I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked and
buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the rest of
the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle between
the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and more
usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the foundation.
Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this workable?
Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so expensive?
Thanks.

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and
buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the rest
of
the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle between
the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and more
usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the foundation.
Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this workable?
Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so expensive?
Thanks.

I would think that asphalt would be far to soft and subject to damage for
a garage floor.

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the
rest of the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle
between the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and
more usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the
foundation. Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this
workable? Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so
expensive? Thanks.

They did that on a couple of bridges near my old house. It appears that
asphalt does not adhere very well to concrete because they scraped it off
after a number of years since it continually peeled off and caused the
bridge to shake and vibrate the windows in nearby homes....my 2 cents....I
wouldn't do it....good luck....Ross

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the
rest of the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle
between the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and
more usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the
foundation. Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this
workable? Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so
expensive? Thanks.


My garage floor is asphalt. While I would rather it was concrete, I have to
say I haven't had any significant problems. The biggest irritation is that
it isn't flat. My tool chest, table saw, etc. wobble a bit. As noted, it
is soft. If I put something up on jack stands in there, I'll put plywood
under the stands. Other than that, it gets the job done.

Ross Mac wrote:
"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the
rest of the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle
between the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and
more usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the
foundation. Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this
workable? Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so
expensive? Thanks.

They did that on a couple of bridges near my old house. It appears that
asphalt does not adhere very well to concrete because they scraped it off
after a number of years since it continually peeled off and caused the
bridge to shake and vibrate the windows in nearby homes....my 2 cents....I
wouldn't do it....good luck....Ross

uh, ever notice how they rough up the concrete before paving a road?
Maybe the contractors near your old house were just a bunch of
incompetents?

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and
buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the rest
of
the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle between
the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and more
usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the foundation.
Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this workable?
Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so expensive?
Thanks.



If the floor is as bad as you say.
It shouldn't be too hard to bust up the rest with a sledge and dig it up to
see why the one spot is up three inches

use the busted up concrete as a bed for the new. pack it down,
(bring it down to 1 or 2 inches lower than the finished height)

Then pour new concrete.
For a "shed" 1" thick is enough, but 2" would be better, any more is
pointless.

If you can get an asphalt truck and roller in there, it will be just as easy
to have the ready mix truck in.

Where I am, concrete is cheaper than asphalt.

If you aren't in a big hurry, just tell them to come when they have extra
left from another job.
You might save a fair amount.

Not sure what you mean about "redo the foundation."
But if the walls are shifted/rotting and the floor is gone, you haven't got
much to save.


AMUN

Zen Cohen wrote:

I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked and
buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the rest of
the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle between
the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and more
usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the foundation.
Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this workable?
Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so expensive?
Thanks.


I had a garage that I did this too, and it worked fine. The
disadvantages of asphalt apply of course -- it's not smooth, so
sweeping (with a broom) doesn't work as well as concrete. It's soft,
so things like jackstands and motorcycle kick-stands will dig holes in
it.

It's not as nice as a concrete floor, but it's cheap. For me that was
an acceptable compromise. Any company that lays asphalt driveways can
do this for you.

However, if the center is actually 3" higher than the rest of the
floor, you're going to have to lay a lot of asphalt to get the floor
"flat". This may make your garage door not close properly, though you
can probably adjust it (assuming it's an overhead). Depending on how
the walls are constructed, you may not want to go up that high -- eg,
if the sides are wood frame with plasterboard, set on concrete blocks,
and the 4" of asphalt goes over the top of the concrete blocks to lay
against the walls, this will cause problems when you hose down the
floor.

If you do this, think about how water will drain out of the garage.
You might have a drain, though with a garage of that age I suspect
it's just designed to drain through the garage door opening. So when
laying asphalt you want some pitch towards the garage door. Asphalt
companies aren't used to thinking about water drainage and pitch, so
stress this with them. This was a problem on my garage floor, it ended
up pitched towards the back, so when I hosed down the floor, the water
would pool at the back of the garage, which was a pain.

Also, if there is something going on that is continuing to move and
crack the concrete in the center, then putting asphalt on top will not
help -- it will just crack and buckle as well.

Terry

"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for
storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly
cracked and
buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the
rest of
the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the middle
between
the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother and
more
usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the
foundation.
Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is this
workable?
Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so
expensive?
Thanks.



You sure do not want the thing collapsing on your auto.

Just pour some self leveling concrete on it for tempory. OR you can
throw a few pavers in it.

I would not use asphalt because any gas dripping would eat right
through.

wrote in message
oups.com...

Ross Mac wrote:
"Zen Cohen" wrote in message
...
I have an old one-car garage (about 20'x10') that I use only for
storage.
The concrete floor (no rebar, prolly built around WWII) is badly cracked
and buckled in the center with that area maybe 3 inches higher than the
rest of the floor, and there a gaps of up to several inches in the
middle
between the cracks. I want to do something to make the floor smoother
and
more usable but am not willing to spend the $3000-plus to redo the
foundation. Somebody suggested pouring asphalt onver the concrete. Is
this
workable? Any other suggestions for improving the surface that aren't so
expensive? Thanks.

They did that on a couple of bridges near my old house. It appears that
asphalt does not adhere very well to concrete because they scraped it off
after a number of years since it continually peeled off and caused the
bridge to shake and vibrate the windows in nearby homes....my 2
cents....I
wouldn't do it....good luck....Ross

uh, ever notice how they rough up the concrete before paving a road?
Maybe the contractors near your old house were just a bunch of
incompetents?

UHHH.....can you spell "expansion joints"????
The asphalt breaks away at the expansion joints and slowly leaves a sloppy
mess. You will find yourself repairing this on a regular basis...especially
if you have heavy vehicles....