starting concrete flooring, follow these recommendations:

If the floor will experience increased loads, then it is necessary to pre-lay the reinforcing frame. For reinforced concrete mesh with insignificant loads; for the device of the concrete floor it is necessary to use cement of mark not lower than M300. Note! After the ramming process, the thickness of the concrete floor should be approximately 12 cm.

Laying The Concrete Floor

 1.Fill The Concrete Floor

Next, we will consistently consider the stages of manufacturing the concrete floor.

2.Leveling

Leveling of the base is carried out, as a rule, using a laser or optical level. With its help, you will have to determine the relief of the base, the level of the floor surface and the zero mark.

3.Substrate Preparation

• In the case of a ground base, you need:
• Tire the soil so that the floor does not crack over time.
• Lay a sandy "pillow" on top of the compacted soil. To achieve the required density, sand should be laid on 25% more than the calculated layer. Pillow must be poured with water and compacted with a roller.
• If the room already has a concrete foundation, then you need:
• Thoroughly clean the entire surface of the floor base.
•  Fill existing cracks with sand-cement mixture or polymer.

4.Waterproofing

 As a waterproofing of the floor surface, a roll bituminous material or a polyethylene film is often used. Waterproofing helps prevent capillary penetration of ground moisture. The area of the film should be larger than the floor area.

5.Installation of Formwork

 For a concrete floor covering of a large area, you should break the surface into rectangles of special sizes (maps). The size of a particular rectangle is determined by yourself since it depends on the forthcoming amount of work during the working day. On the perimeter of the rectangle, set the wooden formwork - so that the filled concrete is within the necessary limits before solidification.

6.Reinforcement

Reinforcement is necessary to provide high-strength characteristics to the concrete floor. A reinforced mesh with a mesh size of 150 × 150 mm is usually used.

 Note! For the manufacture of the concrete floor, withstand more powerful loads, instead of a grid reinforcing cage is used.

7.Filling The Mixture

 Concrete flooring Concrete mix (1 part cement + 2 parts building sand + 4 parts gravel + 0.4 parts water) is easily mixed with a concrete mixer, which can be rented for a while. The finished concrete mix has a short lifespan, so use it quickly. Note! The time of pouring the concrete with a card should be without interruption.

When pouring small areas, carefully level the concrete on the surface and compact with a special vibrator to the level of installed beacons (stretched cords) and before starting the filling of large rooms, you will need to set the guides at the zero level. Then, on the rails, install the screed. Pour concrete should be slightly above the level of the screed. After filling the screed, pull the guide rails, while leveling and compacting the concrete cover.After 2-3 weeks, consider that your concrete floor is ready. It completely hardens and recovers its maximum strength properties.

 Polished Concrete Floors

 In many offices and supermarkets, they arrange spectacular polished concrete floors that look beautiful. In addition, they are practical, durable and require little maintenance, which significantly reduces the cost of their maintenance and restoration. In the manufacture of polished concrete floors, more steps are required: grinding concrete (rough processing), impregnating (cementing with chemical composition) of the concrete surface and polishing the floor.Concrete floor, manufactured by all the rules, will have high resistance to mechanical stress and wear.