fred wrote:

Present workshop has a concrete floor which wasn't power floated when
it was poured. (Not sure if I am using the right terminology. I'm
talking about that very smooth, powder free, almost glossy finish
often seen in warehouses etc.)

Any way to achieve this finish now on the floor which most be 18 years
old at this stage ?

I had thought about self leveling cement but I have heavy machinery
which I move about now and then and my experience of self leveling
cement was that it wasn't very strong and tended to crumble.

Any other suggestions ?

About 25 sq mtrs involved.

Any method of doing it piecemeal would be appreciated as I don't fancy
having to pull everything out in one go.

Paul Mc Cann

I would have thought that you have two viable options with a simple 3rd:

1) Big assed diamond based concrete polisher which are hireable. If the old
concrete is tough, in principle you could polish it up to quite smooth. If
the concrete is a bit friable, it may well start crumbling on the surface
though. Conjecture - have not tried.

2) Top it with some self levelling compound and paint it. This may be
unsuitable for your needs depending on load (you said workshop - does that =
big heavy machines?) 25m2 will need about 6-8 25kg bags of SLC for a 3-4mm
topping.

3) What about just painting it? Epoxy paint for extra toughness (and more
moths to your wallet but it will last). Need to be quick, but it's easy to
apply (roller on 5' long ceiling type roller handle so you can work standing
up. Mix, pour the lot down on a wiggly stream over the whole area then get
to work with the roller double quick. I did an epoxy DPM (similar stuff)
over 21m2 single handed in one go per coat (2 coats) and it came out
perfect; just a matter of thinking it through and having everything to hand,
no time for faffing.


--
Tim Watts