Concrete Floors
Placement and replacement of concrete floors can be very different from exterior concrete placement. When placing or replacing a floor a contractor should consider many things such as: what it will be used for, what kind of a base is needed to best suit the usage, type of reinforcement, what kind of finish needed, and what type of coating or hardner may increase the utility of the finish.
Garage Floors
Garage Floors are usually meant to stand up to light vehicle traffic. Most are placed at either 4 or 5 inches in depth because most vehicles needing more strength than that won’t fit into a residential garage. Base material for a garage should be a compacted rock base, however most contractors will use sand because it is cheaper and easy to grade. The base, as with any flat concrete work is very important to the longevity of a concrete slab. If your contractor wants to use sand as a base, keep looking. Terry’s Quality Concrete uses rebar to reinforce the garage floors we install giving it even more strength.
Coatings
Many homeowners want an epoxy or other type of coating placed on the floor for many reasons. Coatings will further protect your new concrete floor from the salt and brine that is brought into the garage on the tires of your vehicles. Coatings will also protect your floor from oils, solvents and other elements that would ordinarily stain an uncoated floor. Another obvious advantage to adding floor coatings is appearance. With floor coatings you can brighten up the look of your garage.
Basement Floors
Basement floors are often placed in the same fashion as garage floors with a few key differences. Since basement floors are placed at the lowest point in the house moisture is always a concern. A moisture barrier should be placed on top of the grade before the floor is poured. The base for a basement floor should always be rock or pea gravel allowing the water from hydrostatic pressure drain under the moisture barrier to an interior waterproofing system directing the water to a sump pump to be ejected from the basement. Terry’s Quality Concrete prefers to reinforce basement floors with 6×6 wire mesh since control joints are rarely desireable in a basement floor and the floor will not be exposed to seasonal weather patterns. Finally coatings are occasionally placed on a basement floor as a finished product as opposed to carpet or tile.