"orb" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 07 Nov 2006 09:15:53 +0000, aemeijers wrote:

"Muff" wrote in message
news:28V3h.1237$2X4.654@trnddc04...
Try to hammer a nail through the carpet in the middle of the floor if it
is
concrete which it probably is you will know quickly.
Muff

"orb" wrote in message
.. .
(snip)
ceiling, it is likely conventional stick framing.

aem sends....

That was spot on, aem. Thanks for that. I found out the building is indeed
brick veneer and the floors are a "plywood/concrete composite".

Nice one.

Would you reckon that this concrete layer, in your experience, be
suitable to polish/tint and use as a primary flooring surface
(with rugs) in place of carpet?
Not in my experience, no- it is usually far from smooth, and has cracks at
the doorways and often in the middle of the field. But if the existing
carpet is shot and has to come up anyway, you may want to give it a look. A
lot will depend on how good the original installation crew was, and how much
the builiding has flexed or settled over the years, and how thick a layer of
crete they put down. The apartment-building company I worked for back then
was cheap scum, and always used the cheapest material and crews they could
get away with, so a building built by a real builder may look better. Even
if it does look good, you will have to add or lower the shoe mold to get rid
of the crack, and spot-fill the ramset holes where the tack strip for the
carpet was nailed down.

aem sends...